Sir, – Far be it from me to intrude on the internal squabbles of what passes for the Labour Party in Scotland, but your article (‘Clamour grows for Scottish Labour leader to give up post’, September 3) inadvertently highlighted why simply shuffling the deckchairs of the Labour Titanic won’t do.
You rightly highlighted that the party has had nine leaders since devolution (not including temporary leaders) compared to five for the Tories and three for the SNP.
A quick tally suggests 25% of the current Labour group has held the leadership post on either a permanent or temporary basis!
As Labour continued to plummet in the polls and the leader was changed with increasing regularity, did it not occur to them that the message may have been the problem; not the messenger?
For too long, Labour has jettisoned every policy that made the party what it was, in order to chase votes in middle England.
Scotland’s wishes were always secondary.
That is why Scotland, for example, must house nuclear weapons it does not want and suffer a Brexit it did not vote for.
Not content with that, Labour has set its face, not just against independence for Scotland, but the very right of Scots to even have a vote should they wish.
Labour’s challenges are many.
They do not oppose the Tories with the zeal they should, they ignore the rights of Scotland, the nation and her people, to have its voice heard and respected and they ditched policies popular in Scotland (abolishing nuclear weapons and the House of Lords to name but two) to make themselves electable in England, which has continued to shun them regardless.
There is a vacuum at the heart of the Labour Party where principle should be.
As the last 20 years of devolution have shown, a leadership change is merely window dressing which can no longer hide that fact.
Henry Malcolm.
331 Clepington Road,
Dundee.
Clear facts for crucial times
Sir, – The result of the 2014 referendum was approximately 55%/45% in favour of Scotland remaining part of the United Kingdom.
Recent polls reveal approximately 55% of Scots are now in favour of separation.
Newspapers daily contain comment from “experts” on all sides and the debate, especially on the economics of an independent Scotland, goes round in circles.
The matter of the UK being broken up after 300 years is so important, and in fact so serious, that it now requires mature, sensible, respectful debate with credible, qualified, admired participants from across the political spectrum who will forensically investigate every financial, economic and social aspect of Scotland going it alone.
It is not sufficient simply to state on one hand “Scotland would be bankrupt” and on the other “Scotland can do it better”.
None of the Scottish political parties is capable so far of providing the answers required by “the people of Scotland” to commit to such a major upheaval in our lives.
The people of Scotland deserve better, we deserve at this most significant time in our history to get it right for all the people of Scotland, our children, grandchildren and generations to come.
Politics in Scotland has become divisive, rude, antagonistic, angry and if the UK is broken up there is no going back – we have to get it right.
Before the Holyrood election, the people of Scotland need to make their decisions based on facts, not on spurious claims and counter-claims by political parties.
How do we get truly impartial participants to work on this or am I dreaming?
Douglas Cowe.
68 Alexander Avenue,
Kingseat, Newmachar.
Gers is Scottish, so just own it
Sir, – If your readers wish their comments on Gers to be taken seriously, they should accept they are drawn up in Scotland for the Scottish Government using standard statistical practices and estimates.
There was also a Growth Commission convened by the Scottish Government which confirmed a fiscal deficit in Scotland.
None of this originated in or was orchestrated by Westminster and it is interesting how reliable the figures are claimed to be when it’s favourable to the SNP, and how loud the whining when they’re not.
Scotland has run a surplus on occasion, but it has not been the norm for a long time and certainly won’t be when the cost of Covid-19 is realised.
Hamish Hossick.
76H Strathern Road,
Broughty Ferry.
Knowing our place in future
Sir, – In response to William Loneskie (Letters, September 3).
People still fail to realise we send HM Treasury approximately £66 billion of revenue, are given about half of that back, and the remainder is spent on what Westminster deigns to be on our behalf, and over which we have no control.
Any Barnett consequentials merely give us back some of what we have already given.
There is no certainty about any post-independence currency devaluation or comparisons.
The Scottish Government, pre and post SNP, are required to balance the books, so have never created or maintained any deficit. The deficits are the result of Westminster decisions, not ours.
Any independent country can choose whatever it likes as a currency. Exchange rates vary all the time and there would be a period of balance and adjustment in any transition.
If Scotland doesn’t have the cash to back its prospective currency then neither does Westminster.
The value of any currency is not dependant on past glories but on current performance. There is no UK largesse available other than what is printed or bond funded.
And with Scotland’s population of around six million and a tax income of £66bn we would be easily capable of managing things for ourselves – on 2019 figures approximately £30bn extra.
Also, to clarify, the SNP has published draft balanced independent budgets.
Most unionist arguments are merely parroted repeats of an unsubstantiated statement to try and justify a belief.
If there were fact-based arguments then we could move forward in an informed manner.
Just because someone doesn’t like a particular position does not make it wrong.
Nick Cole.
Balmacron Farmhouse,
Meigle, Perthshire.
EV drivers don’t pay their way
Sir, – It was rumoured Chancellor Rishi Sunak was considering ending a 10-year freeze on fuel duty to help pay for the costs of Covid-19 but Boris Johnson would not allow it.
Fuel duty is 57.95p per litre, plus VAT equals 69.68p per litre, and only some of this goes to roads construction and maintenance.
Thus petrol/diesel motorists more than pay their way.
It is the wealthy electric vehicle owner who pays zero towards the roads they drive on but gets a grant of £4,500 plus £500 for a home charging point, yet still expects local authorities and other public bodies to install EV charging points for their convenience.
Clark Cross.
138 Springfield Road,
Linlithgow.
