Readers' Letters: Conservative Party doesn't deserve to survive

Famously described as the “nasty party” by Theresa May, undoubtedly, under the disastrous leadership of Kemi Badenoch, it has become nastier still. Threatening to leave the European Convention of Human Rights and bow out from any climate action shakes the very roots of decent society.

Quite frankly, the Conservatives don’t deserve to survive. More and more they sound like a pale shadow of Reform UK and, by extension, Donald Trump’s America.

Their conference has a weary and dispirited air, lacking any positivity and passion, in stark contrast to Zack Polanski's Green Party. Hopefully, they are the future.

Ian Petrie, Edinburgh

Big wins

Sir Keir Starmer continues to promise a reduction in energy bills of £300 while charges continue to soar. David Miliband and his fellow zealots plough on regardless towards the mythical net zero on greenhouse gases while blithely ignoring the realistic output of the UK and its competitiveness on the world stage of heading for net zero for less than 1 per cent of world output.

Meanwhile, large-scale green energy producers are paid for switching their turbines off while small domestic producers are being robbed.

In March 2018 the then (Conservative) government ended the feed-in tariff for domestic producers. Anyone installing solar pv (photovoltaic) panels thereafter fed surplus electricity into the grid with no recompense, so providing the grid with free electricity, while still facing the daily standing charge for the privilege of receiving and supplying electricity.

While many homes received grants towards the installation of the equipment, many did not and paid for it themselves. For those fortunate enough to continue to receive Feed-In Tariff, even at the current rates (generation £0.0520 plus export at £0.0739 per unit) a large (for) domestic array of 10kW could expect to receive as much as £800 per annum. Those with no Feed-In Tariff could expect £0.

As more and more residential properties install solar pv systems the amount of free electricity flowing into the grid increases – but who benefits? These small producers are distributed throughout the grid and therefore provide a constant usable supply, unlike large generators for whom the grid cannot always cope.

The current government cannot be expected to solve everything instantly but this is surely yet another case of support for big business at the expense of the small people.

John Marsh, Firthmuir of Boysack, Arbroath

Fantasy savings

A familiar, delusional claim by Ian Waugh that “we’d be paying less for electricity were Scotland independent” (Letters, 4 October) doesn’t stand close scrutiny.

Intermittent wind energy simply can’t provide a reliable source of electricity. The late Alex Salmond’s “Saudi Arabia of renewables” soundbite must be challenged and exposed once and for all as a dangerous fantasy.

With optimal wind speeds, the laws of supply and demand dictate that there is grid overcapacity, correspondingly low prices and therefore no market for exporting any surplus.

Mr Waugh has nothing whatsoever to say about nearly £400 million in constraint payments dished out to Scottish turbine operators last year to compensate them for times when weather conditions proved unhelpful. This is all added to our bills. Nor is any thought given to catastrophic long-term consequences of the blinkered separatists’ ideological rejection of both nuclear power and fossil fuels.

Anyone who believes in the SNP’s energy policies might as well also sign up to Modern Monetary Theory, Scottish exceptionalism, net zero and people's biological gender changing just because they have a certificate from the Scottish Government.

Martin O’Gorman, Edinburgh

Don’t shoot, talk

I wondered how long it would be before someone brought up the conscription nonsense again (Letters, 6 October). Russia has no intention to invade Western Europe and all this talk of readiness and awareness is outrageous.

Teaching our young people to handle lethal weapons is not sensible or appropriate. It would be far better to expand language skills so we can talk to people rather than shoot them. We cannot hope to fight Russia or China, whether we expand the military or introduce conscription, and it is ludicrous to suggest it. Let's work on dialogue and cultural exchange to promote understanding, not military grandstanding. Vladimir Putin won't last forever, and hopefully his despotism will go with him.

Before the usual suspects come back bleating about appeasement, let's face reality and realise this is not 1939 again.

Brian Bannatyne-Scott, Edinburgh

Digital detox

I am grateful to Peter Hopkins (Letters, 6 October) for reading my original letter about my lack of concern over ID cards. Now I realise I should perhaps have been paranoid instead of blasé. Perhaps a physical ID card instead of a digital ID would allay his fears and mine? It would be impossible to hack but serve the purpose of a means of checking ID.

In my naivety I hadn't thought about the doomsday scenarios Mr Hopkins presents. Maybe I should consider hiding my identity by leaving all social media, surrendering my passport, driving licence, store cards and myriad other subscriptions, and seek cash-in-hand jobs?

On the other hand, I might just accept that I live in a digital world where many organisations know a lot about me, and that some organisations should know a lot more about some others.

Ken Currie, Edinburgh

Age-old problem

The Scotsman reports that a fatal accident inquiry is to be held into the deaths of six men working from height on Scottish farms (October 4). Of these, four were the farm owners themselves.

A 60-year-old and three men in their seventies doing manual work on their own farms shows how hard farmers work – and also that Labour’s belief that farmers are cash rich and should be taxed more is untrue.

William Loneskie, Oxton, Lauder

Questions

According to the pundits on the subject of Scotland becoming more successful, with a strong economy, excellent international relations etc, such a bright future will only be achieved if we break away from the UK.

Such are, of course, the assertions of the SNP. Yet, as most thinking Scots will recall, during the SNP's period in office from 2007 to 2025, they as a party have singularly failed to prove their point. Let us consider the case:

First and foremost must be the economy. Therefore it is important for Scots voters to inquire: How would Holyrood manage without the subsidies received courtesy of the Barnett Formula from the Westminster Exchequer?

Without the Bank of England – currently the UK's Central Bank – how would an independent Scotland manage?

Throughout the entire period of time in which the SNP has been in power at Holyrood, have such important issues ever been discussed in detail?

The simple answer to such conundrums is emphatically: No!

Therefore, perhaps the time has come for we Scots to question all the utterances of the cause of Scottish nationalism, and consider adopting a broader political view for the sake of our futures.

Robert I G Scott, Northfield, Ceres, Fife

Park sense

Rachel Amery’s report “Parliament staff blasted for ‘dumping cars’ ” (4 October) on the car park run by Historic Environment Scotland at Holyrood Park left me incredulous.

I can’t help but think that if Richard Lumgair from Marchmont and all the rest of the well-heeled Edinburgh residents had objected in the first instance to the building of the new Parliament building at an exorbitant cost the problem would never have occurred. I hate to state the obvious, but had the Old Royal High School building at Calton Hill been used, the transport links would’ve been so good, parking may not have been an issue.

Alternatively, a car park and suitable access easily constructed somewhere nearby for far less than £414 million.

However, I do accept we are in the age of the motor car, so, you’d have thought they’d have built a decent car park somewhere near the Parliament.

The sooner Edinburgh Council and its residents understand that business and economic growth requires people to move around and do business the better. Because no doubt by the time this has been published another fortune will have been spent on a bicycle lane, a pedestrian zone or some other thing that forces drivers to park where they can.

And so I can only urge Marchmont residents to get up earlier and get into the car park before the parliamentarians do!

Neil B Nisbet, Linlithgow, West Lothian

Silly over Jilly

On Monday, the death of Jilly Cooper, a moderately successful author of holiday reading, led the BBC Six O’Clock News.

What colour is the sky on the planet of BBC News editors.

Stuart Neville, Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire

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