Electoral liability

The remarkable thing about the result of the Aberdeen 
Donside by-election (your report, 22 June) is not that the SNP candidate managed to cling on to the seat but that his majority in this “safe” seat was reduced by over 5,000. This is far more than could be accounted for by the personal votes cast for the late incumbent, Brian Adam, as he took the constituency from Labour in 2003.

One interpretation of this decline in SNP popularity is the dramatic failure of the Scottish Government to tackle the ever-increasing toll of fuel poverty. This is largely due to its obstinate adherence to an energy policy that is not fit for any purpose other than enriching landowners and big energy corporations at the expense of consumers.

People are becoming increasingly hostile to the reckless government commitment to subsidise wind energy directly out of consumers’ pockets; a strategy that imposes the most severe burdens on the poorest and most vulnerable members of 
the community. At what point will this finally be recognised 
by politicians as an electoral 
liability?.

Ken Brown

Deputy leader

Alliance Party of Scotland