REGULAR correspondents to the letters page, such as Jill Stephenson, Gerald Edwards and Robert I G Scott, no doubt have their own reasons for their lack of faith in the ability of the Scottish nation to run its own affairs.

The failings of the SNP are frequently writ large by them while they appear happy to be under the charge of a Westminster government whose own track record is almost certainly worse. Whether it be the ferry fiasco or some other ill-advised decisions taken by the Scottish government, these are dwarfed by the outcome of the British government’s mistakes over the same period.

‘Get Brexit done’ has become ‘get done by Brexit’ leading to enormous headaches for our Scottish exporters. The trashing of the economy in a very short period by the Truss administration has left those with mortgages considerably worse off. The recent Panorama programme illustrated the eye-watering sums that have been squandered on the HS2 debacle.

Mr Scott eagerly awaits the prospect of Holyrood being under the control of a Labour/LibDem coalition once more. He overlooks the fact that the previous such administration had the benefit of money being thrown at it by Tony Blair’s government after he reluctantly backed the devolution referendum as a potential means of heading off growing support for independence. By contrast, since the SNP took over responsibility for the governance of Scotland, it has had to cope with a policy of relentless austerity conducted by our Westminster masters.

We now have Starmer's gang elected on a manifesto of change which begins to look like more of the same for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, Anas Sarwar, the potential leader of a Labour/LibDem government, promised the Scottish people prior to the general election, “Read my lips. No austerity under Labour”. Since said election, his motto would appear to be “My lips are sealed”.

Under Labour, all but the poorest pensioners will lose their winter fuel allowance at a time when energy costs are about to increase by 10%. Not to worry, our extremely well-paid train drivers will be okay, given their massive increases over the next three years. At least change is working for some people.
Gordon Evans, Rutherglen.

Read more letters:

Letters: Scotland is a more divided and intolerant society

Letters: The Starmers should give the donated cash to charity

The Better Together empty promises robbed us of hope

 

Keir Starmer’s ‘common touch’
DOES Anas Sarwar consider that the electorate received sufficient warning that one of the first things their government would do would be to take away heating payments from pensioners? And this from a government led by a man who has so far this year received just shy of £40,000 in payments for clothes and accommodation for himself and his wife from one Lord Waheed Ali.

Starmer has also declared receiving £18,000 worth of hospitality at Premier football games this year - but at least that wining and dining keeps him in touch with us common folk.
Brian Dempsey, Dundee.

 

PM’s wife must avoid the limelight
THERE is justified outrage that a Prime Minister should accept gifts to clothe his spouse. It seems the spouse must dress the part. However, this country is not a presidency, so the spouse is merely a subject. We are, for better or worse, led by the monarch, and the current Queen has the role of First Lady.  The spouse of the Prime Minister should keep out of the limelight and merely behave discreetly as an anonymous demure subject.
Robert F Gibson, Milngavie.

 

Political change, of a sort ...
ACCORDING to Labour, broad-shouldered poor children and pensioners need to be deprived of essential benefit income to prevent a run on the pound and economic collapse. First we had Tory sleaze and corruption. Second SNP cronyism and incompetence. Now Labour lies and stupidity. It is change, I suppose.
Robin Findlay, Ardrossan. 

 

Rejoining the single market
IT is hardly a surprise to note the outcome of the modelling by economists at Aston University, which yet again highlights the continuing act of economic self-destruction that is Brexit.

Goods exports and imports are being seriously hit by the bureaucratic barriers erected by leaving the single market, reducing the UK’s trade competitiveness.

The research has reinforced this stifling impact, estimating that annual exports to the EU are 17% lower and imports 23% behind where they would have been if Brexit had not occurred, with negative impacts increasing during 2023.

Brexit continues and will continue to have a profound and ongoing impact on UK trade with the EU, and yet the Labour government continues to rule out rejoining the EU single market or forming a customs union.

The party did, however, promise in its manifesto to “tear down” barriers to trade with Europe by seeking other improvements.

If Keir Starmer is as serious as he says about economic growth and taking tough decisions, it is essential that he tackles the elephant in the room and is more ambitious in deepening trade ties with Brussels, including rejoining the EU single market.
Alex Orr, Edinburgh.

 

Independence is ‘a dead duck’
THE memories I have of the 2014 independence campaign are of a bitterly divided Scotland with nasty scenes in our city centres when Yes supporters’ behaviour was reduced to a bawling, foul-mouthed mass of abuse against the No vote campaigners.

Hopefully this sort of behaviour will never be seen again in Scotland now that the independence issue is a dead duck.    
Dennis Forbes Grattan, Bucksburn, Aberdeen.

 

The stuff of urban myths?
A FEW weeks ago, Ruth Marr treated us to the sweet account of how her own child had described a schoolmate in terms of their clothing and school-bag colour, rather than by the race ethnicity.

I am sure am not alone amongst your readers in having heard the same story several times before, and to the extent that it seemed to possibly be apocryphal.

And now, in her more recent letter (“Next time we must get it right”, September 16), Ms Marr tells us of her encounters with Labour campaigners for Better Together who really voted Yes in 2014 – again, a species I had assumed this to be the stuff of urban myth.

We can all be very grateful to have the real existence of these events and people confirmed, especially by an witness as impartial and reliable as Ruth Marr.
Peter A. Russell, Jordanhill, Glasgow.

 

The spirit of Braveheart and Brigadoon
ONE factor appears paramount in any study of the 2014 referendum. As a great number of those 2014 voters aged and matured there was a direct shift in their attitudes to breaking up the UK. 

Marriage and mortgages and children and responsibility surely forced upon many of them the realisation that the economic argument does not exist. This would suggest that as the present and much fewer crop of rabid young nationalists mature, there will be an identical shift. Ad infinitum. 

Much the same happened in Canada with Quebec Libre. A wonderful fantasy in Scotland where the spirit of Braveheart and Brigadoon prevailed until reality and maturity took over. I understand that many in the SNP have retained the naivety of the young into old age and good luck to them. But unquestionably, the dream has died whether they realise it or not. 
Alexander McKay, Edinburgh.

 

Indy: It ain’t over ‘til it’s over
IT’S not easy to avoid the sanctimonious gloating from the British Nat brigade in Scotland’s media just now. However, while the victors do indeed write the history, I am disappointed that there has been so little focus on what won the 2014 referendum – the broken promises , the lies and the blatant fictions promoted by the self-described “Project Fear”. 

We might have expected some airing of all this on BBC Scotland (for balance), but as BBC partiality played a large part in 2014 (and the aftermath) it is hardly likely to expose itself to criticism for supporting “the Union”, just as the civil service was permitted to regale us Scots with fabrications for the same ends. But “it ain’t over till it’s over” as the great Yogi Berra said.
GR Weir, Ochiltree.

 

It’s really time to move on
IT was perhaps inevitable, given the media’s fondness for anniversaries, that it would recall the events of September 2014. But the world has moved on since then and independence will not be on the agenda for many years to come. It’s time to move on and focus on what is important, There’s no point in re-litigating the past.
P. Hamilton, Glasgow.