Latest news with #IanWaugh
The Herald Scotland
20-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
What has Scotland gained from having voted in 37 Labour MPs?
It's also the case that, by rejecting out of hand the Octopus Energy proposal of seven or eight "zones" for electricity, the Labour Government is ensuring that Scotland's economy will be more depressed than needs to be the case. Had zonal pricing gone ahead, there would have been a boost in economic activity for Scotland, with energy-hungry business operations looking to relocate, or to expand, their business in Scotland to benefit from the lower price of electricity. Our NHS and public services, hospitality sectors, and every other business would have benefited instantly. Across Dumfries and Galloway we previously sent Tory MPs to London to do their bit for Scotland in government but, instead, we got Brexit. And that despite Scotland voting 62% Remain in the EU. And now we have Labour in Westminster failing to as much as rejoin the European Economic Area with a single market) with the resultant loss of freedom of movement for people both ways; nor the customs union to facilitate the movement of trade and services. The question must surely now be: "What is the benefit to Scotland of being a part of this UK that is so much against what the people of Scotland want and need?" Ian Waugh, Dumfries & Galloway Indy Hub, Dumfries. SNP's wise policy on offshore wind Jill Stephenson (Letters, July 13) claims that the Scottish Government does not own any energy sources for wind generation and that these are actually the property of private companies. Is this the same Jill Stephenson who berated the Scottish Government three years ago for selling wind farm seabed licences at a much lower price as compared to Westminster? How do you auction off something you do not own? As regards the efficacy of that decision, it is perhaps worth noting a January 2022 article in the industry magazine WindEurope which commented as follows: 'The Crown Estate Scotland has announced the results of the 'ScotWind' seabed tender. They auctioned 8,600 km² of sea space which could host almost 25 GW of offshore wind. 17 projects won. With 15 GW most of the capacity that will now be developed to be floating offshore wind, the system the Scots have used for awarding seabed leases ensures the new offshore wind farms will be delivered at the lowest cost for taxpayers. "The option fees are much lower than in the UK's recent Offshore Wind Lease Round 4. Scotland chose a more sensible tender design with a maximum price ceiling of £100,000/km². This has avoided bidding at very high prices – which keeps the costs of offshore wind low for consumers. As seabed leasing costs are usually passed on to the electricity consumer, a price ceiling ensures that new offshore wind volumes are also delivered at the lowest cost for consumers." A business ceases to become commercially viable when its customers can no longer afford to buy its products. So keeping that price as low as possible becomes a pre-requisite for any energy policy. However Westminster has not only ignored that logic but has transferred the high prices it charged for its licences onto Scottish consumers. This has led to a number of businesses in Scotland closing as rising energy costs have made them uneconomic. How could any Scottish Government create a viable business in these circumstances? Robert Menzies, Falkirk. Read more letters We need a vote on Holyrood The cost of running Holyrood is spiralling out of control. With a total budget of over £41 billion it is questionable if Scotland really needs this expensive additional layer of government. The previous system before Holyrood was established was to have a Secretary of State for Scotland with a small team of Scottish civil servants running Scotland very efficiently at a fraction of the cost of Holyrood. There is growing support for having a referendum in Scotland to consider closing Holyrood and reverting to the old system, thereby saving billions. Dennis Forbes Grattan, Aberdeen. A disregard for human life Thank you so much for printing Denis Bruce's letter (July 13) regarding the statements of Lily Allen and Miquita Oliver on how much they are relishing their easy access to abortions, and how exciting an experience it is, totally disregarding the fact that for every abortion they have had, they have taken a human life, and all those involved in the process are now conditioned into seeing this as a service and part of the rights of any mother. Is that the road we are going down? Once this disregard for human life seeps out into all other avenues of what is acceptable, living in such a society for future generations looks very bleak indeed. Respect for human life is at the very centre of a civilised society. If this bill to decriminalise abortion, which is not yet passed, and still has to go to the House of Lords, could be stopped in its tracks, a great many people around the country, not just Denis Bruce, would be very relieved indeed. Let us learn from those countries who chose to go down that route some years ago and are now living to regret it. I never thought I would live to see the day when a mother could legally take the life of a baby about to be born. God help us all. Nancy Gilfedder, Glasgow. Am I worthy of preservation? "Every human has immeasurable value" asserted several distinguished academics (Letters, July 6) in response to the question of the merit of human life, otherwise "we descend into a jungle of barbarity". Indeed. In making their case, they cited various debates in society currently querying the sanctity of life but, frankly, they had plenty to choose from. An embarrassment of riches stretched out before them in that respect. We seem surrounded by politicians and commentators, expert on price but conspicuously poorly advised on value. Nowhere more so than upon the issue of welfare reform. Chancellor Rachel Reeves was literally brought to tears during a discussion on the theme (though, we were assured, for wholly unrelated reasons, and that the source of her obvious distress was "a personal matter"). As someone who has relied on benefits for many years, I consider myself a dab hand at budgeting. I have to be. When the sums do not add up, I am not afforded any claim to personal matters. Were I to tender such emotion, the barbarians around me would have a field day at my expense. So what are we worth? And whom amongst us should we prioritise for preservation? The aforementioned academics argued that the calculation is immeasurable. But someone will measure it. They always do. With or without hankies. Archie Beaton, Inverness. Has the Scottish Government got it right on offshore wind? (Image: PA) Crack down on charities This Government is spending, or should that be wasting, money like water and taxes are increasing and increasing. Cuts must be made. What about starting with charities? There are 200,000 charities in the UK. For the tax year to April 2025 the tax relief for these charities and their donors totalled £6.7 billion. Yes, billion not million. That is £6.7bn less to spend on where it is more needed. The Government should be more critical in allowing new charities and challenging existing charities with a view to reducing the numbers to see where savings can be made and whether they are still in the public interest. Just think what could be done with a 10 per cent saving. Top of the hit list should be the 1,717 migrant charities (up from the 2020 level of 1,104) which play a dominant role in preventing the deportations of migrants who had no right to remain in the UK. Clark Cross, Linlithgow. UK is at war with Russia Of course the latest Russian drone attacks on Ukraine should be condemned ("Zelenskyy's plea as Ukraine is bombarded", July 13), but let's not forget that Russia proper is being attacked with UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles, meaning the UK is effectively at war with Russia (that Brits aren't firing them is immaterial). Given the increasing importance of cyber warfare, Keir Starmer (who recently told us to prepare for war) is risking attacks on UK infrastructure. If the coming winter is marked by regular power cuts, with hospitals having to run on generators, we'll know who was stupid enough to up the ante. George Morton, Rosyth. Hypocrisy over Trump I see that the usual suspects are lining up to protest at the forthcoming visit of President Trump – left-wingers, the Greens and the SNP. Not that long ago, there was a visit from the Chinese leader, head of an odious government, with very few of the above turning out to protest. Why not? William Ballantine, Bo'ness.
The National
27-06-2025
- Business
- The National
Wealth does not 'trickle down' – we need a wellbeing economy
As things stand, the UK economy has been following a 'neo-liberal' approach for many years – with privatisations, deregulation, globalisation, and prioritising government spending to stimulate the private sector at the expense of public services. READ MORE: Spell out the facts to voters about the value of North Sea oil and gas When Western governments bailed out the banks following the 2007 crash, the rich didn't take the hit. Shareholders were saved – and the ordinary people of the country got stagnant wages, austerity, in-work poverty, and a state pension that falls far below the 'wellbeing pension' sum of £241.50/week – the figure calculated by the Wellbeing Pension Campaign as the amount required to cover pensioners' basic costs of living. A wellbeing economy is one that recognises that, contrary to promises, wealth doesn't trickle down – it is created when society offers access to opportunity and wellbeing for everyone. A society that doesn't only measure its 'wealth' in economic growth as measured by GDP, but which gives equal weight to measures for quality of life, equality, fairness, happiness and health. It isn't only pensioners who should be able to heat their homes comfortably – everyone should be able to do that, without having to do without other measures that contribute to our quality of life. The choice for Scotland is between 'more of the same', or working with other wellbeing economy governments in reshaping our economy to deliver a just transition to a net zero, nature-positive economy based on the principles of resilience, equality and prosperity for all. Comments following the presentation included: 'I was well impressed with what was said and the delivery'; 'This is the way forward for our country'; and 'We certainly left feeling far more optimistic about Scotland's future than we had been'. Ian Waugh Dumfries & Galloway Indy Hub THE public and political silence about the Liberation journey to the Decolonisation Committee of the United Nations has been quite deafening but the Yes movement's references to it are becoming more frequent. What is going on behind the scenes? I would like to know what the Scottish legal establishment made of Professor Robert Black's speech titled 'For England. Nothing Changed'. But one thing is certain – the political leadership of all Scottish independence parties need to keep up to speed or they will be in danger of being bypassed by political events. READ MORE: No changes to council tax 'in this decade', says Scottish Government In Scotland we have been at the mercy of the most accomplished propaganda machine in the world. On the issue of the Treaty and Acts of Union in 1707 and 1708,we have all been forced into one narrow road which takes us to the endpoint of belief in a Union of equal partnership while being forced into many positions and actions which we do not support, but accept in the belief of Westminster authority and the 'United Kingdom'. Sara Salyers and her Liberation team have changed all that. Craig Murray, as Liberation's acting Scottish ambassador, has assured us of a warm welcome at the UN and has received declarations of interest by several major bodies such as the African Union. If it is found at the UN Decolonisation Committee that in fact there is no such thing as the UK then that will pose problems for the membership of the Security Council, for example. We must have a developed strategy for what our next Scottish step will be to confirm our sovereignty and recover our Scottish parliamentary authority. The actions of the last two Westminster governments have found little support among the Scottish population. It is clear from the letters pages of our Scottish newspapers that there is serious dissatisfaction with the current situation. Maggie Chetty Glasgow I HAVE been a friend and supporter of Craig Murray since his return to Scotland after being sacked by a Labour foreign secretary for exposing torture in Uzbekistan when ambassador there. Since then Craig has devoted himself to the cause of Scottish independence as well as being a fine journalist and has proved fearless, whether in front of Scottish judges or Israeli drones! Despite this, a secret Alba committee has refused him the right to be considered as a candidate for Alba for next year's Scottish Parliament elections. I believe this is a mistaken decision and should be reversed. READ MORE: Craig Murray: Alba blocked my Scottish Parliament 2026 bid The reason for excluding Craig is that he stood for the Workers Party in last year's General Election. Yet Craig did so with Alex Salmond's approval. I know because I talked to Alex and he told me that Craig had his full support and would be a very important voice for Scotland in Westminster. I was approved as an Alba candidate last year but in solidarity with Craig decided not to put myself forward as a candidate this year. I am calling for Alba's conference in October to reverse this decision and allow Craig to be an Alba candidate next year. Hugh Kerr Edinburgh
