Readers' Letters: Scottish media must stop giving SNP easy ride

Brian Wilson’s article “SNP are being given a far too easy ride by Scotland’s broadcasters” (Perspective, 22 January) was excellent, all the more so because it is time that what he said is a matter for open debate. Brian was also right about the remarkable Kenny Macintyre, whose early death was a terrible blow to broadcasting and decency in public life. Who could forget Kenny with his Uher recorder always with him, never taking a note and being absolutely punctilious in achieving fair and objective reporting?

Martin Geissler of BBC Scotland's The Nine news bulletin receives praise from reader (Picture: BBC Scotland/Alan Peebles)

Who, with any conviction, could argue that is what is happening now?

I offer only two examples: I was recently listening on radio to live coverage of First Minister’s Questions. As soon as Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar rose to his feet the BBC pulled out from its coverage and we heard a political correspondent repeat verbatim the SNP /Tory exchange which we had just heard. So much for diversity!

Secondly, I personally have never heard any politician between 8am and 8.30am during the Good Morning Scotland programme – presumably the peak period for listeners – who is not either an SNP politician or someone employed or supportive of the Scottish Government.

It really is a bit much to be asked to hear John Swinney on Drivetime only to find he is back again next morning, during the slot I have mentioned, usually commenting on the bad news which Nicola Sturgeon has carefully dodged.

Andrew Neil was surely right when he said it is time for the Scottish media to grow a backbone and hold the Scottish Government and everyone who holds public office to account. The absence of such objectivity hardly suggests that we in Scotland are living in a democratic society.

Sir Tom Clarke, Former Labour Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland

Get in there

Brian Wilson is right, BBC Scotland and STV main news rarely report on serious issues, especially if they reflect badly on the SNP/Greens.

It's not as if they can't do it. Yesterday I watched Sophie Raworth give Nicola Sturgeon a hard time over Covid restrictions and the date of Indyref2, and Martin Geissler brilliantly reined in Patrick Harvie's undated, unfunded green transport nirvana and brought him back to the here and now of potholes, broken and undelivered ferries and poor rural bus services. He also gave Scottish Conservative Chief Whip Stephen Kerr a fair hearing.

But the main news programmes, audience 800,000, are upmarket versions of my local paper's “around the clubs” and “what's on” sections, delivered in the style of the seductive, robotic “please take your change and thank you for shopping” from my local supermarket till.

No wonder the SNP get an easy ride. Other than perhaps 500,000 people who read the papers and their social media pages, Scotland's other near 4,000,000 voters haven't a clue what's going on, other than Boris's latest shenanigans

Allan Sutherland, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire

Sports shortfall

Time was when the housebound sports watcher could watch the big football or rugby games “for free” on BBC or ITV.

Fast forward a few years, and a fairly expensive package which includes Sky Sports meant you would not miss much, provided you had the cash required. Fast forward again, and you have to very carefully check who has the broadcast rights for what you want to watch.

It might be Amazon Prime (for Six Nations rugby), it might be BT, occasionally Channel 4. In the future it might be a Russian oligarch, or a prince in Saudi Arabia. It might not be covered at all, as happened recently for the Celtic v Hibs game, or in rugby, Edinburgh vs Brive, a postponed game which Edinburgh won 66-3 with ten tries for Edinburgh. That would have been entertaining for Edinburgh fans, yet there are no signs STV are able or willing to fill the gaps.

What we are seeing is public service television vanishing before our eyes, led by sport, with government encouragement.

Crawford Mackie, Edinburgh

No change

In her comment (your report, 22 January) on the recent Savanta ComRes opinion poll suggesting that 78 per cent of Scottish voters believe that Boris Johnson should resign over Partygate, Kirsten Oswald MP of the SNP failed to mention what was I thought the most striking feature of the poll. Namely that, despite all the rightful anger about Mr Johnson, opinion on Scottish independence was broadly unchanged at 50:50.

KW McKay, Carrbridge, Inverness-shire

Alarming VAT

I am pleased to see that more people are becoming aware of the Scottish Government's new legislation concerning smoke and heat alarms, which comes into effect on 1 February (your report, 22 January). It is going ahead, with little or no thought to the practicalities or implications, yet we are told there will be no penalties for failing to comply, which all seems rather vague to me. Given that a lot of families are probably currently struggling to make ends meet this will, understandably, not be seen as a priority. However, non-compliance will have consequences going forward when it comes to home insurance and buying and selling houses, for example.

I have (reluctantly) complied with the new legislation and I take issue with the fact that I was charged VAT. Several months ago I wrote to Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP on this subject and he forwarded the matter to the Cabinet Secretary Shona Robison who, to date, has not had the courtesy to reply. It might serve as a small incentive and encourage people to comply with the legislation if it were VAT exempt.

Joan Grant, Edinburgh

No wizardry

One might be forgiven for thinking that Rishi Sunak must be a financial wizard because in spite of Covid, and an absent “Brexit Bonus” (that probably never will materialise), “the UK has the fastest growing economy in the G7”. How often have we heard Boris Johnson and his stooges make this pronouncement without challenge from supposedly objective political commentators, never mind supposedly impartial BBC programme hosts who are very quick to challenge statements by SNP and Labour politicians at every opportunity.

The salient fact is that among the G7 the UK, in spite of the dithering and delays of the Prime Minister in introducing appropriate preventative health measures, suffered the largest fall in GDP in 2020, so it should come as no surprise that, relatively, the UK economy is now growing faster.

However, this recent growth still represents comparative failure rather than success overall as only Japan has fared worse economically over the course of the pandemic, but Japan, with almost double the population, has recorded fewer than 20,000 Covid-19-related deaths as opposed to the UK’s catastrophic figure of more than 150,000.

Perhaps if the Chancellor had focused any magical talents he might possess on quickly achieving a more astute balance of health and economic considerations the UK might not economically have fared so badly and thousands, if not tens of thousands, of lives might have been saved. Certainly boasts about the UK leading the world in either of these fundamental aspects of government should at the very least be challenged by those wishing to honestly and professionally present political news.

Stan Grodynski, Longniddry, East Lothian

Wind of change

Further to Claire Mack’s article (Perspective, 20 January), the saying goes: “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat the same mistakes.” Scotland has long been an exporter of oil and gas and seems about to become a net exporter of renewable energy as private developers fall over themselves to install, at knockdown prices, new wind farms off our coast.

Crown Estate Scotland (CES) announced the results through the ScotWind leasing round, with a potential 25 gigawatts (GW) of electricity. This is almost four times Scotland's total needs, with each GW potentially worth £l billion to Scotland’s economy.

Is the lion’s share of our renewable energy profits destined for abroad? The 17 successful bids range across the globe. Scotland’s renewable energy will generate huge profit for multinationals and overseas governments. Last year England licensed only one third as much as CES for an annual payment of £800 million, meaning our wind power is worth just 7 per cent of that of England. Scottish firms will receive a very small share of the profits

There is a lesson on how to handle a natural resource to the benefit of its people. While Scotland lost out, Norway turned its limited resource into a huge sovereign wealth fund worth some £200,000 for every citizen.

Oil and gas workers face unemployment. Offshore wind farm leases must be linked to job creation. If Holyrood does not change tack, are we looking at a sequel entitled "The Cheviot, The Stag and the Big, Big Wind?”

DW Lowden, Mannofield, Aberdeen

Broad vision

On the topic of windfarms, Elizabeth Buchan-Hepburn and Mary Thomas whine like spoilt children who have to share their goodies with others (Letters, 22 January). No matter what the topic, if nationalists do not get everything their own way, the Union or the Westminster government is to blame. Never mind that Scotland benefits from the Union in so many other ways – the pound sterling is the first that comes to mind – nationalists must always have a grievance, always a complaint. This inward-looking, selfish, Anglophobic attitude is as depressing as the mindset of Little Englanders or Trump supporters and unlikely to persuade we Scots with a much broader vision of our country.

Martin Foreman, Edinburgh

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