Sir, – Well, now we know the United Kingdom will be hosting Eurovision in 2023.
It is great to see so many cities interested in hosting the event including Aberdeen and Glasgow.
There is no doubt in my mind that if Eurovision is to come to Scotland, then it must come to Aberdeen.
Aberdeen built a new, state-of-the-art Events Complex with a 15,000-capacity arena, the largest in Scotland.
This complex was built by the city council without subsidy from the Scottish Government.
The complex is located two minutes from Aberdeen International Airport and just 10 minutes from the vibrant city centre.
When you add in Aberdeen’s cultural offering of having the award-winning Aberdeen Art Gallery, the upgraded Provost Skene House and the soon-to-be opened Union Terrace Gardens, it is obvious that Aberdeen has benefitted from massive financial investment to regenerate the city thus portraying it as a must-visit European City open for trade and tourism.
Aberdeen’s chances of hosting Eurovision are compelling from a cities point of view after all Aberdeen is the Energy Capital of Europe, disappointingly however some of our leading politicians such as Labour leader Anas Sarwar cannot see past the M8 and is already touting Glasgow.
If Scotland is to be outward looking then its politicians must see past the M8 and recognise that if Aberdeen can host the BBC Sports Personality of the year, the International Football Association Board annual meeting as well as host Offshore Europe, the biggest Energy Conference in Europe, then it is certainly capable of hosting Eurovision.
So, when it comes to making your mind up or save your kisses for me let’s hear it for Aberdeen.
Willie Young. Prospect Terrace, Aberdeen.
UK is competing, not Scotland
Sir, – So the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will be in the UK, on behalf of Ukraine, with Nicola Sturgeon already stating she would like it held in Glasgow, though Aberdeen has also expressed interest. But Sturgeon’s rationale for hosting is somewhat obscure.
The UK, a key Ukrainian ally, will be competing, not Scotland – the UK will be the host with Glasgow the UK host city.
Eurovision fans from elsewhere in the UK will attend, focused on supporting the UK entry. The event will be televised by the BBC, the UK’s national broadcaster and the principal funder, on behalf of the UK, of the event.
Yes, Sturgeon characteristically may manoeuvre herself to grab a few minutes of fame – but that’s a small price for unionists to pay for seeing Glasgow drowning in a sea of Ukraine and union flags for days running up to the event and on the night of the competition.
Martin Redfern. Melrose, Roxburghshire.
Inequality must be rectified
Sir, – As much as I would almost immediately class Mike Salter’s letter in Letters, P&J, July 26 as the usual Unionist venom-filled diatribe, I have to admit to agree, in part, with his closing statement – that Scots should ask themselves which gives Scotland the louder voice, 6 MEPs out of 700, or 59 MPs out of 650.
Therein lies the very reason Scotland needs to be an independent country.
Putting aside the EU representation for the moment (after all the EU is made up of 27 members, and alliances on shared concerns can be forged), in the UK Union of four member states, even if all the other three agree on a particular course, the remaining English MPs would always have a majority to force through their will (533 out of 650, soon to be 543 out of 650!).
Until there are reforms to rectify this inequality and unfairness, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland remain part of an undemocratic Union.
In the EU, no one country holds an overall majority of votes and, as the UK has proven, if a country feels let down or sidelined within the EU it is free to leave.
That same option must exist for members of the UK Union!
Douglas Black. Kingsford, Alford.
Other parties need to join together
Sir, – When will it stop, we have Nat rail, Nat ferries, Nat airports, Nat roads, NatHS (NHS) Nat police, Nat schools, Nat farms, Nat steel and most worrying for us oldies is eventually they will have a Nat civil service and they will control our pension.
Think about it Nat pensions.
Because of the continual interference by SNP ministers and through no fault of the people that work in those professions, they always seem to be in crises. Look at any nationalistic government around the world they are all in the same predicament they fail to run day to day services that a country needs.
We are fortunate at the moment that we don’t see the rioting and worse that happens to other nationalistic countries around the world, can we do anything about it?
The short term answer is no but taking the longer view yes.
By using the ballot box to select the right people to serve Scotland locally and nationally is going to be difficult but not impossible.
The SNP transparency policies are nonexistent so we can only guess at the amount of public money they have spent to shore up their nationalistic aspirations.
Individually the other parties can do nothing against this wall of secrecy but combining they could have ousted the SNP long ago.
Think the SNP are in power because of the Greens and these are not your average Greens. The Scottish Greens are a radical-Left amalgam of 21st-Century hard-line eco-activism and old-fashioned Marxist class war – anti-business, anti-capitalist, anti-monarchy, anti-individual freedom, anti-car, anti-UK, anti-wealth and, above all, anti-economic growth.
So the question we must ask ourselves is why the other parties don’t form a temporary allegiance to put the SNP/Greens on to the back benches?
Finlay G Mackintosh. Loch View, Forres.
Scotland heading for more poverty
Sir, – The Scottish Government is spending £20+ million on blah blah to try to get another IndyRef, and not tackling Scotland’s problems of ageing population, poverty, and losses on a Prestwick Airport, Bifab, Gupta Lochaber, ferries and census and all their other failures, too many to list here.
The hot summer has returned to normal and we now know that the temperature in London was 40C, in the Scottish Borders 35C and then dropped to 15C in Shetland, so there was a drop of 20C across the area between the Borders and the north. Keep an eye on the forecast this winter.
As autumn, winter and spring comes along the cost of energy and fuel which averages about £3,400 may go up in October to an impossible figure.
Scotland is far from markets and has high living costs, and 900 islands with 110,000 of population with the high cost of transport in ferries and distance from NHS services for Highland people.
The temperature in Scotland reduces from the borders northwards and depends on the location, altitude and weather. There is no doubt that the increased costs are higher than those in the rUK.
With its remoteness and an ageing population, Scotland is likely to have more people in poverty over the next year.
Sandy Neish. Cobbans Lane, Inverurie.
Housing costs are a major problem
Sir, – During the 1970s and 1980s inflation was at least 10% every year, mortgage rates averaged 8%, average earnings were £2,000 per year, or £11k in today’s money, food represented 24% of household expenditure and the price of a gallon of petrol trebled from 33p to £1.
On the face of it things were worse then than now.
But I can’t recall any print or TV news reports of families facing starvation like the ones we see on almost every news bulletin, so what has changed?
One difference, and a major drain on household finances, has been the rental or mortgage cost of housing, which has doubled in real terms even though average interest rates are 2%.
There are two main reasons for this – the population has grown 23% from almost 55.8 million to 68.5m and, as evidenced by the number of single parents being interviewed on news reports, the number of single-parent families has grown from 570,000 in 1971 to almost three million now.
These factors have forced house prices up.
If there are around 2m more single-parent families that means 2m absent partners need a place to stay.
With only one wage coming in and the remaining partner unable to work full-time, it’s no wonder they can’t afford to feed themselves or their family – especially if the other partner does not pay his or her share and despite the fact that food bills are now 10% of spending, less than half of what it was in the ’80s.
God help these people if the interest rate quadruples to 8%.
And God help the prime minister who is expected to find the answers to this disaster coming down the tracks.
Allan Sutherland. Willow Row, Stonehaven.
Bullying is still rife
Sir, – Regarding the article about a father given unpaid work for his – quite frankly – unacceptable behaviour towards school staff.
I do not condone his behaviour by any means, but I do understand his anger and frustration.
I worked with vulnerable young kids for years. Time and again bullying of some form was an issue. I visited several primary schools and met with families, class teachers, deputy heads, head teachers.
Most school staff would not accept bullying was an issue.
The standard response was “ no bullying in our school” or “zero tolerance policy, anti bullying strategy in place”.
This is absolute nonsense. It was brushed under carpets, minimised and the victim very often removed, making them even more vulnerable, while said bullies are left to pick their next target.
These are the facts as I witnessed them during many an investigation in preparation of reports to present to Children’s Panels.
As I said, I do not condone this aggressive shouting swearing approach but I feel his pain.
Bullying in schools is still very prevalent and very underplayed.
It is time it was dealt with accordingly and effectively
Jeanette Craig