Reeves is crying wolf to justify the tax rises to come

However, Chancellor Rachel Reeves is hell bent on deriding the UK economy and is in real danger of “crying wolf” too often simply to justify her forthcoming tax rises and the raid on private pensions that she would not mention in the sham that was a “non-tax-raising” Labour manifesto: a deception of huge proportions.

Richard Allison, Edinburgh.

Scots will suffer the most

SO Rachel Reeves has broken her promise to protect the winter fuel allowance. Not even the dire Tories dared to go this far.

It’s doubtful Ms Reeves can empathise with poor pensioners who will now be cold this winter (and many may even die) as a result of her cruel cuts. On top of her £91,346 MP salary, she receives a £71,218 ministerial salary and lives rent-free at 11 Downing Street.

The English Labour Government’s first steps have shown its utter contempt for the working poor. As usual, Scots will suffer the most. Our nation is colder. We pay the most for energy of all UK nations and we face rising prices this winter as the price cap is raised. And our energy resources are being stolen with the GB Energy con, a shell company that won’t generate any energy, won’t lower prices and won’t stiffen a flaccid Ofgem to rein in price-gouging monopoly private suppliers.

Despite her Oxford PPE, LSE Msc in Economics and six years at the Bank of England, Rachel Reeves doesn’t understand government finance nor has she learned that austerity never leads to growth, but to immiseration. Keynes was right: “Anything we can actually do, we can afford.” Reeves cynically inverted this, claiming, “We can only do what we can afford.”

One thing is clear: Scotland can’t afford to remain in this failing Union.

Leah Gunn Barrett, Edinburgh.

READ MORE: So much for Labour being the party of the working class

READ MORE: Beware: Labour will be coming for all our universal benefits

Justification for benefit cut

IN June 2024, just before the General Election, the Resolution Foundation pointed out the various ways in which pensioners benefit financially from government policies, compared with those of working age, saying: "Changes to benefit policy since 2010 have favoured older group". There was talk of the iniquity of single pensioners, or a couple, living in large houses while young families had difficulty in buying a home.

Now, however, there is a furore about withdrawing the winter fuel allowance from all but the poorest pensioners. Would those who complain about "intergenerational unfairness" that favours the elderly not regard that as a justifiable move?

Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh.

• WHAT a furore over the scrapping of the winter fuel allowance (Letters, July 31 & August 1). It is not being removed from people on various benefits.

I, like many of my friends and acquaintances, am rather fortunate in having a decent works pension as well as the state pension giving me a reasonably comfortable income. Nevertheless, I have gladly accepted the winter fuel allowance and used it to buy more than a few refreshments in my local with said friends and acquaintances; a place that will no longer benefit from the Government’s generosity. There are better things to complain about and my liver will surely benefit too. A small price to pay to help the country balance the books.

Duncan Sooman, Milngavie.

Labour must be open with us

LABOUR has won a huge landslide majority at Westminster on the back of a not-so-impressive 34 per cent of the vote. Does that entitle it to institute policies which do not adhere to its promises before the election?

Brian Wilson tries a different tack for Labour at the next election in Scotland: hold a spending review once you get into office ("Labour should commit to a review of SNP spending", The Herald, August 1). No, as everyone has a good idea what is spent and where, that won’t do at all. If Labour does not like SNP spending policy, then that’s fine, but democracy demands that Labour tells us up front what it stands for, not after the vote is counted.

Curiously, it would seem that many policies instituted or proposed in Scotland under the SNP, the Welsh Labour Government has wanted to copy, and some of them (for example gender and recycling) were originally Tory policies.

GR Weir, Ochiltree.

The best choice for Tory leader

AT the end of June this year, before the General Election, Mel Stride MP, now one of the candidates for the Conservative Party leadership, accused Labour of planning to axe the winter fuel payment. He said: "There can be little doubt that Labour is coming for your winter fuel payment, bus passes, prescriptions and free TV licences" ( for the over-80s). In response, a Labour spokesperson said: "We have no plans to make any changes to these benefits. Labour is committed to protecting pensioners from the Conservatives' cost of living crisis."

Mr Stride was right and Labour was not only wrong but disingenuous. Mel Stride's acumen, his experience as chairman of the respected Commons Treasury Select Committee, Leader of the House of Commons, and as Work and Pensions Secretary, plus his successful business experience before entering Parliament, make him the best choice to be the next Tory leader.

William Loneskie, Lauder.

Tory leadership contender Mel Stride (Image: PA)

Solution is in SNP's hands

THERE is a solution to what ails the SNP and its inability to maintain essential services in this country. It wails about not having the cash to pay the bin men and avert a devastating national strike. It complains about not having the £100 million per annum to pay for the winter fuel payment. Another of its catalogue of grievances is that it cannot afford to break the two-child benefit cap and wants the UK to do it instead. There is a solution.

All it would take is for Angus Robertson's ''external affairs'' department to be dissolved. It devours £300 million-plus a year on projects and expenditure many believe is not remotely within the remit of a devolved administration.

Should this happen, and the SNP closed down the fake embassies, abandoned the overseas jollies for the SNP's boys and girls, cancelled all ''independence'' papers, and instead concentrated the available taxes and complete attention was given to running Scotland's internal affairs, it could pay the old folks and the kids and have some spare cash left over.

Alexander McKay, Edinburgh.

Past the Gaza tipping point

OFTEN it's historians who isolate the tipping points in history where things go irreversibly wrong. Sometimes there are those like the Trojan priestess Cassandra, destined to utter true prophecies but not be believed who are left yelling and pointing.

Either way, future generations may wonder just what the West and especially America and Britain were doing at the point when the brutality of Gaza had sufficiently spread its poisonous tentacles so that it could no longer be contained.

My view for what it’s worth is that that terrifying tipping point has passed.

Calls from the Humza Yousaf, then First Minister of Scotland went unheeded, as did the plea made by Michelle O’Neill in her inaugural speech as First Minister of Ireland. The Welsh Parliament (without the support of Welsh Labour) also called for a ceasefire and all have pleaded with both Tory and Labour leaders to support the cessation of sales of arms to Israel/ IDF and ultimately Benjamiin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the ICC.

Even if Britain - led by the nose by Westminster and in opposition to the wishes of the leaders of Scotland, Ireland and the Welsh Parliament - belatedly discovers a moral backbone, it's 40,000 dead Palestinians (15,000 children) too late and, after the escalation of recent days, passed that precious tipping point.

Amanda Baker, Edinburgh.

Inspiring words

LIKE many, I never write to newspapers, despite the best of intentions. However, reading Neil Mackay's article today ("Southport lays bare what a broken society we now are", The Herald, August 1) concerning recent events in our and others' society I was moved to comment by his perfect use of language to express the concerns and fears of what I hope represent the views of all reasonable people.

I wish more people could read Neil's words and perhaps stop feeling alone and maybe even see others reflecting on the effect of their destructive words and actions. There is hope and we need prose like this to help us through the present state of affairs. Please keep it up Neil and help us see an improving future.

Michael Dinnes, Garelochhead.