Sir, It really is not appropriate for Perth and North Perthshire MP Pete Wishart to be laying out his views, once again, on what should happen to the City Hall (Pressure grows to pull down City Hall, Courier front page story, December 29).
While we might all have our views on this and may even agree with him it really is the role of locally elected councillors to take this decision when the time comes.
We will know in January if a viable use has been found for the hall. Jumping the gun at this stage will only getpeople’s backs up for no good reason.
Pete Wishart, I seem to recall, did the same last time around, proclaiming his views just before an important deadline. I am coming to the conclusion that while the issue is certainly divisive, our local MP is part of the problem, stirring the pot at sensitive times to destructive effect.
The answer is simple, namely that different layers of government must respect the remit to be fulfilled by others, and to respect those individuals who are presumably working hard to develop an alternative use for the property.
Who knows, they may pull a rabbit out of the hat.
Pete Wishart is elected to deal with bigger issues and in an election year he should be doing more than leaning on council officials on problems like this. It would be better for all concerned if he just stayed out of it.
Victor Clements. Mamie’s Cottage, Aberfeldy.
Showing a lack of respect
Sir, The whole of the electorate would expect our Westminster MP to show some respect for the Scottish Parliament as supreme planning authority, but your front page story (December 29) displays Pete Wishart’s contempt for the Scottish ministers whose responsibility for the future of Perth City Hall he seeks to override.
It also demonstrates his contempt for Perth andKinross Council’s current remarketing of the building, the closing date for which is not until January 16, which he seeks to pre-empt. And it reveals his contempt forHistoric Scotland.
In all, Pete Wishart is guilty of precisely what his party, the SNP, so often has cause to complain about: Westminster riding roughshod over Scottish local interests.
He carefully avoids the issue of the cost of the scheme which he advocates, because neither Holyrood nor our council can possibly agree with him that, in face of the heavy cuts in expenditure which they have to implement, to spend £4 million on destroying local businesses by turning the city centre into a building site for two years in order to create a useless back yard, is a necessary priority.
Revitalising City Hall is the essential prerequisite popular and profitable for revitalising our city centre.
Vivian Linacre. 21 Marshall Place, Perth.
State of roads is a disgrace
Sir, The condition of our roads can only be viewed as a national disgrace. Littered with potholes and cracks, it is nothing short of neglect and not what we might expect from “the 14th richest country in the world” as highlighted so many times by the SNP.
Indeed, it is reported that almost £3 million has been handed out by local authorities in the last five years tocompensate drivers whose vehicles had been damaged by potholes.
Local councils claim they have no money for the necessary repairs, but contrast this with the comparable devotion towards speed bump construction and repairs. Has anyone assessed the damage cars might suffer from speed bumps? And it would seem they serve no useful purpose as calming agents, rather they are seen as inviting facilities for young would-be rally drivers to bump over them.
Money seems readily available in that direction. If the construction material for the bumps had been used to fill potholes instead our roads might not be in such a state. There seems to be a lack of action nationally and locally, when it comes to prioritising these repairs.
David L Thomson. 24 Laurence Park, Kinglassie.
Why SNP have such a big lead
Sir, Angus Brown states in his letter (December 27) that Yes suffered a “massive defeat” by No in the referendum. Can I remind him that only a five-point swing would have achieved independence hardly a “massive” gap, and that opinion polls now indicate a clear Yes majority?
Mr Brown also claims that the “allegation” that Labour and the Tories have “joined forces” is “quickly dispelled by comparing their respective policies”. Let’s do that.
The 2015 election will likely be fought on three key battleground issues: the economy, immigration and, in Scotland at least, devolution. In each of these important policy areas, Labour and the Tories are indistinguishable.
George Osborne plans more than £55 billion worth of further spending cuts to public services, which Ed Balls has committed Labour tocontinuing.
On immigration, in an attempt to ape Ukip, bothparties are pledging to dramatically reduce immigration, which will inevitably damage the economy and hurt inter-community relations.
On devolution, both parties are committed to the Smith Commission proposals and no further, despite the fact that they fall well short of delivering the “devo-max” devolution of all powers except defence, foreign affairs and monetary policy which they promised to Scotland before the referendum.
Clearly, there are some minor or superficial differences between Labour and the Tories, but, in terms of substantive policy divergence, there is virtually none. No wonder the SNP have such a gargantuan poll lead.
David Kelly. 17 Highfields, Dunblane.
Last to see this view?
Sir, Today I was in paradise on Ben Tirran in Glen Clova. The sun shone, the frost sparkled and there was not a breath of wind. Then the thought occurred to me is my generation of hillwalkers to be the last to enjoy this magnificent view?
I thought of three simple questions for our urban-orientated government:
How much electric power was used in Scotland on Christmas Day and Boxing Day? How much energy was produced by windfarms on these two days? When is the government going to change its insane energy policy, which enriches landowners, impoverishes electricity users and ruins our priceless landscape?
When I returned home I read The Courier and was appalled by the plans for Glen Isla and just south of the Cairngorms National Park. What is the point of designating areas as national parks if developers are allowed to ruin the scenery close to them?
Jack Greenway. 9B The Esplanade, Broughty Ferry, Dundee.
SNP just in blind pursuit of target
Sir, Scottish ministers were forced to admit that in the past three years not one single building on the Scottish Government’s 79-building estate has seen any improvement on its energy performance certificate.
Their mantra is: “don’t do as I do, do as I tell you”.
They have repeatedly scolded people to be more “energy efficient” but the Scottish Parliament building with its leaking design, repair problems and high energy use is a major emitter of CO2.
Politicians told us to use our cars less and walk, but they are driven around in limos and taxis.
The SNP policy on wind turbines in every nook and cranny in Scotland has led to high electricity prices, fuel poverty and people sitting shivering in inadequately heated houses.
SNP politicians choose to ignore such hardships and only look for reductions in CO2 that go towards their boast of the “best renewables targets in the world”.
Clark Cross. 138 Springfield Road, Linlithgow.
Is Canadian way the answer?
Sir, A salary of £110,000 a year, no out-of-hours working, and an earnings-related pension is a pay and conditions package beyond the wildest dreams of most British workers.
Yet it is not enough to attract GPs to the badlands of the North or the Midlands and £20,000 “golden hellos” are a joke to those in comfortable southern pastures or elsewhere.
NHS Medical Director Bruce Keogh implores people to stay away from A&E units close to breaking point, but where are the poor in Britain’s industrial graveyards expected to go?
Since Labour’s disastrous 2004 contract negotiations allowed GPs to earn more money while opting out of evening and weekend care, thedoctor-patient relationship has broken down.
Canada writes off student debts and pays a lot more to GPs who work in isolated areas while cutting back on the salaries in the “fat lands”. Have we the courage to do the same?
Dr John Cameron. 10 Howard Place, St Andrews.
A Middle East lesson for UK?
Sir, As we in the UK come to terms with the challenges presented by the steep fall in oil prices we should maybe learn a lesson from the Middle Eastern state of Saudi Arabia, which has 90% of its revenues coming from oil and recently unveiled its 2015 budget.
This budget signalled the government’s intention to maintain its large public spending policy despite such a fall. Indeed, it will increase public spending by just under 1%, building infrastructure and creating jobs while investing in key sectors such as health and education as it looks to diversify its oil-based economy.
While it acknowledges that its budget deficit will increase to $38.6 billion this is unlikely to impact on the country as the IMF estimates that Saudi Arabia has about $750 billion in foreign exchange reserves built up over the years from oil sales.
No one can disagree that oil prices are volatile, but there is clearly a lesson here for the UK in establishing an oil fund, allowing us to reap the rewards in the good times and maintaining spending when times are tougher.
Alex Orr. 77 Leamington Terrace, Edinburgh.
That’s it over at last, but…
Sir, Well, that’s Christmas over again for another nine months.
Alister Rankin. 93 Whyterose Terrace, Methil, Leven.