Sir, – It has been suggested that benign dictatorship produces better results than a multi-party democracy that tries to please everyone, but misses the way forward, and so pleases no one.
The Singapore style of government is a good example of how a country can work for
the good of its populace, without differences of political opinion that the electorate does not fully understand and – if truth be known – does not really care about when things are going well.
In 1959 the People’s Action Party came to office in Singapore, and has been returned at every general election since.
The party is widely perceived to be competent, and its minor foibles are tolerated as a small price to pay for prosperity.
If Scotland is once again to be dominated by a single party, perhaps that Singaporean model should be studied, and some lessons learned about increasing national wealth, instead of just deciding who gets what from a cake that is
getting smaller.
Malcolm Parkin.
15 Gamekeepers Road,
Kinnesswood,
Kinross.
Britain’s debt to the Queen
Sir, – As we begin the celebrations of the Queen’s 90th birthday I have to express how proud I am of being a citizen of the United Kingdom, where we are greatly privileged to have a dedicated monarch.
In her long reign, Her Majesty has carried out her duties with courage, selflessness, dignity and humility and has done this country proud with her prolonged service to the nation and to God.
In a time of ever-increasing political correctness in this country where Christianity is becoming less prevalent, the Queen has remained, with courage, true to her faith, something she reminds us of each Christmas.
She is not afraid to mention her Christian faith and this is also demonstrated daily in actions through the way Her Majesty carries out her duties and has done so over many decades.
I wish her a very happy birthday and thank her for her service to the people of this country and the Commonwealth.
And I pray Her Majesty will continue to reign over us for as long as she is able.
Gordon Kennedy.
117 Simpson Square,
Perth.
Scotland needs opposition
Sir, – Your series of reports on five areas of performance against which the Scottish
Government should be judged was good journalism.
The reports were revealing and generally very fair.
I disagree with one or two points and judgments and would have awarded a fail mark on “wealthier”, leading to an overall fail for the SNP Government’s performance over the past four years, but I am a Conservative and Unionist and, therefore, not well disposed toward separatists.
This exercise reveals, above all, the need for a well-led, determined, articulate and robust opposition to the SNP government in Holyrood, for there is little doubt that the SNP will be returned on May 5.
Labour has had its chance and it has failed. The Lib Dems will not offer credible opposition.
Ruth Davidson and her Conservative and Unionists are the only party which will have the mettle to challenge, counterbalance and oppose the next SNP administration in Holyrood.
Roger Guy.
Crawley House,
Springfield,
by Cupar.
Support small green projects
Sir, – Business, Energy and Tourism Minister Fergus Ewing took advantage of the photo opportunity at the St Andrews University biomass site (April 14).
You reported the minister was “extremely impressed” with progress, and said the project was part of SNP plans to “take full advantage” of Scotland’s natural resources for the production of energy.
As Athole Stewart (April 16) pointed out, the university’s aim to become carbon neutral is laudable but there are valid criticisms of biomass. The large area of new planting required to absorb the carbon emissions means it simply cannot be widely applied to meet energy demands.
The Perth and Kinross Council project for a heat pump using the River Tay, and a tie-in with a solar park, has more potential for general applicability (April 15).
However, this also has significant limitations. A solar park occupies a significant area of land, and not everyone has a river on their doorstep.
And, where’s the sun when you need it for heating your house on a winter’s evening?
Sustainable Cupar’s proposal would deal with all these issues.
The solar panels would be on house roofs, so no additional land is required, and the heat pump would use waste water from houses. Proven technology would store the heat, generated from the sun in the summer, to warm the houses through the winter.
Despite the Scottish Government stating planning of rural towns and their surrounding areas must support decarbonisation of heat, Local Energy Scotland, the Scottish Government’s organisation to “help Scotland’s communities benefit from renewable energy”, considers this does not apply if a big commercial organisation doesn’t want it to.
Sustainable Cupar is not getting any help there. So much for the Scottish Government’s talk of “community empowerment”.
Is that another difference between the projects mentioned above? The University of St Andrews and Perth and Kinross Council are big public organisations, Sustainable Cupar is just a small community one.
Gordon Pay.
Coordinator
Sustainable Cupar Town Development Group.
Give credit to public servants
Sir, – Although there is much criticism of local authorities’ general policies, I should like to remind readers of how staff at the sharp end fulfil their tasks with unfailing courtesy, patience and efficiency.
Over recent months I have had occasion to deal with several departments of Fife Council and received nothing but the most professional attention, even in most trying circumstances.
Certainly there are situations where the system and establishment can be found wanting but in my experience there are many individuals providing quite excellent service to the community.
Ken Cameron.
11 St Michaels Drive,
Cupar.
Do not revise ex-PM’s legacy
Sir, – Revisionists have been trying to present Margaret Thatcher in a positive light of late.
Our former Prime Minister allowed the Falklands’ defences to run down so low as to almost encourage invasion from Argentina.
Our housing crisis can be traced back to Mrs Thatcher’s decision to sell off large chunks of Britain’s housing stock at fire-sale prices.
Our family silver, if it wasn’t nailed down, was flogged to any foreign company, which is why we have the absurd situation of British people subsidising cheap energy for French citizens, as the French own big chunks of our utilities.
RMF Brown.
Hill Terrace,
Markinch.
