ONLY a Labour cooncillor could show enough lack of embarrassment to write such a sycophantic letter praising England's Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott (May 7). As Labour Convener of Transportation for Edinburgh City Cooncil, Cooncillor David Begg would not be expected to know a socialist thought if it ran him over.
Have we to forget (Lord) Harold Wilson punishing the motorist by increasing car tax, petrol, etc? The wealthy expense-account brigade were able to absorb and pass on the increases while the poorer and marginal driver suffered.
Even openly capitalist governments in Europe experimented with free inner-city transport and were surprised to see the roads cleared. Norway subsidises its own transport to its many islands and remote communities; it has some control over its North Sea oil.
Labour can no more un-invent the wheel than they can undo their reactionary past. The only socialist answer is to make all public transport free, yes free, since it is subsidised one way or another, and introduce a real integrated transport policy.
Scotland is bereft of a proper transport infrastructure in all spheres, from road, rail, sea, and air. Only an efficient, reliable public transport service could ease the demand for cars on the road. This would be a piece of cake for a real socialist Government to implement and a must for an Independent one which would have to care.
Glasgow, for example, has miles of old underground railway track covering all points of the city and beyond, that any other independent nation would give its eye teeth for. Botanic Gardens still supports an underground railway station from the pre-Beeching area.
Much of the track, such as the Kirklee line, was sold off to private developers, with Maryhill (and other stations) bulldozed to make way for an English Co-op hypermarket.
To save any ''Tory, yah, boo'' parrot cries, it all happened under a Labour Cooncil and Labour Government which was no more socialist than Blair's Snatcher Babes. They, snap, were too busy subsidising London Underground (as well as her ''public'' buildings, roads, parks, etc) linking the Blue trains to the City as well as subsidising the rest of London's Transport and road, rail, and air links: something your average North British MP dare not even think about.
Then again, to expect Labour cooncillors to be embarrassed, or even know that their Emperor had nae socialist claes oan, would be akin to expecting Kylie Minogue to be embarrassed while publicly prancing about, wailing and posturing in her underwear.
Donald Anderson,
22 Southampton Drive, Glasgow.
May 7.
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