SO, with an understanding that their majority was not earned but handed to them by the Tories, Labour have already begun their sniping and undermining of the SNP and the Scottish Government – in the hope that enough folk will be taken in by this in time for the Holyrood elections.
Prior to the July elections Wes Streeting said – when the Welsh NHS was struggling – that “all roads lead to Westminster”.
Now that it does not suit the Labour narrative any more, Rachel Reeves – deadpan to camera – claims all the problems of a Scottish NHS are suddenly down to the devolved government.
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No mention of reserved powers or the whole context of austerity or the effects of the anti-migration policies of the last government or the whole snarl-up of trying to run a country hog-tied to a colonial power that treats this country with utter disdain – as Reeves has just proved. The cynicism is poisonous.
Reeves reminds me of Trump, when he urged Republicans to trash a cross-party border plan that might have helped solve some of the issues with the US southern border because keeping it as a problem would, he thought, help his re-election chances.
What is absolutely clear is that Labour have just as much respect for Scotland as they ever had.
Amanda Baker
Edinburgh
STAN Grodynski in Tuesday’s letters page asks where I would find the “substantial funds” that would be needed to fund an increase in the number of drug rehabilitation places. Politics is all about priorities and it appears our devolved government has priorities which I am happy to challenge. As a former leader of Renfrewshire Council (there is no such entity as Paisley Council, Stan) I am sadly rather used to juggling a fixed and at times seemingly inadequate overall budget.
It is clear that drug treatment has lower priority than, for example, free bus passes for under-22-year-olds at a cost of more than £100 million a year, or cycle lanes at around £220m. Let us not even mention the many hundreds of millions of pounds, over the years, which have literally sunk (pun intended) without trace, or even an audit trail, into a Port Glasgow shipyard.
READ MORE: Rachel Reeves tells departments to make 'billions of pounds' of cuts before Budget
It is generally accepted that substantially more than £700m could have been raised from the sale of the ScotWind leases, as £880m was raised for 8GW of offshore wind farms south of the Border less than a third of the size of ScotWind. £140m was found at the drop of a Scottish Government bunnet to partially fund a council tax freeze which served to benefit those with larger homes the most. A little trimmed from any of these budgets would go a long way.
I could suggest further budget reallocations if required, but for those of a more radical inclination there is of course the option of Graeme McCormick’s plan to replace all forms of taxation with an annual ground rent.
The sad fact is that England has around the same proportion of regular drug users as Scotland yet fatalities are lower. We should accept that fact, not just ignore it by claiming a policy success when hundreds of Scottish families have a very different experience.
Brian Lawson
Paisley
IN response to Anne Smart’s fine and thoughtful letter in Thursday’s edition, can I be clear that I do not support a “do nothing” policy on drugs? Maybe I can give some background to my views.
I was brought up on the north side of Edinburgh and watched some close friends become involved in drug-taking. Not all of my friends survived.
I spent most of my working life alongside addicts, dealers and families affected by the drug trade. Much of my time was spent dealing with communities blighted by the associated criminality.
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Not all of the users I knew came from underprivileged backgrounds. Many had supportive families and jobs, so it’s a fallacy that social conditions are always the reason for addiction. It’s an unpopular view, but personal choice plays a part too, therefore educating young people must surely continue. An unofficial hands-off approach to personal use has been ongoing for years, and where has that led? Increased deaths, and a tacit acceptance of an illegal drugs culture.
Action is required, no doubt, but legalisation in all but name? The Unionist press couldn’t care less about Scots dying, but it’s a wonderful, cynical ploy to constantly highlight this issue, and I sympathise with our government although I don’t agree with their policy.
As for proof that politicians don’t live next to dealers and addicts? I have none, but I’m ready to hear from one politician who has a dealer in his/her street and the constant parade of users this brings. As some of us do.
You’re right, Anne, there is no easy answer, but I stand by my view that assisting addicts to take more life-threatening substances will only make things worse.
Jim Butchart
via email
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