November 1st – November 7th, 2025
Green Solutions may not be Nirvana; SSEN to build houses for local people; Brittany envies Scotland and Wales; ….. but first …..
And So It Begins …. The SNP are ‘Fifth Columnists’
Defence Secretary John Healey first accused the Scottish National[ist] government at Holyrood of putting Scottish [defence] jobs at risk. Then John Cooper, Conservative MP for Dumfries and Galloway, went one better, admitting he had previously likened the SNP to ‘Fifth Columnists’ …. ‘working against British interests’.
Interestingly, though, when Tory MP Lincoln Jopp pressed John Healey as to whether China was also a security threat, Healey would not do so. Mr Jopp, previous commander of the 1st Battalion Scots Guards in Afghanistan, pointed out it was odd he could think the SNP a threat, but not China.
How long before all independence supporters are labelled a ‘terrorist threat’ for wanting the amicable break-up of the UK? True, we may need to rethink our attitude to international security both for the other countries of the UK and the wider world, but it is rather an insult to say wanting to govern yourselves makes you a security threat.
We All Pay for Green ‘Investment’
Households have paid a staggering £6.6 billion to energy firms switching off their turbines at times when the aging and decrepit National Grid cannot cope with the volume. And it won’t cope any time soon, as there is little investment going into upgrading the grid compared with the demands being made on it. The ‘constraint payments’ of £1.7 bn in 2024/25 are a four-fold increase on the amount paid five years previously; £1.2bn of them went to Scotland, paid initially to producers by the energy grid operator but then passed on to consumer bills. So why is the Scottish government so keen on generating so much energy we cannot possibly use, and get nothing for, with bills remaining as high as ever?
Another Extravagant Claim on Green Jobs
Kate Forbes has launched a plan to ‘maximise’ the £100 billion the Highlands is supposed to receive over the next 15 years, making the area the engine room for growing the Scottish economy and creating 18,000 renewable energy jobs. A Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) report has found that growth could outstrip the peak of oil and gas. Of course it involves public and private partners in a Workforce North Action Plan which aims to enable schools and communities to understand the scale of the local opportunity, improve access to fair work and expand apprenticeships; develop short, sharp opportunities for those seeking a new role (reminds me of the short, sharp shocks we used to dole out to miscreants to get them back in line); encourage people to return to the area; and attract new migrants.
There does not seem to be any extra high-scale finance for colleges to train skilled workers. Nevertheless, Highland Council leader Raymond Bremner sang the praises of the ‘green’ Freeport for Cromarty and surrounding area, saying the council is ‘uniquely positioned’ to unlock solutions on skills development and housing. Really? Isn’t he worried about the loss of local government funding and the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, which will be the sweeteners to rich multi-nationals?
Colleges are ‘Chronically Underfunded’
according to Gavin Donoghue, chief executive of Colleges Scotland, saying a real-terms cut of 20% in government funding since 2021 has predictably led to larger class sizes, staff reductions and a sharp drop in student numbers. Seven colleges had deficits last year, 2 needed emergency cash support, and some are even facing insolvency this year. He says the obvious, that more funding is needed, particularly for skills courses for the renewables sector.
There are 13% fewer college students now than 5 years ago, and 9% fewer staff, saying if funding had increased in line with inflation since 2021/22, there would be an extra £150 million in the college sector today.
Audit Scotland confirmed that Scottish government college funding will have fallen from £675 million in 2021/22 to £656 million in 2025/26 (a 3% cash cut, but 20% in real terms). The Scottish Funding Council said most colleges are ‘not sustainable’.
UK Defence Procurement Minister Luke Pollard said the UK could invest directly in Scottish colleges to address defence and engineering skills shortages, which Scottish Higher Education Minister Ben Macpherson said would be unacceptable. But don’t be surprised if colleges take up the offer when the Scottish government seems more obsessed with getting young people to university rather than expanding the skills sector.
Is the King’s Salmon Fishing Auction Unethical?
Maybe it should be if you are committed environmentalist King Charles and you are auctioning off the fishing of endangered salmon on the Balmoral estate. He is offering fishing on three beats to raise money for the Atlantic Salmon Trust, one of the charities of which he is patron. True, the salmon is thrown back into the water after being caught, but many of them don’t survive the ordeal of being caught. Having a hook stuck into their mouths is not painless, and even casual handling disrupts their skin’s protective layer. Many of them die. The environmental group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) argue further that the salmon have distinct personalities and complex social structures. Numbers of Atlantic Salmon have fallen 70% in the last 25 years, but the Balmoral Estate claim they are ‘safeguarding the species’ continued conservation’.
Lithium Battery Fires
Bin lorries have been set alight on several occasions this year by batteries discarded in ordinary rubbish, mostly caused by batteries from discarded vapes. When rubbish is compacted by the lorries, it crushes the batteries, which ignite and have a ready source of flammable material in the rubbish in the lorry. The five bin lorry fires recently in Glasgow are believed to have happened because the crushing mechanisms of Glasgow’s newer lorries are significantly more powerful than older vehicles. Almost half of all UK waste fires are caused by lithium-ion batteries. The Chartered Institute of Waste Management is calling for a Deposit Return Scheme for batteries, although even now, under present regulations, any UK retailer selling vapes or other electrical items must offer a free takeback service for used items and components.
Solar Panels also a Huge Fire Risk
UK fire services are called to solar panel fires once every two days, with 171 fires in 2024, up from 107 in 2022. Most faults came from inverters – electronic devices that turn direct current emitted by the panels into the alternating current needed for the grid. The inverters must be well ventilated and kept free of obstructions, but if placed in a loft or cupboard, they can quickly start a blaze. Another problem is that modern solar systems often use lithium-ion batteries, but the biggest risk is panels being fitted close to or above rooftop windows or skylights. Think again if you’re thinking of solar!
New Homes for Rural Scotland
100 new homes will be built by 2027 in Stornoway and 47 in Brechin, Angus, courtesy of energy company SSEN Transmission, but there is a catch. The houses will initially accommodate workers on major electricity projects and only after completion of the projects will the housing be made available as social housing. The Stornoway workers will be needed for the Lewis Hub, a substation and converter station for Arnish Moor near Stornoway, which is part of plans for a subsea cable between the Western Isles and the mainland to deliver wind power. The Brechin houses will be part of the plans for the Brechin Infirmary Housing Development site and will initially house workers on the controversial Kintore-Tealing 400kV overhead line.
Both areas desperately need housing, with Angus Council receiving 669 homeless applications in 2024/25, up nearly 17% on the previous year, and declaring a housing emergency, and the Western Isles’ building rates are languishing at about a third of the rate 10 years earlier.
Historic Visitor Sites Closed
About 15% of historic Scottish sites are closed or operating with restricted access as a result of soaring maintenance costs and conservation challenges. Historic Environment Scotland are faced with an £842 million bill for repairs and retrofitting. Some sites are routinely closed for the winter. The closures have a knock-on effect on Scottish tourism, and even when sites are open, visitors may be confronted with fences or crush barriers, or simply unexplained blocked access. Nineteen HES sites are temporarily closed for conservation or other works, including Kelso Abby in the Borders and the iconic Arbroath Abbey in Angus, whose visitor centre and grounds are open, but some internal spaces are shut to the public.
HES began an inspection plan in April 2022 for all buildings with masonry above 1.5 metres in heigh, ending up focussing future efforts on 70 key sites, but it is not clear whether HES will get any extra Scottish government funding to meet the £842 million repair and retrofitting bill, how the shortage of skilled workers can be filled, or how to cope with rising visitor numbers, which cause further damage. The latter may be solved by itself if historic properties continue to fall into decay without repair. People will just stay away.
Bretons Eye Up Independence
The Scottish and Welsh independence movements seem to have inspired Brittany to want a piece of the action. Although Brittany in north-west France has been part of France since 1532, it is one of the Celtic nations – Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Ireland, the Isle of Man and Brittany.
Breton supporters will be going first for devolution, looking to have a government similar to Scotland and Wales established. France’s centralised government is seen as increasingly not meeting Brittany’s needs, and Yes Breizh is looking for devolved powers in the economy, education, energy, culture and the environment. They have set a date of 2032 for devolution, calling for a consultative referendum, a revision of the French constitution and elections to a Breton Parliament.
As early as May 2022, inspired by the French island of Corsica, Brittany’s regional council voted by a large majority to ask the French government for more autonomy. Yes Breizh has closer ties with Yes Cymru than with Yes Scotland, but wants to develop contacts and turn the area’s growing self-confidence into making its own better solutions, instead of continuing the top-down imposition of French central government edicts.
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