Readers' Letters: British Steel should be first of many UK Government Interventions

The money could be moved from Energy Secretary Ed Miliband's £28 billion renewable infrastructure budget and what's left used to roll back the scandalous rise in pollution by water companies and build the flood, wind defences and water reserves necessary for the apocalyptic effects of global warming we are continually warned about.

That way we'd all be safer, healthier and more prosperous, courtesy of the resulting economic growth.

Allan Sutherland, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire

Sack Miliband

Just when it looked as if the UK's last blast furnace steel plant at Scunthorpe was going to be closed by its Chinese owners Jingye with the loss of 2,700 jobs, Parliament – recalled on a Saturday for the first time in 40 years – blocked the closure thus, securing its future. This will allow raw materials, including coking coal to be ordered amid fears supplies were running out, especially since once blast furnaces are allowed to cool they cannot be restarted.

It will be remembered that only a few months ago Ed Miliband banned coal and coke production in the UK and boasted that this would send a signal to the world. The signal he sent to the world was his stupidity and that of politicians who allowed it. An honourable Minister would resign, but Miliband will have to be sacked.

Clark Cross, Linlithgow, West Lothian

Scrap net zero

Steel making in Britain, like oil refining and other high energy users, have struggled because of the cost of energy, largely due to successive governments trying to meet their arbitrary net zero target by 2050.

They blew up our big, reliable coal-fired power stations and closed our coal mines, including the new mine proposed in Cumbria to produce coking coal for our steel industry, while other countries use clean coal technology to produce cheap power, and mine anthracite for blast furnaces.

Energy expert David Turver has calculated that renewables have an electricity generation final cost of £180/Mwh, while gas-generated electricity works out at £83/Mwh, even though we now import most of our gas, instead of developing new onshore and offshore fields. Ed Miliband recently ordered two onshore gas wells that were ready to produce, filled with hundreds of tons of concrete, which ironically needs coal for manufacture.

One of Mr Miliband's net zero policies which will affect every house owner is his Clean Heat Market Mechanism, which will fine boiler manufacturers if they do not meet increasingly difficult targets targets in the supply of heat pumps. Like the ZEV (Zero Emission Vehicle) mandate for cars, this sets Soviet-style targets which manufacturers have to meet, otherwise they will be fined. For every heat pump a boiler manufacturer fails to sell above the target – which will become harder every year until 2030 – it will be fined £500. Naturally, most of that will be passed on to the consumer.

However, there is a catch, or rather, two catches. The first is that newbuild heat pump installations will not be counted and the second is that only manufacturers who sell more than 20,000 boilers a year will be included in the scheme. This includes British factories owned by Vaillant, Worcester Bosch, Ideal and Baxi. However, no foreign-owned manufacturers sell above that number and so are excluded from the scheme – penalising British industry.

It's time for the policy of net zero to be scrapped. Only Reform pledge to do this at the moment, but other parties must surely follow.

William Loneskie, Oxton, Lauder, Berwickshire

Refinery failed

There is no doubt at all. The demise of Grangemouth can in great part be laid at the door of the SNP, perhaps with a heavy contribution from their Green allies and followers of Ed Miliband. Their closing down of oil and gas exploration, and even the mention of fracking – left the company with no alternative. If the SNP has such a thing as an intelligent strategist, no doubt the attitude was “we can always pin it all on Westminster if they shut it down, that always works”.

Listening to SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn pontificate on this subject is nauseating, considering all the debates he and his group failed even to attend in the House, let along contribute to.

Most thinking people who are concerned with events at Grangemouth will appreciate this. I have no party-political affiliation whatsoever.

Alexander McKay, Edinburgh

Not positive

Whenever anyone raises questions of standards or of problems in Scotland’s schools, an SNP spokesperson trots out the usual mantra: “The percentage of leavers in a positive destination three months after leaving school is at 95.7 per cent – the second highest since records began” (“SNP ministers alarmed at ‘concerning’ rise in number of pupils quitting school in S4”, 14 April).

I presume that a “positive destination” includes full-time paid employment, studying at a university or college, being apprenticed to a craftsman or a professional practitioner. It would, however, be enlightening if the SNP authorities gave us a detailed breakdown of the “positive destinations” involved in the last year. Do they include part-time and casual work? Zero hours contracts? Working for a business but being classed as “self-employed”?

The Scottish Government says it uses ONS data to assess “evidence on inactivity amongst young people aged 16-24”. The ONS estimates the number of NEETS (not in education, employment or training) in that age range between October and December 2024 at 987,000, a rise from 877,000 in the same period in 2023 and the highest level since 2013.

It may be that there is no disjunction between the SNP’s claims and the ONS figures. Still, it would help our understanding if we could be apprised of what counts as a “positive destination”.

Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh

No winners

One of the most damning features of Donald Trump's fawning admiration for Vladimir Putin could be his Achilles’ heel. Naivety doesn't begin to describe Trump's empty boast that he could manufacture a peace deal with Putin to end the war in Ukraine. The last thing he can do is trust him.

There are no winners in this war, but there are losers in what is turning out to be a stalemate of ongoing conflict with no resolution in sight. It's significant that Putin is having to turn to mercenaries from North Korea and now, China, to shore up his army.

It's difficult to assess just how unpopular this unnecessary war is among Russians, who have to be brave to express their honest opinions. In terms of young lives lost and reputation shattered, Russia is a pariah on the world stage, with support, albeit somewhat reluctantly, from China.

Long after Putin's “military operation”, which was meant to last three days, comes to an end, at great cost to both sides, Ukraine can hold its head high, while Russia counts its cost.

Ian Petrie, Edinburgh

Fighting back

With all Donald Trump’s tariff shenanigans going on, Ukraine has slipped from sight. Yet still Ukrainian civilians and soldiers are dying but, so far, successfully keeping the invaders at bay. Indeed, the Ukrainian military is still in Kursk in the north, although now being pushed slowly back into Ukraine. In the south west Ukraine has moved into Belgorod. Double humiliation for Putin.

Any peace deal that isn’t based on a complete Russian withdrawal behind the Russian/Ukrainian border should not be acceptable.

General Keith Kellogg’s naive suggestion we should all pretend Ukraine is post-war Berlin, when the city had its American, British, French and Russian sectors,is sort of half-baked but at least he was trying to come up with something original, which Trump had failed to do. He is more interested in doing a $500 billion earth minerals deal than bringing this European war to a mutually and jointly agreed end. Of course, Putin started this. He is personally responsible for making parts of Ukraine a lunar landscape and should pay huge reparation to restore the cities, towns and villages he has destroyed.

With Trump’s ability to do the wrong thing and his recent old pals act with Putin, I wouldn’t trust him anymore than I’d trust Putin. Zelensky says Putin will be dead soon. I’d say we can only keep our fingers crossed.

Doug Morrison, Tenterden, Kent

Spelling test

I am just waiting for Donald Trump to acknowledge his greatest mentor – Aleister Crowley, who (in)famously declared: “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.”

Steve Hayes, Leven, Fife

Nice work

Am I right in thinking John Swinney's pay rise of £20,000 for his ministers will take effect just in time to boost the pensions of those who step down or lose their seats at the next election?

The rest of us can but dream and maybe Nicola Sturgeon will want to reconsider her need for the £75 a time Golden Goodbye Handshake?

B Proctor, Newtonhill, Abereenshire

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