Readers' Letters: Good to see not all Scots flattened by cost of living crisis

Mr Sarwar is also reported as repeating that “every single pledge” in Labour’s manifesto is “fully costed and fully funded “. This is puzzling as the main sources of additional funds are said to be economic growth and cracking down on tax avoidance.

Even if sustained growth could, exceptionally, be secured by government action the timing and amount of any boost to public finances therefrom cannot be known.

As regards tax avoidance, attacking substantial schemes will soon be caught up in the thickets of the law so, while pursuing them may be laudable, no steady flow of receipts can actually be budgeted for.

S Beck, Edinburgh

Odd focus

The SNP seems so desperate, given its lack of funds, volunteers and support, that it has decided not to campaign on Scottish issues but to make a foreign region, Gaza, the focus of its campaign. This is puzzling, since the people of Gaza don’t, as far as I know, have a vote here on 4 July.

Take David Linden, trying to regain his Glasgow East seat. He, accompanied by Nicola Sturgeon, stood outside a Glasgow mosque handing out leaflets which opened to display across their entirety – under a banner mentioning the SNP and Linden – a Palestinian flag, with the words “Standing up for Palestine and Our Community”. On the front of the leaflet was a picture of Linden running the London marathon, with the headline “Justice for Palestine” and the explanation: “Supporting Islamic Relief UK’s Gaza appeal”.

I don’t know whether this is how the SNP is campaigning across Glasgow and Scotland – I haven’t received their literature or a visit. It does, however, seem odd that the domestic issues that undoubtedly concern the good people of Glasgow East are completely overshadowed by a foreign policy issue. I can only conclude that this is desperate SNP virtue signalling to try to divert voters from the disaster the SNP has been for Scotland these last 17 years.

Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh

Financial saviours

I see that John Wright (Letters, 13 June) is perpetuating the old right-wing canard that Labour were responsible for the 2008 economic meltdown. The truth is precisely the opposite. It was caused by the sale of sub-prime mortgages in the USA with the banks and other lenders over-reaching themselves and then finding themselves with too little capital to repay their investors as loans were called in. This financial problem gradually built up in 2007 and then became a full-scale crash, which was triggered in the US by the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 and then in the UK a run began as first Northern Rock, and later the Royal Bank of Scotland, reached the point of bankruptcy.

In contrast to right-wing economists, who were calling for capital controls to be tightened – which would have led to an even worse situation and a probable global economic meltdown – Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling, with only hours to act, correctly diagnosed the problem and realised the solution required a Keynesian approach. They instructed the Bank of England to pour money into the banks and then required them in future to increase their capital ratios, and they nationalised Northern Rock and RBS.

As the situation stabilised their example was followed (though too slowly) by the USA and then by EU countries and the European Central Bank. Paul Krugman, the Nobel economist, said “Britain ended up setting the template for everyone else’s response, which is quite amazing”. It took a while, though, for the penny to drop everywhere and the crisis rumbled on for another year. In the UK GDP fell sharply in 2008 but gradually recovered and by the election of 2010 was rising swiftly. However, George Osborne then introduced austerity, the last thing we needed, and the economy has flatlined since.

So, far from being criticised, Labour deserve only praise for the way they saved the economy in 2008 and for their reform of banking legislation, so that similar collapses are less likely in the future.

Barry Hughes, Edinburgh

No blame

The SNP normally blame Westminster for all that is bad, yet claim plaudits for the very occasional thing they have improved. As highlighted in The Scotsman, it is unbelievable that the SNP is to return hundreds of millions of pounds to Europe because it was unspent. They couldn’t blame Westminster, so I expected them to say sorry. No, they’re not sorry at all, it was apparently the fault of local authorities.

One day, perhaps, the SNP will admit its many, many failings. Maybe the forthcoming memoirs of the former First Minister will have a sentence devoted to “regrets” alongside a blank page for failings the SNP will accept responsibility for?Don’t hold your breath.

Brian Barbour, Berwick Upon Tweed, Northumberland

Split decision

With Nigel Farage’s one-issue Reform Party reportedly nosing ahead of the clapped-out Tories in polls, the dream scenario for most people will be the right-wing vote being split, hastening the current chaotic government out of office in the most humiliating of defeats, and zero seats for Reform.

It is, however, irritating to see the Reform Party append “UK” to their name. Given Nigel Farage has had more parties than Paris Hilton and in the previous General Election his last Brexit party polled 0.01 per cent in Scotland, to pretend it is a UK party is merely wishful thinking.

D Mitchell, Edinburgh

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