Readers' Letters: Shetland wind farm is an unspeakable environmental tragedy

To remind readers, planning officials, the RSPB, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, the John Muir Trust, Shetland Amenity Trust, Shetland Bird Club and Sustainable Shetland, along with the vast majority of residents, objected to the Viking Wind Farm.

Despite all this, the Scottish Government and Ofgem granted permission, with utter disregard for the peat-rich environment and birdlife. Eco tourism? Forget it. The rotor blades of a wind turbine have a radius as long as a football field and rotate at 300kmh. Against these huge propeller walls, birds, bats and insects don’t stand a chance. Wiping out wildlife is an utterly abhorrent way to save the planet.

George Herraghty, Lhanbryde, Elgin, Moray

Parking ideas

There is a certain irony in local councillors wanting to reintroduce tolls for motorhomes crossing the bridge into Skye (your report, 1 September). Did Robbie the Pict strive in vain to ensure drivers could cross into Skye freely, just as they do on every other bridge in Scotland?

However, there may be some merit in their call for the introduction of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology to bill vehicles... assuming the DVLA’s database is up to the job. A system such as that used on the Dartford Crossing on the M25 could undoubtedly charge motor-homers as they head for the delights of Skye, but to ensure this is not just a tax that impacts motorhomes the revenue would need to be reinvested in providing Aires (recognised overnight parking areas) in return.

For this to be cost effective I fear we’ll need more accurate figures for motorhome tourism than those provided by Cllr John Finlayson in your report. When I drove my motorhome across Skye during the summer, from Kyleakin to Portree, there was no evidence of the hyperbolic claims regarding motorhomes filling every available parking spot. Indeed, Cllr Finlayson must have seen the figures quoted in the report which equated to just 33 every night across the whole of Skye.

However, what I did notice was that almost every Bed and Breakfast along the route had signs up saying “No vacancies”. If Skye’s shops and restaurants are going to benefit from the revenue spend of tourists from both here and abroad, motorhomes can provide the extra capacity, and Aires cost very little to accommodate people wishing to spend their well-earned holidays in what is perhaps the most beautiful part of Scotland.

Donald Macdonald, Glasgow

Message to SNP

First Minister John Swinney cannot paper over the cracks (your report, 2 September) The SNP has brought Scotland to the edge of bankruptcy. It has failed in all key areas like health, education, transport and the economy. It has even created its own domestic problems with odd decisions such as gender reform.

To cap it all, Mr Swinney still thinks pushing for independence is a winner despite the recent crushing of the de facto referendum idea. The weekend’s conference hall was not well filled, so even the keenest SNP supporters had drifted away.

There is a message being sent to the SNP. Has it read it?

Gerald Edwards, Glasgow

Fire still burns

A decade after the independence referendum one wonders how many people would have voted differently had they known what the future actually held in store for them by sustaining the UK non-constitutional status quo?

One suspects that given the overwhelmingly hostile UK mainstream media at the time, plus general fear of the unknown, many were reluctant to vote for independence and therefore effectively abstained, or in some cases, deliberately spoiled their voting papers. This group represented around 15 per cent of the electorate and if not much more than half of this group had been persuaded to vote “Yes” then the referendum would have delivered a positive result.

The fact that polls since have consistently shown support for independence at around 50 per cent or greater indicates that many (perhaps even including some “No” voters) would indeed have voted differently if they had known Scotland would have been subjected to a “hard Brexit” (in spite of strongly voting to remain in the EU), that austerity would have continued for a decade (and now appears set to continue for another decade), that energy prices in energy-rich Scotland would continue to spiral (along with the prices of basic foods and house mortgages), all while genuine refugees arriving in the UK would be treated abominably by the UK Government.

Wes Streeting was clear in stating that for Labour-run Wales “all roads lead back to Westminster” (even in devolved matters such as the NHS) and in spite of the pathetically desperate attempts of Sir Keir’s puppet in Scotland (whenever he deigns to appear before selected reporters) to deceive the electorate otherwise, the people of Scotland know the truth of Streeting’s assessment. It’s no wonder that the UK Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties, are not only intent on preventing independence but are scurrilously intent on thwarting democracy itself, as even their own polling indicates that self-determination is what the people of Scotland truly desire.

The fire of independence in the people of Scotland will not be extinguished by political shysters feeding from the trough of the wealthy British Establishment.

Stan Grodynski, Longniddry, East Lothian

A nice gift

I applaud Alexander Mackay’s comments on the SNP’s baby box (Letters, 31 August) as a typical SNP flagship announcement with extravagant and unrealistic claims. Claims that the boxes “reduced infant mortality” in Finland, where they were pioneered in 1938, and that they provide a “safe sleeping place” for babies were contested when they were introduced in Scotland, including by Finnish experts.

In Finland, high rates of infant mortality were reduced, but the Finnish welfare agency Kela attributed this to “the improving of our healthcare system of which the baby box is a part”. Sari Lahti, of Helsinki University, said that “the mum’s health is monitored throughout and after the pregnancy, which has helped survival rates in infancy. Introducing the baby box in Scotland without that qualification would be just a case of giving a nice gift. In terms of helping the health of pregnant women or unborn children it would be worthless.” In Finland, as a condition of receiving the box, expectant mothers have 16 meetings with medical or nursing staff, with health checks on all members of the mother’s extended family.

Further, the Lullaby Trust and UK cot death experts have warned about the safety aspects of a baby sleeping in a cardboard box. The former said “a cot or Moses basket is the safest place to sleep a baby. It is not possible for baby boxes to fully comply with safety standards as current British and EU safety standards for nursery furniture exist only for traditional cots, cribs and bassinets and there is currently no specific standard for the use of a cardboard box as a sleeping place for an infant.”

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon was wrong when she claimed that Scottish baby boxes met the required safety standards.

Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh

Daily jam

Don’t you just love the Labour mantra of pain today but tomorrow who knows what tomorrow will bring, probably some other catastrophes that will require further pain!

However, those paid out of the government pockets (ie taxpayers’ pockets) will feel a little less pain today. Following the latest pay rises teachers with five years experience can expect a pay packet of £48,500 pa. In addition, their employers will add 28.5 per cent into their pension fund, which equates to an annual additional £22,750pa.

Another example could be our NHS nurses and using the five years experience notion as a guide will receive a pay packet of £36,483 pa. In addition, their employers will add 29 per cent (£10,580) into their pension fund.

Obviously there are tough choices to be made but I will bet that reviewing pension contributions of that order will not be one of Labour’s tough choices and reviewing council tax bandings will be a no-no. One tough choice already made is the pensioner perk of Winter Fuel Allowance and we await the Budget to see what other cuts are made on these rich pensioners.

If you voted Labour, for change and wages paid from government coffers enjoy your new world with jam today and maybe even jam tomorrow.

A Lewis, Coylton, Ayrshire

Turnout and vote

William Ballantine (Letters, 2 September) made acute observations about some of the problems with referendums: as an example, under present rules a turnout of only three voters could determine the result of the next indyref. To avoid that, common sense suggests at least two thirds of the electorate must participate in future.

However, it would be even better if only the votes of those well informed about the issues were counted, even if that condition reduced the numbers to well below fifty per cent, as I suspect it would. Unfettered democracy has only too often threatened a sensible outcome – something being proved yet again by our recent general election.

Tim Flinn, Garvald, East Lothian

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