Readers' Letters: PM must take responsibility and grant approval of Rosebank

The blinkered attitude of green zealots who believe oil and gas production can be switched off with an immediate benefit from renewables is laughable.

Globally, oil will be required for decades and North Sea production can assist the big picture. Yes it may go to Rotterdam or wherever to be processed but the refined product comes back for our considerable benefit.

A decision on the essential Rosebank field is due soon. That one person, an Energy Secretary, has the sole decision-making power on approval of this vital field is a scandal.

One person who has no real experience or involvement in the business determining the financial futures of families affected, of small businesses in the supply-chain is not acceptable and must be reviewed.

Our Prime Minister must take responsibility of this and grant approval of Rosebank for the benefit of the whole country.

Douglas Cowe, Newmachar, Aberdeenshire

Win win situation

The Energy Secretary, Miatta Fahnbulleh says that she is “minded” to refuse Rosebank Oil Field, although she has agreed to the operation at the Jackdaw Gas Field, she is “less keen on the larger oil field”.

We can only wonder why. Drilling for our own oil gives us greater security of supply and helps our balance of payments with foreign producers.

Also, it does not increase the greenhouse effect. We still need oil for the gearboxes of the wind farms, for plastics and fertiliser manufacture all of which are vital for our modern life, and we will have to import oil from a foreign country.

No other country in the world would countenance this decision, as they all place their economy before any thoughts of the green lobby.

That is a Win win situation and hopefully the Government will reflect on this before making a final decision.

James Macintyre, Linlithgow, West Lothian

E-bike solution

As usual another excellent article from Alastair Dalton who is fed up with e-bikes ridden by delivery riders.

He asks “What’s it going to take to tackle the menace?” Why have our politicians come up with the obvious answer? Number plates.

That way the owner is easily identified when he, it is always a male, mows down pedestrians, jumps red lights and doesn’t know what a Zebra Crossing is.

It would also ensure that they have insurance and they would also pay to use the road as motorists do.

Since about 180,000 e-bikes are sold every year this would be a tidy source of income for the government via the DVLA but most of all fewer pedestrian deaths and injuries.

Clark Cross, Linlithgow, West Lothian

Taxing times

When I was young, people feared budgets that might add five pence to cigarettes, or a few pence on petrol. Perhaps something on a pint or a bottle of beer and if times were hard, perhaps a few pounds more in income tax each year. Even allowing for inflation, these were all modest increases compared to modern budgets.

Now we have spend and spend governments be it the SNP in Scotland, Labour in power in the UK or our local authorities, all seem to feel they have a right to simply put their hands in our pockets and take out what they feel like irrespective of the impact on each and every one of us.

It is time all parties recognised the massive burdens they place on us as taxpayers and gave us some relief. Growing the economy should be a priority so that more people can find gainful employment and self reliance rather than the state continuing to fund ever increasing benefits that mean many people have a higher after tax income than they would ever get from working.

Any debt adviser would say to someone in debt that they must cut their spending and pay down the debt to avoid high interest charges. It cannot be right that so much of our tax goes in paying interest yet we continue to borrow more every single day.

I hope that the Chancellor will take the hard decisions on spending that he needs to but I doubt he will and suspect the hard sections will be deferred in the hope the magic money tree bears fruit again.

Brian Barbour, Haddington

Battle of the Johns

Chancellor John Healey has thrown down the gauntlet to First Minister John Swinney. The Chancellor has attempted to ease the cost of a family food basket for real, unlike John Swinney's vanished election manifesto promise. Mr Healey has removed the import taxes on some products. It may not make much difference especially as some of these items are hardly everyday purchases such as throat pastilles, chocolate wafers, boiled sweets and even gherkins. What he has done, however, is highlight the fact that John Swinney's promise of a cheaper food basket has gone awol. Will John Swinney respond or has the "battle of the Johns" already been lost?

Gerald Edwards, Glasgow

Versatile progressive

What an interesting word “progressive” is, isn’t it? Until I checked my Roget, I had always interpreted it as meaning, “improved, changed for the better” but I was underestimating its versatility as I see now, thanks to a few articles in yesterday’s issue.

It can mean “transfigured” which is, perhaps, the usage adopted by Michael Marra, “Mr Marra calls for more ‘progressive’ choices on tax”. The four biggest banks have made “profits of around £15 billion this year” which, according to Mr. Marra, “didn’t come from efficiency savings but mortgage rates way outstripping the base rate and savings rates” so he urged John Healey to increase their tax bills.

His progressive view is not shared, of course, by the banks. In your front page article, “Tax on banks will hit growth, says Scottish Finance Chief,” The Chief Executive of Scottish Financial Enterprises warned Mr. Healey “would be wise to avoid undermining the fundamentals that power our economy”. So perhaps these differing political views might come under, “social democrat v wrong side”.

Elsewhere in today’s edition, Martyn McLaughlin’s article, “Free school bag slammed as ‘gimmick’ to cost taxpayer £2.7m” reports that the Scottish Government has awarded the Marketing Group APS the contract to “Assemble and distribute the ‘Welcome to School bags’” which will include stationery and a water bottle. It will also include “resources to encourage literacy and numeracy practice at home” although what they are is not revealed.

Martin O’Gorman’s letter, “Wrong Direction” discusses the Scottish Government’s dismissal of Pisa’s assessment of Scottish education’s “decline in attainment levels in Scottish Schools” as “actually false” because they are based on “crude rote learning”. Mr. O’Gorman reminded readers that PIRLS and TIMSS research identified shortcomings in our “progressive” Curriculum for Excellence, as a mysterious doctrine which downplays knowledge in favour of what it describes as “skills based learning”. Perhaps their differences might be covered by “advanced v passing craze”.

Finally, The Green Party’s co-leader, Gillian Mackay, is criticised in Ian Moir’s letter, “Energy question” for stating that “The Green Party has been proudly anti-nuclear for a very long time” whereas Mr. Moir notes, pertinently, that “not a single MSP at Holyrood can tell us where the base load generation capacity required to keep the lights on in Scotland is”. Perhaps contemporary v caprice.

What we must hope is that, soon, the decisions made by our “progressive politicians” will not lead the country to the fate of Tom Rakewell, in “The Rake’s Progress”.

Lovina Roe, Perth

Why Israel matters

Israelis went to the polls yesterday to elect their representatives to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. Why should this matter to British society? Because how we speak about Israel can influence how Jewish communities are perceived here in Britain.

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement calls for boycotts of Israel, while the word apartheid is frequently used to describe the country. But the British public should consider the facts.

In Israel, citizens aged 18 and over who meet the legal requirements can vote in parliamentary elections, whether they are Jewish, Arab, Muslim, Christian or Druze. Arab citizens can also stand for election and serve in parliament.

The term apartheid carries profound historical and human significance. Apartheid had serious consequences within my own extended family, and I know first hand the devastation, division and lasting hurt it can bring. That personal experience has given me a deep appreciation of the harm such systems can inflict and the importance of approaching this subject with seriousness and care.

As Israelis prepare to vote, British society should recognise the reality of a country where citizens from different religious and ethnic backgrounds participate in the democratic process.

Sara Tendi-Smith, Test Valley, Hampshire

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