What will it take to get John Swinney to say sorry?

The Herald Scotland

26-04-2025

The Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre failed to provide women-only spaces for 16 months as per the National Service Standards. Who believed that women who had been raped and required support should have to accept dealing with a man who insisted on she/her pronouns? Can you imagine how it must have felt for an already victimised woman to have to be let down again?
The SNP has enabled state organisations, charities, schools and businesses to remove women's rights to single-sex spaces. The very least we deserve from Mr Swinney is an apology, but I fear this will never materialise.
Jane Lax, Aberlour.
• How on earth did we manage in the BT (Before Trans) days if caught short when out and about? Personally, I knew instinctively that it was unthinkable to visit a public lavatory provided for the opposite biological sex. Why shouldn't a trans person accept that, despite their personal decision to trans, biologically their sex remains unchanged and they should therefore continue to respect those of the opposite sex and follow the same discipline as they did before when using public toilet facilities?
As for those arguing that the answer would be to provide additional separate public toilet facilities for trans users, there is the bigger problem which needs to be addressed. That is those councils all over the place closing public toilet facilities as a cost-cutting exercise which means no one, irrespective of sex, has anywhere to go. Fix that first.
Alan Fitzpatrick, Dunlop.
Please, no more empty promises
The alarming results of the poll indicating that Scots feel exhausted and angry with politics ("Angry, anxious Scots say no to 'strong man' politics", The Herald, April 26) reveal a striking lack of effective leadership from the SNP. John Swinney's Government appears disconnected from the everyday lives of citizens, focusing instead on divisive politics rather than the pressing issues facing Scotland.
Adam Smith observed: 'No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable'. The Scottish Government must pivot towards tangible policies that address the real concerns of the people – their trust is at rock bottom.
We cannot afford more empty promises or political games. Leaders must prioritise genuine engagement with communities and respond to their needs. Only through honest governance can we hope to rebuild trust in our political institutions.
Our future depends on a government that proves it values the voices of all Scots.
Alastair Majury, Dunblane.
Read more letters
• I note with interest your front-page lead story. We must differentiate between politics and party politics, just as we should between religion and organised religion, the latter bringing the former into disrepute in both cases.
Parties in power go rotten, but there are always new, small ones with fresh ideas. Independents offer another alternative to voters, but since 2000 they have been prevented by the Electoral Commission from adding a description for ballot papers, for example independent socialist. This is especially detrimental to their chances when there is more than one independent candidate, as happened three times in Scotland at the General Election.
George Morton, Rosyth.
The split between SNP and Greens
The motion tabled concerning removing Maggie Chapman from Holyrood's equalities committee ("MSPs make bid to oust Chapman over "bigot" remarks", The Herald, April 25) appears to have support even from the SNP, hence it ought to go through to a vote of the full parliament. This is a real test of how strong the bond is between the SNP and Greens. Given the disasters the Greens have wrought on the SNP this may be the final chance before the Holyrood 2026 election for the SNP to find clear waters between the parties, but will this bite back after the election?
Dr Gerald Edwards, Glasgow.
Trump right to act on tariffs
Roz Foyer ("Trump's tariffs are only one piece of the chess set and our industries shouldn't be his pawns", The Herald, April 21) rightly critiques the chaos surrounding Donald Trump's tariff policies, but I take issue with the suggestion that he simply favours corporations over workers. His tariffs – though far from perfect – were aimed at reversing the damage of globalisation and reviving US industrial regions. For all the bluster, his administration encouraged domestic manufacturing investment, and jobs did return to some neglected areas. The stock market's recent response – declines in large corporate shares – actually undermines Ms Foyer's claim that his policies favour corporate elites.
Yes, President Trump's approach often resembles a blunt instrument. But breaking from a deeply entrenched global order was never going to be tidy. Expecting a smooth transition during such a structural upheaval is, in my view, naive. The disruption may be messy, but it signals a willingness to rethink an economic model that has hollowed out industrial communities in both the US and the UK. Simply repackaging globalisation with token government intervention – as we've seen in the UK – won't revive industries like steel.
Crucially, the chances of success for interventionist policies are far higher in the US than in the UK. Mr Trump at least recognises that energy-intensive industries require competitively priced energy to survive and thrive. With US industrial energy costs around four times lower than the UK's, America enjoys a significant head start. The UK's failure to address this – largely due to a rigid Net Zero framework – leaves our manufacturing sector at a huge disadvantage before any strategy can even begin.
Finally, the UK should consider a carbon tax on imports from countries like China, where we've outsourced emissions and lack trade reciprocity. Revenue from such a tax could be used to support sustainable heavy industry and help place a viable UK industrial strategy on a firm footing – but only if we tackle our high energy costs first.
Ian Lakin, Aberdeen.
US is nastily divided
I have just returned from a month in North America: two weeks in Southern California and two weeks in British Columbia. It was interesting to see both sides of North American politics.
Canada is now united as never before. As my daughter is now Canadian, in shops in Palm Springs, shop staff were apologising to her for the actions of Donald Trump. In a British Columbia liquor store a huge black cover concealed empty shelves along with a sign proclaiming "USA wine not for sale".
Donald Trump has attempted to control directly the universities, trying to place "his people" to supervise courses and staff; some book topics have been proscribed, he has tried to impeach judges ruling against him, has successfully stifled several legal firms taking cases against his decisions, and shortly before I left a US broadcaster was advising visitors not to bring in their mobile phones unless there is no anti-Trump or anti-Israeli information in it. It can be inspected as you enter without explanation, you can be detained, again without explanation, and you have no legal rights.
Sadly, the US is nastily divided and care has to be taken in some areas over whom you speak to and how.
One can only hope that next year's Senate elections, where it seems Republicans will be wiped out, can restore values we all thought the US had.
Jack Taylor, Dunlop.
We should look to Eastern Europe
The American military seems to make a habit of fighting full-scale wars against poor and weak (on paper) countries: North Korea, Vietnam and now Yemen, where hundreds of thousands die with no winners in sight. History can judge if a 'bomb them back to the Stone Age' strategy works or enhances the reputation of the American armed forces. What we do know is that against Yemen, the world's poorest country, the United States now has two aircraft carrier groups, B2 stealth bombers, and dozens of fighter planes and drones.
They have launched hundreds of missions and the cost is now expected to reach $2 billion in May. This against Houthi drones which cost a few thousand dollars apiece yet have downed half a dozen expensive Reaper drones. America recently transferred to Yemen an entire Patriot missile defence battalion from Japan and South Korea. It took 73 cargo flights and has left the Indo-Pacific region less well protected.
What has that to do with us? Well, we are sending one of our aircraft carriers, HMS Prince of Wales, to the Far East, to fill the gap (presumably). The UK lacks enough sea-going warships to form a protective flotilla, so a rag-tag bunch of ships is joining in the fun. America under Donald Trump wants to confront China, and so it should do so, and the UK should look to eastern Europe where our real enemies are.
GR Weir, Ochiltree.
Keir Starmer (third left) and Defence Secretary John Healy (third right) talk with naval officers on the flight deck of HMS Prince of Wales before her deployment to the Indo-Pacific (Image: PA)
Might priests be allowed to marry?
I wonder whether or not the new Pope when elected following the conclave will be in tune with the observation of Pope Francis in relation to the question of celibacy. Francis, when Archbishop of Buenos Aires, commented that celibacy "is a matter of discipline, not of faith. It could change".
Could it be that major changes are to come for the Roman Catholic Church and its priesthood with the priests being permitted to marry and women being permitted to take up the priesthood?
Ian W Thomson, Lenzie.
Mower excuse to do less
I was somewhat amused reading your article regarding a proposal before Argyle and Bute Council to reduce the amount of grass cutting in May ("Move to reduce grass mowing", The Herald, April 19). Who do they think they are kidding? In my view this is just another ruse for local authorities to hide behind and avoid their civic responsibility to keep the public spaces in our towns and villages in a condition that is pleasing to the eye and that provides the feel-good factor for the people who live and work there. Do they really imagine a very few acres of uncut grass in residential areas will make the monumental difference to wildlife that they claim?
I am all for helping nature thrive and survive, but are there not many thousands of wild acres in Argyll and Bute and indeed Scotland where the natural world could and should survive undisturbed.
Dare I suggest, if those responsible for the wilderness areas were to maintain the water courses and clear the scrub undergrowth, reducing fire fodder, wildlife of every description would most certainly benefit.
Dan Edgar, Rothesay.
Much ado about nothing
Sorry, Alison Rowat ('BBC Scotland closing River City is cultural vandalism', The Herald, April 23), BBC Scotland inflicted 23 years of cultural vandalism on us in the shape of River City and finally it has put us out of our misery. River City made EastEnders look almost Shakespearean.
Next stop, please "do a Lineker" on Tam Cowan and Stuart Cosgrove's once-brilliant "Off The Boil".
Allan Sutherland, Stonehaven.