Sir, – We have another defence review coming up with the possible closure of Kinloss which will not be good for the Moray economy.
Already we have seen Graham Leadbitter and his SNP troops in Moray with their faux outrage on the possible closure. These councillors who are looking for separation from the UK, would have a Scottish defence ripped to shreds in Moray as well as in Scotland due to independence, including the submarine bases in the west of Scotland. RAF Lossiemouth would be a shadow of its self with independence, and we wouldn’t have the troops to justify keeping Leuchars, Kinloss and Fort George open as well as the two Edinburgh barracks.
It would be good if Graham Leadbitter and his party could tell us their plans for defence in Scotland. But like many things under independence like currency, fiscal policy and pensions etc there is a vacuum.
Ian Gray, Viewhill Cottage, Mosstowie, Moray.
Covid-19 and the climate crisis
Sir, – With the eyes of the world on Scotland, the crucial COP26 global meeting begins. Hope springs eternal that world leaders will take seriously the mounting climate crisis and also positively commit to their earlier Paris Agreement.
Is Covid-19 another wake-up call? We share our planet with millions of species along with millions of viruses. Scientists now tell us that as modern connectivity has spread there is an increase in “genetic variety” that fuses human and animal viral and bacterial infection.
Hence the recent global pandemics of HIV in the late 20th Century, the Sars outbreak in 2003, avian flu in 2005 and swine flu in 2009 along with the horrors of African Ebola outbreaks and now Covid.
The human population growth and the intense industrial activity has greatly accelerated global warming, destroying rainforests, oceans and denuding the planet in the all-consuming demand for raw materials.
The human and animal worlds are now colliding and the once natural boundaries between animal and human disease have decreased, hence this increase in ever more dangerous crossover pandemics.
This only adds urgency to world leaders having the courage to save our planet for our children’s children. “The sky, a tree and man will survive, if man understands the tree.”
Grant Frazer, Cruachan, Newtonmore.
Labour must opt for devo-max
Sir, – Increased food prices, soaring energy prices with more to come, ending of the boost to Universal Credit, increased National Insurance contributions, suspension of the triple lock for pensioners and rapidly increasing inflation mean a dismal outlook for the poor of Britain.
Labour has promised to reform Universal Credit but, on present form, is very unlikely to win the next general election.
Nor will it win any subsequent one without a dramatic change in its Scottish strategy which is clearly inadequate having returned only one MP to Westminster in the last two elections.
A viable strategy has to be unionist yet firmly address the constitutional issue and this can only be devo-max or a close cousin.
The additional powers over social security and employment law accruing from devo-max would allow Holyrood to deal effectively with child poverty, the ghettoes of deprivation, drug abuse, and chronic health inequalities and legislate for a living wage for all working Scots.
By failing to embrace devo-max as its strategy, Labour is denying the hope of change to those Scots it professes to care about.
Dr Walter J. MacCulloch, Causewayend Crescent, Aberchirder, Huntly.