GP Dr John Montgomery asserts that the current housing crisis is a direct result of the Thatcher years, in that it allowed tenants who had been paying rent for years to buy their council house ("'A lot can be traced back to Thatcher': Why the housing crisis is making us sick", The Herald, July 12). This has been mooted in many articles and opinions of late and of course is complete nonsense. That social housing tenants should be able to own their property is a fundamental right that Margaret Thatcher recognised and empowered.
The real problem was that councils were forbidden to utilise the funds they received from those house sales to build replacement properties and thus continue the cycle. I concede that some of the Thatcher policies were open to question but allowing hard-working people to buy and take pride in their council houses was certainly not one of them. James Martin, Bearsden.
Use higher rates to help YOU are to be commended for your Charter for Housing campaign ("Charter for action launched by The Herald and charities", The Herald, July 13) which fills a vacuum left by our political leadership. It is appropriate that it focuses on practical measures to improve the situations of those worst affected and avoids the error of believing that the crisis can be solved by building ever more unaffordable private housing. Here is an idea: what about hypothecating the extra income tax revenues generated by higher Scottish rates to alleviating this shameful crisis? It is to .