Sir, It is not every Tuesday that some of us find ourselves in agreement with every word written by Jim Crumley, but this week he excelled in his article. The ruination of much of Britain, in particular Scotland, is quite appalling and his thin-edge-of-the-wedge argument over the ruination of Beauly is quite correct.
Once the power line was allowed, against enormous opposition and a considerable number of accurate prophecies that this was only the beginning, we were doomed.
Any sentient person is aware that Britain is going to run out of steam. The blatant refusal to think two decades ahead indicates the fatuousness of most political leaders. In the field of energy it will lead to disaster.
The love of selling off the family silver to anybody, as long as they dwell and pay taxes abroad, has already wreaked irreparable damage to our economy. When any opposition to public vandalism is allowed to be heard, then it is dismissed as nimbyism. This is grossly unfair as the objections, all over Britain, are often very soundly based.
When a local council dares to suggest the objectors may have a point and proceed to refuse planning applications it is almost invariably overruled by unelected officials in London or Edinburgh. What a price we pay for “democracy”!
We have all the fuels for not only being self-sufficient in energy but having the ability to export it. The trouble is that the energy in question is carbon-based, but any exploration of this is thought by many to be even worse than questioning immigration policy.
However, the technology is available, not only to use the carbon fuels but also to extract the toxics that are more than a potential worry. Oil companies ally with power suppliers to deny this. The Greens and other do-gooders loudly applaud from the sides.
Again, the majority of us, who are not terribly rich, subsidise, through our taxes, the very, very rich, both at home and abroad. The current popularity of the SNP would suggest that whichever way we might have voted in the referendum most of us in Scotland are in one mind on the subject of preserving our heritage. Oh that a little sense and independent thinking might be found in more of our politicians.
Robert Lightband. Clepington Court, Dundee.
Looks like case of double standards
Sir, What a difference a few months make. Last summer, Jose Manuel Barroso, the outgoing president of the European Commission, was hailed by unionists as the authoritative voice on an independent Scotland’s position in the EU.
His word was gospel and unionists were quick to cite his opposition to an indepen-dent Scotland’s EU member-ship, as the final word.
Fast forward a few months and Mr Barroso is now Johnny Foreigner, a jumped-up EU bureaucrat sticking his nose in the UK’s affairs.
Unionists had the bare- faced cheek to cry fear and uncertainty over an indepen-dent Scotland, and now not a cheep from them over the uncertainty of the UK’s EU membership and all the risks to jobs and trade it will entail.
Double standards springs to mind.
RMF Brown. Markinch, Fife.
It’s just money down the drain
Sir, The SNP-dominated Scottish Government bought Prestwick Airport for £1 to save it from closure and pledged to invest £10 million into the airport, despite the previous owners losing £7 million a year.
It is telling that no other companies were interested in buying it.
In June, Nicola Sturgeon, then Deputy First Minister, announced a £7 million investment for repairs and improvements.
Now Prestwick Airport is to be “loaned” another £10 million.
Wait a minute, “loaned”, but the taxpayers already own this airport so when the plug is pulled then it is taxpayers’ money down the drain.
Passenger flights at Prestwick Airport are as few as one a day so the airport has no future.
By comparison the highly successful Glasgow Airport has 100 flights a day.
I trust no more money will be ploughed into this politically motivated “white elephant”.
The Prestwick Airport slogan “pure dead brilliant” was one-third correct the middle word.
Clark Cross. 138 Springfield Road, Linlithgow.
Nicola to head for Scone?
Sir, Does the news that Nicola Sturgeon is to be endorsed as Alex Salmond’s successor at the SNP conference in Perth next month mean she will be nipping up the road to Scone to be crowned Queen Nicola?
Robert T Smith. 30 Braeside Terrace, Aberdeen.
Off the agenda? Oh really!
Sir, In his letter, Time to face reality (Monday October 20), Dr John Cameron is being very presumptuous in suggesting “independence is off the agenda”.
Presumably Dr Cameron was able to read the excellent accompanying letter from Ken Clark relating to last week’s Westminster debate on further powers for Scotland and suggesting that Scotland has perhaps been sold a “pig in a poke” by Messrs Brown et al.
Whilst it is still early days, there is a groundswell of opinion suggesting that Westminster better deliver on its promises, in a realistic timescale, without conditions. If not, many who were borderline “no” voters, plus those who were persuaded by the late promises of more autonomy, may well become very disillusioned and start beating the drum again.
As Tommy Sheridan said in his post referendum interview on BBC News: “The powerless realised they have power, we ain’t going back into the box.”
Notwithstanding Mr Sheridan’s politics, his underlying sentiment will have struck a chord with many and those charged with delivering on their promises for the country should take note. Dr Cameron says: “It is time to face reality that independence is off the agenda.” Oh really!
Keith Richardson. Melgund Burn, Aberlemno.
Bags not the only problem
Sir, Yes, one has to agree that plastic bags are a problem, but in the bigger picture just a “drop in the ocean”. When you look at the litter pollution problem where do they rate?
When I cycle around the country roads there are more empty juice bottles, discarded coke tins, fag packets etc than plastic bags.
Once again the establish-ment/politicians/do-gooders have come up with this “plastic bag drivel” and people are following like lambs to the slaughter and no doubt all giving praise and claiming to be nice people as they roll along in their carbon-fuel-guzzling pollution machines.
Roy McIntosh. 9 Bankwell Road, Anstruther.
The beach was left spotless
Sir, An article and photograph in Monday’s Courier described the work of volunteers cleaning litter from the St Andrews beaches part of a UK-wide campaign to address this growing problem.
I applaud the work done but I am saddened and appalled at the need for it. I holidayed recently at a French seaside resort with over a mile of sandy beaches.
On Sunday the beach was packed with family picnickers etc. We did notice provision of showers, toilets and bins but in the evening expected to find the beach covered with litter and over- flowing bins. The beach and esplanade were spotless. Bins were full but covered and not spilling out.
We found that people meticulously “binned” all their litter and cleaned up promptly after the many dogs exercised on the prom.
What is wrong with people here that they can’t do likewise?
Elizabeth Picton. 76 Hepburn Gardens, St Andrews.