As ever, The Burd nails a situation that flaunts the ‘ reasonable person’ standard and, in so doing, questions why we are not yet all working “as if in the early days of a better country”.
Two Scottish broadsheet Sunday papers, two quite different splashes. But they share a theme.
The Sunday Herald’s front page story tells of the Scotland Office sitting on internal government files relating to devolution. Despite the Scottish Government reducing the time at which such documents can be released publicly, the current Scotland Office has decided to sit on these ones, so it can have a wee look for anything in there that might prove embarrassing – or worse – to the Unionist parties. Why a Tory-Lib Dem controlled UK administration might want to spare the blushes of a previous Labour government neatly illustrates the complexity of the constitutional ties that bind. It’s them – all of them, most of the time – against the SNP.
Scotland on Sunday runs with a piece about Holyrood and specifically, about the failure of Cross Party Groups (CPGs) to file annual returns and declare benefits…
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davidsberry 
Embarrassing the SNP. One can try but when the SNP is asked a question ? There seems to be no one home. SNP GUARANTEE THAT THEY DO NOT FALL SHORT OF THE EU RULES.
Towards the end of 2010 the local SNP branch meeting was held in Prestonpans at this meeting a member informed the chair that at the union meeting held at cockienz power station. Scottish power informed the union members that an agreement had been confirmed between the energy company Scottish Power and the Scottish Energy minister and that the SNP would support the building of the gas turbine power station.
This agreement that the SNP was now supporting the building of this new power station even though there was a large objection by the residents of the area was never made public. Residents still blindly campaigned and collected thousands of names with address stating that they objected to the building of the gas turbine power station within the middle of a residential area. Unaware that the proposed planning application was now supported by the SNP energy minister and that this decision to support was made in 2010.
In 2012 the energy minster informed the people of Scotland that the decision by the SNP relating to the planning application was that only 2 objection were recorded against the building of the power station even though several thousand people’s names stating that they objected with address had been collected and presented. When I phoned the office of the Scottish minster and asked why had the SNP abandoned there electoral policy on fossil fuels. I was informed that it was in the interest of Scotland that the SNP should support Scottish power planning application. Now I would point out that this was not a cross party agreement when Fergus Ewing announced that he supported the building of this gas turbine power station the cross party members of the Scottish Parliament were lost for words.
The energy minister for Scotland Fergus Ewing was indifferent that this development would affect the living stands of thousands of people and that houses would be demolished over several miles to make way for the gas pipe that will feed the gas turbines.
The irony of this devilment is that for 40 years the coal fired sub power station sent the electricity that it produced to south of the border to England and that this replacement gas turbine plant will also continue to send electricity to England. There is no advantage to Scotland from this devilment by the Spanish energy company, trading under the name of Scottish power, and there is clearly no advantage to the community of East Lothian. But it will be of great benefit to the Scottish National Party political agenda.
The essence of the agreement between Scottish power and the Scottish government would seem to be that this new gas turbine power station to be built at Cockenze was granted so that – IF– the SNP Program of renewable energy were to fall short of the EU directive. The energy minister would be able to include the energy produced by the new gas turbine power station.
This would guarantee that the SNP Program of energy supply would be within the EU directive so it would seem safer for the SNP to disregard the people of East Lothian objections and change there policy on climate change from fossil fuels, than to have a RED FACE if the SNP did not meet the EU directive on energy.
Now the Spanish energy company that trades under the name of Scottish power is one of the world’s largest experts on wave and tidal energy so if this was a question of a possible short fall in the Scottish energy program way did the SNP agree to support the gas turbine plant which will pump toxins into the skies of Scotland adding to climate change when a tidal energy system would have not been too difficult to apply to the existing site, it is only 12 foot from the firth of forth and the last time I looked the tides were quite heavy on a regular bases.
So I would ask Mr Fergus Ewing Scottish energy minster why are you so hell bent on plummeting the East Lothian area of Scotland into the Scottish government policy of shame that will be a legacy that the residents of East Lothian will injure for a generations to come.
Alan Eeles Prestonpans
SNP GUARANTEE THAT THEY DO NOT FALL SHORT OF THE EU RULES.
Towards the end of 2010 the local SNP branch meeting was held in Prestonpans at this meeting a member informed the chair that at the union meeting held at cockienz power station. Scottish power informed the union members that an agreement had been confirmed between the energy company Scottish Power and the Scottish Energy minister and that the SNP would support the building of the gas turbine power station.
This agreement that the SNP was now supporting the building of this new power station even though there was a large objection by the residents of the area was never made public. Residents still blindly campaigned and collected thousands of names with address stating that they objected to the building of the gas turbine power station within the middle of a residential area. Unaware that the proposed planning application was now supported by the SNP energy minister and that this decision to support was made in 2010.
In 2012 the energy minster informed the people of Scotland that the decision by the SNP relating to the planning application was that only 2 objection were recorded against the building of the power station even though several thousand people’s names stating that they objected with address had been collected and presented. When I phoned the office of the Scottish minster and asked why had the SNP abandoned there electoral policy on fossil fuels. I was informed that it was in the interest of Scotland that the SNP should support Scottish power planning application. Now I would point out that this was not a cross party agreement when Fergus Ewing announced that he supported the building of this gas turbine power station the cross party members of the Scottish Parliament were lost for words.
The energy minister for Scotland Fergus Ewing was indifferent that this development would affect the living stands of thousands of people and that houses would be demolished over several miles to make way for the gas pipe that will feed the gas turbines.
The irony of this devilment is that for 40 years the coal fired sub power station sent the electricity that it produced to south of the border to England and that this replacement gas turbine plant will also continue to send electricity to England. There is no advantage to Scotland from this devilment by the Spanish energy company, trading under the name of Scottish power, and there is clearly no advantage to the community of East Lothian. But it will be of great benefit to the Scottish National Party political agenda.
The essence of the agreement between Scottish power and the Scottish government would seem to be that this new gas turbine power station to be built at Cockenze was granted so that – IF– the SNP Program of renewable energy were to fall short of the EU directive. The energy minister would be able to include the energy produced by the new gas turbine power station.
This would guarantee that the SNP Program of energy supply would be within the EU directive. So it would seem safer for the SNP to disregard the people of East Lothian objections and change there policy on climate change from fossil fuels, than to have a RED FACE if the SNP did not meet the EU directive on energy.
Now the Spanish energy company that trades under the name of Scottish power is one of the world’s largest experts on wave and tidal energy so
if this was a question of a possible short fall in the Scottish energy program way did the SNP agree to support the gas turbine plant which will pump toxins into the skies of Scotland adding to climate change when a tidal energy system would have not been too difficult to apply to the existing site, it is only 12 foot from the firth of forth and the last time I looked the tides were quite heavy on a regular bases.
So I would ask Mr Fergus Ewing Scottish energy minster why are you so hell bent on plummeting the East Lothian area of Scotland into the Scottish government policy of shame that will be a legacy that the residents of East Lothian will injure for a generations to come.
Alan Eeles Prestonpans