Sir, I must write again in full support of Jenny Hjul’s well-written, researched and concise article about poll tax dodgers and refute to a great, if not total, extent her critics such as Les Mackay (letters, October 10). Jenny and I are not related, incidentally, nor do we know each other.
The poll tax was introduced and paid by responsible citizens long before any misguided and, in my opinion, dishonest banking executive nonsense. At that time banks in Britain were private business concerns. They were doing a great job helping Mrs Thatcher drag the country out of the socialist, bankrupting, poverty and deprivation creating, economic disasters of previous administrations.
Those who refused to pay the poll tax claim to have done so, quite illegally, for political reasons. It is not only reasonable, but to be expected, that local authorities continue to seek payment from those who refused to pay.
Those of us who did pay, whether Tories or Liberals (to refer to another of your correspondents) or not, should expect nothing less.
On the other side, I actually wrote to Gordon Brown, on a banking matter, when he was Chancellor with some responsibility for such matters. I suggested that banks should be investigated for “the way they were doing business”. The great man sidestepped this request from a mere mortal on the grounds that he was not my MP and passed my letter over to the late John MacDougall who was.
John did a great job for me a Conservative voter and got my particular problem sorted out. Unaware of how ill he was I am forever grateful.
A T Geddie. 68 Carleton Avenue, Glenrothes.
Use savings for work on A92
Sir, We should all have cause to celebrate that the Queensferry Crossing project will be completed well within budget (Courier, October 7). It may give cause for reflection too. What might these very considerable savings be used for?
I note that Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is pleased that earlier savings allowed much needed work on the dualling of the A9 to continue. It may be time for some money to be used for improvements to the A92 through Fife, part of the link between the existing Forth and Tay road bridges.
It is not necessary to get involved in pipe dreams about dualling the entire road. A good start could be made, however, at improving the Redhouse roundabout north of Kirkcaldy. This is an area where there are frequent delays at goodness knows what cost to businesses and to the patience of drivers and bus users.
There are other important improvements called for further up the road at Balfarg and at various points between Freuchie and Dundee.
Fife MPs, MSPs, councillors and officials should be pressing the Scottish government now for at least part of the Queensferry Crossing savings to be spent on the A92.
Bob Taylor. 24 Shiel Court, Glenrothes.
‘Settled’ claim is absurd
Sir, The absurd claim that climate science is “settled” has distorted public and policy debates on issues related to energy, greenhouse gas emissions and the environment.
The climate is always changing and the crucial scientific problem is predicting the consequences of the very small human influence (around 1%) on such a highly variable system.
This is complicated by our poor understanding of effect of the oceans and the feedback from water vapour and clouds that dramatically mute the response to human and natural influences.
Finally the computer modelling of these systems is as much an art as a science and involves too much guesswork and wishful thinking especially in the IPCC’s “Summary for Policy Makers”.
Sadly a public official reading the summary would gain little sense of these deficiencies and this has led to risible and hugely expensive government schemes such as Scotland’s “dash for wind”.
Dr John Cameron. 10 Howard Place, St Andrews.
More fortunate than others
Sir, Your article in Thursday’s paper stated that academics at some local universities may be “bottom of the table for staff pensions”.
You fail to recognise that even after the proposed changes to the Universities Superannuation Scheme the benefits are still significantly greater than most other pension schemes, particularly those in the private sector where defined benefit schemes are now almost extinct.
It’s about time the University and College Union realised how fortunate their members are compared to the majority of tax payers who pay for their salaries, benefits and holidays.
Robert Kett. Blackness Road, Dundee.
Remember the water strike . . .
Sir, UNISON are calling a strike on October 21 despite (on their own figures) fewer than 10% of their members voting for one.
Other unions involved with Cosla have accepted the pay offer so what is Unison’s plan? Could it be, as in the water worker’s strike of 1983, that they are warring with the other unions for members?
Council staff should heed what happened in the water industry then. Manual workers such as trench diggers, etc., were very soon replaced by contractors which led to depots being closed and local jobs lost. Councils exist to provide services, not jobs, and councillors have a duty to obtain best value for our taxes which sustain them.
John Dorward. 89 Brechin Road, Arbroath.