Sir, – With the country facing a fiscal black hole deficit of £54 billion, years of austerity and recession, caused by the inept policies of the Tory Government, not to mention Brexit, it beggars belief that a wealthy football club should expect the taxpayer to help it build a new stadium.
How dare the directors of Aberdeen FC blame the council for lack of foresight.
At a time when millions of families are facing fuel and food poverty, lost jobs, inflation at 10%-plus and rising mortgages and costs, falling incomes, etc, it would be inconceivable for any public body to invest in a private business venture in the circumstances.
This is deja vu of Trump’s attempt to get the Scottish Government to use their compulsory purchase powers to help him evict his neighbours to further his private commercial aspirations – and we all know how that ended.
How dare the directors of Aberdeen Football Club criticise the council for not helping to fund their new stadium – shame on them.
Set aside the pros and cons of a new stadium as part of the city’s plans to revamp the beach area, this is, by their own admission, a costly site to develop, especially as AFC already have planning consent for the Kingsford site, which will be significantly less costly to develop.
The Kingsford site is by far the better site, if for no other reason than it has direct access to the A90 and plenty of parking, something which does not seem to have been addressed for a stadium at the beach.
Well done Aberdeen City councillors for thinking of their constituents’ best interests.
Mike Rasmussen. Allach Lodge, Low Rd, Aboyne.
Climate ‘alarmist’ statistics dubious
Sir, – During COP27, which was extended, the most commonly heard statistic has been 1.5C, supposedly the maximum the world can warm above pre-industrial levels.
But the public needs to understand that academics on the alarmist side of the debate derive most of their statistics from computer models rather than from real-time observations.
They feed dubious data into these models and whatever result comes out is worshipped by climate activists and politicians.
There are major problems with these models, for example the so-called Hockey Stick Graph of 1998 where the blade of the stick purports to show soaring temperatures from around 1920 to the present.
It was found by academics on both sides of the debate that no matter what data was fed into the model, it always produced a hockey stick-shaped graph.
Geoff Moore. Braeface Park, Alness.
A matter of opinion
Sir, – In Scott Begbie’s column (Nov 15), he accuses my wife and I and other people like us who voted for Brexit of being gullible, mad, narrow-minded fools.
We are all entitled to our opinion but I resent reading his accusations in your paper which I pay £6 per week for.
BG.
It’s no yolk
Sir, – Reading the news about possible egg shortages leads to amusement about the idea of stockpiling eggs, plus the consequences richly deserved.
Judy Addison.
Pensions rise is still not enough
Sir, – The people born before, during and just after the Second World War are now pensioners.
These are the people who helped build back this country, and in the mini Budget the chancellor gave them a 10.1% rise on their state pensions.
This rise will not even touch the sides, with food prices going up, energy up and council tax due to rise.
Pensioners with a private pension paying more tax will mean the 10.1% will be swallowed up and more. So we will be no better off than we are now.
Don Mckay, Provost Hogg Court, Aberdeen.
SNP mandate for IndyRef2 a myth
Sir, – In his letter (November 19), Herbert Petrie peddles the myth that the Scottish Government was voted in on a mandate to have a second independence referendum.
This myth, frequently rehearsed by the SNP and their followers, is absolutely contrary to statements which were made by Nicola Sturgeon and Scottish Secretary Alistair Jack in the run-up to the general election in 2019.
During the election campaigns, Nicola Sturgeon actually pleaded with voters to vote for the SNP even if they did not support future independence for Scotland, rather than voting for other parties.
Nicola Sturgeon actually said (as reported by the BBC on December 13 2019) “she won’t pretend that every single person who voted SNP necessarily supports independence”, while Alistair Jack said in an interview with the Herald newspaper (and which was reported in the Guardian on November 2 2019) “even if the SNP won a majority of Scottish seats they would “absolutely not have a mandate” (for a second independence referendum).
In fact, the SNP did not win a majority of seats in the election.
Nevertheless, since the 2019 election, true to form and their disregard for the truth, the SNP have asserted that they were given a mandate for a second independence referendum by the people of Scotland.
They weren’t, and the fact that the SNP formed an unholy alliance with the Green Party in order to hold a majority of seats in Holyrood doesn’t alter the undertakings made to the voters by Nicola Sturgeon and Alistair Jack before the 2019 elections.
Keith Smith. Baillieswells Road, Aberdeen.
Good manners do make a difference
Sir, – I am seeing an increase in disrespectful content from those opposed to Scottish independence in the P&J’s letters pages.
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, as there is another independence referendum coming.
A courteous letter sells the argument, the opposite demeans it, though repeating flawed arguments against independence from 2014 won’t wash in 2022.
Remember we were told that North Sea oil and gas was running out? And here we are in 2022 with the P&J reporting the new chancellor’s “£54 billion raid on the energy industry” (November 18).
So it seems the UK still needs its Scottish cash cow.
Scotland is a rich country, and needs the full powers of independence to transition from the planet-heating oil and gas business to our next bonanza; green energy.
So, let’s debate respectfully, and ultimately the voters will decide who they believe.
Willie Dunbar. Deeside Gardens, Aberdeen.
Conversation