ON Monday, while nearly all of the media were obsessing about the alleged misdemeanours of a BBC presenter, something rather more important happened. (Coincidence, or a good day to bury news the Murdoch press and the rest of the right-wing media would rather not publicise?) I refer to the launch of the Honest Money Initiative (HMI).
HMI are a group of peers, far-right think tanks and neoliberal economists who want to remove the Bank of England’s powers, particularly its ability to create money through quantitative easing and to buy government bonds, ie the powers which enabled us to mitigate the worst economic effects of Covid.
READ MORE: Economic case for Yes is still not being put forward by the SNP
HMI’s leading lights are Daniel – now Lord – Hannan, a leading architect of Brexit; Mark Littlewood of the Institute of Economic Affairs; Eamon Butler of the Adam Smith Institute, ie what you might call the Tufton Street Mafia. They are supported by Lord David Frost, who believes what the Bank did was “at the root of the country’s move leftwards”.
They firmly believe in the false Thatcher doctrine that the economy of a currency-issuing country works the same way as that of a household and that we must therefore balance the books and not incur deficits even though it is well known that a government deficit is a benefit to the people it governs.
They oppose government regulation of markets, even when the market is clearly not working for the good of society, as in privatised water.
READ MORE: Is the Scottish Government promising the impossible on the economy?
They do not want government interference to do the things which we so urgently need to protect our world from climate change. They are very content to keep the neoliberal status quo which is destroying our planet and widening inequality.
In my view these are very dangerous people and sadly their way of thinking seems to have already influenced Starmer and Reeves, so a change of government will not bring any respite. I do hope soft Nos will think hard if this is really the kind of union they want to be part of.
Andrew M Fraser
Inverness
WHY is the BBC suddenly talking about the right to privacy and anonymity for people facing investigations? It seem to me that this depends on who you are. Remember the Cliff Richard saga? They sent helicopters to his home to view the police raid.
When it came to Peter Murrell, Colin Beattie and Nicola Sturgeon, all were named and spoken about openly, with TV crews and cameras stationed outside the Murrell home for days – how’s that for anonymity, BBC?
READ MORE: BBC presenter faces new claims from second person
Labour have even made a video using newspaper headlines showing SNP people who are under investigation, right in the middle of police investigations.
But for me my irony meter blew up on Sunday morning when Fiona Stalker on the radio complained about headlines saying “crisis in the BBC” – she had obviously forgotten it is only a “crisis” when the word ferry is included or it’s about the SNP.
Winifred McCartney
Paisley
YOUR Monday article on proposals for the Loch Tay area highlights the failure since devolution of successive Scottish Governments to tackle land ownership and usage issues. Instead of facing the questions they have shied away, leaving problems to fester.
What about public access, the right to roam, hillwalking and climbing?
Is Scotland for sale to the highest bidders? What about the local inhabitants? No wonder Andy Wightman gave up on the Scottish Parliament when they’d rather tinker with minor things than face the fundamental problems the country faces.
READ MORE: SNP president calls for land reform over DLC's Loch Tay compound plans
What future is there for us when this sort of thing can be allowed? Land use and ownership are fundamentals of the type of country you live in.
Just now it’s Breadalbane, tomorrow where’s next? What’s the point of the current Scottish Government talking of independence when the land is owned and controlled from elsewhere?
This proposal is a wake-up call for anyone who calls themselves Scottish. To let this happen, somebody’s been asleep at the wheel.
I thought that elected governments were supposed to look after the interests of the WHOLE population of the country and not whims of rich outsiders.
Drew Reid
Falkirk
IN response to Frieda Burns’s spirited defence of Mhairi Black MP (Letters, Jul 10) I can only hope that if Ms Black gets elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2026 she puts in a little more effort than she has done so far in Westminster. Of all the SNP’s 2015 intake who remain in parliament, Ms Black has made the fewest spoken contributions. For example, her colleague SNP MP Alison Thewliss has spoken in 1197 debates, Alan Brown MP has spoken in 1148, and Philippa Whitford MP and Carol Monaghan MP have both spoken in more than 600 debates. Ms Black has spoken in 134 debates.
Dr Iain Evans
Edinburgh
SHOCKED yet not surprised was my reaction to letters in Tuesday’s The National. One from Alex Orr regarding the inhuman attitude of the Westminster government towards child refugees, an outrage. The second from Charlie Kerr regarding the Westminster welfare system and in particular the DWP and benefits. It is an outrage that in the 21st century we are reading such treatment of fellow human beings. Independence cannot come quick enough, because devolving welfare and immigration is not enough, we need full powers of an independent country with immediate effect.
Catriona C Clark
Falkirk
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