I WRITE in response to the article by Kevin McKenna in Thursday’s edition of The National (Section 35 order is not anti-democratic but the SNP have been for some time, Jan 19). He starts with the fact that a piece of legislation passed with a very significant majority by the democratically elected Scottish Parliament has been blocked by a minor member of the Scottish landed gentry whose party has been consistently rejected by the Scottish people and who owes his power to his eagerness to please his masters in London, no matter the consequences for Scotland.
McKenna then invites (and seems to expect) your readers to accept that this is entirely compatible with democratic principles because, many years ago, the SNP did not oppose the Westminster legislation which allowed this to happen. This argument does not deserve the dignity of a response.
READ MORE: Alister Jack: Trans people not part of thinking in Section 35 decision
Incredibly McKenna then proceeds to argue that the Scottish Parliament is not a democratic body because the opposition is abysmally poor. Continuing his contempt for the intelligence of your readership, he then asserts that this lamentable state of affairs is somehow the fault of the government. Is he suggesting that the government should fund classes for opposition MSPs in “How to be a Grown-up”?
In this article (and all others of his I have read) McKenna does not present any suggestions as to how the difficulties in the path to independence can be overcome. Clearly he is therefore not campaigning for the government to adopt a clear new set of policies and I can only conclude that his motivation is personal prejudice (or something even more sinister).
Finally I must say that this article is an insult to the intelligence of your readership and I cannot believe that your paper will long survive if you continue in this vein.
Alastair Macpherson
Glasgow
SO far I have remained silent on the subject of Mr McKenna’s opinions about the Scottish National Party. However, this latest article is the straw that broke the camel’s back.
So, the SNP are the “nastiest party in the UK” and are “undemocratic” – big words from a man who was part of the management of the Scottish Daily Mail, a paper that would stick up for the Tories until its nose bled.
Andrew Haddow
Glasgow
READ MORE: Tory MSP Rachael Hamilton in 'insulting' comment over trans law debate
I AM at a loss to understand how Kevin McKenna regards Scotland as an abnormal, non-functioning democracy. How does he think the SNP has been elected so regularly? Is our voting system corrupt? I can think of no-one more different from Donald Trump than Nicola Sturgeon.
I agree about the right-wing route the Tories have taken, and about the Labour Party’s unaccountable behaviour. But the smear about the Patrick Harvie and the Green Party is beyond contempt. McKenna clearly has no interest in saving the planet, neither does he care about the future of the hapless transgender victims of the GRR fiasco. How can he think that, even in his abnormal non-functioning democracy, members of every party at Holyrood passed a bill, after years of scrutiny? Only a man could be so dense as to try and defend women “at their most vulnerable”.
Tony Kime
Kelso
IT’S a good news story that the Scottish construction industry has opportunities for 20,000 jobs, or about 4,000 per year to 2027. Like all good news stories it can create some challenges.
Where will we get these workers? How many workers did we force out of the UK from 2016 onwards? Will they return? Are construction workers listed as key workers and would they get visas to enter the UK and of course Scotland? Could school leavers fill this gap as apprentices?
Does the Construction Industry Training Board have the capacity to accept this number of potentially new workers?
Are there funded projects required to grow this needed workforce?
In my view, increasing the insulation (R-Value) of the Scottish housing stock would be beneficial both to the construction industry and us all in Scotland, by reducing energy use and providing employment.
It is very unfortunate that funds from the “Levelling Up” fund were not targeted at insulation improvements, as this surely would “level up” in terms of Scotland’s average lower temperature and poorer housing insulation levels.
A good opportunity missed, caused by another country making decisions for us.
Alistair Ballantyne
Birkhill, Angus
GREENLAND’S melting ice cap may well be impacting on many parts of Scotland in 50 years’ time. Thursday’s article “Experts warn that it’s ice sheet is at the warmest level in 1000 years” should be mandatory reading for all those with the powers needed to take action.
Can reductions in CO2 output be made in time to halt the predicted sea level rise? Current lifestyles are at stake. Still to be calculated is the effect of increasing rates of ice turning to water on a spinning globe as it gravitates from the poles to the equator and thus alters the wobble of the earth’s axis.
Why worry? As my Granny used to say to me when gloom and doom was in vogue, “Look here boy, don’t worry, it’ll all be the same in 100 years.” Maybe her advice is out of date, but “Don’t panic, Captain Boris!” No need to move to the moon just yet. Mind you, not a bad idea.
Iain R Thomson
Strathglass
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