LAST week I had a strange encounter with a royalist who told me that by highlighting class divisions in the context of 21st century Scotland I was displaying an “out-of-date attitude”. I thought his attitude of support for an obscene level of inherited wealth and privilege was rather more out-of-date than mine.
Following that exchange I am encouraged by reading Richie Venton’s article in Wednesday’s National injecting a class dimension into the independence debate (Yes offering must be aimed at working-class Scots, June 29).
He indicates that we must stand on the side of workers if we want a future for Scotland that puts the interests of people and planet before profit and profiteering. Let’s be sure that in truth there is no “middle class”; there are those who possess sufficient resources to live out their lives with surplus to pass down for generations to come, and there are those of us who depend on others to purchase our labour or the product of our labour or to provide us with direct support if we are unable to sell our labour.
It is not for the so-called middle class to stand in solidarity with the workers but for all of us who are working-class to recognise that is what we are, no matter how affluent we may be. Only then can we effectively stand together against the ruling class that divides us so that they can profit at the expense of a better future society for us all.
Ni Holmes
St Andrews
I SEE from The National last Wednesday that Yorkshire theme park operator Flamingo Land is once again intent on cashing in on the beauty, tranquillity and peace of Loch Lomond by launching a fresh attempt to establish a giant entertainment park that they are calling the Lomond Banks Project.
Their attraction to Loch Lomond is quite understandable. They have nothing remotely like it in Yorkshire, have done their due diligence, and reckon that there are huge profits to be made out of its beauty and natural attraction for millions of visitors each year, and it goes without saying that their wish to create a cash cow out of one of Scotland’s National Parks is the prime driving force in their continuing commercial interest.
READ MORE: Ross Greer to lead debate on 'inappropriate' Loch Lomond resort plan
Meanwhile, on the same theme, their development director for the project, one Jim Paterson, didn’t do his project any favours last week by saying his company wanted to complement what makes Loch Lomond so attractive to visitors. How kind coming from one of a band of Yorkshire adventurers. Their previous adventure was killed stone dead by 60,000 objections from the Scottish public and I hope an even larger number will rally to the cause this time in spite of Flamingo Land’s blandishments.
I also hope that the Scottish Parliament will use a forthcoming debate on the matter to ensure that further giant commercial developments of this sort will no longer be permissible within, adjoining or adjacent to our National Parks. An oversight that should have been dealt with years ago.
Bruce Moglia
via email
YOUR report that the Scottish Government has taken permanent draconian emergency powers in the event of future Covid outbreaks has enraged me (Scottish government to be granted emergency Covid powers permanently, June 29).
Lest there be any doubt, let me declare here and now that I will not be adhering to them.
I will not be succumbing to any future lockdowns and I will never accept any government’s self-proclaimed “authority” to march our state to such fascist diktat. Is this government going to fill our jails with infected people?
READ MORE: Covid rules 'unlikely' to return despite rise in cases, Jason Leitch says
In the absence of full knowledge, Covid lockdown was accepted as a way to control an outbreak because of the fear factor promulgated at the time, exacerbated by this government’s lack of preparedness and appalling handling at the outset when infected patients were decanted from hospitals to the fertile ground for the virus of our care homes.
We have the ability to learn from that and ensure measures are put in place to deal with it. Indeed we desperately need a full public inquiry into how government, both national and Scottish, mishandled the pandemic, leading to the uniquely and appallingly high casualty rates Britain suffered. However, lockdown is no longer an acceptable tool to be employed, particularly as these powers have been grabbed without any outline of adequate financial support to accompany them.
Remove these foolish new draconian, undemocratic powers now. The public was not asked for permission and I warrant they wouldn’t grant it.
And how is this a wise move by a parliament that’s asking its electorate to trust it to run an independent Scotland?
Jim Taylor
Edinburgh
WE don’t want to be at the mercy of any more Westminster diktats regarding the health of OUR nation. Right through the pandemic, we were given much better advice in Scotland. It pays to be cautious – we don’t want another epidemic on the same scale with these new variants.
Rebekah Gronowski
via thenational.scot
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