Readers’ letters: Politicians and lobbyists to blame for our ills, not pensioners

I suggest it’s the incompetencies fudging and outright lies of politicians and the lobbying of powerful corporations and individuals who are really to blame for our ills.

Yet look what we have achieved over the decades: more and more equality for women and LTBQ, greater environmental protection and workers rights, devolution and peace in Northern Ireland to name but few. Whatever is happening elsewhere in the world we are still hanging on to those freedoms here. Despite it sometimes feels by fingertips.

In 1975 the women of Iceland went on strike to demonstrate how vital their role was in society and to demand equal treatment. I’ve lately been wondering if pensioners should do the same. We have become the whipping boy for all that is wrong and boomer has become an favourite slur.

Ageism is rampant, yet without us, the despised pensioners, I would suggest the wheels would grind to a halt. Without the childcare and volunteering and care of elderly relatives carried out by the over 60s, society couldn’t function. To say nothing of the pensioners who are actually still working or those who, whether you agree with the specific causes or not, are out on the streets campaigning. This latter group by the way would have been there at Greenham Common or on marches against the poll tax back in the day.

We’ve worked hard, paid taxes and often exorbitant mortgage rates and most pensioners are not living in the lap of luxury and we do what can afford to financially support our families. I’m not necessarily talking about wads of cash here either, for most of us, but buying food or baking.

I just feel that those in real power must rub their hands in glee whenever the general public divides itself like this and scapegoating one group over another is an age old tactic.

For all I know Tim Flinn is as busy as the rest of us with caring and volunteering but blaming pensioners won’t solve anything and this narrative leads to real and sometimes alarming issues for older people.

Let’s unite instead to help young AND old against those who really are the enemy.

Lorna Thorpe, Perth and Kinross

Competing parties

Electorally, we live in interesting times, to say the least. After generations of the predictable duopoly of Conservatives and Labour taking turns to govern, we are now in a very different place.

As recently as 2019, the total combined vote of what were the main two Parties amounted to a massive 76 per cent, whereas now they would struggle to reach 40 per cent.

The Conservatives, posing as a poundland Reform UK, are threatened with near extinction. Meanwhile Labour, having won a landslide victory a mere fifteen months ago, have seen their popularity slip quickly to a new low.

Five Parties, the Conservatives, Labour, Lib Dems, Reform UK and the Greens will compete in the next Election. While the Conservative and Labour will struggle, the Lib Dems, the buoyant Reform UK and the resurgent Greens have a real chance of victory, albeit in a putative coalition. With all five Parties competing in a level playing field, as one expert has suggested, proportional representation is irresistible.

Ian Petrie, Edinburgh

Police savings

The Chief Constable of Police Scotland fears that 1,000 officers will be lost unless there are major changes (Thursday’s letters). But does not make any suggestions regarding investment savings.

The Police retire after 30 years’ service, why don’t they retire after 40 years like everyone else, and why do they still retain their final salary index linked pension, when many other employees have a money purchase pension. These items are relics of the 50’s and 60’ and should change to mirror many employees in the private sector.

The Public Sector does not seem to be able to operate unless it gets more money, and what about improving productivity?

James Macintyre, Linlithgow

Taxing questions

During an interview on Thursday, the First Minister was asked whether he would yet again break the 2021 manifesto commitment to freeze income tax rates. [Swinney’s vow not to hike tax dropped amid Budget fears, 7/11/25]. Looking rather perplexed, Mr Swinney replied, “I’m not conscious that we’re breaking a manifesto promise on income tax”.

In the SNP manifesto for 2021, their Number 14 pledge was “Freeze income tax rates and bands, and increase thresholds by a maximum of inflation, to keep money in people’s pockets.”

As Finance Secretary in 2022, he stood in Holyrood and declared that he had decided to increase the higher and top rates by 1p for the 2023/24 budget.

It is deeply concerning that the First Minister has no recollection of his own party’s manifesto pledges or his own announcements on tax rises. Or is it more a case of having little regard for pledges that are made purely to get re-elected? I’ll let you decide.

Jane Lax, Aberlour

The much used phrase “a week is a long time in politics” rears its head once again, (Scotsman, November 7th Swinney's vow not to hike tax dropped amid Budget fears.) It is that "auld enemy , Westminster, again. Mr Swinney has been out foxed by Rachel Reeves. He should have known better. How often does the SNP keep its promises to the electorate? We all see how little Labour does it too. Both at Westminster (Lammy, Reeves etc) and at Holyrood (Swinney, Gray etc) it seems political survival far outweighs actually helping the public. The problem for the politicians is that many of the public now know this. What party has ever tax raised its way to success?

Gerald Edwards, Glasgow

Vote for Joyce

If the Scotsman did nothing more than continue to publish Joyce McMillan (“Far right lies about asylum seekers are finding fertile ground”, November 7, 2025), it would always have my vote. She is erudition, wisdom and compassion incarnate.

It grieves me deeply to hear otherwise intelligent and educated people trot out the same propaganda. And if anyone accuses me of speaking from ivory towers, let me disabuse them; I live in West Pilton where , if one compares the ethnic mix to say Stockbridge, it is like moving from one city to another.

Joyce Gunn Cairns, Edinburgh

Platform for voiceless

I laud The Scotsman for alluding to the inextricable relationship between climate change, sustainable development and economic prosperity.

It is also wise to state that marginalised communities in developing nations have the smallest carbon footprint. Yet they are unequally affected by the insidious repercussions of climate change, and are rarely included at the negotiating table when policies are debated.

Also, wars have had devastating impacts on the environment. We have witnessed unprecedented levels of decimation in Ukraine and Gaza with air and water pollution, environmental nihilism and slow motion cultural and religious genocide which pose threats to human health and biodiversity.

It is therefore essential to offer a platform for the voiceless. Their wealth of knowledge about nature is inestimable to the global efforts to attain climate justice.

Dr Munjed Farid Al Qutob, London

Write to The Scotsman

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