Letters: Sunak must come to the aid of a desperate nation

The Chancellor has some tough decisions to make. First priority should be a windfall tax on the energy companies who are making millions in profits at our expense; that is immoral.

Second, we have had ten years of austerity, with benefit increases capped at 3.1% this year, whereas here in Scotland devolved benefits will see increases of 6%, something the Chancellor must at a minimum equal with the benefits that are reserved to Westminster. Mr Sunak must also reinstate the £20 per week uplift to Universal Credit. He must also follow through on hints that fuel duty could be reduced.

And the imminent National Insurance rise, which is a tax on jobs, should be softened by increasing the threshold before one pays NI.

There is desperation in the country at large. Households are crying out for assistance. The Chancellor must step up to the plate.

Catriona C Clark, Falkirk.

SCOTS HAVE A DIFFERENT ATTITUDE

SCOTLAND, Wales, and Ireland are doing far more than England in offering support, accommodation and help to Ukrainian refugees. And Jane Lax (Letters, March 21) is wrong when she tries to put politics back on the independence front with her comment about a Ukrainian photo opportunity for First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Independence for Scotland is not about the SNP. It could be Labour, the LibDems or Greens. Or even, dare I say it, the Conservatives in charge after an election.

We are a different country, with a different culture, attitude and acceptance of others, and humour, than England.

But any government would surely be better than that run by bumbling buffoon Boris Johnson, or any of his cohorts.

Andy Stenton, Glasgow.

JOHNSON HAS NOW INSULTED MILLIONS

IT beggars belief that any UK prime minister can draw an analogy between events in the Ukraine and the UK Brexit vote (“PM attacked for ‘crass’ comments comparing Ukraine war to Brexit”, The Herald, March 21) and is a stark reminder of how unsuited Boris Johnson is for high office.

He has insulted the large number of Britons who voted to remain, including a clear majority of Scots. He has also insulted everyone in Europe, including the Ukrainians, who see, more than ever, the value of European solidarity – all this damage for a cheap round of applause at a Conservative Party conference. As for the freedoms we have gained: pretty illusionary aren’t they, compared to the freedoms of movement and trade we have lost?

Joan Mitchell, Newton Stewart.

* IAN Blackford is reported as describing Boris Johnson’s comparison of the war in Ukraine to Brexit as crass and distasteful. It is only a few weeks since his own party chairman and one of his party MSPs made a similar comparison with Scotland’s struggle for independence. Would he describe them as crass and distasteful or has Mr Blackford once again voiced an opinion without a full grasp of the facts?

I would suggest that any UK politician who attempts to make political capital out of the war in Ukraine is not fit to hold office

Paul Teenan, Glasgow.

SUSPENSION HELPS THE FIRST MINISTER

THE most interesting thing about the suspension of SNP policy adviser Dr Tim Rideout ("SNP policy adviser suspended after ‘Uganda’ slur against Home Secretary", The Herald, March 18, and Letters, March 21) may not be what he said but what his suspension means.

Dr Rideout has been the standard bearer in the SNP for a new currency for a separate Scotland. He is a champion of MMT – Modern Monetary Theory, aka Magic Money Tree, which preaches that governments can simply create (print) money, and that therefore a new Scotland would be very wealthy. He leads the Scottish Currency Group and the Scottish Reserve Bank. This all sounds very grand, until one learns that the Scottish Currency Group’s crowdfunder in 2020 raised £185 from seven supporters in 42 days. Not quite enough to underwrite a central bank.

Nevertheless, Dr Rideout has a strong following within the SNP and the Greens. In 2019, the SNP conference narrowly voted to establish a new currency in a separate Scotland "as soon as practicable", which, for Dr Rideout, who was leading the charge, means in a matter of weeks. In 2021, conference delegates supported a motion, by 481 to 37 votes, to establish a Scottish Central Bank ahead of the new state being established.

None of this accords with the currency plans included in the Growth Commission Report of 2018, commissioned by Nicola Sturgeon. She is of the view that "the pound is Scotland’s currency" and that Scotland would continue to use it after leaving the Union. "Use" is the operative word. Scotland would be using the pound as Ecuador uses the dollar. Above all, this would prevent Scotland from applying to the EU, which does not permit its members to use a third country’s currency.

Ms Sturgeon knows very well that Scots do not want to give up the pound, and certainly not for some newly invented currency. Thus it is that Dr Rideout’s marginalisation, because of his unpleasant remark about the Home Secretary, could be a godsend for Ms Sturgeon, removing from the front line the champion of the new Scottish currency that she does not want, because it would be a sure-fire vote loser.

Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh.

WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT

VAR has helped referees review mistaken decisions. However its principle also lets us review what has actually happened in the political field.

Douglas Ross had to withdraw his demand for Boris Johnson to resign before the Scottish Tory conference to prevent it becoming very embarrassing for the party on both sides of the Border. The Ukraine position was only a lame excuse for the back-pedalling by Mr Ross.

Likewise Mr Johnson's fast-track wedding took place just before the President of the US visited the UK. This avoided the PM introducing his bidey-in to Mr and Mrs Biden.

Lastly, the wearing of masks was introduced together with social distancing. A removal of either/or seems more logical than total relaxation – especially with an increase in Covid cases and a reduction in testing. Nobody likes to wear a face mask but most understood it as a precaution. Neither in Scotland or England did the police come down hard on the careless unmasked, so why the gripes?

JB Drummond, Kilmarnock.

IT LOOKS LIKE MASKS DO WORK

GEOFF Moore (Letters, March 21) quotes Jonathan van Tam saying on April 3, 2020, that there is no evidence that general wearing of face masks affects the spread of the disease. This was based on evidence reviewed by the World Health Organization.

One of the many lessons from the pandemic, is that we have all had to learn as we went along. This includes scientists and the WHO.

In December 2021, the WHO recommended that "masks should be used as part of a comprehensive strategy of measures to suppress transmission and save lives".

It appears that masks do work.

Duncan Stirling, Cardross.

P&O AND THE BREXIT QUESTION

WHY did P&O Ferries choose to sack its crews based at UK ports while retaining its crews based in EU member states ("Politicians and unions hit out as P&O sacks 800 staff by Zoom", The Herald, March 18)?

Answers on the side of a bus please.

Willie Maclean, Milngavie.

WHEN FREEDOM OF SPEECH IS LIMITED

MARGARET Forbes (Letters, March 18) says “freedom of speech comes with responsibility” – that is, one is free to say anything at all provided it is something that is allowed. Our idea of freedom of speech is to let both Tory and Labour make political broadcasts. The fact that both Tweedledum and Tweedledee are allowed to speak demonstrates our tolerance of dissidence.

Was it quite right that when I was young, in the 1940s and 1950s, homosexuals didn’t dare suggest that they had rights, for fear of being jailed? After all, at the time Joe Public would have deemed it deeply irresponsible to suggest changing the law.

Robin Dow, Rothesay.

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