Readers' Letters: Trump son wrong to criticise Scottish Government

Eric Trump is wrong to insist Scotland should be grateful to his father, says reader

Eric Trump should wind his neck in. He complains that despite spending millions at Turnberry and creating jobs there has not been a word of thanks.

Donald Trump did not spend money to create jobs but to make even more money for himself.

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As for loving Scotland, if he did he would not have destroyed a Site of Special Scientific Interest at Balmedie.

Donald Trump’s son Eric accused the Scottish Government of making it 'virtually impossible' to do business in the country  (Picture: Peter Summers/Getty Images)Donald Trump’s son Eric accused the Scottish Government of making it 'virtually impossible' to do business in the country  (Picture: Peter Summers/Getty Images)
Donald Trump’s son Eric accused the Scottish Government of making it 'virtually impossible' to do business in the country (Picture: Peter Summers/Getty Images)

Colin McAllister, St Andrews, Fife

ID wobbles

The SNP must be really worried about supporter turnout for the next election for Holyrood.

Why else would they be devoting ministerial time and energy into asking the UK Government to scrap the requirement for UK voters to prove their identity – even though it applies only to Westminster general elections?

The SNP’s Jamie Hepburn believes Electoral Commission data, indicating that 4 per cent of the people who did not vote in this year’s General Election were put off by the requirement to provide ID, means Scottish ministers “are left with a concern” that, despite this not being a requirement for the Scottish Parliament Election, “they may be discouraged from voting”.

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They either have a very low opinion of the ability of the average Scots voter’s ability to understand basic information, or they are desperate to secure the votes of the 4 per cent least well informed, on the basis that they are more likely to vote SNP.

Mark Openshaw, Cults, Aberdeen

Dual portfolios?

In an article in The Scotsman this week regarding the A9 dualling, I noticed that during the 17 years the SNP have been in power they have had eight Transport Secretaries.

This is an average of almost a new one every two years! With this record it would appear that the SNP are not and never have been capable of managing this project.

They are now guaranteeing that the A9 will be fully dualled by 2035. How many more transport ministers will that require?

Charles Sinclair, Kirkcaldy, Fife

Roads rued

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There is a clear connection between The Scotsman’s two 21 November editorials, on Audit Scotland’s vision for well-spent public money and our abysmal, risky, pothole-ridden roads. The basic problem is not poor road repairs but the question of why our original road surfaces – and presumably the sub-strata, materials, engineering and workmanship – are so poor in durability compared with those in other countries with similar weather, temperatures and traffic conditions.

Maybe Audit Scotland could look into this.

John Birkett, St Andrews, Fife

Ouch!

This week’s article by Fergus Ewing MSP on A9 dualling was most informative.

However, his closing message to the current FM requiring him to “stand and deliver” was very adamant!

Archie Burleigh, Skelmorlie, North Ayrshire

Trees shame

In relation to your story yesterday, “Masterplan demand to meet planting goals”, this may or may not be required, but the really important thing to be aware of is the signals that people are getting at present.

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If woodland planting applications are taking three years to process, it sends a signal that the agencies are not really that interested, that process is more important than outputs. If planting budgets are cut by 40 per cent, as they were last year, that too sends a very powerful signal.

If tree nurseries, fencing contractors and digger drivers see big planting levels one year, but much lower the next, they take from that that this is a high risk activity where necessary investment is difficult to justify, and if they do take a chance an invest, they risk getting their fingers burned.

Above anything else in Scotland, if we are to plant more trees we need a stable political and funding environment for doing so. It is nothing to do with how much of a block grant we get here. Forestry in Scotland is 100 per cent devolved. The purpose of the Scottish Parliament is to make decisions on what we fund and what we don’t. If we need to raise more money for something important, we have the powers to do that. That we reduce spending on the environment says that the environment is not important, no matter what we might otherwise say about it. People can see that.

And saying that at least we are doing better than the English is not an argument that we should accept. The vast majority of suitable tree planting land in the UK is in Scotland, so it is no surprise that we are doing the most, as we have been doing for 100 years. But look at the figures. The Scottish figures are coming down. The English figures are going up. They are getting their act together. Our situation here is getting worse. The day may come when the English will do more than us, and then our embarrassment will be complete. Surely if that does not motivate us to improve things and avoid that outcome, nothing else will.

Victor Clements, Aberfeldy, Perthshire

Badgering birds

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Mary Colwell in her article highlighting the loss of wading birds (Perspective, 21 November) fails to mention the tenfold increase in badger numbers. Badgers are opportunistic scavengers feeding on (among others) hedgehogs and the eggs of ground nesting birds like the curlew.

Duncan Martin, Nisbethill, Duns

Irish wise?

With monotonous regularity, Scottish separatists write in praise of Modern Monetary Theory (or Magic Money Tree) as a panacea for our financial woes. Another favourite topic is how we would be “wealthy” like the Republic of Ireland if only “the people of Scotland” could throw off the English yoke.

Referring to Eire’s recent budget surplus, D Jamieson (Letters, 19 November) says we must “compare it with our own desperate search for economic growth as the main theme in the recent UK general election. In terms of highlighting Scotland’s current impoverished status (economically and politically), no further comment is required.” Some of us would beg to differ.

The SNP devolved administration is anti-wealth, anti-growth and anti-business. Like Keir Starmer’s promise-breaking Labour Party, it believes in high taxation to punish “the rich” and therefore discourages enterprise, ambition and social mobility. That’s why we’re in a mess.

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In contrast, successive Dublin governments have embraced free-market policies. The Irish have never bothered much with socialism. The government announced tax cuts in a giveaway budget which has set the centre-right Fine Gael party on course to win the upcoming general election there, while Sinn Fein (the SNP’s doppelgangers across the water) have slumped to just 19 per cent in opinion polls; down from a high of 36 per cent the last time the country voted. Isn’t there a lesson for our left-wing secessionists somewhere there? And the main issues Irish electors are concerned about? The extortionate cost of living, a worsening housing crisis and immigration. Sounds familiar.

Continuing this Irish theme on the same page, Grant Frazer urges Scots to “take control of your richly endowed country. Look no further than the Republic of Ireland, once a poor part of imperial Britain, now a vibrant and successful nation in the large European open market and with a voice in world affairs”.

Firstly, Ireland never was a colony of “imperial Britain.” It was actually (as Northern Ireland remains) part of the United Kingdom. And as for having a voice in world affairs, Ireland is bound by the straitjacket of EU foreign policy. Nor does it have a seat on the UN Security Council, which Scotland does by association, thanks to Great Britain being a nuclear-armed power.

Martin O’Gorman, Edinburgh

Jesus shopped

In his letter yesterday (20 November), Neil Barber commented on the objections Stornaway “religious traditionalists” make to Tesco opening on a Sunday, or what they call the Sabbath.

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The word “Sabbath” means “rest”, or to Jews a day of rest (Saturday). But Tesco caused offence by opening on a Sunday. Clearly these “traditionalists” are confused, mistaking Sunday for the Sabbath. They should lighten up: traditionally the first day of the week is a day of celebration as the day on which Jesus is supposed to have emerged victorious from a tomb.

They should also heed Jesus' own words: he asked whether it is lawful to do good or evil on the Sabbath (Mk 3:4). In a modern context, that question becomes: “Is Sunday trading good or evil?”

Carry on shopping – in the name of Jesus.

Steuart Campbell, Edinburgh

Naive on China

The Prime Minister displays his political naivety once again but regretfully it is on the world stage for all to see. While China supports Russia in its war against Ukraine and the head of MI5, in 2024, warned of the “epic scale” of Chinese spying against the UK, Keir Starmer cosies up to President Xi Jinping, hoping to build “pragmatic and serious relationships” with China.

All of this just a day before the Hong Kong/China regime jails 45 of the democracy protesters, confirming (if confirmation was needed) that China will do what China wants to do and the platitudes expressed by Keir Starmer are utterly meaningless. Putin and Xi will have quiet – but very dangerous – smiles on their faces.

Richard Allison, Edinburgh

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