Sir, – The shadow home secretary announced to the nation that the Brexit referendum should be ignored, which explains why the opposition party are determined to block the UK leaving the EEC.
However, is this democracy?
The referendum must be ratified by Westminster but should MPs follow the will of their constituents, the will of political parties, the media, or their own feelings?
What is democratic?
Being part of the EEC means being governed by Germany and paying £9 billion every year for the privilege.
As such, if it takes four years to leave, then £40 billion is a bargain, provided we can go amicably with a good market arrangement.
Remaining in the free market and customs union is the same as being in the EEC.
There is no difference so to argue this would be to contradict the referendum.
Does it not seem incongruous to Scots that the first minister, who supports independence, should wish to drag the country into a union run by a coalition German government, which might include Nazi sympathizers, supported by an army of unelected bureaucrats.
Only recently we remembered those who gave their lives over many years to ensure the future democratic freedom and indeed independence of the United Kingdom.
It behooves us all to remember why – and to consider what an independent Britain could mean for future generations.
Alan Bell.
Roods,
Kirriemuir.
Brexit bumbling bad for Scotland
Sir, – Well, this Brexit thing is really showing up the remarkable incompetence of the UK “negotiating team” isn’t it?
Bumbling from one disaster to the next, the ineptitude of the PM and David Davis is in danger of making Boris Johnson look almost like a statesman.
And now, following on from the Secretary of State for Scotland’s inability to speak up for Scotland, we have Ruth Davidson saying no part of the UK should have a separate Brexit deal.
In effect Davidson is now arguing for a deal that would be the worst possible outcome for the Scottish economy.
Increasingly it is becoming obvious that the Holyrood opposition will prop up this failing UK at whatever cost and we will be dragged down with the rest of the UK.
Better Together? Aye, right.
Graeme Finnie.
Balgillo,
Albert Street,
Blairgowrie.
Urgent action required
Sir, – If last month’s budget did one thing it revealed, at last, the true state of the British economy.
We have the lowest level of productivity in Western Europe.
We also have austerity, which is predicted to continue over the next ten years and there appears to be little hope of improving people’s standard of living during that period.
We are also beginning to shine a light on the true cost of Brexit.
There are a number of ways in which we can quickly improve the country’s productivity.
They may not be popular but will be effective.
The first would be to end, by law, zero hour contracts in the workplace, except where it can be proven that such a measure would be detrimental to the success of the business.
Secondly, it should be mandatory for local and national government to source, where possible and if economically viable, raw materials and project management from local UK companies.
In both cases and, given the urgency of the situation, it will not be necessary to go through the various committee stages, but could be done though an “Order in Council”.
Since we do not yet know the true cost of Brexit and the mysteries that surround it, we should put any decisions regarding timescales back until such time as we know the full costs.
The Tory party got us into this and it should be the Tory Government that sorts things out.
The smokescreen of “driverless cars” and electric charging points, while laudable, are not immediate and should not get in the way of what has to be done.
Harry Wills.
Feus House,
By Cupar,
Fife.
Back to school for Mr Swinney
Sir, – John Swinney has recently stated that he wants Scotland’s education system to be “the best in the world”.
I apologise for asking Mr Swinney, but is that not what Scotland had before his party came to power?
RHL Mulheron.
28 Cowgate,
Tayport.
Banking is a personal affair
Sir, – Having seen reports on television and read articles in The Courier about the Royal Bank of Scotland planning to close 62 branches in Scotland, I write to express my disappointment, disgust, anger and outrage.
The RBS management appears to be totally out of touch with its workers, not to mention its customers.
The excuse is, apparently, the increase in online and telephone banking.
However, what is forgotten is that many people like myself use the ATM and prefer to speak to a member of staff at our local branch.
Banking is a personal business.
As such it should not be regarded as a slave to technology.
Such a move is making banking impersonal and potentially leaves it open to illegal practices.
I fully support The Courier’s campaign to save our banks.
Alister Y Allan.
18 Castle View,
Letham,
Perth.
Two decades of failure
Sir, – It all started with the cliché “Scottish solutions for Scottish problems”.
Sadly every Scottish problem which existed in 1997 is still with us while we are awash with Scottish solutions to non-existent problems such as fox hunting and global warming.
Two decades of leftist government has made no impact whatsoever on the patterns of deprivation and inequality which are the worst blemishes on Scottish life.
Setting a minimum price of 50p per unit of alcohol – Holyrood’s “prohibition-for-the-poor”– is pure tokenism and won’t break our ruinous relationship with drink.
It’s also hard to believe that John Swinney, one of the few competent MSPs, could involve himself in something as fatuous and counter- productive as the named person scheme.
Every power devolved to Holyrood, especially in such key areas as education, housing, transport, police, health and social services has been totally mishandled.
Devolution’s only real accomplishment has been to suck the life out of our once vibrant local councils which actually did try to pragmatically address their constituent’s problems.
Rev Dr John Cameron.
10 Howard Place,
St Andrews.
A bridge too far for one writer
Sir, – In his indecent haste to voice one of his incessant criticisms of the Scottish Government, Martin Redfern (letters, December 4) has only succeeded to highlight his lack of rationale.
He claims he can state with confidence the First Minister’s explanation to the Scottish Parliament that the recent minor repair work associated with the new Forth road bridge as snagging is totally wrong.
He claims to know this for certain because the snagging he experienced following a recent move to a new build domestic property is no different to that associated with the 1.7 mile long surface of a complex multi- million pound river crossing.
Surprisingly an independent expert civil engineer does not agree with him and described the snagging problems as perfectly normal for a project of this scale.
Like the rest of us, Mr Redfern has the right to express his views but he could do himself a big favour by ensuring that his comments are factually based, otherwise his contributions like this one may turn out to be risible.
Allan A MacDougall.
37 Forth Park,
Bridge of Allan.
Beware the scammers
Sir, – We were underwhelmed when the bank replaced our debit cards with contactless ones.
The latter can be read from yards away by anyone with a little knowledge and the appropriate iPhone app.
With contactless it’s open season for skimmer-scammers.
James Stevenson.
Drummond Avenue,
Auchterarder.
