Sir, – During the recent controversial legal battle between the RSPB and Mainstream Renewable Power (MRP) over the Neart na Gaoithe (NNG) offshore wind turbines, we have witnessed via articles and adverts numerous beneficial claims by MRP in relation to local job creation and investment in Scotland associated with the £2 billion planned development.
Now that MRP has overcome this legal challenge and NNG construction will soon commence, can I ask the Scottish Government and/or Fife Council to request that MRP provides a periodic report on the veracity of these job and investment claims?
History and past experience would suggest that a mere 15%, at best, of the investment in such a project will be spent in Scotland and that the high-value components will be sourced overseas.
As far as local job creation is concerned, based on experience of similar projects, very few Fife, or even Scottish, jobs will be created.
The main beneficiaries will most likely be Denmark or Germany through the supply of the high-value turbines and continental workers with skills in offshore turbine erection.
I would be delighted to be proved wrong but, having watched other developments of a similar nature, I challenge Andy Kinsella of MRP or Paul Wheelhouse of the Scottish Government to prove me wrong.
Dr GM Lindsay.
Whinfield Gardens,
Kinross.
Putting a figure on atheism
Sir, – There are now an estimated 2.2 billion Christians worldwide, estimated by Pew Research Centre to grow to 2.8 billion by the middle of this century
Neil Barber is correct, however, in commenting that in the United Kingdom, Christianity is diminishing in popularity.
In the 2011 British census, 59% of people – 33 million – put their religion down as Christian.
In the same census, 25% of people – or 14 million – confirmed they had no religion.
Identifying oneself as a Christian in Britain is certainly down from the 2001 census figure of 72%.
But we must await the 2021 census to know whether Christianity in Britain has fewer subscribers than atheism.
Andrew Lothian.
69 Dundee Road,
Broughty Ferry.
Nationalism will disappear
Sir, – I refer to the letter from Colin Mayall (November 7) criticising those who found the Catalan insurrection unsupportable.
He appears not to have considered the fact that those elected to represent the region did not have the right, under the Spanish constitution, to make a unilateral declaration of independence.
Added to this was the fact that many residents of Catalonia did not vote for independence, in fact many did not vote at all.
No matter whether the non-voters’ actions were due to lethargy and a belief that the Spanish government would not tolerate the fragmentation of Spain, the fact remains that there never was a 100% region-wide support for the Catalan secessionists.
How long must we wait for independence ideologues to stop confusing the constitutional rights of sovereign states with the freedom of expression of regions within such states?
The Spanish government is on the high ground in this situation and is right to pursue what are revolutionaries through the justice system.
It is childish nonsense to attempt to assert otherwise, as Mr Mayall attempts to do.
Little wonder that the former head of the Catalan government receives zero political support from within the EU and elsewhere.
Nationalism will be seen a few years hence as just another flash in the pan, promoted by zealots on the back of unreal propaganda and fake news.
Derek Farmer.
Knightsward Farm,
Anstruther.
Warm memories of Beales’ store
Sir, – I am delighted that the department store Beales has opened in Perth.
My mother and I travelled from Nottingham to Bournemouth in 1970 to buy my honeymoon trousseau at Beales.
We had three joyful days together.
After 47 years of marriage, I remember so well the lovely ambience of the store, choice and welcoming staff.
I cannot wait to experience the same qualities in the Fair City.
Jonquil Goulder.
Hill of Bendochy,
Coupar Angus.
Workers failed by political class
Sir, – The revelations of Paradise Papers show that the super-rich are a law unto themselves.
There will be the usual declarations that those named in the papers have done nothing illegal.
However, the Paradise Papers show Britain and its dependent territories stand at the epicentre of an international web of corruption serving the interests of a financial oligarchy that rules the entire planet.
The Tories and their government of multi- millionaires and aristocrats preside over savage austerity and the destruction of jobs, wages and essential services, all for the purpose of making those they serve, and who pay no tax, even richer
None of the anger aroused among workers by the exposure of this cesspool of greed and corruption finds genuine expression within the official political set-up in the United Kingdom.
Alan Hinnrichs.
2 Gillespie Terrace,
Dundee.
My father’s war trauma
Sir, – As I watch a television discussion about post-traumatic stress disorder, I was reminded of my father on return from five years’ service in the Royal Artillery division of the 8th Army.
When a small box arrived by registered post a few months after his return, he refused to open it and put it in a drawer.
My curiosity got the better of me as a 10-year-old and I got the box, opened it and attached ribbons to the six medals.
When my father arrived home from work I got a severe telling off and was told to put the medals back into the drawer and it was made clear that he did not want to see them again.
He refused to say anything about his war experience in Africa, Italy, Germany and Belgium.
AA Bullions.
6 Glencairn Crescent,
Leven.
