Sir, – Your article on passport delays (May 3) was both interesting and worrying.
My partner and I recently applied to renew our passports and, despite living at the same address, had to send our old passports to two separate addresses. We have heard of one family of four who had to send theirs to four different addresses.
Since we are advised to send them by secure delivery, the cost is £6.85 each. Some joined up thinking (or computer programming) would save families a considerable amount in postage alone.
On delving further, my partner unearthed some information about the “UK” passport service. I invite your journalists to investigate where the various departments are based and who is in charge – we were very surprised.
In the meantime, it would seem we are two of the lucky ones and should have our new passports quite quickly.
We had to apply for renewal 18 months before our old passports were due to expire due to the EU rule that your passport must be at least six months away from the anniversary of its issue date, not its expiry.
Our issue date was February 2013 but we hope to travel to Europe in September and would have been barred entry.
It’s a minefield.
Liz Chrystall, Henderson Drive, Kintore.
We don’t need any more upheaval
Sir, – What we all want most is security… but we haven’t all realised that in Scotland.
We’ve had a run of upheaval and we aren’t through. Brexit, Covid, Ukraine. What’s next?
Who knows? But one thing is clear that, in the past two years, the world has changed dramatically.
Security is a basic human need. Sometimes, we have no control over events that bring insecurity and danger, but sometimes we gamble our security for strong-minded whims, and we have to bear the responsibility. Scottish independence is one such whim.
If we pursue this headstrong course, we risk massive insecurity financially and even physically.
In a dangerous world where we can’t take freedom, security or prosperity for granted, it would be madness to bluff ourselves that an independent Scotland could be better off.
Consider the Covid crisis. Independent rules in Scotland didn’t help as we are clearly seeing right now. Despite much criticism, Westminster got the big thing right and secured vaccine stocks well ahead of the rest of Europe and we benefited from this along with the rest of the UK.
Consider the current crisis in Ukraine. Who would have believed this could happen in the 21st Century?
But unity is strength.
An independent Scotland at a time of such insecurity would weaken Nato and we would do well to admit it poses a greater risk for Scotland than any other country.
Ian Paynter, Inglewood Crescent, Glasgow.
Why won’t PM come clean?
Sir, – Boris Johnson’s insistence that a long-needed “windfall tax” on the environmentally unsound oil industry is discouraging to investments that will keep prices lower for everybody is somewhat disingenuous as it shows Johnson, yet again, is totally disconnected from the truth.
With the majority of citizens held captive due to the UK Government’s abysmal attitude to living costs after their massive Brexit con-trick it’s surprising that all Johnson’s pro-Brexit voters haven’t been battering down the barriers of Downing Street to exact their revenge.
The idea supported by some equally misguided politicians of a “just transition” for oil, when not a single care has been shown to other industries past their sell-by date meaning workers were scrapped, negates another uncomfortable truth. That some people outside oil think they should just clean up their mess and go.
And if anyone thinks that action against the hydrocarbon industry is going to abate they’d best rethink that one too as the world’s climate goes further down the spiral created by oil creating all the foreseen and preventable climate issues.
Ian Beattie, Baker Street, Aberdeen.
New-look page is a revelation
Sir, – I very much welcome the new layout of the Letters to the Editor page
I said in a letter to the editor a year or two back that we should have more letters published than just the two or three being published with a quarter page picture.
This is very much appreciated and is in the style of The Courier which increased from one page of letters to two pages.
Michael Baird, Dornoch Road, Bonar Bridge.
Post-election crystal ball
Sir, – As Scots go to the polls, let’s fast forward to the local election results. If nationalists – and SNP in particular – do well, Nicola Sturgeon will joyously proclaim the result’s a ringing endorsement for indyref2 in 2023.
If they do badly, she’ll insist local elections are about local issues not the constitution and repeat her demands that the “once in a generation” referendum must be rerun next year.
Martin Redfern, Melrose, Roxburghshire.
Call to reject Tories’ policies
Sir, – Had Jim Gifford read my letter correctly, he would have recognised that it was not a rallying call to any “party faithful”.
It was a call for the electorate to exercise their democratic powers to reject the abysmal standards and policies of the Tory Party – much as he did himself following his own “road to Damascus” conversion to independent politics.
Whether that is achieved by supporting candidates from any other political party, or none, I do not care.
Jim only converted to independent politics after years of defending the indefensible as the Aberdeenshire Council Conservative leader – I would only hope more of his former colleagues will recognise Boris Johnson is not fit to hold public office, far less support him doing so.
Rob Merson, St Mary’s Drive, Ellon.