Political economies should begin at home - your views

Political economies should begin at home

Is there no limit to the squandering of the taxpayers’ money? The cover of Saturday’s Evening News had an advert for MSP Miles Briggs, which informs us that: ‘The costs of this advert have been met out of parliamentary resources.’

Over 95 per cent of Scotland’s population have internet access. Indeed, most can search up an MSP on their phone.

The public pays each MSP an office allowance. They also have notices in public buildings advertising their surgeries. They do not need newspaper adverts.

The national debt has increased by over £300 billion since the start of January – that is a three followed by 11 zeros!

The UK economy will shrink this year by something like eight per cent with all the business failures, growth in unemployment (currently disguised by furlough) and shrinking in the tax base.

MSPs from all parties must show that they recognise these hard facts and start to make economies where they can. Self-promoting adverts would be a good place to start.

Otto Inglis, Crossgates, Fife.

Inequality at the heart of the union

Jill Stephenson (Letters, November 30) accuses the Scottish government of centralisation, cronyism and incompetence when those words perfectly describe Tory governmental malfeasance.

Some highlights: ten years of needless and cruel austerity that has cut investment and services and impoverished millions leading the UN to condemn these policies as a breach of human rights; sluggish investment which has stymied economic growth leaving the UK with the worst growth in the G20; the lowest state pension in the OECD; falling wages and a 400 per cent increase in zero-hours contracts since 2000; soaring government debt; a bungled pandemic response leaving the UK with the third worst death rate in the world; and adding to this economic and human misery, the UK is flouncing out of the EU with no trade deal guarantee with four weeks to go.

There’s more. Because the Tories loathe devolution, they are imposing the Internal Market Bill that will reassert Westminster control over our Parliament, imperilling our food, education, labour and environmental standards, our health service, even our system of law.

It's no wonder most Scots want out of this unequal union to be able to govern themselves again and build a fairer, more sustainable, successful and internationally focused nation.

Leah Gunn Barrett, Merchiston Crescent, Edinburgh.

Where is Christmas money coming from?

I guess to be on the safe side the SNP seem to have decided that a wee bit of bribery wouldn’t go amiss.

Where are they hoarding all this money they seem to suddenly have found to fund all the Christmas bonuses for certain parts of the workforce and community?

I think the people of Scotland will look past all these promises, such as free school meals for primary school children as they won’t come in unless the SNP get voted back in.

But we won’t forget the treatment of the elderly and staff in care homes or the students who were forgotten about at start of the new term. We also await the outcome of the inquiry into the Alex Salmond affair.

We have a health minister who was a disappointment and an education minister who chops and changes his mind leaving teachers and parents confused.

As for democracy just throw that out the window unless it’s the SNP democracy.

Mrs Susan Smart, Penicuik.