Readers' Letters: No end in sight for Glen Sannox ferry debacle

Here we go again – delay after delay with no clear end in sight for completion. How can we allow such gross incompetence at Ferguson Marine to continue? It is clear that the latest MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency) rules should have been implemented in the build from the outset, during the design. This whole debacle would make our shipbuilding industry a complete laughing stock if it was not so serious.

Public spending watchdog Audit Scotland expects the Glen Sannox project to cost at least £293 million – three times the original contract.

These modern management tyros, employed at great expense over the past five years, keep coming up with more and more delay excuses and modifications.

As usual, no one is truly accountable, including the SNP government.

Heads would roll in a properly run commercial venture if budgets were grossly exceeded as in the above case, notwithstanding ongoing delivery dates.

Donald Gardner, Glasgow

Civilised debate?

If a person told you that you should pay £250,000 to someone in another country for something which stopped happening over a hundred years before you were born, you would think the demand was absurd and the person making it was mad.

However, that is what Patrick Robinson, a judge on the International Court of Justice, is saying in a report he co-authored on reparations for slavery, which demands that the UK pay over £18 trillion pounds to various foreign countries.

Mr Robinson is effectively demanding a quarter of a million from each of the 67 million people in the UK, for evil deeds which happened between 17th and the first half of 19th centuries. These demands for reparations come from that Marxist school of thought which selectively focuses on the negative elements in our history and ignores all the positives.

Our country pioneered the Industrial Revolution which has ensured many billions of people have not lived lives of poverty, which before then was near universal. No country contributed more to the Scientific Revolution.

The British Empire did much good in the world. In India we suppressed the burning of live widows on their husband’s funeral pyres and elsewhere we ended cannibalism. In most cultures we dealt with it was their first experience of the Rule of Law.

The antidote to this type of UN panhandling is to teach British history properly, take pride in our great country and pay not a penny.

Otto Inglis, Ansonhill, Fife

Welfare checked

The Scotsman’s piece on former prime minister Gordon Brown accusing SNP ministers of wasting money on the establishment of a separate social security agency here in Scotland was quite breathtaking (23 August). Mr Brown claims that there was no need to establish Social Security Scotland (SSS) and says that the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) under Westminster could have dealt with new benefits introduced by the SNP at Holyrood and continue with the benefits that have been devolved to Holyrood.

Tell that to those who have had to endure inhumane claim appeals, a wait of six weeks for payments and much more under the DWP.

SSS, in being established, has “Dignity, Fairness and Respect” at its heart, arranging meetings with claimants that prioritise claimants’ needs. It has introduced a number of new benefits in an effort to tackle poverty.

Under SSS, carers have received substantial increases to their benefit and also receive two “carers supplements” of £270.50 payment per year. The Scottish Government, with limited devolved welfare powers, has introduced seven benefits that are only available in Scotland, including the Scottish Child Payment (£25) paid every week to eligible children/households, the only part of the UK to have such a payment.

Mr Brown has certainly no cause to hold his head high regarding welfare. Scotland deserves better than the DWP has to offer and it is unfortunate that 86 per cent of welfare spend in Scotland is still controlled by the Westminster Government and the DWP.

Catriona C Clark, Banknock, Falkirk

Black mark

No wonder the SNP never get anything right, Mhairi Black MP said “Once again support for independence is rock solid”. Yep, rock solidly behind those who don't want their crazy Indyref2 – 58 per cent versus 48 per cent for Indy. Clearly she skipped school the day they taught arithmetic.

Stan Hogarth, Strathaven, Lanarkshire

Holyrood zombies

John McLaren is right in describing Holyrood as “a zombie institution” (Perspective, 24 August). Since Brexit its powers have been eroded by Westminster via the UK Internal Market Bill etc, plus Tory political manoeuvres to overturn democratic majority Holyrood decisions on the bottle return scheme and gender recognition, both of which operate successfully in other nations. Labour doesn’t offer much change as the latest Starmer u-turn is over their promise to devolve employment law, and backtracking on reforming workers’ rights.

Now Gordon Brown is attacking Scotland’s social security system that established the Child Payment Scheme, which has made a tremendous difference in tackling poverty.

On Gers, the Bottom Line think tank has pointed out that “two-thirds of Scotland’s current account deficit in 2022-23 was due to two aspects of poor UK economic management: the cost of living support that was necessary due to inflation in the UK that was higher than other advanced economies, and the significant increase in the cost of servicing public sector debt. These result from UK policy mistakes including Brexit (and its impact on inflation), greater exposure to global oil and gas prices than other countries and the decision to index-link a much higher proportion of government debt than any other country, increasing the exposure of UK public finances to inflation.

If the Scottish current account deficit for 2022-23 were revised to remove these two examples of UK economic mismanagement, it would fall from 6.4 per cent of GDP to 2.2 per cent, well below the UK current account deficit and well within the 3 per cent that is generally regarded as “sustainable”.

Fraser Grant, Edinburgh

Costly countries

Further to Jill Stephenson’s observations on comments made by Mary Thomas (Letters, 24 August), there remains one thing to add. Arguing that Scotland is held back by being in the UK, Ms Thomas compares per capita GDP of Ireland and Scandinavia (averaging £54,000) to our own more modest figure of £33,000.

She forgets to mention that people have to be paid more in these countries because the cost of living and/or taxes are higher. It’s 27.22 per cent more expensive to live in Denmark, for instance, than in Great Britain. That country also has the most expensive energy in the EU.

Just behind the Danes in terms of gas/electricity bills comes Éire, which boasts the fourth-highest grocery prices in Western Europe.Finland may have a GDP of £40,000, but Finns are the sixth most taxed population in the OECD; Norway’s tax rate is 42.2 per cent, in contrast to the GB average of 37.7.

Martin O’Gorman, Edinburgh

Bad old days?

May I add to A McCormick’s comments on Leah Gunn Barrett’s view of Scotland (Letters, 24 August)?

I started my working life in 1957 in Edinburgh and saw many situations similar to those he comments on. However, it brings to mind Ms Barrett’s constant berating of the UK Government’s treatment of Scotland. I wonder just how badly was Scotland administered by the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland from his eyrie in Waterloo Place. Did we have the disasters that are the hallmark of the current devolved Scottish Government?

C Lowson, Fareham, Hants

Pie chart

Leah Gunn Barrett is at it again. Having a go at Labour this time and continuing the myth that they want to weaken workers’ rights to get a bigger share of the pie. How I wish she would turn her attention to increasing the size of the pie so everyone can have a bigger piece. If we were to follow her path the equality gap would diminish because everyone would be poor – a path the SNP has, sadly, proved is achievable!

Our aim should be to have a vibrant economy, providing jobs and tax revenue that supports those who need help, while encouraging entrepreneurs and businesses. Rather than arguing about the share of a shrinking pie, let’s massively increase the size of that pie so that everyone benefits.

Brian Barbour, Berwick Upon Tweed

Space chasers

Like many other readers of The Scotsman, I am used to receiving telephone calls, supposedly from Bognor Regis or Bradford, in a strong accent from the sub-continent with some vital message, initiated by “and how are you today?” Thus, when I learned that India had landed a spacecraft at the Moon’s south pole I had an odd premonition that its first message will be to Roscosmos about “the little bump” their Luna-25 vehicle had.

Andrew HN Gray, Edinburgh

Moving on...

I enjoyed Kenny MacAskill’s column castigating Keir Starmer for numerous U-turns (Perspective, 24 August).

It was good to hear from an expert – after all, Mr MacAskill got elected as an MP as a SNP member and promptly jumped ship to join Alba.

Ian Lewis, Edinburgh

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