Madam, – Twenty years since the reinstatement of the Scottish Parliament, the record of devolution to date is mixed.
Devolution and successive Scottish governments have ushered in a number of worthwhile progressive as well as defensive measures.
These include the smoking ban, anti-poverty measures and free prescription and care home fees and has, arguably, brought decision-making closer to home.
For the past five to 10 years however, constitutional matters such as Scottish independence and Brexit have taken virulent hold of Britain’s body politic and we have all suffered as day-to-day business affecting the lives of ordinary citizens is ignored and neglected.
The ever-escalating farce of Westminster may offer Scots comfort that Holyrood exists.
But that is setting the bar too low.
There are serious concerns that the government in Scotland has accelerated centralisation in Edinburgh and Glasgow, has emasculated local authorities and has engaged in excessive virtue signalling in aspects such as climate, poverty and others, while delivering limited few real improvements.
In Levenmouth, there are now two major reinstatement campaigns running.
The first is to bring jobs to the Bifab yard in Methil and to reopen the rail link.
Both matters should be easily addressed by active devolved government if they live up to their rhetoric.
Devolved government is no panacea but the fact these two campaigns are needed in one neglected sub-region is the clearest indication that it is not working that well.
Stuart McIntosh,
Kirkland Walk,
Methil.
Nostalgia’s a thing of the past
Madam, – Just as sullen Scots were suffering a surfeit of Hunt and Boris last week, up popped Gordon Brown, by request to strains of “Will ye no come back again?” – (will ye please no come back again).
Yesterday’s man’s intervention suggests he has something to sell, like a shiny new vow.
Now Bojo, who’d sell Scotland down the river at the drop of a boater, would like to bring back flogging.
He’s in the grand tradition of Mrs T, who flogged the family silver, Brown who flogged the family gold and May who has been flogging a dead horse.
Alluding to Scotland’s status, Brown’s “stronger within the union” message contradicts the Tory Leadership Contenders’ version of “stranger within the union”.
Is it time to renew our vows?
Well, it has been a blast, Gordon, but nostalgia’s a thing of the past.
James Stevenson,
Drummond Avenue,
Auchterarder.
Views on PM race not wanted
Madam, – I have just come off the phone to a lady who advised me she represented a polling company who were carrying out a survey into which of the two Tory leadership candidates voters north of the border felt would best serve Scotland’s interests.
My response was these millionaires had very little in common with 95% of the Scottish electorate and both were pledged to take us out of the EU, which is not what Scotland voted for and is inimical to our best interests.
I reminded her that when Jeremy Hunt was Health Secretary he slashed NHS spending in England so severely that numerous hospitals went into the red and targets in cancer care, hospital appointments and A&E waiting times were missed for four consecutive years.
I asked the lady if she was aware of Boris Johnson’s astonishing belittling of Scotland as recently as Saturday at a Tory leadership hustings in Carlisle.
After listening very politely to my mini-rant the nice lady explained that unfortunately the polling survey was not structured to take account of my views and, regrettably, they could not be included.
Alan Woodcock,
23 Osborne Place, Dundee.
Brexit garden won’t be rosy
Madam,– Vauxhall will close down their UK business and concentrate manufacturing in the EU if there is a hard Brexit.
More than 1,000 Japanese businesses will relocate to the EU following a no deal Brexit.
Today we find the EU has clinched a trade deal with Mercosur, a bloc made up of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
It took 20 years to negotiate and is the UK’s biggest ever trade deal.
Brazil’s president described the deal as “one of the most important” of all time.
Meanwhile Brexiteers lead by Johnson, Hunt and Farage (with the tacit support of Corbyn and his Corbynistas) are happy to lead the UK over the cliff to economic disaster.
They are liberal with the truth when they try to assure us the disaster will not be too bad and very soon we will all feel the benefit of having destroyed our existing trade deals.
They want us to disengage our brains and believe that virtually overnight they can replicate all the benefits of deals that in the real world take decades to negotiate.
Harry Key.
20 Mid Street,
Largoward.
Pride but not without pitfalls
Madam, – I have very mixed feelings about the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York, which falls this week.
Undoubtedly, gay and transgender Americans were persecuted in almost all US states at the time.
The Stonewall riots served a similar role to Rosa Parks’ famous stand against racially segregated bus seating, and the wider evil of segregation.
However, with the benefit of hindsight we can see the gay rights movement has led not to gays and lesbians simply enjoying the same rights on the same basis as other citizens, but to a divisive politics of group identity and intrusive non-discrimination laws, which have trampled on individual freedom.
In a free society, people are entitled to be wrong.
The baker should be entitled to refuse to bake a cake, and the B&B owner should be entitled to give notice they will decline business from those whose lifestyle they disapprove of.
A free society offers two simple remedies, which don’t involve state power or the courts: take your hard-earned cash to another business and publicise the fact the first business turned your custom away.
It is time to realise with humility more than Pride that not all the consequences of the Stonewall riots were good.
Otto Inglis
6 Inveralmond Grove
Edinburgh.
Will Amazon be the exception?
Madam, – Several politicians have made noises recently that Amazon should be obliged to pay taxes in line with other companies in the UK.
Are they aware that Amazon pay all the taxes they are due to pay?
Amazon had a turnover of almost £2 billion in 2018, they have 18,000 employee and had sales transactions of around three billion in that year.
It ought to be obvious that many people appreciate the convenience of having goods delivered to their door.
Do politicians seek to remove the benefits and tax Amazon on a unique basis?
A A Bullions.
6 Glencairn Crescent,
Leven.
