Sir, Faith groups were assured by Nicola Sturgeon in December 2011 that the Government respected the beliefs of all faith groups in Scotland.
The Scottish Government chose to release another statement re belief groups and, as I see it, a redefinition of family life in Scotland.
This was released during Christmastide 2012, further it was on a Sunday and finally and most disturbingly, it was issued on a special Sunday with a title The Holy Family!
If the SNP claim that they did not know the significance of the date of release, then they have shown ignorance and disrespect to Christians who will vote in the referendum.
I cannot think that this was deliberately chosen that would be an enormous gaffe by the SNP.
Ms Sturgeon also gave guarantees that faith groups would be given exemption from the Equality Act which is proposed as the vehicle for delivery of same sex marriage in 2014.
It was only recently that women drivers were told they have to pay the same as male drivers for insurance cover according to the appropriate Equality Act proving that gaining exceptions from an equality law will prove to be time consuming and costly to the taxpayer.
Interestingly, England and Wales are going down the human rights road to SSMs and have guaranteed that if the rights of faith groups cannot be protected, the act will not be passed. I assume Westminster was not impressed by the route the Scottish Government had chosen.
Philip Kearns. 47 Grove Road, Dundee.
Nuclear would provide well-paid jobs
Sir, John Crichton asks, but does not answer, the question of how people in various locations feel about nuclear plants and shale gas. Well, I can provide some answers.
The people of Sellafield, Hunterston and Chapelcross have regularly expressed their support for nuclear power which provides well-paid jobs. Chapelcross, in particular, has been devastated by the disappearance of a major employer because of the political machinations of outsiders.
He is wrong to say the “people of north-west England who experienced earthquakes” since the tremors, not quakes, have been around 1/10,000th of the lower limit for registering an “earthquake” and at or below the limit of detectability without scientific instruments, even those living directly above them, let alone across the entire “north west England”. Vibrations from passing traffic would be more fearsome.
To answer a question he did not ask, people living near windfarms dislike them with their genuine health risks, as was clearly shown by the 500 people who demonstrated against them at the SNP conference (10 times the number who demonstrated there against Trident).
Neil Craig. 200 Woodlands Road, Glasgow.
Don’t live near the source
Sir, There is something to be said, despite John Crichton’s dismissiveness (Letters, December 28), in favour of individual buildings having their own source of power.
Yes, there is not a solution that fits all but to remove as many properties as possible from requiring a supply from the National Grid has to be of some value. Solar panels are but one of a number of possible solutions for such.
Mr Crichton quite rightly points to question marks over some of the major power generation options and this applies to all of them including wind generation.
What has stood out for me is that the proponents of specific forms of generation never live in places where their favoured option would be developed.
I am quite happy to hear from supporters of shale deposits as the next best thing when they live where these deposits are abundant.
It’s time that the major users of energy such ascities and towns, came up with answers as to where their power will be sourced from other than nuclear Ayrshire/East Lothian, fossil fuel Kincardine and hydro Highlands.
Martin Cowie. 4 Main Street, Dunshalt.
Not so daft after all . . .
Sir, John McDonald (Letters, January 2) pours scorn on his female colleague who suggested that had the precipitation fallen as snow, rather than rain, then flooding would never have occurred. He misses two points.
Firstly, an inch of snow equates to only 0.2 inches of rain. Secondly, and more importantly, flooding occurs when the ground is unable to soak up the water and it immediately “runs off”.
Snow generally thaws gradually and there is more of an opportunity for it to be soaked up.
Tim Heilbronn. 74a Errol Road, Invergowrie.
Contented women of Fife
Sir I enjoyed reading Helen Brown’s well-researched article on the women’s suffragette movement (January 2).
I note she made no mention of incidents in Fife. As a Fifer, married to a Fifer, I will make no further comment.
I like to think that we Fife men tended to do what we were told. Including voting. No need for universal suffrage.
A T Geddie. 68 Carleton Avenue, Glenrothes.