I NOTE the leader of the council’s article showing the good work the council is trying to achieve (Here’s how Glasgow City Council has started this new year). However, as a citizen who lives in reality, everything in the garden isn’t rosy.

Glasgow Central Station’s surrounds are an anti-social behaviour hot spot similar to Govanhill, the roads in Glasgow are crumbling, litter, fly-tipping and graffiti are worse than ever, there is a £50million black hole in the current budget and proposals are to shut all the good services on offer.

The Multiple Deprivation Index has been published and we have one of the poorest areas in Scotland in respect of Haghill.

The Metro system has been spoken of for nearly 10 years and nothing has ever happened. The council missed the “bus” in respect of buying the services back into local authority ownership, where all the profits go to a private firm. In respect of tenement problems: Ibrox, Pollokshields, Dennistoun, Shawlands all have similar problems.

Name and Address supplied

COUNCIL leader Susan Aitken outlined the plans for the city moving forward.

What was missing, however, was any recognition to address the many everyday problems which affect the citizens of this city and which fill the letters columns of this paper regularly. These are potholes, constant flooding due to clogged-up drains, weeds sprouting everywhere, graffiti and litter (the approach roads to the city centre such as the Springburn Expressway are a disgrace).

It would appear that our councillors must wander through the city with their eyes firmly closed.

MA

Glasgow

TODAY, Brexit Day, is an incredibly sad occasion. The loss of the many economic, social and environmental benefits that membership of the largest single market in the world brings will leave us all the poorer in so many ways. Benefits associated with the free movement of goods, capital, services and people across the 28-member state EU have been immense.

Our exiting makes me angry as this is such a stupid and needless act of self-destruction, hitting the poorest hardest. It is a move I predict we will bitterly go on to regret.

Pro-EU events being held today do however afford us the opportunity to celebrate the benefits that membership

has brought us – peace, stability and prosperity. The European flag will also still fly outside the Scottish Parliament.

Pro-EU campaigners like myself are now in the same position that those who campaigned for the UK to leave what was the EEC were in 47 years ago. I would urge the EU to keep a light on for us, the fight continues and one day, maybe in the not too distant future, I am certain these efforts will be rewarded and we will return.

Alex Orr

Via email

THERE have been two deaths in the UK “potentially” linked to vaping, And, of course, this is big news, But considering there is more than 100,000 deaths in the UK from smoking each year I would say vaping is far, far safer.

This is the usual scaremongering from the media, It was the same with the coronavirus. We were told there were seven cases of it in Scotland, yet a few days later it transpired there were no confirmed cases at all. They were all negative, It’s brainwashing with fear attached ... something the media do quite well.

Richard Low

Twechar

THE worrying factor in the story about the “controversial US preacher Franklin Graham threatening to sue the Hydro for cancelling his event” is the fact that it was anticipated the venue would be full to capacity to hear his views.

While I support this decision it is a slippery slope as we cannot say on the one hand we support free speech and then on the other ban those who offer a different or extreme view to those of our own.

JP B2019

SUBJECT matter aside, this is a damning attack on free speech (Controversial US preacher threatens to sue Hydro).

Love it or hate it, free speech allows everyone to have their say, it’s down to you if you want to value it or denounce it as total tosh, no one has the right to decide for you which it is.

In this case an organisation has decided for a lot of people that this opinion is inappropriate ... how dare they. The Hydro don’t book people, they rent out their facility to people who are willing to pay.

In this case they have crumbled under the pressure of minority groups and small-minded government officials, and cancelled so then by association they are agreeing with the view that this person can’t air his opinion to people who are willing to pay to listen.

He is unfortunate that it wasn’t cake they were baking for him.

David McKendry