The news of the issue of the first batch of redundancy notices to members of staff at Grangemouth ("Grangemouth refinery staff receive redundancy letters as closure looms", The Herald, February 6) signals a new low, both for the workers concerned and the rest of Scotland as a nation. A country which produces oil will now have to buy fuel from its neighbour.
It is pathetic, undignified and should be causing more political outrage and action than it is. The damage that this is going to do to Scotland's balance of payments is hard to overstate. It will shrink Scottish GDP by a considerable amount, further harming our exports whilst increasing our imports. Lower economic activity and therefore lower tax revenue will only result in the notional GERS deteriorating further, thus harming the independence cause.
England will now reap the spoils of refining even more of Scotland's oil and will, as a result, have a larger and stronger economy. Refining oil is a margin business and the economic output is enormous with huge returns, as we have seen from Grangemouth during this past year. What business turning £100 million in profit gets shut down? Does anyone not believe this is political? Make Scotland poorer and more dependent on England whilst Whitehall funnels wealth to those who dance to its tune.
Grangemouth's closure is one of the worst things to happen to Scotland in many long years. Scotland is being turned into an economic vassal state where its resources are extracted, removed and then sold back to it at inflated prices. Every time you fill up your car after Grangemouth closes think of all the workers laid off, think of all the jobs no longer in Scotland but in England that are being supported by Scotland's oil.
Jim Finlayson, Banchory.
• Pol Yates (Letters, February 6) writes: “Any decent government in Westminster… would want to minimise harm to all parts of the UK."
Unfortunately decency has little to do with it. Pragmatically, it’s in the interests of the UK Government to close our industrial base or move it elsewhere, to shut down direct communication links between Scotland and the rest of the world and generally impoverish Scotland’s economy as this damages a cornerstone of the independence movement.
Mary McCabe, Glasgow.
Tail wagging the SNP dog
We hear that the cost of building HMP Glasgow, the replacement for Barlinnie prison, how now risen to nearly 10 times the original cost, to an eye-watering £1 billion (“Constance says £1bn cost to replace Barlinnie prison is ‘critical investment’”, The Herald, February 6).
The MV Glen Sannox was grossly over original cost.When combined with its sister ferry the cost has risen to around £400 million, and we are still waiting for the ferries from Turkey, which no doubt will also be grossly over the official estimate.
In light of this gross overspending of taxpayers' money by the SNP isn't it about time that instead of estimates for contracts involving such large sums that they are quoted a price and timescale for the work to be carried out and the contractors are penalised if these conditions are not adhered to? These companies are past masters at squeezing a much as they can from government.
The government of the day should be in charge and it should not be the tail wagging the dog.
We need a government that can take control so that in future we get value for our money. Sadly the SNP has proven that it is not that government.
Neil Stewart, Balfron.
Read more letters
- The very least we can do is help rebuild Gaza for the Palestinians
- Railways should not be subjected to the business case mentality
- Glen Sannox reality hits home: Arran yearns for the Caledonian Isles
A three-state solution
President Trump's suggestion that the people of Gaza should be relocated is clearly absurd. If he meant that they should move permanently, that is outrageous. If he meant that they should be temporarily relocated en masse, that is impractical.
But he has shaken up the debate, which previously had been going nowhere.
I was always unimpressed by western governments just giving lip service to a simple two-state solution, an independent Palestine living in peace alongside a secure Israel.
How was it ever going to work? The Palestinian West Bank is separated geographically from Gaza. How could those two increasingly distinct entities be shaped into one state, existing effectively with Israel sandwiched between them? Furthermore, the West Bank is more politically moderate. Gaza has been dragged into disorder by terrorists backed by Iran.
President Trump has thought outside the box. Let us now do the same, but more sensibly.
There should be two separate Palestinian states, developing along different trajectories reflecting their very different circumstances, the West Bank and Gaza.
The West Bank is already much further along the route to statehood than the now-completely destroyed Gaza. It has enormous potential for tourism – this is the Holy Land – agriculture and light industry. It could be sponsored by Jordan, buoyed by international aid, and fast-tracked into Arab and European trade deals. It could be independent within five years.
Gaza will need massive long-term reconstruction funded largely by Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Once Hamas militants have been fully removed, a UN protectorate could be established, with a 10 or 15-year plan for statehood. The new entity would face Egypt and the Mediterranean. It would have to live, eventually, by international trade.
Palestinians would have the right of return to either the West Bank or Gaza, depending on their families' geographical origins and other criteria that would have to be devised.
This could only work as part of an overarching pan-Arab peace deal with Israel, and massive international support to give security guarantees to Israel. Iran would have to be completely excluded from the process for as long as the present Iranian regime exists.
John Gemmell, Wem, Shropshire.
• I take issue with John Milne's assertion (Letters, February 7) that "we" have committed crimes against the Palestinians, and should therefore pay for Gaza's reconstruction. Why should those who opposed the crimes be expected to stump up as taxpayers?
George Morton, Rosyth.
Reason for national park vote
I read with interest your recent report on Dumfries and Galloway’s full council meeting, which took place on Wednesday ("The decision by council on Galloway National Park? Undecided", heraldscotland, February 5). The meeting was to provide the council’s response to NatureScot’s online Technical Survey.
I attended the meeting and sat some five chairs away from Rob Lucas, chair of the Galloway National Park Association. His assertion “that no councillors had voted against the National Park” had no bearing on what actually happened within the meeting. At no point of the proceedings was there an opportunity for this to take place. The choices presented were 1), to choose "undecided"; 2), to choose "tend to support", and 3) was to support an amendment, put forward by Dougie Campbell, councillor for Dee and Glenkens (this option was ruled out at the first stage of the voting).
Mr Lucas ought to have been aware that the reason the councillors voted as they did was because of the lack of clarity in the consultation process and the fact that new legislation by the Scottish Government, which will affect how parks are run, is running concurrently with the consultation process, making it impossible to know the full details of not only the size of the park, but also how it will be run, what powers it will have, the make-up of the board and what the financial implications for the council would be (plus many other anomalies).
A recording of the process is still available online.
Liz Hitschmann, Gatehouse of Fleet.
Wilson's dilemma
In his article on the "special relationship" between the UK and the USA ("Special relationship Britain really needs is with the EU", The Herald, February 6), Brian Wilson refers to the astuteness of Harold Wilson when Prime Minister in keeping us out of the Vietnam War.
Wilson was under intense pressure from President Johnson and the USA to take part in Vietnam. The Americans were anxious to secure British participation in order to lend credibility to their position, however small that contribution might be. After all, the Australians had provided a small number of troops.
The position of Britain at the time economically was badly strained and almost bankrupt and it had received a number of financial guarantees from America. It was a fine balance which Wilson had to maintain. When asked why he had not taken a stronger line against America and its war-making, Wilson responded: "Because we can’t kick our creditors in the b----."
Faced with great opposition to the Vietnam War in Britain generally and within the Labour Party, Wilson believed that he could not respond positively to the American requests for support, albeit such a stance was putting the "special relationship" at risk.
Ian W Thomson, Lenzie.
Where are our High Speed Trains?
What your otherwise excellent week-long series on ScotRail omitted ("Scotland's trains: On the right track?", The Herald, January 27-31) was to highlight the continuing scandal of five-coach High Speed Trains (HSTs) being replaced at short notice by three-coach 170s and two-car 158s. These two types are mere suburban stock, never fitted for long-distance service on our premier routes of Glasgow/Edinburgh to Aberdeen/Inverness.
Enough HSTs were brought in and refurbished to high standard, ready for long future service. ScotRail rightly trumpeted their merits. Where now are they?
And why am I this Friday morning (February 7) travelling from Stonehaven to Glasgow on a thoroughly third-rate 170 (and with my original seat reservation lost)?
It’s really not good enough, as I’ve pointed out a hundred times in a campaign that began in 1989 when the first appalling 158 was thrust upon us. I covered the press launch that day in Blair Atholl of these Thomas-the-Tank-Engines-on-steroids, and queried then where was the legroom, space for luggage, and carriage for bikes. Answer there was none... and none since, beyond pre-digested pap.
ScotRail and Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop now seem determined to dispose of the HSTs. Does no one ask why?
There are dark rumours circulating of a done deal that Scotland’s new long-distance fleet is to comprise ugly unlovely trains called 222s, noisy antiques of the future, cascaded third-hand on to us – complete with cramped seating, vibrating underfloor engines and smelly toilets.
Where lies our national pride? The HSTs apart, Scotland has had to endure the poorest-quality long-distance trains of any nation in Europe for more than a generation. When will the rot stop?
Gordon Casely, Crathes.
Not plugged in to Scotland
Congratulations to the wisdom of Royal Mail in commemorating AC/DC on stamps ("Iconic rockers AC/DC celebrated with stamps", The Herald, February 6). Essentially an Australian rock band with some Scottish band members, it's a pity nobody had the gumption to feature a Scottish venue on the stamps instead of London (three), Chicago, India etc.
James Miller, Glasgow.
Blessed bedlam
Tales of cinema in the olden days (Letters, February 1, 4, 5, 6 & 7) reminded me of Saturday afternoon trips to our local: the Art Deco Vogue in Glasgow's Great Western Road. The hall was always packed, entry a tanner.
That was the era of films on reels, which often broke down. Then we stamped our feet, whistled and booed. Bedlam.
The final item was always the serial – the hero tall, dark and handsome, the heroine petite, pretty, curly blonde hair. There would be a nail-biting finish. They could be locked in a burning building or tied to the railway track while a steam engine was bearing down, so exciting to us. For the rest of the week we budding playwrights would imagine all manner of escape scenarios (just as we did for Paul Temple on the radio). No wonder queues of eager youngsters stretched round the building for the next instalment.
Isobel McEwan, Skelmorlie.
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