Sir – Surprisingly, the address to a Fife Council meeting by Madras College’s former headboy has generated no comment.
Jamie MacLeod argued the school’suniversity contactsinevitably face restriction (versus, by implied preference, expansion) if Madras moves over a mile away to a site atPipeland.
Also concerning him was full participation in extracurricular activities being precluded by longer journeys through town from the Leuchars-Taybridgehead area for the majority of the school’s pupils.
Pipeland’s distance from the bus station will not help.
Jamie’s thoughtful contemporaries will surely agree.
It is noteworthy your education supplement about private schools emphasised after-hours cocurricular confidence-building activities, with St Leonards also highlighting its valueduniversity links.
Scottish Cabinet Education Secretary Angela Constance commended tertiary education links at Levenmouth, as did Minister for LearningDr Alasdair Allan recently.
Closer Madras-St Andrews Universityrelationships were mooted in 2009 as a model for future partnerships. It is myopic folly that they are not fostered to the maximum, dueto Fife Council’sdogmatic rejection ofthe common sense single-site approach adopted by other councils, which must envyour world-renowneduniversity’s campus offer for a 21st century Madras College.
John Birkett. 12 Horseleys Park, St Andrews.
Scotland has a voice
Sir, – Two letters on Tuesday have prompted me to respond.
The first was the suggestion from George McMillan that your paper loves the SNP to the exclusion of his beloved Conservatives.
I don’t know which Courier he has been reading but it is certainly different from mine where the letters page tries hard to be fair to all its contributors.
He then goes on tocriticise political editor Kieran Andrews for highlighting Conservative MSP Liz Smith in hisarticle about members’ expenses.
Mr McMillan points out that the person who should have been named and shamed is Lewis Macdonald (Labour) on the basis that his claim was far greater than that of Liz Smith.
What is missing is an analysis of the duties carried out and the expenses involved in each case.
So without detailed information of the work done by both Ms Smith and Mr Macdonald, Mr McMillan has failed to make his case.
The second was the letter by Derek Farmer attacking the institution of the Scottish Parliament as an expensive failure and proposing a return to the days of the Scottish Office which he did not mention was subject to oversight by Westminster. He suggests that the money involved could be better spent on infrastructure projects but so too would the millions of pounds being set aside for replacing Trident.
He also claims that Scotland’s development could be better served by more energetic engagement by Scottish MPs at Westminster than through Holyrood.
Like it or not, Holyrood belongs to Scotland and the electorate lives or dies by its choices, unlike in the UK as a whole, where proposals to benefit Scotland can be easily vetoed by the fact that Scotland has only 59 members.
Going back to the old system will achieve nothing for Scotland.
Allan MacDougall. 37 Forth Park, Bridge of Allan.
End politics of grievance
Sir, – Councillor Henry Anderson of Bridge of Earn (September 29) is surprised people criticise the shortcomings of the SNP and are sensitive to talk of a second referendum.
The SNP expects no critics from within their party but surely they do not expect others to remain silent?
As for a referendum re-run, 55% of the people of Scotland chose to stay in the UK. Why should those who voted no welcome a return to all the divisiveness, uncertainty and rancour that we experienced last time, simply to satisfy the SNP’s constitutional obsession? When Cllr Anderson claims health, education and police services perform better in Scotland than in England, he is mistaken.
In health, the SNP choose to spend less than the proportion of Barnett Formula funding provided for the NHS so our hard-working medics struggle with inadequate resources.
The SNP instead spend money on vote-winning universal benefits and live with missed targets across NHS Scotland.
In education, attainment of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds has progressed in England, while in Scotland we are going backwards, along with our literacy and numeracy levels.
As for the police, the reorganisation has been mismanaged and the sometimes tragic results are all too clear.
If the SNP want less criticism from the public they need to focus on the real job of government rather than contriving the latest reason forstirring grievance with the rest of the UK.
Keith Howell. White Moss, West Linton.
Vote threat hurts business
Sir, – I read with interest the road-to-Damascus conversion by Nicola Sturgeon regarding her recognition that London is the powerhouse of the UK economy and as such should be viewed as an opportunity and not a threat. Her announcement was in sharpcontrast to Alex Salmond’s claim that the capital was the dark star of the economy, sucking in resources, people and energy.
Of course, thisargument could be extended to the dangers of independence whereby we would lose the level playing field of our large UK internal market (including London) where we sell 65% of our goods and services and exchange it for an export market with a different currency, different tax base and inevitable barriers to trade.
If Ms Sturgeon isserious about improving economic prospects for Scottish businesses she should immediately remove the threat of another referendum which is destroyingbusiness confidence.
Ian Lakin. Pinelands, Murtle Den Road, Milltimber.
Who benefits from Britain?
Sir, – Why is it that advocates of the union use Scotland’s fiscal black hole as a reason for us not to handle our own affairs?
This deficit is and has been caused as a result of a union of parliaments which has clearly failed.
If that was not the case and we really were better together, the balance sheet for the UKwould look considerably healthier than it does now.
Instead, if Scotland became independent tomorrow, we would be shackled with our share of the massive debt built up during years ofmismanagement by a Government based in London.
Therefore, that argument is nullified immediately when the reality is exposed of a brokensystem and the question must be raised as towho really benefitsfrom the pooling and sharing?
One thing is for sure, the union is not a good advertisement for success.
Richard Clark. Craigton Farm, Monikie.
We do not need doughnuts
Sir, – It was with great sadness that I read about the arrival of Krispy Kreme doughnuts toOvergate, Dundee.
This is yet another infiltration of American corporate greed into British life where thecurrent level of obesity gives rise to huge concern about the health of future generations and the resulting demandson the National Health Service.
Walking around Dundee is not a happy sight when you see adults who are almost unable to walk because of their size.
Surely welcoming Krispy Kreme doughnuts is the very last thing we need in the city.
Gillian MW Harris. Rosehill Cottage, 5 Woodmuir Crescent, Newport.
Labour dodges Trident debate
Sir, – Having just listened to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reaffirm his opposition to Trident on Radio 4, it was rather bemusing to note his Labour Party quietlyvote to continue their support for the renewal of Trident withoutany debate on the issue.
Labour delegates at the conference in Brighton reaffirmedthe party’s Britain in the World policy document, which makes clear the party’s “commitmentto a minimum, credible, independent nuclear capability, delivered through a continuousat-sea deterrent.”
This revelation is really rather confusing, especially given thefact that Jeremy Corbyn in his keynote speech said that Britainshould not “spend £100 billion renewingweapons of mass destruction”.
It is also particularly surprising given that the party’s widely-anticipated conference debate on Trident renewal did not take place.
This is yet the latest U-turn by Mr Corbyn since his election to the leadership and it is clear that he has no control of his party.
Labour are quickly changing Mr Corbyn, rather than Mr Corbyn changing Labour.
The Labour Party continues to be bitterly divided and lacking credibility, reaffirming its commitment to Trident one day, while its leader opposes it the next.
Alex Orr. 77 LeamingtonTerrace, Edinburgh.
Ms Hyslop must stand down
Sir, – Surely, the explanation given by Scottish Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop as to why the T inthe Park company received £150,000 is incredible.
The explanation is either disingenuous or it is illustrative of extreme incompetence and a laissez-faire attitude to the spending of public funds.
In either event, Ms Hyslop should have the good grace to resign from her position.
Derek Farmer. Knightsward Farm, Anstruther.