1.
At the General Election, Nicola Sturgeon suggested the NHS in England and Wales would be subject to increasing privatisation. And – predictably - only in Scotland under the SNP was this much cherished British institution secure. Naturally such rhetoric wins votes. Plus it maps well to the Nationalist narrative. But six months on, is she being proved correct?
Last week’s budget provides an extra £6 billion in spending on the NHS down south which also means increased spending on the NHS in Scotland. That’s if the SNP government chooses to do so.
Regrettably the SNP’s record on passing on spending to the NHS is not good. According to Audit Scotland, spending on the NHS in England & Wales increased between 2009 and 2015 by 4.4 per cent in real terms. But in Scotland it went down by 1.2 per cent. We’re all familiar north of the Border, despite the efforts of hard-pressed clinical teams, with unmet A&E targets and a GP staffing crisis under this Holyrood government.
The NHS continues free at the point of supply in all parts of the UK. The key difference between the rest of the UK and Scotland is in Westminster the Government chooses to invest more heavily in the NHS than Ms Sturgeon’s Government.
Martin Redfern,
4 Royal Circus,
Edinburgh.
2.
I don't have a problem with ex-SNP leader Alex Salmond attending the unveiling of his portrait at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and so missing the Prime Minister's statement on UK airstrikes on Syria and Jeremy Corbyn's warning of the risk of unintended consequences
("Sturgeon defends Salmond over portrait row but insists that he will attend key Syria vote", The Herald, November28 ).
What concerns me is that his portrait remains in public view and is not re-located to his attic when he leaves Holyrood next year.
When one dorian closes another dorian opens – with the risk of unintended consequences.
R Russell Smith,
96 Milton Road, Kilbirnie.
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