ONCE again, the reactions of the former pro-EU opposition parties at Holyrood show them to be in a fankle over the Scottish Government proposals to guarantee that the wishes of 62 per cent of Scots who voted to remain in the EU are respected.
Presumably, the opposition party leaders at Holyrood would have welcomed these proposals and urged their respective minders at Westminster to take note and consider Scotland’s voters.
But alas, the knee-jerk reactions of Kezia Dugdale, Willie Rennie and Ruth Davidson betray their usual subservience to Westminster. Dugdale reacted with accusations that Nicola Sturgeon is not uniting the country, but which country was Dugdale implying? The UK is not being torn apart, it is diverging at the Scottish-English border. A higher percentage of Scots voted to remain than voters in England and Wales voted to leave. Rennie claims the First Minister has ruled out “keeping the UK in the EU.” The threat to the UK remaining in the EU is coming from south of the Tweed.
Is Rennie not aware of the antics and contradictory ramblings from the No 10 Brexiteers? All Davidson can mutter to us about is a separate trade barrier between Scotland and England. In 2014, we were assured by the Vow that only a No vote would guarantee our continuing place in the EU. That is now in jeopardy.
No matter how much the Unionist opposition parties twist and turn at Holyrood, they are stymied. They are, in effect, content to let Theresa May’s Government have a free hand and we have to accept any outcome! That is no longer acceptable.
It is even questionable how long May’s Cabinet and Government will hold together when it has to put pen to paper and laid out Brexit proposals before invoking Article 50.
The Unionist party leaders at Holyrood have no principles left. They disregard the fact that they, with the 62 per cent, supported remaining in the EU with the four “freedoms” intact. They campaigned for that, argued for that alongside the SNP and the Greens. The Scottish vote in June endorsed that. Now is the time to put Scotland first, assert our rights and reclaim our place as an independent nation state in Europe.
John Edgar Blackford, Auchterarder
WESTMINSTER keeps telling us we need to increase our working age population to be able to support our increasing number of oldies.
So, just to help us do that, every time someone, especially from a commonwealth country or a close ally, comes here, uses their own money to set up a profitable business or works hard and pays tax into the system, the Home Office sends them a deportation letter (Bishop slams plan to deport couple, The National, December 21). Just ignorance, hypocrisy or a modern version of the clearances intended to prevent us from fulfilling the target they set us?
Consider, too, the HMRC “mistake”, to the total of 425,000, in identifying all those living and working in Scotland who should pay the new Scottish income tax. They promise to review in a year whether this has been properly rectified, but what happens if this number of Scots find their tax has, in the interim, gone by mistake to the Treasury? What efficient business inadvertently makes that many errors? Add to these factors the convoluted processes that denied Scotland the world-leading economic boost of carbon capture while closing down Longannet and the removal of support for wave and tidal power research that has seen some companies go to the wall, while punitive charges for connecting to the grid are still unresolved.
Does one need to be a conspiracy theorist to suspect that there is a covert effort to destroy any chance of independence by damaging Scotland’s economy?
P. Davidson Falkirk
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AS we approach a busier than usual time for our Health Service with winter upon us and the festive season, are we expecting too much from our hard-working and dedicated NHS Staff?
Headlines this week express concern that waiting times for A&E at the second busiest hospital, the new Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, were disappointing due to some patients waiting more than the recommended four hours (A&Es fail on waiting times, The National, December 21).
Yet on a positive note, over 75 per cent of patients were seen in the recommended time and perhaps we should for a change concentrate on the positives instead of demoralising our hard-working and dedicated NHS Staff.
I have had the occasion to use our world-class A&E services and, yes, I have had to wait, but that was due to more serious and life-threatening patients arriving at the service, needing urgent attention, something I am sure no one would deny them, in their quest to meet waiting time directives. We, as a country, have to become more realistic and appreciative of our excellent health service, where we can visit the GP’s office at a drop-in clinic in many surgeries, have the privilege of free prescriptions, no need to ask if we can afford our medication and receive referrals when necessary.
We, as individuals, also have to take some responsibility for our excellent health service and stop abusing the service through missed appointments, not taking the time to make the phone call to cancel, ultimately denying someone else the appointment. Waiting times for A&E may be disappointing and I am sure health boards are striving to do better, but, thankfully, this service is there for all to access, free at the point of need.
Catriona C Clark Falkirk
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THE revelation that the DWP had successfully applied for planning permission to convert one of their Glasgow Jobcentre Plus offices into flats in February, yet only revealed its potential closure nine months later, highlights the contempt with which the Tories are treating those who use this office.
How can the DWP claim to be consulting the public when it is clear that a decision – at least on some of them – has been pre-decided?
It is clear the DWP don’t care about the views of jobcentres users or the impact on them. Looking at Google Maps to see where the next nearest jobcentre is doesn’t take into account the impact that this would have on claimants. Has the DWP taken into account the additional travel time or even travel costs (if claimants can even afford that) when moving claimants to another office, especially if these claimants have caring commitments such as ensuring their children get to school on time?
These changes will impact adversely on some of the most disadvantaged communities in Scotland. It’s time for the DWP to focus on supporting benefit claimants.
Cllr Kenny MacLaren Paisley
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