SIR, - The Scottish Government has promised radical land reform and that we are only at the beginning of a long road.

I looked up the dictionary recently and one definition of radical is holding extreme views.

Correspondence in The Scottish Farmer has warned us that all landowners could be affected from a pony paddock upwards.

It has also been claimed that this land reform could break up family farms and homes. Is this what farmers and small landowners want.

Land reform - a dream for some, a nightmare for others!

In your April 2 edition, I read an article headlined 'Tories planning promise'. This article was like a breath of fresh air.

Their proposals would be a tremendous boost to retiring farmers.

Reading between the lines, I can see low cost housing built in the Highlands for locals, perhaps linked to other discreet developments, would be beneficial for the local economy.

Under these proposals, I can see the local community, such as Kingussie, having the final say in the wind farm that would have benefited the community by £27m over 20 years.

I also see the re-introduction of sporting rate relief to sporting estates linked to the preservation of wildlife. Who better to look after our game and wildlife than our gamekeepers.

Our wildlife would flourish and this would remove the conflict between different interests. Land reform will produce nothing but uncertainty and bad feeling.

I also noticed that the jobless number has increased by 20,000 and there are approximately 14,000 businesses facing distress in Scotland.

On a daily basis, we see our politicians pointing the finger of blame at each other. Scotland deserves better! Scotland needs constructive policies that will increase manufacture and exports to drive the economy forward.

While Scottish politicians are talking about us becoming experts in closing down industry such as oil, Norway is building floating platforms housing wind turbines that can be towed anywhere.

We need better from our Scottish government!

Name and address supplied