Dr E Scott MSP

**mickey101** · 30-Jun-06, 19:11

Hi
This thread is not directly to do with Asda but what I read on the front page of this weeks Groat got my blood boiling instantly.

I am sorry for what I am about to say and I will take the heat from those who will be offended.

But I am sick and tired of Mrs Scott's attempt to interfere with this county. I am sick and tired of her trying to turn Caithness into a Green Utopia where we all live in caves or quaint stone cottages. We have no shops and we grow all our own food. We abandon our cars in favour of a horse and cart and don't travel further than the next village to sell or barter our wares with our fellow simple county dewellers.

Sorry Mrs Scott that isnt going to happen. I would like you yes YOU to answer a few simple questions. Honestly as you can ( which for a politician will be a significant achievement)

1) Where do you live?
2) Where do you shop?
3) I assume your high principals ensure that you never set foot in a Supermarket outlet ( oh yeah pull the other one)
4) Where do you buy your petrol/diesel? ( ops sorry I forgot you walk everywhere or use public transport and if you are in a hurry you have your own horse and cart dont you?)
5) How many times have you set foot in this county and honestly talked with the people and tried to understand their point of view. ( not very often if any I would guess)

Because frankly I am fed up of your attitude. The attiude which you think YOU are entitled to as an elected member of that overpriced waste of space in Edinburgh. That you and only YOU suddenly know what is best for Caithness and Sutherland. That only you are privy to the big picture and that we are people too simple to make our own decisions, to be smiled at and looked upon as you would any five year old who is doing something amusing without realising it.

You claim you support Green issue but you would rather see us convoying down to Inverness or across to Wick on a Bi weekly basis to do our shopping than have the same facilities closer to home. THAT IS BEING GREEN opps sorry I forgot I am supposed to have traded in my car for a Horse and Cart by now.

If you havent got the message this county has had it with the way we are treated and we will kick, bite and fight and yes if necessary crucify a councillor or two to drag this county into the current century

I used to think the Green party had many good points but now I can happily report I will never consider the Green party as anything other than a bunch of looney tunes. There stance on a New Forth road bridge and Dual carriagewaying the A9 between Inverness and Perth was the absolute clincher for me.

I await the flak and yes just to pre- empt the first salvo she is fully entitled to her opinion but I would prefer to hear it than taste it as it is rammed down our throats.

M

**Venture** · 30-Jun-06, 21:04

Well put - I agree 110% with everything you have said and I am sure there are many more like me.

**clash67** · 01-Jul-06, 20:24

Well said, she made my blood boil too with her comments, who does she think she is, as for the questions you posed her, I would like to hear her answers I'm sure they would be very interesting.
It's just another case of our lives being run by people who live in cloud coockoo land.

unicorn · 01-Jul-06, 20:27

I totally agree with all thats said who on earth does this woman think she is? more to the point who on earth voted for her????????

**Murdina Bug** · 01-Jul-06, 21:16

Is there a full moon about just now? It's just that there is a lot of baying for blood around.....

**JAWS** · 01-Jul-06, 21:46

The second part of the Article on this page gives some idea about Eleanor Scotts “Green” credentials.
http://www.whfp.com/1624/editor.html

In 2001 she was the Green Party Candidate for the Westminster Parliament for the Constituency of Ross, Skye and Lochaber. She gathered the grand total of 699 votes and came fifth..

It would appear that she became an MSP as a result of the List System when the Green Party again came fifth with less than 10 percent of the votes.

There are no directly elected Green MSPs, every one is there as a result of “Buggins Law” whereby they are there because their Party stuck them at the top of the Candidates they had decided they themselves wanted to be at Holyrood. Their total number of MSPs amounts to just over 5 percent of the total yet Eleanor Scott speaks as if she spoke for a huge majority of voters. .

Eleanor Scott, it would seem, makes a lot of statements about “what Caithness wants” and, strangely enough, such statements always seem to coincide with her and her Party’s particular view of the World.

As a matter of interest, has anybody any knowledge of her actually seeking to discover what the wishes of the people of Caithness are on any subject at all?
Considering she seems so convinced she knows exactly what our opinions are they seems strangely at variance with what would appear to be the reality of Caithnessian’s feelings.

Any details of her prior background, both Political and Private, seem remarkably lacking. All I have found are where she is from, her places of Education, her occupation just prior to becoming an MSP and a list dates of fairly recent elections in which she would appear previously to have failed as a Candidate.
Her political activities and beliefs for around the first forty or so years of her life are strangely blank as are any reasons for her apparently sudden interest in Politics.

I too get irritated by her constant pronouncements about the wishes of the people of Caithness which appear to be more like "Pie in the Sky" than anything of substance.

**willowbankbear** · 01-Jul-06, 21:49

Originally Posted by mickey101

Hi
This thread is not directly to do with Asda but what I read on the front page of this weeks Groat got my blood boiling instantly.

I am sorry for what I am about to say and I will take the heat from those who will be offended.

But I am sick and tired of Mrs Scott's attempt to interfere with this county. I am sick and tired of her trying to turn Caithness into a Green Utopia where we all live in caves or quaint stone cottages. We have no shops and we grow all our own food. We abandon our cars in favour of a horse and cart and don't travel further than the next village to sell or barter our wares with our fellow simple county dewellers.

Sorry Mrs Scott that isnt going to happen. I would like you yes YOU to answer a few simple questions. Honestly as you can ( which for a politician will be a significant achievement)

1) Where do you live?
2) Where do you shop?
3) I assume your high principals ensure that you never set foot in a Supermarket outlet ( oh yeah pull the other one)
4) Where do you buy your petrol/diesel? ( ops sorry I forgot you walk everywhere or use public transport and if you are in a hurry you have your own horse and cart dont you?)
5) How many times have you set foot in this county and honestly talked with the people and tried to understand their point of view. ( not very often if any I would guess)

Because frankly I am fed up of your attitude. The attiude which you think YOU are entitled to as an elected member of that overpriced waste of space in Edinburgh. That you and only YOU suddenly know what is best for Caithness and Sutherland. That only you are privy to the big picture and that we are people too simple to make our own decisions, to be smiled at and looked upon as you would any five year old who is doing something amusing without realising it.

You claim you support Green issue but you would rather see us convoying down to Inverness or across to Wick on a Bi weekly basis to do our shopping than have the same facilities closer to home. THAT IS BEING GREEN opps sorry I forgot I am supposed to have traded in my car for a Horse and Cart by now.

If you havent got the message this county has had it with the way we are treated and we will kick, bite and fight and yes if necessary crucify a councillor or two to drag this county into the current century

I used to think the Green party had many good points but now I can happily report I will never consider the Green party as anything other than a bunch of looney tunes. There stance on a New Forth road bridge and Dual carriagewaying the A9 between Inverness and Perth was the absolute clincher for me.

I await the flak and yes just to pre- empt the first salvo she is fully entitled to her opinion but I would prefer to hear it than taste it as it is rammed down our throats.

M

Excellent post, Im sure you will agree

**DrSzin** · 01-Jul-06, 23:03

From what I've read of her public utterances, Dr Eleanor Scott MSP is an archetypical Green - an expert at mouthing platitudes, and utterly incapable of independent research on anything of substance. She makes her partner look like an intellectual.

**mickey101** · 02-Jul-06, 02:47

Hi
I am glad people have read my thread and agree with what I have written. It may come as no surprise that Dr Scott has not replied to me in any shape or form.
I would suspect that she does know about my opinion but chooses to ignore me ( opps I keep forgetting I am akinto a five year old and too simple to grasp the bigger picture).
I doubt if she has the guts or the brain to attempt to defend herself in an open public forum.
She may be psuedo green but she is a politician after all.

M

ps The next step is a letter to the shy retiring lady I think.

**bigpete** · 04-Aug-06, 21:32

Hi Folks, I fully agreed with what Mickey101 has written, and, being jarred off waiting, I emailed down to Edinburgh on July 11th direct to Dr Scott with mickey101's comment and asked her for her thoughts - well eventually reply came back on the 1st Aug. Had a look all over the site but can't find it - well it 'aint private (as it was going to be posted by her assistant) so here 'tiz:

Dear Mr XXXXX

Thank you for passing on the comments. I don't know whether it's my poor internet skills (probably is) but I find Caithness.org hard to navigate so I'm grateful to you for letting me know what's being said.

I must say I felt the writer's reaction was a bit extreme - just not wanting a large globalised company with a reputation for screwing producers and underpaying employees to come to an area where it would certainly lead to the demise of many local businesses seems a long way from wanting people to return to a mediaeval way of life!

For the record:
1. I live in Evanton
2. I shop in the local village shop (it's a small Coop), local shops in Alness and Dingwall and occasionally Somerfield in Alness. I have never been inside the big Tesco's in Dingwall and don't intend to, though I used to shop there when it was the previous, smaller one.
3. I also used to shop in the Safeway in Alness before it became Morrison's - I believed at that time that it would keep people in Easter Ross and stop them going to Inverness to shop. It didn't.
4. I don't have a car but do drive my partner's at times. I buy diesel from petrol stations - choice a bit restricted due to some having closed because of the big Tesco's.
5. I worked in Caithness in the early 90's, covering during a staff shortage - I do keep in contact with the area, and it's fair to say that a range of views are held there.

I'll get my more computer literate assistant to put the above on the website.

thanks again

Yours in peace

Eleanor Scott

**Naefearjustbeer** · 04-Aug-06, 21:53

I dont think she got any votes directly. She was given a seat by some sort of proportional caculations if I remember correctly

**DrSzin** · 04-Aug-06, 21:54

Originally Posted by Dr Eleanor Scott

I must say I felt the writer's reaction was a bit extreme

From the Groat/Courier website:

Dr Scott said: “Although the report recommends a potential 'road map’ for some time in the future, it is clear that there is still no 'solution’ to the problem of nuclear waste. It is inevitable that some irresponsible pro-nuclear lobbyists may suggest this means the problem has been resolved but their fanaticism is unlikely to be taken seriously.”

I must say I felt the writer's reaction was a bit extreme.

Btw, this particular DrS says: "Never trust anyone who signs herself Dr <Something> when trying to argue a point." To her credit, the lady in question didn't do that.

For the record: one of my own Green List MEPs said something I agreed with recently. This has never happened before.

The other one, Robin Harper, is much more sensible. But then he was supposedly born in Thurso, so not too suprising really.

**mickey101** · 04-Aug-06, 22:36

Hi
Well as the person who kicked off this thread I will reply to Dr Scotts comments.
1) first off Fair credit to the lady for actaully answering my comments. I hadn't actually got round to writing to her as my business interests kept me away from Caithness.
2) My comments were not just related to the ASDA/TESCO issue but her attitude in general. She doesnt live here so as far as I am concerned she has zero right to meddle in this county's affairs or ram her opinion down our throats.
3) Living up here in the early 90's as far as I am concerned doesnt count nor do I believe she is in anyway " in touch" with local opinion.
4) I happen to disagree with her over Nuclear Power but then again I am an engineer and therefore able to grasp such issues as "Base Load", " Grid Instability" and the fact that it takes more energy to make a Wind Generator than it ever makes back in it's lifetime of operation. YEAP its true but they never tell you that.
At best a wind turbine is operational for 18% of the time. The rest of the time the wind is either too weak ( chance would be a fine thing up here) and too strong. We have no control of when we can or cannot get power from them and we cant store it efficiently.
5) If and a big IF she ever becomes an elected member of that Overpriced Useless waste of space in Edinburgh ( trust me it looks worse in person than it ever did in pictures) then she has a right to spout forth. I suspect it will be a cold day in Caithness when that happens, which will be soon as the lights will shortly be going out as we wait for our wind turbines to start generating again. Short sighted blinkered people like the greens will ensure we dont have any conventional or Nuclear generating capacity left.

Finally and yes I cant resist this as my retired mother( and claims she is from the wrong generation) happily manages to navigate this site what does that say for Dr Scott?

M

**crayola** · 05-Aug-06, 01:44

Originally Posted by mickey101

the fact that it takes more energy to make a Wind Generator than it ever makes back in it's lifetime of operation. YEAP its true but they never tell you that.

'snot true

Does it take more energy to make a wind turbine than it generates?
The average wind farm will pay back the energy used in its manufacture within 3 - 5 months of operation. A modern wind turbine is designed to operate for more than 20 years and at the end of its working life, the area can be restored at low financial and environmental costs.

npower may be evil but they not be stupid.

**Rheghead** · 05-Aug-06, 08:57

Originally Posted by crayola

'snot true

Does it take more energy to make a wind turbine than it generates?
The average wind farm will pay back the energy used in its manufacture within 3 - 5 months of operation. A modern wind turbine is designed to operate for more than 20 years and at the end of its working life, the area can be restored at low financial and environmental costs.

npower may be evil but they not be stupid.

I'm glad that you pointed that out, it saved me the bother. Though I think your estimate of 3-5 months is a tad optimistic (I reckon 1-2 years) it never-the-less serves the point.

**orkneylass** · 05-Aug-06, 09:27

Whatever the costs I am just back from staying next to a windfarm in Cornwall and was transfixed by the beauty of the turbines - quiet and majestic, I would be hapy to have one built near my home. However, this is not to get involved in your comments about your MSP as I agree that communities should be consulted and MSPs should represent them, and not their own hobby horses.

**mickey101** · 05-Aug-06, 10:55

Hi
I would be interested to see your figures regarding pay back on wind turbines. Taking the total cost i would doubt it would be payed back anything like as soon. In my defence I do not have the info to back up my claim, although I will try and find it. Wind turbines are the most expensive way to generate power( by a factor of 10) so that short a payback i would be very surprised at.

Mike

**mickey101** · 05-Aug-06, 11:10

Hi
Just to hold my hand up on that one point in my reply to Doctor Scott. The consistant figure ( too consistant as an engineer that makes me suspicious) seems to be payback 3 to 5 months and generation over a wind turbines life time 30 times its manufacturing costs. I unfortuantely cant find any evidence to back up my claim, I found this info from a quick scoot on the internet. ( something else Dr Scott needs assistance to use)

Regardless we still cant store the power when we have an excess and use it when we need it.

However we digress off the point regarding Dr Scott and in her opinion her electoral mandate to stick her nose in when she was voted for by less than 10% of the population.

M