Sir, I read in Saturday’s Courier that Centrica has bought a 50% stake in Braes o’ Doune windfarm for £59 million. I calculate that in subsidy payments alone the 36-turbine factory will earn up to a guaranteed £180,000,000 over 25 years assuming each machine generates £200,000 annually in subsidy payments.
Add to this the increasing cost of electricity which will double the income to £360,000,000 at least, then as far as Centrica is concerned this investment is a “no brainer” when you are guaranteed to triple your money for no risk.
Sam Laidlaw has been the chief executive of Centrica since July 1 2006. In the 2010 financial year Mr Laidlaw received a total of £1,841,000 from Centrica, comprising a salary of £941,000 and a bonus of £900,000. So he’s alright, then. No need for him to cut down on his heating bills. Can you imagine what could be achieved if this sort of money were invested in infrastructure projects for the Stirling area?
But all this cash, much of which is wrested from those 900,000 Scottish consumers in fuel poverty and on low incomes, will be spoon-fed to multinationals, to the men in tight suits, landed lairds and absentee landlords under the auspices of none other than Alex Salmond himself.
No wonder, then, that the international vortex of fiscal vultures are heading to Mr Salmond’s rotting corpse of a power generation policy with the promise of a feeding frenzy. Outrageous!
Iain G Richmond. Guildy House, Kirkton of Monikie, Monikie.
Can’t allow this situation to continue
Sir, Following my attendance at a recent Better Together campaign meeting in Cupar, I have given some thought as to why we have reached this situation in the UK. There is absolutely no doubt that many voters like me were totally complacent when it came to turning out to elect members to the Scottish Parliament (in Donald Dewar’s day it was referred to as the Scottish Executive).
Rest assured, though, that Alex Salmond’s SNP supporters did all turn out to vote hence his position as First Minister today.
This situation cannot be allowed to continue where only about 30% of the voting population have control over the rest of us. Their intention to achieve separation from the UK could lead us on a disastrous course.
SNP policy is as changeable as the weather; we have seen U- turns on most of the important issues. Any evidence that things would be better in an independent Scotland are flimsy. Most of the SNP’s policies forecast in earlier years have been substantially altered or revised, be it the economy, currency, defence and membership of NATO, foreign policy, banking facilities, etc.
If every able-bodied person in Scotland turns out to cast a vote in the referendum, the SNP will be “sent back to think again” and Mr Salmond will most likely disappear from the front benches.
Robert I G Scott. Northfield Cottage, Ceres.
A bit of a misnomer
Sir, My husband and I attended a Better Together public meeting in Cupar recently and were surprised to find that UKIP were not present. They were not invited, so the Better Together campaign title seems to be a bit of a misnomer.
As UKIP increasingly gathers support and believes in a United Kingdom, it is strange that the Conservatives, Labour and Liberals have excluded them from the Better Together movement.
Sarah Innes. 9 Bank Street, Elie.
The benefit of religion
Sir, I refer to the letter in Saturday’s Courier from Alistair McBay of the National Secular Society.
The benefit of religion to society, whether it be Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, etc, is that it provides a basis for social conscience without which you have anarchy and to combat anarchy you get increasing state repression from those temporarily in charge of government, and their acolytes.
You don’t have to look far for examples: Russia, after the Bolshevik revolution that banned the orthodox Christian church and substituted state-sponsored repression in its place. This resulted in extreme hardship and the deaths of millions of people in Russia and Ukraine and widespread persecution of all those deemed not to adhere to the hypocritical ideologies of a governing minority with no behavioural basis.
No-one in the UK is forced to observe or participate in organised religion, but the teachings of the Christian beliefs are still beneficially relevant to society as are, in fact, many of the teachings of the Koran, the problem being in the latter case, their highly aggressive interpretation by power-motivated Imams and others to whom secularism is a dirty word.
I don’t think we have as yet reached that stage in Christian teaching.
Derek Farmer. Knightsward Farm, Anstruther.
Kind helpers
Sir, I wish to express my gratitude to the kind people who went to my sister’s assistance when she fell in Brook Street recently. They called for an ambulance and stayed with her while the paramedics attended to her. Sincere thanks to all.
K Dow. Dundee Road, Broughty Ferry.
Flawed business plan
Sir, I am concerned about the veracity of some of the comments made by James Morrison in his letter of 1st June 2013.
He claims that the word “research” is a noun, but having checked in several dictionaries I find that, while all of them do define the word as being a noun, they also define it as being a verb both transitive and intransitive!
So much for his claim that I do not know the difference between a noun and a verb perhaps he should have consulted a dictionary!
Further, as a Chartered Management Accountant, I am well qualified to assess the viability or otherwise of a business case presented in support of a grant application and know very well that this business case “fell down” as was reported in the press report of the meeting.
Especially when it was reported to the committee that the supporting business case called for a total outlay of £18,000 but would result in a net loss of £15,400!
This information was further underlined by Councillor May who told the committee that each book would generate only 60 pence of profit towards the total costs so, by my deduction, at least 30,000 books would need to be sold merely to cover the costs of the project
No bank would ever consider lending against such a business plan and I will leave it to the public to decide for themselves whether or not Angus Council should spend public money supporting such a financially flawed project.
Again, especially where council officers have recommended that no grant be given.
Councillor Alex King. Finance Convener, Angus Council, 7 The Cross, Forfar.
New moneylost to City
Sir, In an attempt to ease our financial woes, the Bank of England has created £375 billion of new money. But instead of putting it into the real economy, by rebuilding the infrastructure and creating employment, this money has just been pumped into the financial markets by way of the greedy banks.
This is why the stock market is at an all-time high and City dealers make money, while 2.5 million people who could do useful work are unemployed and another half million depend on food handouts. If there was ever an award for fiscal incompetence, this government would win it.
Malcolm Parkin. 15 Gamekeepers Road, Kinnesswood, Kinross.
We will all need to dig deeper
Sir, Mr Rollo (Letters, May 31) asks if Scotland would have a higher quality of life after independence. Whether future oil revenues alone can maintain that goal is open to debate. Mr Rollo, however, fails to give the complete facts on his and the SNP’s promised good life after independence.
Comparison with the standards in other northern European countries is interesting. Yes, Sweden, Norway and Denmark have higher standards of living and excellent social and medical care but Scots could face huge extra costs to achieve these higher standards.
Personal income tax and employment contributions for social and medical benefits are far above the UK levels. Most bar spirits and beers are almost double our UK prices. Hotels and restaurants range from 40% above UK prices to much higher. Salaries are also generally higher but can that be guaranteed by employers or a new Scottish Government?
The SNP always snipe “scaremongering” at opponents of independence but it is fair to ask if the average Scot is prepared to dig even deeper into his current wages, national insurance, pension payments and all out-of -pocket purchases after 2014.
I don’t claim the current UK has never had it so good but let’s face up to all the facts before voting for conjecture and the wishful thinking of the SNP.
Angus Brown. The Orchard, Longforgan, Dundee.
Should still be leader
Sir, I read the article attributed to Gordon Wilson, the former leader of the Scottish National Party, in yesterday’s Courier and I must ask, why is he not still the leader of the party?
What he says about the French is true and, actually, it is not only the French who ignore a lot of rules that emanate from the European Parliament.
The other thing about Gordon Wilson is that I doubt if he would be so lavish with our beautiful landscape; given away to foreign companies to build windfarms which seem to be sprouting up everywhere.
June Reid. 12 Findhorn Street, Fintry, Dundee.