Sir, I am dismayed at the huge amounts of money paid in salaries and “expenses” to British and European politicians.
It used to be the case that British MPs did not receive any salary at all. MPs only started to receive an allowance in 1911. Since then, however, British (and European) politics has become an industry, with thousands of people getting inflated salaries.I am not just talking about MPs, but also councillors, MSPs and MEPs, too. They have done nothing to improve the quality of life for the people they represent and there is no evidence that these highly paid politicians have done a better job than the unpaid ones before them.Judging by the state of Britain (and the EU) it seems to me that politicians are being paid far too much for “jobs” in which they have demonstrated no skill and no business acumen.I know some will read this and say that if politicians do not get paid then only rich people would be able to be politicians and they would be right; that certainly would be the case.My argument, however, would be that rich people are generally very successful people with a proven record of success in whatever business they have been involved in.What we actually have today are many leading politicians who have never been involved in any kind of successful business for any length of time and the result is the economy is in a terrible state and is likely to remain so.I would go so far as to say many (if not most) of our paid politicians are so unsuccessful they would struggle to find and hold down a job in any other line of work.Kenneth Brannan.42 Greenlee Drive,Dundee.Not in keeping with the areaSir, How any Broughty Ferry resident could find the proposed St Vincent Street/Brook Street development acceptable is beyond belief. I cannot credit that the planning authority could even consider allowing these flats, which are totally out of character with Broughty Ferry, to be built on such a prime site. I grew up in Broughty Ferry, served my apprenticeship there and am still very fond of the place.Having worked in the building trade for 50 years, 33 of which were in site management, I can honestly say I think it is one of the ugliest building projects I have seen.The character of Dundee has largely been destroyed over the years by the loss of historic buildings in the name of “progress” but Broughty Ferry has so far managed to preserve its character by ensuring any new development has been appropriate for the area.I hope, therefore, the planners will take heed of the view of a large majority of Ferry residents and reject the application.J Ferrier.55 Princes Street,Monifieth.Madras site limited choiceSir, Two years ago Fife Council favoured a new site for Madras College on the North Haugh campus just west of St Andrews, a wise choice as more than 60% of pupils live to the north-west and it would not conflict with their green belt policy or use prime agricultural land. This had overwhelming support.The council now seems blind to any site other than Pipeland on the south-east side, for which they have set a consultation period ending on March 8, with only two options for consideration: either “supporting” or “not supporting” the Pipeland proposal, rather than, for example, supporting either Pipeland or North Haugh.Nothing is said about the consequences of a majority “no” response and incredibly, the consultation proposal actually says: “no other sites within St Andrews were suitable for the new school.”With a separate school for the Tay bridgehead ruled out, surely such a majority should expect the new school to be built at a location convenient for both them and those from St Andrews. Otherwise, among numerous other objections to Pipeland:* unnecessarily long bus journeys will still be required, some requiring very early starts, and wasting scarce funds from the educational budget for the next 50+ years;* vital aspects of any school education such as after school activities and Saturday morning sports fixtures will be more difficult to attend or will need more and longer bus journeys or greater distances for parents to drive;* ditto for parents attending meetings with staff and parents’ evenings, especially those without cars;* pupils with appointments with their local dentist, GP etc will miss more of the school day.A good turnout by primary school and S1 & S2 parents is needed at a public meeting on February 19 at 6pm in the Blyth Hall, Newport.John Birkett.12 Horseleys Park,St Andrews.Treatment was spot onSir, In the light of recent depressing NHS scandals, I felt moved to write of my recent excellent treatment at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee.In both the outpatients I attended, dermatology and ophthalmology, the staff were all kind and efficient, the atmosphere friendly, the place spotlessly clean and the timetable spot on.As for the surgeons whose expertise I benefited from, their skill, manner and tirelessness are second to none.How fortunate we are in this area of Scotland.Carolyn Anstice.4 Castle Road,Longforgan.