Readers' Letters: Government is wrong to keep Covid powers

Power grab is a term I most associate with the SNP, normally however for their pseudo-outrage over Westminster apparently taking back powers that had never been in Scotland’s hands in the first place.

Support from the Scottish Greens, led by Patrick Harvie (left) and Lorna Slater (right), help Nicola Sturgeon hold on to emergency powers, says reader (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/AFP/Getty Images)

There is, however, a new SNP link to this phrase and it is a real danger to democracy in Scotland. The SNP/Green government want to put into law lockdown powers that would mean, among other things, their being able to shut schools at a moment’s notice.

This is grabbing power from the citizens of Scotland to live their lives unencumbered by the state. A consultation showed more than 85 per cent of respondents were against Scottish ministers having such powers. Of course, the SNP don’t care for consultations that don’t give the results they want. They will plough on regardless, voting en masse as no dissent within the party is permitted and the Greens will help them force this sinister power upon us.

Jane Lax, Aberlour, Moray

Power grab sucks

We are told that the emergency Covid powers this administration granted themselves will become permanent shortly in a new bill, sure to be waved through by the SNP/Green coalition.

I am no anti-vaccination crank, on the contrary, and have followed all the Covid rules to date, no matter how seemingly meaningless and politically inspired they appeared to be. But I have a very uncomfortable, unpleasant feeling about this latest development. Giving more powers of any kind to this SNP/Green administration is much like giving Dracula the keys to the blood bank and is a terrifying prospect.

Alexander McKay, Edinburgh

Stay vigilant

The revelation that two thirds of those infected with Omicron had been infected with Covid previously underlines the importance of extending the vaccination programme to primary schoolchildren, the group currently infected most. This and the Scottish Government’s decision not to close schools immediately before and after the Christmas break has contributed to continued high cases and halted the recent reduction. Cases are stalled at around 4,000 per day, deaths at an average of about 15 a day and hospitalisations remain around 1,400, preventing urgent operations. It’s only a couple of weeks since the 10,000 death milestone was exceeded in Scotland but since then more than 200 have died.We are learning to live with the virus but with restrictions largely lifted it’s still putting unsustainable pressure on the NHS. Moreover, it is too early for the hundreds of thousands in vulnerable groups to feel comfortable going back to normal. Younger groups and the unvaccinated need to take more care when mixing, especially with the over-65s. Perhaps now education should be ahead of some other more punitive measures that had little effect. The Government’s own data tells us that the infected are more likely to be female, as suspected in the Government’s Omicron Evidence Paper published last month, and under the age of 45, while overwhelmingly deaths occur aged in the over-75s.Armed with demographic and infection data on mixing the Government should be in a position to target future communication and restrictions should Omicron cases start rising, but right now we need to vaccinate the over-75s and other vulnerable groups with a fourth dose, given the booster only gives good protection for 12 weeks, and to vaccinate 5 to 11 year olds. Other countries are rolling out these measures and are in a better position to potentially see off Covid by the summer. Hope is on the horizon but vigilance and good practice need to be maintained.

Neil Anderson, Edinburgh

Shine a light

As an increasingly nervous cyclist, I welcome changes to the Highway Code designed to make my journeys on public roads safer. As a motorist, I suggest that in the interests of fairness, it is time to reinforce the message that it is illegal to cycle at night without lights.

Bridget M Stevens, Edinburgh

Going Dutch

In anticipation of the new Highway Code regulations coming into force, I attempted to carry out the “Dutch reach” to open my driver’s door. My vision was impaired by the window pillar and the fact that the rear side and tailgate windows are tinted. A look through my rear view mirror and (quite wide) right wing mirror gave me perfect vision of the road behind me.

J Lindsay Walls, Edinburgh

Give us gas

COP26 President Alok Sharma MP has rejected plans for new gas exploration in the UK. How ironic since he was previously Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The North Sea provides half of our gas and a further third comes through pipelines from Norway; without it the UK economy would crash, with mass unemployment. Russia has threatened to starve Europe of badly needed gas unless it gets its way over Ukraine. Germany gets 40 per cent of its gas from Russia so its hands are tied. Sweden and Finland are totally reliant on gas from this aggressive nation. People could be forgiven for thinking a foreign Fifth Column has infiltrated this government to undermine and destroy the UK economy from within.

Clark Cross, Linlithgow, West Lothian

Think local

The closure of Hunterston nuclear power station has revealed how weak the forward planning of the SNP Government has been. We have known for many years that Hunterston was ageing and would have to close. The SNP Government kept saying that there would be a green replacement and that tidal power would be the answer. But now that Hunterston has closed we discover that there is no tidal power and that the replacement electricity generation will come from burning more gas, thus driving up our CO2 emissions.

Where will the gas come from? Mostly from abroad, thanks to the SNP decision to block the development of the Cambo oilfield. So not only are we burning more fossil fuel, we are depending on imports which add even more to our carbon footprint due to CO2 emissions produced by transporting tanks of gas. At least local supplies would have avoided that outcome! And they would have given us more energy security in an uncertain world where Vladimir Putin is at this very moment making it clear that gas supplies are a political weapon.

Les Reid, Edinburgh

Breast beating

In The Scotsman of 26 January it is reported that Nicola Sturgeon feels a responsibility to share with the world her experience of early menopause.

As someone who has experienced the menopause, I would like to point out that it is a perfectly natural part of being a woman, and it sometimes is extremely unpleasant. For the vast majority, we just accept it and get on with our lives. Of course we do have the benefits of HRT, but they are not always suitable.

The First Minister’s breast beating, sharing, wokeness, whatever one wishes to call it, is merely another ploy by her to deflect criticism for the failings of her administration. Now that Boris Johnson seems highly likely to be on his way out, is it not about time that more forensic investigations be made into the total shambles of the Nationalist regime in Holyrood?

EP Carruthers, Lockerbie, Dumfries & Galloway

Gender balance

Here's a tip for Douglas Ross. In the interests of gender balance, “do a Sturgeon” and get interviewed on entering the “foothills” of prostate issues. Joke about having to pop out to the gents during FMQs, and agree that the best way of avoiding that would be having menopausal women running Scotland, if not the world.

That would win the votes of thousands of ladies of a certain age, and I'm sure over-50 males will be bursting to vote for you. Just make sure it's “leaked” to the press. By the way, there's no truth in the rumour that HRT stands for “Her Record's Terrible”.

Allan Sutherland, Stonehaven, Kincardineshire

Be consistent

Re: “Equality body urges SNP to rethink gender ID law” (your report, 27 January 27). The Equalities and Human Rights Commission request that Scottish ministers undertake “more detailed consideration” around proposed changes to gender recognition reform before advancing legislation through Holyrood was met by criticism by several government MSPs, notably the Greens, who stated that reform to the gender act was among the most consulted-on policies of all time. This “consultation” consisted of 15,697 responses in 2018 and 17,058 in a second wave in 2019/20.

The ultimate in consulted-on policies of all time is Scottish independence, which was resoundingly trounced in 2014 by more than half a million votes and every voter in Scotland knew about this rather than just a few concerned Scots. Why can't the SNP/Green alliance simply accept this and drop yet another unwanted referendum. Circumstances change all the time.

Gerald Edwards, Glasgow

Incompetence

If anyone needed any proof of the scale of this government‘s incompetence and fraud they need look no further than the resignation of its own Minister of Counter Fraud, Lord Agnew. Accusing the Treasury led by Chancellor Rishi Sunak of “schoolboy errors” in its oversight of the Covid loan scheme as ‘nothing less than woeful’, he went on to say “this government department had little interest in the consequences of fraud to our economy or to our society”. No government in my lifetime or before has “lost” £4.3 billion of taxpayers’ money.And what has Chancellor Rishi Sunak had to say about this mindblowing ineptitude? Precisely nothing as he is currently in hiding, avoiding awkward questions and preparing his leadership bid.Why the Met police are not investigating this industrial scale criminal negligence is anybody’s guess.The arrogance of this corrupt UK government knows no bounds.D Mitchell, Edinburgh

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