Now Ineos, one of the world’s largest chemical manufacturers, is diverting £3 billion of investment to the US.
Yes, £3 billion, and Ineos employs 25,000 people.
Mr Miliband’s Net Zero 2050 empire is, according to some sources, gobbling up taxpayers’ money by between £70 billion and £1 trillion every year.
As Private James Frazer often said in Dad’s Army: “We’re doomed.”
Clark Cross, Linlithgow.
More letters…
Keir Starmer is backing Israel’s brutality. What say you, Anas Sarwar?
America must be in the vanguard to drive on post-Brexit trade deals
Sturgeon’s obsession with a new referendum is damaging economy
More bottle required to aid key industry
In reference to John Swinney‘s forthcoming meeting with President Trump on whisky tariffs (“The real reason behind FM’s surprise mission to the US”, The Herald, September 10), I am compelled to express serious concerns about our government’s approach to this pivotal issue.
The whisky sector is not only a crucial driver of Scotland’s economy, but also a significant part of our cultural identity.
The imposition of high tariffs by the United States has already harmed our exports, diminishing the global standing of this beloved product.
Scotland’s leaders must move beyond mere discussions.
They need a clear, strategic plan to restore competitiveness and support our distilleries.
The whisky industry should not be treated as a mere bargaining chip in international relations; it deserves our full attention and robust action from Holyrood.
As Margaret Thatcher said: “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.”
The same could be said about indecisiveness. We cannot afford to waste time on inaction.
In addition to negotiations with international leaders, our government must invest in domestic policies that empower local businesses to thrive.
This includes tax incentives for distilleries, promotional support for exports beyond the US, and a focus on skills-training for the workforce.
By nurturing the whisky industry at home, we can ensure its strength and sustainability in our economy.
It’s high time our leaders demonstrate genuine commitment through practical actions, not just conversations.
Only then can we expect to safeguard one of Scotland’s most iconic assets and the livelihoods dependent upon it.
We should hold our politicians accountable for driving effective change and tangible results, rather than getting lost in bureaucratic discussions.
Alastair Majury, Dunblane, Perthshire.
Independence… the bald truth
The upcoming SNP Conference promises to be a riveting occasion for followers of Scottish politics (“FM faces new challenge to indy plans at party debate”, The Herald, September 4).
Hopefully, from a personal perspective, Mr Swinney will have good news following his pleading for a US tariff reduction on whisky from President Trump.
However, the debate on the mechanism to achieve independence will prove more entertaining.
The Oban and Lorn, Tweeddale and Helensburgh SNP rebels plan for secession at least pays lip service to “currency, taxation and defence” in their submission.
The spectacle of the official SNP, and the rebels, discussing their alternative strategies for leaving the U.K. conjures up the image of two bald men fighting over a comb.
James Quinn, Lanark.
Recycle and repeat
A recent Herald letter repeats the same old slogans, doing nothing to strengthen the independence case.
The facts remain: a separate Scotland means currency chaos, a hard border with our biggest market, and exclusion from both the UK internal market and the EU, which together cover 80% of our trade.
A new Scottish currency would almost certainly face a 20–30% drop in value, hitting wages, pensions and savings.
No wonder informed people and businesses have no appetite to overturn 2014’s clear and decisive vote.
Furthermore, clutching at straws over a little-known UN talking shop in Geneva only underlines the weakness of the argument.
Such meetings debate abstract ‘right’ with no authority, no binding effect, and certainly no power to confer statehood.
To pretend otherwise is fanciful and erodes credibility even further.
Finally, the tired claim of ‘plundered resources’ collapses under the simplest of facts: Scotland already enjoys £12,000 more per family of four in public spending (compared to south of the border), courtesy of the Barnett formula.
Until these realities are faced, the endless recycling of grievances will only continue to damage the cause it is meant to advance.
Ian Lakin, Milltimber, Aberdeen.
Parliament needs progress
The SNP is truly an anachronistic organisation.
It belongs to the 18th century, with the clans and their short-term hero, Charles Edward Stuart.
Even the SNP’s meetings, rallies, gatherings, etc, portray a past age.
If a regional Parliament is indeed necessary, it should be modern in its approach.
The competing political parties of the Tories, Labour and Liberal Democrats should have the sort of policies which will equip Scotland to trade alongside the rest of the UK in a modern world.
In recent times we Scots have borne witness to the narrow-mindedness of the SNP, and leaders such as Mr Salmond, Ms Sturgeon and yet again Mr Swinney.
Following the Scottish Parliament elections in 2026, it’s hoped that a new administration will be formed with fresh ideas for Scotland.
The current SNP government is in a state of stagnation.
Robert I G Scott, Fife.
UK’s Middle East complicity
The British Government’s support, both politically and militarily, for the genocidal Israeli regime defies logic or reason (“Palestinian death toll in Gaza passes 64,000 say local health officials”, The Herald, September 5).
In other circumstances our government would be marshalling international partners to put an end to the mass murder taking place in Palestine.
This government (and indeed other political parties) have descended into the depths of depravity by their senseless advocacy for this morally debased rogue Israeli state.
Questions need to be answered by the Knesset’s devolved administration at Westminster.
Don Ferguson, Kirkintilloch.
Benjamin Netanyahu has been criticised for his Gaza war decisions (Image: Ohad Zwigenberg/AP)
Starmer soft on Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leaves a courtroom where he’s on trial for corruption to give the go-ahead for a strike on Qatar (“Hamas says its leaders ‘survived Israeli strike on Qatar’”, The Herald, September 10).
His forces target Hamas officials involved in talks for a ceasefire in the war on Gaza, where 64,000 Palestinians have been killed.
Qatar is a sovereign state and was helping in the mediation process. It’s obvious Mr Netanyahu doesn’t want an end to the genocide. He wants Gaza ethnically cleansed.
But he has friends in high places. U.S. President Donald Trump may well have given him the green light, though that will probably never be admitted.
And our Prime Minister shows no sign of changing his position.
Arms sales to Israel will continue, along with surveillance flights by the RAF to gather information for the Israel Defense Forces.
Any words of condemnation from Keir Starmer will be as mealy-mouthed as ever.
He’d rather stretch our police and court resources to arrest at least 890 people supporting the Palestinians at the weekend in London than call out Mr Netanyahu for what he is, a suspected war criminal.
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Israel’s Prime Minister in November last year.
Which says it all, really, about the state and spinelessness of the inhabitants of No 10.
Andy Stenton, Glasgow.