Sir, – If there has been no substantial increase in hospitalisation and deaths among the congested crowds who watched the Lord Mayor’s parade in London on the 13th and the 4,000-strong march past the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday – mostly elderly and without masks.
Will the powers-that-be in Scotland start being less antagonistic towards Scottish businesses who are struggling to make a living for themselves and their staff?
Iris Clyde, Voresheed, Kirkwall.
Where was the investment?
Sir, – If the pro-Union parties, and their supporters, were so concerned with investment in north-east Scotland then can they answer a few questions for me?
Why was the railway infrastructure taken away in the 1960s and 1970s from places such as Peterhead? Why did it take until 2019 to build the AWPR when it had been discussed since 1952? Why have they not taken the opportunity to dual the A90 to Peterhead and Fraserburgh and A96 as well as the A9 long before now?
If there is one thing that gets me a bit fed up it is the sight of Conservative MPs and councillors complaining about lack of investment in things such as the Toll of Birness Junction improvement or dualling of the A90, A96 and such like. As someone who lived through a Conservative government from 1972 to 1974, 1979 to 1997 and from 2010 to 2021, exactly what have they done to invest in north-east Scotland infrastructure?
The Labour Party were in power from 1974 to 1979 and 1997 to 2010 and you have to wonder if they would have invested anything if it had not been for Liberal Democrats in coalition in Scottish Parliament in 1999. Why was no UK sovereign oil wealth fund set up by either party in government?
It is very easy in opposition to blame the SNP and Scottish Government and the influence of the Scottish Green Party for wanting to get rid of those “oil jobs” as if no other jobs are of importance to the economy of the north-east of Scotland such as tourism or retail, and that somehow no route to the future exists.
Somehow, Aberdeen managed to move on from fishing and shipbuilding to an oil-related economy but you have to ask why it has no shipbuilding industry left, especially those ships used in the oil industry which surely could have been built in either Aberdeen and Peterhead.
Peter Ovenstone, Orchard Grove, Peterhead.
No doubt about need to dual A96
Sir, – If I ever had any doubts that there was a need for the A96 to be fully dualled from Aberdeen to Inverness these were firmly put to bed following my experience last Friday afternoon.
It was only with some difficulty that I was able to gain access to the A96 at the junction of Regent Street, Fife-Keith, with the road leading up from the railway station, traffic being ultra busy on both directions.
Turning right along the A96 I was to find traffic coming nose to tail all the way to Crooksmill, a distance close on two miles, and as I left the A96 for the road to Buckie one could see how another logjam had developed looking towards Fochabers.
One could clearly see that such as ambulances, fire brigades and the police must find it extremely difficult to find their way through under such circumstances, leaving one to question how the SNP in collaboration with the Green Party can say that to fully dual the A96 is unnecessary. I would argue there is a need for representatives of both to go and witness the situation that exists.
Allan A Fraser, Sutherland Street, Buckie.