Sir, Criticism of politicians and political parties is fair game provided there is at least a certain amount of accuracy to go with it. John Cameron of St Andrews, had a go at the outcome of the Smith Commission report on further powers for Scotland by first insulting Gordon Brown, before labelling Nicola Sturgeon as unprincipled and opportunistic for abandoning an agreement that her party had made regarding voting on English bills.
The decision by SNP members of parliament at Westminster not to vote on issues debated in London was a voluntary arrangement and there was no problem with this until David Cameron’s ill-judged decision to link the old Westminster question to further powers for Scotland, which prompted the Scottish First Minister to respond by pointing out that in future it would be proper for her party to vote on some, not all, Westminster legislation pertaining to English issues.
The reason for this is simply because any issue that involves a financial impact on the rest of the UK entitles all affected parties to have their say by voting, and if the watered-down further powers offered to Scotland set the standard for future relations, Nicola Sturgeon has every right to take her stance.
On the same day Alan Bell of Kirriemuir accuses fellow Scots of setting honour and principle aside to gain “some little power over our neighbours” by the back door, presumably, by having enough seats to hold the balance of power. He fails to mention there are several other small parties all lining up to do the same if conditions turn out to be favourable for them.
If the tenor of their previous letters is anything to go by, Messrs Cameron and Bell are supporters of the senior partner in the current coalition government, who should be asking themselves why there should be any possibility of a hung parliament if all the claims of growth and prosperity being put forward by their preferred choice of leadership are to be universally believed.
This is politics, gentlemen, and casting aspersions on Scottish Nationalists is not going to help your cause.
Allan A MacDougall. 37 Forth Park, Bridge of Allan.
Leave deer to roam the Den
Sir I was absolutely appalled to read the article in The Courier (January 23) regarding the proposed deer cull in the Den of Alyth.
I am in the Den almost every day and have never seen any more than four deer together at any one time. I certainly have never seen any “negative effect” caused by deer in the woodland.
Would Officer Brough like to enlighten me as to the actual damage caused by these animals in their natural habitat?
Mother Nature is causing far more damage in the Den of Alyth. Presently there must be at least 50 large mature trees which have fallen into the Alyth burn over the last few years and nothing has been done to clear them.
Being one of the “sites of scientific interest”, the Alyth Den is somewhere to go and see some wildlife in its natural habitat.
So please leave me free to spot the occasional deer, or will Perth & Kinross Council close down Alyth Den while they “sensitively” and “very discreetly” kill them?
Charles Norrie. 33 High Street, Alyth.
No tax increase in election year
Sir, Fife Council leader David Ross may have some sympathy with the view that a small increase in the council tax should help improve the local authority’s services (Courier, January 28). I doubt very much, though, whether he and his colleagues will support it when the budget is set on February 12.
Why? Firstly, Labour headquarters in Glasgow and London will not entertain a tax increase in an election year. It would be a gift to their Nationalist and Conservative opponents.
Secondly, the council tax freeze is still popular. The reason for that goes further than simply no tax increase is ever welcome. In the last few years there has been a drop in real incomes right across the social spectrum.
Many voters have greeted the freeze, along with free prescriptions, free tuition for university undergraduates and free eye tests as a means of helping them with household budgets in a time of recession.
A third reason is one which should be heeded by councillors of all persuasions. People are still to be convinced that local services are run efficiently. High levels of absenteeism, along with cumbersome committee structures give an impression of overmanning and complacency.
That is not to say that many dedicated public servants do not work hard to secure vital support for the elderly and disadvantaged. The benefits of their work is often obscured by old fashioned systems that belong to the 1970s rather than the second decade of the 21st century.
Bob Taylor. 24 Shiel Court, Glenrothes.
Forecasters are not infallible
Sir, It is winter time in New York so why all the fuss about the non-arrival of the predicted snow. Weather forecasters are not infallible, we all know they often get it wrong.
Much store is set by accurate predictions to prepare for extreme and catastrophic weather events. In recent years massive investment has been made into research facilities.
The issue of climate change has even raised the stakessufficiently for the UK Met Office to expand theiroperations into space weather prediction.
Accurate weather prediction is no longer seen as a local issue. Since 2000 it has expanded into a truly global business worth billions.
In 1998 the renewable energy sector became involved when Scottish Hydro-Electric (now SSE) signed a six month derivatives agreement with Enron Weather a division of the now infamous Enron Corporation as a hedge against electricity prices being pushed up by prolonged bad weather over the coming UK winter.
Weather derivatives have become an integral part in risk management solutions all over the world today.
Marion Lang. Westermost, Coaltown of Callange, Ceres, Cupar.
Warm clouds rain myth
Sir, In his explanation for recent US heavy snowfalls, Alan Hinnrichs (Letters,January 28) relates thecommon myth that warm clouds can hold more water than cold clouds, on theerroneous basis that as air warms, its molecules speed up and move farther apart, making room for more water molecules.
As any physicist ormeteorologist will confirm, the laws of condensation and evaporation that largelygovern the formation anddispersal of clouds, prove that this is not possible. The total volume of water incirculation in the atmosphere remains evenly dispersed and evenly concentrated.
There may be more clouds, so more rain or snow, butcertainly not clouds with more snow or rain in them because of warm air.
Malcolm Parkin. 15 Gamekeepers Road, Kinnesswood, Kinross.
So we’re better together . . . ?
Sir, I watched the TV news report on the Tesco store closures in Scotland.
There is to be a loss of more than 300 jobs in total with 189 of them in Kirkcaldy.
If Scotland had voted for independence and the Tesco closures had happened the unionists would have been shouting that they told us so.
In the event it proves that multi-national businesses can do what they will with only their profits to determine the fate of local interests.
Better Together . . . don’t make me laugh.
Harry Key. 20 Mid Street, Largoward.
A new Tesco in Randolph area?
Sir, Of course, the closure of the very busy but apparently unprofitable Tesco store in Kirkcaldy couldn’t have anything to do with the fact that they could not expand, or that their objections to the new Morrisons store were overruled, could it?
I wonder what odds Ladbrokes are offering on a new Tesco appearing somewhere in the Randolph area, following massive concessions from Fife Council and the Scottish Government?
Laurie Richards. 100 Crail Road, Cellardyke.