Sir, – With Longannet power station in the final throes of providing an energy supply to the Scottish grid, we see that the National Grid and the Westminster ruling elite is capable of forcing Scots to their knees by restricting their power supplies.
Unfair connection charges to the grid have been the cause of Longannet’s demise along with the carbon capture project that had to be scrapped due to Westminster’s uncooperative stance. The closure is a devastating blow to Fife and the energy supply of Scotland.
With energy being under the sole remit of London, Scots can expect more of the same spite to be inflicted on them in the future.
We also have the spectres of Jim Ratcliffe and Algy Cluff contemplating fracking and setting coal seams alight, while at the same time lining their own pockets. Scots will once again pay the price for giving into the greed of the stockmarkets and its shareholders.
Radical new energy resources must be looked into.
This must be energy produced to fit the pockets of all and controlled as a nationalised resource.
The way forward could be to introduce geothermal recovery.
But this would not be attractive to market predators because once it is up and running there is not a lot of money to be made.
It is encouraging to see St Andrews University is getting involved in such projects and hopefully their findings into this underground resource will make some of our energy problems a thing of the past.
Bob Harper. 63a Pittenweem Road, Anstruther.
SNP GM policymisconceived
Sir, – The SNP Scottish Government is to outlaw genetically modified crops in Scotland.
There appears to be no scientific basis for this.
It is simply pandering to ill-informed public prejudice.
The SNP’s attitude to nuclear power is similar.
This is yet another demonstration of the SNP’s unfitness for government.
Sadly, because of the absence of an effective opposition in the Scottish Parliament, they will almost certainly succeed with their misconceived policies.
Alastair L Stewart. 86 Albany Road, Broughty Ferry.
Further pain for Scots farmers
Sir, – On this letters page last week, Richard Lochhead, rural affairs secretary, stated he was listening to the agricultural industry.
Days later, he announces the intention to press ahead with a ban on GM crops.
Not much evidence of listening there.
Once again, the SNP’s action against GM research and crops is designed to keep the green lobby and the hard left on side.
And, of course, there is the added bonus of trying to make Scotland seem different from the rest of the UK.
They did this with the creation of Police Scotland. It was a political move and they don’t seem to care much about the consequences.
Objections to GM crops are still rooted in the Frankenstein food fears of 20 years ago.
The green lobby and the hard left have not moved on from that position but our Scottish scientists have been working hard to make the technology improve crop yield and withstand extreme weather conditions .
With the dairy sector under severe price pressure and the arable sector worried about the harvest after a wet summer, you have to wonder why Mr Lochhead chose now to heap further stress on Scottish agriculture?
Bob Ferguson. North Muirton, Perth.
Trivial priorities of BBC news
Sir, – Having viewed the national news on BBC on Saturday night, it is indeed a poor reflection on our society that they dedicated the first five minutes of the programme to England winning the Ashes.
While we applaud this achievement, does it merit national and world headlines?
With all of the difficulties in the world, IS involvement in the Syria, the immigration crisis at Calais and the influx of migrants to Europe, is it any surprise that the BBC are questioned as to their ability to report impartially on world events?
We pay a licence fee for impartial and factual news but surely this does not merit a third of our news time being devoted to a cricket win.
This is another instance of why we question paying a licence fee.
Jack Harley. 9 Mackie Crescent, Markinch.
Give support to Rosyth ferry
Sir, – I agree with DH Shaw (August 11) who argues that Scotland should make more use of the Rosyth ferry.
It might take an injection of public cash to raise its profile but it would be worth it and could even stimulate the return of the car-ferry service.
What other island country has no car ferry to the outside world?
If John Swinney can find £400 million to write off poll tax debts, he can find money to link Scotland to the world.
Robert Anderson. Kirkton, Arbroath.
A distraction from real issues
Sir, – Former FirstMinister Alex Salmond’s declaration of the inevitability of another referendum is more evidence of the SNP seeking to cover their increasing inability to govern Scotland properly.
What Mr Salmond should be asked is how he and the SNP accounts for the chaotic state of Police Scotland, the mess the National Health Service is in north of the border, continuing poor child literacy rates and the numbers crisis in the teaching profession, as this newspapers has reported.
Then we have the renewables energy fiasco, declining local services, the dramatic drop in oil prices, and the SNP’s apparent efforts to control the BBC in Scotland, to name but a few issues.
The SNP have never really told us how an independent Scotland would be funded, and over the next few years it will be interesting to see how the Scottish Government continues to accommodate free bus passes, free prescriptions, the freeze on council tax and other matters such as the increasing dependency on foreign labour to do the jobs that native Scots refuse to dirty their hands with, such as in agriculture.
Nicola Sturgeon’s assertion that a decision on another referendum will be made in the best interests of Scotland is to be taken with a large pinch of salt.
The only interests Nicola Sturgeon will be mindful of are those of the SNP.
In football, I look forward to the Scotland against England World Cup qualifying matches, but sadly the fixtures will only afford the nationalists another opportunity to whip up yet more anti-British/English feeling as they strive to mask their shortcomings as the government of Scotland, and also the fact that their Westminster MPs are doing little to represent their constituencies.
Jim Shaw. Hill Street, Dundee.
Corbyn should not be fooled
Sir, – Jeremy Corbyn has captured the imagination of many on the left.
But it would be a tragedy for Labour if he were to seek political advantage through his apparent willingness to enter into a pact with the SNP.
In the heat of the referendum debate, the Scottish left seemed to fall for the pretence that the SNP cared about social justice rather than their main ambition of separation from the United Kingdom.
Yet surely an Islington MP is sufficiently distant from the maelstrom of Scottish politics to see the reality?
I was born in Islington, among the working-class supporters upon whom Jeremy has depended for support.
Having made Scotland my home for the last 25 years, I have seen the recent impact of divisive and insular Scottish nationalism on our country.
This is reflected as much in declining public services as in the sometimes caustic national debate.
Jeremy’s supporters in his north London constituency would feel betrayed if he set aside his principles for short-term political advantage on the back of any kind of deal with nationalists.
Keith Howell. White Moss, West Linton.