Point-scoring over policies

Sir, – The latest BBC story to run down Scotland regards the number of people awaiting mental health treatment.

Yes, the figures are not great but this problem did not happen overnight.

According to statistics, more men living in the north of England, as well as Scotland, die from suicide, alcohol abuse or drugs-related illnesses than from cancer or heart disease.

But crunch the figures and you will find that in most cases the men coming forward – seeking help with mental health, alcohol abuse of drug-related illnesses – can trace the start of their problems to a time of Maggie Thatcher’s Government.

This is a time when the heavy industry disappeared along with its ancillary manual labour, those that did not or could not adapt to the changing environment simply fell by the wayside.

The pace of change was such that it left behind a generation of unemployment and despair and as a result many young men found solace in the bottle or a cheaper alternative drug – and today we live with the consequences of Thatcher’s reign.

Sadly a new generation of zero-hours contracts, low wages and high living costs is leading to poverty and despair as it did during Thatcher’s time in office.

Inevitably we are seeing a new generation of wasted lives.

To tackle mental health issues you must tackle the symptoms – otherwise a cure can never be found.

The opposition parties at Holyrood are quick to call out Nicola Sturgeon on the numbers, but do Willie Rennie, Ruth Davidson or Richard Leonard really care about mental health or are they only interested in political points scoring? Walter Hamilton. Flat 3,

City Park, St Andrews.