Sir, — I wouldn’t say I am Boris Johnson’s number one fan but has there ever been a prime minister so vilified? By the press – including this paper – and the media.
We have three round–the–clock news channels, employing armies of news gatherers, with viper-like political editors whose life blood is scandal and division. If they don’t know the real truth, or the truth doesn’t fit in with their narrative, they use innuendoes and rumours. Unfortunately, Boris Johnson’s personality and style of leadership leaves an open goal for those scheming against him.
Long before this storm in a wine glass, his enemies were led – and funded – by the remainers, who, like the SNP, refuse to accept the result of a democratic referendum and grind on and on in an effort to reverse the decision. No commercial business could operate successfully under these conditions.
Virtually every university in the country offers courses in media studies – it is big business. But there is freedom of speech and then there is abuse of power by the media, and it needs to be addressed.
What I can never fathom is why the Scottish media is fixated with Westminster when there are scandals aplenty at home.
Boris didn’t know he was signing up to lead the country through a pandemic nor a war in the Ukraine, but can anyone in their right mind think of anyone better equipped for the task?
Not a Labour leader. They take three months to elect their leader, having to consult everyone except the man in the moon for approval.
Boris rapidly ordered PPI and ventilators, funded the UK vaccination research and development programme and ordered millions of vaccines, some from under the noses of the sleepwalking leaders of the country where they were produced.
Of course the EU leaders had to mark time until they were all consulted and a collective response agreed. His enemies of course squealing that he had ridden roughshod over contract competition rules.
So what?
Speed was of the essence, and we all know what EU contract competition rules did to Scotland – a proliferation of wind turbines scattered across the country made abroad when they could have been made in Scotland.
The Westminster government then stretched the budget to breaking point with the furlough scheme and support to the less than grateful Scottish Government.
Whatever happens to Boris Johnson, will history relate that, like the far from perfect and often vilified Churchill, he is remembered as being the right man, in the right place, at the right time?
Dennis Dunbar, Obsdale Park, Alness
Wind expenses pushing up bills
Sir, — In his letter, Mr Peter Smith asks a very simple question: “Why are we paying so much for electricity?”
Here is the explanation. In case he hasn’t noticed, power prices have doubled in wind industry-deluded Britain. They are expected to treble in October.
In the UK, higher energy prices are poised to push an estimated two million additional households into fuel poverty, taking the total to six million, the highest level in more than 25 years.
Far from becoming cheaper, meticulously audited accounts from the wind industry itself prove that wind power is actually becoming even more expensive. Ongoing operating, maintenance, repair and replacement costs are rising exponentially. In 2019, subsidies for wind power in Scotland cost consumers £954 million.
Fortunately for the Scots, this subsidy is absorbed by the National Grid and charged out to all UK customers. If Scottish householders had to pay for it themselves, it would cost every household £367 a year.
And that does NOT include all the other additional costs for integrating wind power, such as constructing transmission lines, like the awful Beauly to Denny monstrosity. Nor does it include the extortionate cost of essential back-up whenever the wind stops. We are effectively paying for two systems running in parallel.
As at January 3 2022, according to data compiled by the Renewable Energy Foundation, we have been forced to pay £1,076,455,630 in “constraint” payments to the wind industry for providing absolutely nothing and the majority is paid out in Scotland by all UK consumers.
According to the annual medium term OBR forecasts, subsidies for renewable energy have cost the public £78 billion in the last 10 years.
This equates to about £3,000 per household!
If poor Mr Smith, or anyone else, is expecting ever-so-cheap wind power any time soon, heaven knows what expensive will look like.
George Herraghty, Lhanbryde, Elgin
Britain’s shameful colonial past
Sir, — I was troubled by the ill-informed views about the British empire and colonialism in two letters in the P&J on June 7 (K Shortreed & W Morgan).
British colonialism is far from “benign” or “less bad than others’”, and your correspondents need to lift their eyes and seek out non-British perspectives if they want to understand history.
Let’s not forget that colonialism delivered slavery to the world – with the British and the Portuguese reputed to be the most “successful” slave-trading countries, together accounting for about 70% of all Africans transported to the Americas.
The example of the British in India was used – in fact over the years of occupation, the British extracted £45 trillion from the country to prop up their own economy – which periodically resulted in severe famines, partially caused by British economic and administrative policies.
Also, ask the Irish about their famine, and you will get a different perspective.
Winston Churchill is no hero in the eyes of many impacted by colonial Brits. He is famed for “gifting” the concentration camp to the world during the Boer War, and of policy failures (some deliberate) resulting in the 1940s Bengal famine.
The correspondents in question need to remember the famous quote from the playwright George Bernard Shaw: “Patriotism is your conviction that your country is superior to all others because you were born in it.”
Willie Dunbar, Deeside Gardens, Aberdeen
PM completely unfit for office
Sir, — Looking at the way the Conservative MPs’ votes were distributed and considering between 160 and 170 are either directly on the payroll of the government or involved government supporters and are not allowed to vote against the government, the actual margin of Johnson’s victory was in effect almost non-existent.
Of the 359 Conservative MPs, only 197 are able to vote freely and only an extra 14 freely chose to support Boris Johnson to take his total to 211.
Against this, 148 were practically unified in total opposition and agreed on his complete unsuitability.
His repeated apologies have been totally worthless, and the succession of regrets make them totally without merit. He remains a total charlatan.
The unencumbered Conservative MPs have clearly voted freely to rid us of this individual who is without shame or any sense of honour.
It is time now that the senior members of the party and the cabinet act with purpose and authority and show Boris the door.
He is without doubt completely unfit for high office.
He is much better suited to a return to the circus zipwire.
David Philip, Knockhall Way, Newburgh.
Zones will hinder not help regeneration bid
Sir, — I am still astonished that the people of Torry haven’t declared independence from Aberdeen yet. Not sure if they realise yet, looking at the map of the dead zone of the city centre, that the main route for Torry folk to get into town, to get to the beach, to get to anywhere north of the harbour, odds on the will have to cough up every time they cross into this zone.
Same goes for anyone who works in Torry, Tullos etc – they will need to get through Market Street or take the long way round via Kincorth etc.
So all the traffic that would normally use the central route will now be diverted into a more residential area.
Everyone knows the main polluters going through the town are buses and HGVs. It will certainly stop any pollution in this zone, so they say, but if the council want to regenerate the city centre then they are going about it the wrong way.
They need people to go to the centre with ease, cheap parking, access to Union Street, top to bottom.
With this latest disaster, the businesses should just pack up and move to Torry.
James Glennie
LEZ spells disruption
Sir, — Looking at the map in the paper for the LEZ in the city centre, I see Virginia Street and some of Market Street is part of the zone, which is going to mean major disruption to travel from north to south within the city (or lots of money from fines).
This is an extremely busy dual carriageway area with lots of HGV traffic from the docks, so I can only assume that non-exempt vehicles will be forced to take alternative not-so-suitable rat-run routes to avoid fines – cue even more congestion (and pollution) in the side streets!
And what about all the fume-belching buses powered by diesel?
Ian Craig, Aberdeen