Sour taste of policy changes

Sir, – The passing of minimum alcohol pricing legislation is a bitter sweet moment for me and Nicola Sturgeon.

Sweet because it’s a platform for more of the regulation, health education and support services required to remove this curse from Scotland and confirms she has the ability and tenacity to push through legislation in the teeth of opposition.

Bitter for me because most SNP policy and legislation such as windfarms, fracking, education reforms, police, Named Person, Welfare Agency and Brexit were either badly handled, virtue signalling in the teeth of common sense or driven by an obsession with independence.

And bitter too for Ms Sturgeon because it comes too late for many voters to trust her to do what’s best for Scotland and, judging by social media reaction, has alienated many SNP supporters, albeit many who never actually vote anyway.

Her “walk on water” days of 2015 are gone. She must regret not accepting the referendum result, outlining the issues and challenges we face as a society and economy and dedicating herself to turning Scotland around.

If she had, and it worked, independence in 2026 could have been a viable option, perhaps even a shoo-in.

Allan Sutherland. Willow Row, Stonehaven.