Sir, – As we near the end of the beginning of the general election campaign, Theresa May clearly has no intention of dispensing with her Churchillian rhetoric.
Every time we see her on television she reminds us how much the country needs strong and stable leadership and a strong and stable government.
The only person with the strength and stability to deliver both of these and a strong and stable economy is, of course, Theresa May.
As for policies, well the Tories have nothing much to speak of but when you are as strong and stable as our Prime Minister, who needs them?
As for Brexit, it appears that neither Mrs May nor her acolytes have much of a clue but as long as she and her negotiators show how strong and stable they are, none of that really matters. Of course, being strong and stable means knowing when to be cruel to be kind.
The poor and the unemployed rarely know what’s best for them and need a strong and stable (Tory) government to point them in the right direction.
If this means more years of austerity, benefit caps, less money and resources for disabled people, increased dependence on food banks and more zero-hour contracts, who are we to argue?
The priority in a strong and stable country with a strong and stable Prime Minister is to ensure that the bank accounts of our wealthiest citizens remain as strong and stable as possible. Last year the UK’s 1,000 richest people increased their wealth by 14%.
Alan Woodcock.
23 Osborne Place,
Dundee.
Judge Tory MPs on record
Sir, – I was interested to read that Ruth Davidson May 9) asked: “What have the 54 SNP MPs done for Scotland?”
It is a valid and reasonable question. We should look at the track record and policies of all political parties to help us decide which way to vote.
Let us start with the record of the Conservative Party who have been in power for the last seven years in Britain.
Let us look south of the border to see what they have achieved: record numbers of homeless people, schools asking parents for donations to pay for teachers, social care in crisis, cuts to council services, increasing numbers of children living in poverty, increasing inequality in society, tax cuts for the rich and wages at a standstill for the majority.
The NHS is in crisis (ready to be privatised no doubt) and increasing numbers of people are using foodbanks. The 330 Tory MPs have been very busy. Judged on this record perhaps there should be fewer rather more Tories at Westminster Ms Davidson?
Brian Batson.
7 Lour Road,
Forfar.
Scots wealth squandered
Sir, – In the 1970s, a report by the UK Government stated that an independent Scotland would have a surplus “to an embarrassing degree”.
This was, of course, suppressed in case we got ideas above our station.
Fast forward to May 10 2017 and your headline tells us that missionaries more commonly associated with Third World countries are coming to Scotland to tackle poverty. Enough said.
Jim Clark.
8 Thistle Place,
Scone.
Pursue UK’s tax dodgers
Sir, – Ruth Davidson’s boss Theresa May professes to subscribe to Christian principles, yet her heartless policies affecting the poorest and most vulnerable in society show scant evidence of this.
This is the party that spent £700 million on a five-year contract for PIP assessments alone, resulting in 300 court cases every day costing the taxpayer £1 million a week.
Would it not be heartwarming if the UK Government were to change tack and concentrate on pursuing multi-millionaires who continue to stash their cash in tax havens?
How many of these have been prosecuted by the way? Answers on a postage stamp.
James Stevenson.
Drummond Avenue,
Auchterarder.
Sell out by Green Party
Sir, – So Patrick Harvie’s Greens will field only three candidates in the general election compared to 32 in the last Westminster election.
It’s crystal clear, with the SNP massively more under pressure from the Tories this time than last, that the Greens are withdrawing in an attempt to shore up Nicola Sturgeon’s party.
Scottish Greens used to be a party primarily concerned with the environment. Now they focus on supporting the nationalist party.
Let’s remember the SNP wanted to build an independent Scotland based on environmentally damaging North Sea fossil fuels.
It’s the party that wants to slash air passenger duty to increase massively the number of flights into Scotland.
We’ve long since known the SNP is a single-issue party.
It’s now increasingly clear Patrick Harvie is discarding his Green credentials, replacing them with Ms Sturgeon’s teenage dream of independence.
Martin Redfern.
Merchiston Gardens,
Edinburgh.
Subsidised Scotland
Sir, – May I ask your correspondent Andrew Collins (May 11) to explain the inevitable damage to the economy and the environment in Scotland and point out that the NHS in Scotland is managed by the SNP government who receive more than £1,500 per head (the Barnett Formula) compared to England to fund it and other welfare services.
Garry Barnett.
The Garden House,
Campsie Hill,
Guildtown.
Remember words of Jesus
Sir,- I cannot have been the only one to have been amused, though hardly surprised, by the Rev Dr John Cameron’s appreciation of Prince Philip.
On May 6, Mr Cameron was attacking the poor in these pages for their supposed indolence.
Just five days later, he wrote that he would “miss” the bigoted spouse of our unelected head of state (May 11), despite the fact that he has been annually in receipt of tens of millions of taxpayer pounds for decades and has never had to do an honest day’s work in his life. He is, frankly, a scrounger.
Mr Cameron might like to reacquaint himself with Matthew’s Gospel: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
David Kelly.
17 Highfields,
Dunblane.
Get tough on cybercrime
Sir, – Cybercrime against the NHS, or any other vital UK sector, is an act of war and should be responded to accordingly.
When committed by a UK resident, it is an act of treason, for which the death penalty is entirely appropriate.
Malcolm Parkin.
Gamekeepers Road,
Kinnesswood,
Kinross.