OPINION
July 25th 2023
In Scotland, it was revealed that the SNP government has been responsible for cutting down nearly 16,000,000 trees to clear ground for wind farms.
Estimations suggest around 15.7 million trees have been cut down since 2000, the equivalent of 1,700 per day.
Scots have been left in “astonishment” after it was revealed the SNP cut down millions of trees to build wind farms.
Rural affairs secretary Mairi Gougeon admitted the party had felled nearly 16 million trees to make room for the new project as part of the SNP’s plans to make Scotland net zero over the next ten years.
Reacting to the controversial move, Tory MSP Liam Kerr said, “astonishing is the right word”.
Appearing on GB News he added: “Not just astonishment at the numbers that we are talking about but the fact of it.”
Estimations suggest around 15.7 million trees have been cut down since 2000, the equivalent of 1,700 per day.
The trees were cut down on land managed by agency Forestry and Land Scotland with the SNP insisting planning was in favour of protecting woodland and “compensatory planting elsewhere”.
Confirming the numbers this week, Ms Gougeon said: “This gives an estimated total of 15.7 million trees which have been felled in order to facilitate windfarm development.
“Removal should only be permitted where it would achieve significant and clearly defined additional public benefits.
“Where woodland is removed in association with development, developers will generally be expected to provide compensatory planting in order to avoid a net loss of woodland.”
Scotland is home to Whitelee Windfarm in Glasgow, Europe’s biggest onshore windfarm with 215 turbines generating up to 539 megawatts of electricity, capable of powering over 350,000 homes.
Source Daily Express, July 22nd 2023.
I find this unbelievable. Ms Gougeon failed to give details of any compensatory planting.
Meanwhile, the Scottish police are extending their investigations into the finances of the SNP to encompass possible embezzlement.
The crisis for the SNP has escalated even further, as Scotland’s chief constable has confirmed that the police investigation into the party’s finances has been expanded.
The scope of the investigation will now include allegations of “misuse of funds” and “potential embezzlement”, Sir Iain Livingstone confirmed.
Operation Branchform was initially a fraud investigation.
Police Scotland is investigating whether £660,000 raised by the SNP for a second independence referendum was spent on other things.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Sir Iain said: “It’s moved beyond what some of the initial reports were.”
The crisis for the SNP has escalated even further, as Scotland’s chief constable has confirmed that the police investigation into the party’s finances has been expanded.
The scope of the investigation will now include allegations of “misuse of funds” and “potential embezzlement”, Sir Iain Livingstone confirmed.
Operation Branchform was initially a fraud investigation.
When asked why the investigation has taken more than two years, Sir Iain explained: “Investigations into the finances of an organisation, the finances of an individual, are often complex.
“Investigations around fraud or investigations around potential embezzlement or investigations around the misuse of funds take time.
“You need to go and obtain information from banks and other financial institutions.
“We can’t just do that automatically.”
He added: “We need to go and seek judicial warrants for that. There needs to be a process around that. So, the time that’s been taken, in my judgment, is absolutely necessary. There’s been a prudent, thorough and proportionate investigation carried out.”
Source Daily Express 19th July 2023.
The SNP keeps finding ways to dig a deeper hole for itself. Even the Orkneys are fed up with the SNP’s governance from Holyrood and are researching ways of developing closer ties with Norway. They are even looking at seceding from Scotland should the SNP win independence.
Back in England, politics is developing into a yawn fest between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer. They are both high achievers in blandness and no one believes a word they say. They have both had a charisma bypass, so goodness knows how they are going to get their policies across to the electorate.
Last week saw three by elections including Uxbridge, which was Boris Johnson’s old electorate. The conservatives held all three seats and were forecast to lose heavily in each one. That almost came true with the Liberal Democrats winning the West Country seat with a huge majority and Labour winning the Northern seat, again with a huge majority. The outlier was Uxbridge which the Conservatives, against all the odds, held onto. This is thought to be a huge backlash against the extension of Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ (ultra emissions scheme) into greater London. This would impact on the outer boroughs and result in charges of £12.50 per day for each older vehicle. Keir Starmer is now putting pressure on Khan to drop the scheme as on this result it could result in a net loss of 14 seats at next year’s election.
Labour’s victory at Selby and Ainsty has made history: it is the largest Conservative majority (20,137) overturned by the party at a by-election since 1945.
The previous record was set at the Mid Staffordshire by-election in March 1990, when Labour overturned a Tory majority of 14,654.
To win the seat, Labour needed a swing in the share of the vote of 17.9 percentage points: the equivalent of a net change of 18 in every 100 people who voted Conservative at the 2019 general election switching sides.
They managed a swing of 23.7 points.
In the West Country Somerton and Frome is the fourth seat the Liberal Democrats have taken from the Conservatives at a by-election since the 2019 general election, all of which have changed hands on huge swings in the vote.
The swing at Somerton was 29.0 percentage points, or the equivalent of a net change of 29 in every 100 people who voted Tory in 2019 switching sides.
This is well above the 14.9 point swing the Lib Dems needed to win the seat.
The Conservatives were defending a majority at Somerton of 19,213
In Uxbridge, Labour needed a swing in the share of the vote of 7.6 percentage points to win Uxbridge and South Ruislip from the Conservatives but fell short and managed only 6.7 points.
This is well below the 12.7-point swing Labour achieved at the Wakefield by-election in June 2022, when they won the seat from the Tories.
Labour did manage to cut the Conservative majority at Uxbridge from 7,210 at the 2019 general election to just 495, while the Tory share of the vote fell from 53% in 2019 to 45%.
Source The Independent 21st July 2023.
On the basis of these results, Labour would achieve a swing even bigger than the one that Tony Blair achieved and result in them gaining power in next year’s election. Rishi Sunak is doing little to increase support for the Conservatives and the party is fragmenting. Sunak doesn’t have the strength or fortitude to sort it out.