Sir, – Each generation has its bogey man.
In the not so distant past it was witches.
Today it is GM crops. However, for Rob Gibson, chairman of Holyrood’s rural affairs committee, to admit it did not take scientific advice before deciding, under EU rules, to elect to ban the growing of GM crops is both breathtaking and deeply worrying.
Clearly, it was a case of “don’t confuse us with the facts, our minds are made up”.
Such a closed-minded approach is bound to lead to bad decisions especially as, as far as I can determine, the Scottish Government totally lacks any MSPs with a relevant or credible scientific background.
There are, however, plenty with training in history, politics, social sciences and law.
Rob Gibson is proud (see his website) to be an organic gardener, so it is no surprise he is against GM technology.
But he, and many others, have been misled.
Opposition to GM technology has been spearheaded by a small group of idealists with fundamentalist views.
They have been very effective at manipulating the public’s views by misinformation and emotive arguments.
But, as reported in your article (October 10), Professor Dame Anne Glover is correct to assert that GM technology is well tested, safe and that GM crops have major environmental and public benefits.
We live in society based and dependent on science and technology.
Any government, especially one that lacks members with the ppropriate expertise, has a duty to consult and listen to the appropriate experts before making decisions.
To do otherwise is, I suggest, both unacceptable and, ultimately, likely to be extremely damaging.
Dr D Trudgill. The Steading, Newmill, Blairgowrie.
Angus people must fight cuts
Sir, – With reference to Sanjay Samani’s letter (October 10) Angus Council has already axed home helps, and tenancy-support officers are not the only other service now threatened by their review.
While we would be extremely sorry to lose the friendly faces of our own TSOs, from a meeting with council officials in Edzell on October 4, it sounded like the council is considering a whole range of cuts to services for the elderly.
It sounded like some sheltered housing complexes could close and those that remain will experience a reduction of services in general.
Sanjay mentioned having met with residents of a complex in Montrose. Folk all across Angus need to link up to resist these cuts.
Dave Coull. 7 Inglis Court, Edzell.
No room for secrecy
Sir, – The problems faced by community councils in Courier Country are far from unique.
A national study carried out by Edinburgh-Napier University in 2014 found that of a potential 1,369 community councils, 15% do not exist, so Angus’ lack of provision, as you reported, at 16% is only just over the norm.
The important question is why community councils are struggling to find nominees.
To be sure, when community councils manage to scrape a quorum together, public attendance at meetings is often so poor that it is a wonder anyone bothers at all.
One reason why community councils struggle to attract people is that they lack transparency and accountability.
A key tool for making 21st Century institutions more open and accountable is the internet.
It can provide easy access to contact details, important local information and news, minutes, planning applications, consultations, polls and scope for citizens’ input.
Yet according to the Edinburgh-Napier study, less than a quarter of community councils maintain an online presence.
Inspired by Burntisland Community Council’s model use of online media to engage its citizens, the new chair and secretary of another Fife community council created a website for minutes, members’
interests and news plus both online and door-to-door polls to gauge residents’ opinions on several local issues.
They received next to no support from fellow members.
When they asked for minutes for groups on which members represented the community council and which were responsible for spending hundreds of thousands of pounds, they were met with obstruction.
In the end, the chair and secretary resigned. No one in the wider community I spoke to was surprised.
If anything, they felt vindicated yet again in giving the community council a wide berth.
A few heroic volunteers on their own cannot hope to prevail against such entrenched secrecy and cronyism.
Why are our elected politicians prepared to tolerate rotten burghs at community council level?
Is it because the democratic deficit in hyper-local government suits them?
Linda Holt. Dreel House, Pittenweem.
SNP has taken eye off the ball
Sir, – I was interested to read Kieran Andrews’ article, Boots on the ground means pounds in the bank (October 10) in which he attempts an analysis of the spend by all parties in north-east Fife at the General Election.
Quoting Stephen Gethins of the SNP as to why his party’s spending was so low, Mr Gethins attributes this to party activists on the ground delivering leaflets. Not so.
A better analysis is based on the fact that the Liberal Democrat Focus team, which delivers leaflets all year round, can cover the constituency in a week.
In comparison, it takes the Conservatives four-and-a-half weeks.
Labour has never ever delivered to the full constituency and the SNP takes three weeks to cover the same ground.
If Mr Gethins’ party spend is so low, a more probable reason is that you don’t spend money on printed leaflets that you cannot deliver.
On the second part of his analysis, Mr Andrews looks ahead to next year’s Holyrood elections as I am sure do Willie Rennie and his Liberal Democrat team.
We will be looking forward to exposing the SNP’s failure in government such as the closing of Cupar Sheriff Court, the failure of the unified police force structure, the lack of spending on further educationcolleges and the health service and many more issues which are only now coming to light.
We will be making a concise case about the SNP Government, still whinging about their failure in the referendum last year, having taken their eye off the ball and failed to govern Scotland properly.
Harry Wills. North East Fife Liberal Democrats, Feus House, Kedlock Feus, By Cupar.
Britain taken for a ride by Europe
Sir, – David Cameron is wasting his time negotiating with the EU.
It would be better to simply ignore those EU diktats that are a hindrance, just as all other EU member states do.
The expensive working time directive is ignored in Germany, the only really properly industrialised EU member, and is irrelevant to the peasant economy countries of Spain, Italy, France and Greece.
I doubt if Ireland even bothered to read it and Portugal is still too busy building roads and bridges that they don’t need using the cheap cash-only labour of immigrants and pocketing the difference.
Luxembourg is occupied with laundering money and the former Soviet states are just freeloading to their hearts’ content.
Only the poor, daft British seem to take the crackpot EU seriously.
Pragmatism and positive action are needed to gain advantage from the European project before it collapses.
There is no benefit to getting a better seat on a sinking ship.
Malcolm Parkin. Gamekeepers Road, Kinnesswood, Kinross.
Elderly suffer under Tories
Sir, – George Osborne is steeling himself to hit the poor and that includes pensioners who claim housing benefits and top-ups.
The very poor may not starve on the streets of Great Britain but tens of thousands will lose the will to carry on.
They will never live to 100 which will save billions of pounds to hand out to the very well off.
Tom Black. 83 Lawside Road, Dundee.
Formula for cash handout?
Sir, – Couldn’t help noticing that Bernie Ecclestone is looking for government funding to stage the next British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
May I suggestthat he writes to Fiona Hyslop who may have a few quid to spare.
DS Stewart. 8L Tulloch Road, Perth.
Turn off this migrant tap
Sir, – According to a leaked document,
Germany will attract 1.5 million asylum seekers this year, not 800,000.
With each migrant having four to eight family members the number could swell to seven million. Asylum seekers already in Germany have no respect for the police and are driving a surge in violent crime.
In Dresden, migrants from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia sell drugs and pickpocket.
In Hamburg, police are overwhelmed by crimes by migrants.
In Stuttgart, asylum seekers from Gambia are openly trafficking drugs.
More than 80% of violent crimes registered in Berlin are committed by non-Germans.
Andre Schulz, head of the association of criminal police, said that this latest influx of migrants to Germany is effectively importing 100,000 additional criminals.
Until Britain turns off the migrant tap, similar criminal activity will invade a town near you.
Clark Cross. 138 Springfield Road, Linlithgow.