Sir, – In his letter last week, Bob Stark wrote about “the huge opportunities for Scottish fishing communities after Brexit…taking back control of our waters”.
Well, despite the promise from the UK fisheries minister, George Eustice, that British fishermen would have “hundreds of thousands of tonnes more fish when the UK leaves the union” this promise, like most Brexit promises, is unlikely to materialise.
The Danish government is currently preparing a legal case to go before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, claiming that their fishermen have a historical right to access the seas around Britain dating back to the 1400s, and it is likely that the other EU member states which would be affected will follow suit.
The Danes are very confident in their case, and, given that the UK Government has now antagonised every member country of the EU by its boorish approach to Brexit, and the hard negotiations have not even started yet, it is unlikely that there will be any sympathy for the UK case.
Once the detailed negotiations do start, and the horse trading of competing interests begins, is it likely that a hard-right Tory government is going to put the prosperity of Scottish fishermen high up in their priorities against the need to protect the City of London, the English car industry, and their rich backers in the south east? I think not.
The best hope for the Scottish fishing industry, I would suggest, would be an independent Scotland, on good terms with its European neighbours, and a Scottish Government fighting tooth and nail for a key part of Scotland’s economic future.
Les Mackay.
5 Carmichael Gardens,
Dundee.
Democracy has been eroded
Sir, – Council hustings must be similar across Scotland. After candidate statements, the audience bemoans the decline in sporting, transportation, library and community facilities. Candidates agree it is terrible and something should be done.
Then reasons for the destruction of such vital pillars of local life start to emerge.
The main local culprits are education and burgeoning social care budgets.
They, along with national universal benefits such as free prescriptions, over-60s bus fares and baby boxes (at a cost of £35 million a year) devour cash previously spent on local facilities.
My council, Aberdeenshire, gets £63m less every year from Holyrood than it should do.
On top of that, the SNP tried to transfer council tax hikes to Central Belt schools and impose horrendous rises in business rates, decisions eventually reversed after two by-election losses to the Tories and a campaign by the business community.
It is not just money. The SNP weaken local councils and democracy by centralising powers to Holyrood, passing much of what is left to schools and local groups.
Now it is now dawnimg on the audience that these elections aren’t about swing parks and potholes but the very nature of democracy in Scotland, the SNP’s control freakery and how parties and candidates will fight this.
In addition, a second independence referendum hangs over us like a bad smell.
Previously I voted for the person, not the party, including an SNP councillor.
I have learned my lesson. Any SNP or Green vote is a vote for independence. I will never vote SNP again in my life.
Allan Sutherland.
1 Willow Row,
Stonehaven.
Rise of child- free politicians
Sir, – I see the rise in Europe of child-free political leaders of both sexes continues with Angela Merkel, Theresa May and Nicola Sturgeon on one side of the fence while Alex Salmond and Emmanuel Macron neatly side-stepped the issue by marrying women more senior.
Remaining single tends to raise other issues as Ted Heath discovered but that rising European star, Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, finds bachelorhood no disadvantage.
The only other child-free British prime ministers in the 20th century were the (unmarried) Arthur Balfour (1902-05) and Henry Campbell-Bannerman (1905-08).
Rev Dr John Cameron.
10 Howard Place,
St Andrews.
Opportunities for Scotland
Sir, – The loss of the London-based European Medicines Agency (EMA) and European Banking Authority (EBA), as highlighted in recent reports, became inevitable after Britain voted to leave the EU.
The EMA and EBA each employ about 1,000 people, many of them British, and provide a hub for businesses in the UK.
A number of capital cities are lining up to welcome both agencies and EU Council president Donald Tusk is expected to unveil the selection criteria within the next few weeks, with the agencies anticipated to know their new locations in June.
Cities such as Dublin, Frankfurt, Milan, Amsterdam, Paris and Stockholm all want to play host to the agencies, which are considered as among the EU’s crown jewels.
In the early 2000s I led a campaign to bring the European Justice Agency (Eurojust) to Edinburgh.
While EU officials were sympathetic, it was made very clear that this was an issue for the UK Government, which gave it short thrift and saw that body locate to The Hague.
What is clear is the potential for Scotland, should it be independent within the EU, to host such agencies and other EU bodies.
Similarly, there is an incredible opportunity for Scotland with the predicted loss of passporting rights to the City, to gain from financial service companies relocating from London to Edinburgh or Glasgow.
While an independent Scotland within the EU would, therefore, have much going for it, the bizarre approach of the UK Government to Brexit continues, further reinforced by David Davis, who as Brexit Secretary still naively believes these agencies can somehow remain in the United Kingdom. Of course they can’t. Brexit does mean Brexit after all.
Alex Orr.
77 Leamington Terrace,
Edinburgh.
SNP ignores UK Government
Sir, – A recent newspaper article revealed that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and various of her ministers have had more than 80 separate meetings all over Europe in the aftermath of the Brexit decision but only one meeting with the United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May.
This surely demonstrates the xenophobia and stubborn unwillingness of the SNP to act in concert with the rest of the UK, of which Scotland voted to remain a part in the 2014 referendum.
Having also heard the usual wearisome predictions from that former economist Alex Salmond, it can safely be said that the SNP is a body that does precision guesswork based on unreliable data provided by those of questionable knowledge.
Derek Farmer.
Knightsward Farm,
Anstruther.