Sir, Scotland is currently investing considerable resources to create single units of control in our police service and our fire and rescue service with the aim of gaining the benefits, financial and operational, which will accrue from these larger bodies.
If we elect to abandon the UK will we not therefore see a reversal of such benefits, across a much wider platform, in the reduced economic unit that Scotland will become?
Listening to Mr Salmond blustering to deal with, not answer, questions in parliament he would have us believe that we own much of the North Sea and all that lies beneath it.
Does the EU not control the fishing rights? Why should we assume that Norway might not choose to extract a larger share of the oil that is so important to Scotland?
Surely the oil only becomes Scottish when large multinational companies choose to bring it to Scotland.
Can we assume that even larger multinational companies choose to bring it to Scotland.
Can we assume that even larger multinational corporations will not extract oil, using capital funds, that we can hardly aspire to, and take the oil to England?
Norway uses its wealth from oil to save for a rainy day. In Scotland we appear to need our wealth to meet day-to-day running costs. Mr Salmond proposes to set aside oil money to create a capital fund.
How will he make up the resultant shortfall in running costs? He might choose to cut the expenditure by reducing employment and services or he could raise the income by increasing taxation and other levies.
Aged 75, I might not suffer too much from the foolishness of independence but it appears to me that Scotland electing to leave the UK is akin to a family electing to leave a decent, comfortable and affordable house to live in a but and ben.
A A Bullions. Leven.
Better to stay out of it
Sir, Coming from a part of Northern Ireland where we had both Loyalist and Republican marches on a regular basis, I wanted to offer some advice to Pete Wishart MP who seems intent on intervening in the parade due this summer.
In an open and diverse society, we have many reasons for congregations of people. Some of them we agree with, some of them we don’t. The way to deal with it is very simple. You support those causes you wish to support and you stay out of the way of those you don’t. They are over in a few hours, and we can all organise our lives to fit around them if needs must.
This is always easier than going out of our way to take offence and it demonstrates tolerance for those we don’t agree with. These parades become divisive when politicians are gullible enough to take one side or the other and thereby raise the temperature. The decision is for the police to make and no-one else.
I have every sympathy with anyone who wonders what an Apprentice Boys of Derry march has to do with Perth and it is not immediately obvious on first reading. However, Perth has been here for 800 years and all sorts of groups have a history here. We should not deny them their right to celebrate this as long as they stay within the law.
My recollection is that the 2010 parade passed off without any incident, despite many months of ineffectual talk by politicians beforehand. They would have been better just staying out of it.
Victor Clements. Mamies’ Cottage, Aberfeldy.
What if there are no signs?
Sir, I refer to the letter by Garry Barnett of Guildtown, Perth. Over the years I have read many such letters in various newspapers about Gaelic signs being a “total waste of taxpayers’ money” and this is yet another one of these tiresome whinges. When will it ever stop?
Garry Barnett claims that Gaelic signs are likely to cause accidents because drivers will take their eyes off the road for too long.
In that case, how do road accidents happen when there are no Gaelic signs?
John Devlin. 57 Blackwood Court, Glamis Road, Dundee.
Problem solved
Sir, Your correspondent Mr Barnett has a problem with bilingual road signs. Well, Mr Barnett, the solution is quite simple. Remove the foreign language and leave just the one Gaelic.
George T Watt. 4 Ancrum Drive, Dundee.
Not the largest naval exercise
Sir, I read with great interest your article regarding the key tactical naval exercise taking place off the Angus coast which you state is the largest tactical military exercise in the history of Europe.
Can I just say, I think you are a little off the mark. Maybe this is the largest exercise in modern times, but I was involved in Exercise Strikeback in 1957 which consisted of 480 ships and submarines along with army and RAF units from the UK and Europe along with other NATO forces which I think may considerably outnumber the ships and other units taking part in this coming exercise.
In fact,we had more submarines participating in Strikeback than total forces in Joint Warrior. Of course, that was when Britain still had a fleet.
Ron Blanchard (ex-RN). 177 Kinghorn Road, Burntisland.