Tories are resorting to red-meat tactics as the UK breaks down

The actuality of strikes shouldn’t come as a surprise, not after 12 years of Tory government. From Cameron to Sunak, our society and societal values have been eroded and devalued. At the same time, corruption and mismanagement, accompanied by the introduction of draconian and inhuman polices, have seen the rise of Tory misrule. From the “rape clause” to Rwanda, from Brexit to food banks and warm rooms, Tory policies have brought the UK to the point of ridicule abroad and decline at home.

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Equally, a lack of policy and forward planning have also contributed to the country’s perilous state. Consider just one: energy creation and reserves, storage thereof, the limited transitioning from carbon to green. So, when you have a broken government, is it any wonder there’s a broken economy? How long before you have a broken country?

The strikes are the visible evidence of how the latest Tory government and the public have uncoupled. Those strikers aren’t rabid, beer-swilling, out of control union members. Those strikers across the workforce are our family members, friends, neighbours, civil servants, the public sector and now, the holy of holies, the NHS.

The ideological stance that increased wages will exacerbate inflation whereas “wage restraint” will lower inflation doesn’t compute. We were told that price rises, inflation and the cost-of-living crisis were caused by external factors, mostly Putin and his war. Those price increases were evident before the recent round of pay claims. Workers and their wages aren’t to blame for the cost-of-living crisis, not when in-work poverty goes bag in hand to food banks.

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Call me a cynic, but can we truly trust that price hikes have come from the almost two-year Covid hiatus, supply shortages and delivery chain disruption, or China’s low output following on from their unbelievably harsh lockdowns? Are there no profits being made these days? Who’s making profits, on what? Oh wait, what’s it called when PPE contracts are distributed without due diligence? How about “profiteering from the pandemic”.

And in all of this the Tories want to believe their large seat majority will hold, but just in case, their red-meat tactics are beginning to show. It’s tough on migrants, tough on workers. And with a barely re-written script, the demonisation of workers from the right-wing press has stepped up a gear. Grinch, Scrooge, Christmas cancelled: various attempts to guilt-trip strikers and turn pro-strike sympathy.

In the past, a combination of such manoeuvres coupled with a virulent press could have been expected to deliver beefed-up Tory support. This time, it’s different. Steve Barclay, the English Health Secretary, has been doorstepped rather frequently by the public and caught by press and TV. So will the government compromise?

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More and more we hear the odd throwaway reference to Scotland, our government, the FM and the differences in the approach and outcomes to meetings, talks and (some) resolution. Chalk one up for Scotland? Who knows, and it won’t matter if we’re swept along with the detritus of Tory failure.

We can’t just try to slogan it out in the coming months with slick poster jargon and some stats thrown in. Marches, meetings and conventions won’t cut it. They’re great morale boosters for us in the fold, but announcing that we can do better than Westminster isn’t sufficient. And watching our Unionist opposition bring down the UK won’t necessarily frighten voters to the indy camp.

So what can we do, and how do we do it to both find the route to indy and bring more and more voters with us, believing in an indy Scotland?

Selma Rahman
Edinburgh

ECONOMICS and finance can be daunting subjects to many politicians, the media, and general population, particularly at a time when false theories and misinformation abound.

An example is the narrative promoted by ministers that pay settlements for nurses and other public-sector workers in line with inflation are unaffordable. I should like to draw attention to the radically different circumstances facing ministers in the devolved administrations and in the UK Government.

Nicola Sturgeon and her ministers are basically correct when they say that the Scottish Government cannot afford higher pay settlements – in that their budget is largely fixed and any additional finance for pay settlements must be found from savings elsewhere. They are currency-users and have a statutory duty to balance their budget.

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However, when Rishi Sunak and UK Government ministers use the same rhetoric they are propounding a falsehood. This is because the UK Government is a currency issuer, giving them much greater flexibility to borrow in Sterling or increase the money supply. For example, during the Covid pandemic the UK Government and the Bank of England created billions of pounds through issuing bonds which are now held by its own bank. This so-called “national debt” does not have to be repaid and will be written off when consolidated accounts are produced.

The UK Government not engaging in further unconventional monetary policy to deal with the ramifications of the cost-of-living crisis is therefore a policy choice, probably driven by a political desire for a smaller public sector. There are many alternative policies available.

The greater flexibility which sovereign governments with their own currencies enjoy is also a compelling reason why an independent Scotland should introduce its own currency at the earliest opportunity.

John Randall
via email