Readers' Letters: Swinney and co should try living in the real world

This pub is within John Swinney’s constituency, but he refused to even visit it after being invited by the publican to drop in and discuss the increase. Instead we have the usual SNP platitudes about how they help business, but the bottom line is it is increasingly difficult, and for some impossible, to continue running a business with that level of increase.

Instead of looking at why business rates are so high, the SNP looks at ways to mitigate “some” of the costs. Big deal. In the meantime, the pub closes, another hospitality venue is lost, people lose their jobs, and the Scottish government loses the income tax that would have come from these now non-taxpayers. So very sad.

And the UK government doesn’t escape blame either – the zealous drive to net zero was a significant driver in the pub’s fuel costs rising from £25,000 only five years ago to over £100,000. Meanwhile gas reserves fall, gas prices rise, and neither the SNP nor Labour want to extract our own gas from the North Sea.

It leaves me wondering what planet the politicians are on as they increase charges massively, throwing people out of work with little thought, but manage to increase the payroll in the public sector despite a promise to reduce it by a miserly 0.5 per cent in Scotland’s case.

Perhaps these MSPs and MPs, with their cosy jobs and gold-plated pensions, should come down from their ivory tower and see life in the real world. It should be easy for Mr Swinney to come down given how often he has taken his troops to the top of independence hill, then marched them down again.

Brian Barbour, Haddington, East Lothian

Last separatist FM?

Andy Burnham claims he would like to see the UK back in the EU in ten years’ time. Clearly, he doesn’t understand what a referendum is. It is a decision by the whole electorate on a specific topic. As such, unless a second referendum is held, it cannot just be ignored. Mr Burnham should ca' canny, as my father used to say. He may wish he had not said that when the SNP start banging on the door saying, “If you can ignore the outcome of the 2016 referendum, then you can ignore the one in 2014 too!”

A decision made by the electorate must be honoured. The leader of Unite, Labour’s biggest donor, agrees. “The British people voted for Brexit,” she said. However, for Labour and the SNP, a decisive vote to leave the EU or to stay in the UK? No, no, no! A decision is only a decision when we like the outcome!

Empty vessels make most noise and the SNP are being very voluble at the moment. At the latest count in May, Mr Swinney’s party was clearly on the skids. Only 22.3 per cent of the electorate voted for the separatist parties collectively in May. In 2014, the pro-Union majority vote was 23.72 per cent of the total Yes vote. By 2026, that majority was 43.71 per cent of the total SNP vote!

Alba has vanished. Mr Swinney should now be asking whether he is the last separatist first minister.

Andrew HN Gray, Edinburgh

Off-ramp

If Andy Burnham actually delivers free social care for all, gets people working and off benefits, builds a million houses and shores up our defences he'll save the UK and blow away what seems to be the SNP's main argument for independence: the UK is broken, finished.

And if his “England only” policies are so successful Scots demand them up here, but the “not invented here” SNP reject them, it will raise legitimate questions as to why we need devolution and Holyrood, and not just a competent Scottish office and Civil Service.

The only thing that could energise the SNP is if he succeeds in cutting legal and illegal immigration because they seem to think we want and need more of it. Or maybe it will give them the off-ramp they need to dump the issue.

Allan Sutherland, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire

EU options

Prime Minister Andy Burnham is right to reopen the debate about Britain’s relationship with the EU.

His acknowledgement that Brexit has done “more harm than good”, and that options should range from the status quo to potentially going “all the way” and rejoining is a welcome dose of political reality. This matters particularly in Scotland, which voted decisively to remain.

Indeed, recent polling has suggested Labour could pay a heavy electoral price in Scotland if it continues to rule out EU membership.

Nobody is suggesting Britain can rejoin tomorrow. But refusing even to consider it, regardless of changing circumstances, makes little sense. We should honestly examine the options and decide where Britain’s long-term interests lie.

For Scottish Labour, the political consequences of ducking that debate could be considerable.

Alex Orr, Edinburgh

Careful now

There is talk about rejoining the EU, as leaving seems to have harmed us economically, which is probably correct, although previous fuel crisis and Covid also harmed us.

However, this only looks at the economics, ignoring the politics. The ultimate EU aim of some kind of federal union has not gone away (although is on the backburner).

Those who wish to see us back forget that we had opted out of much of it – this option may not be available again. The EU is about sharing power, and we could lose much power as a country, a point the SNP seems not to realise, with their dream of “independence in Europe”.

William Ballantine,Bo'ness, West Lothian

Down the drain

Has Andy Burnham fallen at the first hurdle? (“Part of the union: Burnham’s retort to Swinney”, 30 September). John Swinney has galvanised Mr Burnham to save the union but both leaders might be better employed saving themselves.

They share an unfortunate trait, promising far more than they can deliver. They also share the trait of kicking the big decisions down the road until after the next election.

Now Labour is promising a national care service, which excludes residential costs but includes taking the money off pensioners yet again.

To cap it all, Mr Burnham wants to change our voting system. Look what that has done to Scotland. The SNP has had to impose far-left Green ideas in order to stay in power. Has that worked well?

Mr Burnham and Mr Swinney will both take us down the drain. Mr Swinney has a head start.

Gerald Edwards, Glasgow

Too many MSPs

I support Jane Ball’s call for a large reduction in the number of MSPs (Letters, 30 September).

I envisage a number about the size of the present Scottish Cabinet who would act as an executive committee chaired by a directly-elected first minister.

S Beck, Edinburgh

Save universities

Regarding your article: “ ‘We want what we pay for’: Student fears as Edinburgh Uni strikes begin” (29 September), throughout history, universities have been bastions of knowledge, groundbreaking research and intellectual curiosity. Beyond that, universities foster societal cohesion and inclusivity, economic growth and arduously strive to cultivate cultural and religious dialogue, safeguard ethics and seek solutions to intractable imbroglios such as climate change, totalitarianism, vaccine hesitancy and artificial intelligence.

Sadly, staff redundancies inflict pain on countless families and impoverish academia. The government must intervene to safeguard universities as an investment in our future generations.

(Dr) Munjed Farid Al Qutob, London

BBC cuts

“Inward looking” with an “aversion to risk” is how BBC Director General Matt Brittin, described the BBC, with some channels and radio stations set to close. He claimed £1.3 billion of funding has been lost from licence fee payers over ten years with only 80 per cent of households paying while 94 per cent consume BBC content (your report, 26 September).

BBC Director for Scotland Hayley Valentine needs to make the case for a streamlined service that listens to concerns from last year’s consultation that the BBC was politically biased and did not deliver value for money.

News content is also set for cuts. BBC Scotland’s 7pm news is preceded by Reporting Scotland at 6.30pm on BBC1 covering similar content. Weekday radio news gets three hours in the morning, two at lunchtime and two in late afternoon with repeated content. Excessive pop and football talk could be replaced by more factual content, reversing a dumbing down with listeners tuning out in their droves. Another saving is removing either the BBC Scotland channel or BBC Alba.

Ms Valentine’s challenge is to help save the BBC £500 million over three years. Let’s hope she will listen to viewers and listeners, explain what a future BBC Scotland will do for us and how she might save licence payers’ money too.

Neil Anderson, Edinburgh

In and out

Very disappointing news on Wednesday. The “one in, one out” scheme for immigrants has now been abandoned

I was hoping we could have deported Piers Morgan now that Prince Harry has returned to our shores

Graham Hammond, East Calder, West Lothian

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