Scotland on Sunday readers' letters: Coalition spoke eloquently on catastrophe of fuel poverty

I write to complain about Scotland on Sunday's coverage of the Edinburgh End Fuel Poverty Coalition's demonstration outside Queen Elizabeth House on Saturday, October 1.

Indeed, your readers would be forgiven for being unaware such an event had even occurred, given your coverage focused entirely on Extinction Rebellion's (XR) protest before the demo itself.

While XR are undoubtedly an important movement with an urgent message and a dramatic, even spectacular, style of protest, they were but one relatively small part of Saturday's event.

Under the broad banner of the Edinburgh End Fuel Poverty Coalition, this event united political parties (Scottish Socialist Party, Alba), trade unions (RMT, CWU, Unison) and activists (Living Rent, Revolutionary Students Edinburgh), to say nothing of the hundreds of working people in attendance, whose chants and home-made placards arguably spoke more eloquently to the social and humanitarian catastrophe of fuel poverty than did XR's admittedly striking theatrics.

The Edinburgh End Fuel Poverty Coalition demonstration in Edinburgh on Saturday.

Ian Macbeth, Scottish Socialist Party

Green dreams

Sir Keir Starmer in his keynote address to the Labour Party Conference clearly revelled at the prospect of A Fairer Greener Future which conjured up images of an earthly paradise not unlike Shangri-La.

He confidently predicted that he will become the next Prime Minister and among his many gilded promises he stated that within just five years the number of land-based wind turbines will have doubled to 17,500. I wonder how many of his audience realised that this will require a land area equivalent to around three times that of Greater London (1,800 square miles). The tonnages of steel, concrete and plastics required and the associated high emissions will be truly staggering.

What thought was given to the consequential environmental havoc and human misery caused by the extraction and processing of rare earth minerals from the Congo to Chile and beyond?

Neil J Bryce, Kelso

Ace card

In the 90s, the UK was in the Exchange Rate Mechanism, a forerunner of the Euro currency. Our ejection from this helped destroy a Conservative ace card, ie, it's reputation for economic competence. With the Truss mini budget, we may be on similar terrain!

William Ballantine, Bo'ness, West Lothian

Railway riddle

The photograph of Churchill reading a newspaper taken during the war at St Andrews Railway Station – one wonders what he was thinking. Were he here today, I am certain it would be something like, “I cannot understand why St Andrews still does not have a new railway. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”.

Jane Ann Liston, St Andrews Rail Link campaign

White elephants

SNP Deputy Leader John Swinney has announced budget cutbacks and if you read the latest report on the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB) it is not surprising. Since its setting up in 2020 the SNIB has lost £3.4 million but during this time admin costs have increased from £2.9m to an eye-watering £9.7m. Despite Scotland benefiting from the generous Barnett formula funding the SNP continue to overspend on white elephant projects and then have to cut back on essential services.

Dennis Forbes Grattan, Bucksburn, Aberdeen

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