Sir, – Am I reading this story correctly? Angry residents who live in Braeside object to families in poverty moving into affordable housing in their – will I call it an estate or upper class estate, full of snobs?
It’s a sort of slur on the families who desperately need housing.
Who do these residents think they are? Certainly not royalty.
And as for your reader – Gilah Cheeseright – you have come away with a cracker of a reason as to why you don’t want poverty-stricken families to move in. Choose your words carefully in your next statement.
If the council deny this development we will need to know why and how it was refused and by whom, otherwise people will be looking at them and thinking are they biased towards poverty.
Perhaps the hundred objectors would like to give their names and objections to the public as we are entitled to hear your reasons behind them.
Joseph Durno. Cummings Park Circle, Aberdeen.
SNP deal for trading in the Union doesn’t sound too tempting
Sir, – Why is it so often suggested that the UK Government needs to make a positive case for Scotland remaining in the UK?
A car dealer hoping to sell us a new model does not insist on us having a detailed analysis of the familiarity, advantages, flaws, running costs and service history for our old family car.
They assume that having driven and maintained it for many years, we are well aware of these factors, and it is up to them to convince us that they can offer us a suitable alternative deal.
Scots live in the UK, and already know the many advantages, opportunities and several flaws that this brings.
We know the service history, the historical running costs (taxes), and that there are several things needing to be fixed while maintenance costs are escalating.
However, if the SNP dealership want to sell us a new model, they will need to advertise a deal good enough to lure us into the Indyref showroom.
As it stands, their special New Year sale offer would look something like this:
Trade in your old UK Union for a new SNP Indy – purchase price and trade-in value of your old model to be negotiated with Westminster – but not until after you have signed the agreement.
Road tax on your Indy will no longer be paid to UK. New tax and running costs are unknown – but don’t worry, the finance package will allow you to borrow unlimited amounts at an unknown interest rate to be repaid in a currency yet to be decided.
Your Barnett formula insurance and roadside assistance policy will end immediately – possibly replaced by an EU policy – but don’t hold your breath, as it will take years – if ever, and would mean that after all that effort, your so-called Indy will once again be a Union subject to EU policy rules.
If this is the best deal on offer, it shouldn’t take a de facto family referendum to decide to stick with the trusty Union and put some money and effort into repairs and maintenance.
Mark Openshaw. Earlswells Road, Cults.
Sacrifices required for a better future
Sir, – The picture spread in The P&J (Dec 27) depicted the year’s miseries, often caused by fixated leaders uncaring of their own people; then inspiring pictures of folk worldwide creating hope, invoking decency against mistruths used by selfish leaders.
Aptly it is young people and women shown in active response to dreadful deeds in Ukraine, Iran (and Afghanistan), and climate and business damage to homelands.
These and other events interlink to affect all, such as severe cost crises for the low paid in the UK.
Business and climate degradation of the natural planet are here and still growing.
Worldwide, processes of uncaring “Business” (both free market and totalitarian versions) have to become humanity biased.
Very unlikely for leaders of USA, UK, EU, Russia, China, etc to attain, you may say, so why also worry about “Climate” just now? So it is up to millions globally, in every small way, to insist politicians do just that; some success in making global business and politics human would mean those world threats could be (step-wise) switched off.
But there is no “off-switch” for climate change if we delay; the young understand this, but older mindsets seem to accept “wait and see, I’ll know when weather knocks down my front door”.
❌ Myth: E̶x̶t̶r̶e̶m̶e̶ ̶w̶e̶a̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶i̶s̶n̶’̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶f̶l̶u̶e̶n̶c̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶c̶l̶i̶m̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶c̶h̶a̶n̶g̶e̶
✅Fact: There is no doubt that rising emissions have increased the frequency & intensity of extreme weather events.
— UN Climate Change (@UNFCCC) December 27, 2022
Climate denial cranks, like Trump “it’s just weather, repeat lies often then people start to accept”, do great harm. Including some P&J letters’ repetitive “false facts” that human climate change is not real, yet all national weather bodies and over 95% of climate specialists agree human effect is severe.
Waiting “geological times” to prove 100% if humans change climate is not an option; human society has 0 to 10 years to act!
From this OAP, ignore the cosy self-interest views of cranks minded in the past, increase all our small sacrifices now, to help young people in those P&J pictures have their right to a future, on which the existential question for many is already here. May P&J reports continue their commendable positive vein on such in 2023.
Mike Hannan. Cults, Aberdeen.
Scots could take same path as Irish
Sir, – A plethora of contributions against Scotland seeking independence. The same, “hard border”, “no currency” claims etc being expounded. They appear blissfully unaware of what happened when the Republic of Ireland was created. Do check, chaps. To refresh your memories, there was no hard border, freedom of movement of people and goods continued, along with the pound being retained for some time. Why would Scotland be treated differently? Malice?
Scotland could manage perfectly well without England. England, on the other hand, would have severe difficulties, being almost bankrupt as it is.
Ron Campbell. Richmond Walk, Aberdeen.
Lack of compelling argument to stay
Sir, – I had a real guffaw on reading the lecture from our would-be Scottish “Highland chieftain”, Ian Lakin (Letters, Dec 28). We like nothing more than being told what is good for us Scots.
His bluster is unconvincing. Indeed most Scots would vote for independence currently, as he knows. My Australian friends chuckle about the much-vaunted trade deal. Talk about trying to hoodwink a nation when the UK loses £40 billion a year post-Brexit. If you can’t trade with your neighbours then there’s a compelling case for going our own way to deal with our neighbours.
The evidence increasingly shows that our decision to leave the EU has lifted the price of imported goods, flattened business investment and damaged trade, @ITVJoel writes. https://t.co/qlTsZilWma
— ITV News (@itvnews) December 20, 2022
Scotland is mostly a left-leaning social democracy and there is deep-seated antipathy towards policies which are inequitable and unjust. It’s not for no reason that the Labour Party was founded by Keir Hardie, a Scot who came through via coal mines and trade unions.
There are many like Ian Lakin who are very well off and have done nicely out of the UK capitalist system. They don’t see the need for change nor want any disruption to their comfortable lifestyles. In his letter, he singularly failed to present a coherent or compelling argument for the continuation of this 300-year-old arrangement, which is well past its sell-by date, and which allows the British establishment to prosper at the expense of the bulk of society.
Pro-Brexit Anglo-British nationalists like Mr Lakin have had their day in the sun, and jibes about non-existent grievances won’t wash. Scotland will take charge of its destiny whether the “mother of all parliaments” likes it or not.
Ken Reid. Inchmarlo, Banchory.
New way forward is needed for NHS
Sir, – Way back in early November 2022 I wrote stating my concerns with the state of the NHS and I am seeing GPs as well as hospital consultants complaining that nothing is being done to help NHS staff by the SNP led by Nicola Sturgeon.
Someone needs to take action now, without any more delays by the SNP government, and get it sorted. As I have always stated, the NHS is broken and is no longer fit for its purpose and needs to be changed to a better way without haemorrhaging taxpayers’ cash. For too long now, many people from other countries have been costing the present NHS system lots of cash. Just look at how difficult it is to see your GP!
Like any large company or organisation, changes are needed in order to get the ship back on an even keel. I hate to see NHS staff wanting to leave their jobs due to the current set-up. They are the greatest employees you could have and they need help now. Not from Sturgeon and her staff but from someone who could remodel the NHS. God bless the UK’s NHS and its employees, and start to look forward to a positive way in the New Year.
Gavin Elder. Prunier Drive, Peterhead.
Every reason to fear referendum
Sir, – W A Ross (Letters, Dec 26) teases unionists (or as I call them ‘normal people’) by suggesting we are afraid of another referendum.
Speaking for myself, I don’t mind admitting I most definitely am concerned. That’s because the Scottish referendum format is completely skewed in favour of blind nationalism.
In 2014 it was gerrymandered to include the votes of impressionable 16-year-old kids who are not deemed mature enough to drive or drink and apparently not of an age of full criminal responsibility. These youngsters are likely to think the Battle of Britain, the Cold War and the UN Security Council are Saturday night game shows. They have neither been educated in economics nor have managed a household budget.
No doubt next time asylum seekers and prisoners would be added to the voters’ roll, along with EU citizens who often do not understand the UK’s history or values.
The people most definitely not allowed to vote, of course, are Scots born and raised here who have moved away to apply their talents around the UK or the globe. These people are far less likely to have the parochial “Wha’s like us?” attitude and as such are not the people the SNP want in any referendum.
Quite apart from the above it would create another intense period of aggressive, intimidatory campaigning predominately from the nationalist side.
Worried about another referendum? You bet I am, Mr Ross.
M R Kay. Lochview Place, Bridge of Don, Aberdeen.
Bus gates won’t work
I agree bus gates would work in every city in the UK but sadly not Aberdeen.
A clear problem would be flooding in the Virginia Street area, which has not been solved, and several accidents which close the dual carriageway several times yearly so those people coming from north will have no way to get through that area.
And who was the person who thought of banning turning right on to Rosemount Viaduct?
How are the parents of Robert Gordons College pupils going to park? Instead they take illegal turns causing accidents.
I would love to know who thought this out cause he/she is clearly not from Aberdeen.
Grant Bjorkelund. Rosemount, Aberdeen.
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