THE collapse of British manufacturing is the hidden and unspoken cancer at the heart of the present lacklustre general election campaign. The high-profile job losses at Motorola and Corus are mirrored in hundreds of smaller closures and thousands of job redundancies across the United Kingdom.
Yet Teflon Tony and his chancellor escape notice and censure. Companies which meet international standards of productivity and quality simply cannot make a living because of the distorting effect of the strength of sterling, and a measure of inflation which exaggerates the real situation. Our EU competitors are having a field day selling into the UK and taking full advantage of the effect of currency to take and retain market share.
The Conservatives are so riven with problems about the whole issue of whether we should even be in the EU that they simply cannot discuss the issue at all.
In the end, if we as a nation do not grow, extract from the ground, or manufacture, we have to find the money from somewhere to buy what we need. Labour - and their predecessors - have all but destroyed agriculture and manufacturing. Is it not time they were held to account for this?
Stefan G Kay,
7 King's Cramond, Edinburgh.
I AM delighted to see that New Labour intend to campaign on their economic record in Scotland, which is surely akin to turkeys voting for Christmas!
Economic growth in Scotland last year was the worst across the European Union, a fact the present administration are loath to bring to the attention of the Scottish people. At a growth rate of 2.5%, we again underperformed the UK as a whole, with Finland, with a similar population to our own, turning in a growth rate of 5.8%, and Ireland 9.5%. This year economic growth is set to fall even below that of last year, and with our reputation as the ''sick man of Europe'', we are yet again set to lie at the foot of the European league table.
Only with the ability to set our own levels of taxation, invest in research and development, and provide adequate incentives for business start-ups, can we drag ourselves up the European league table. We have the potential to be the most dynamic and innovative economy in the world, but shackled by London administrations, we will consistently underperform our main competitors.
Alex Orr,
Halmyre House, West Linton.
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