By Scotsman Letters

Copyright scotsman

Following the abject failure of the UK Labour Government’s manifesto commitment to “change”, Anas Sarwar has sought to distance himself from Westminster and Keir Starmer by adopting the slogan that what Scotland needs is a “new direction”. This repeated sound-bite begs the question, what would Labour do differently in Scotland than what they have done in Wales where Labour has been in power longer than the SNP in Scotland and where public services are widely outperformed by public services delivered by the Scottish Government? Anas Sarwar should be prepared to discuss this subject, not disrespect the Scottish public by making out that what has occurred in Wales has got nothing to do with what would happen if Scotland voted for another devolved Labour government. Making claims of record funding for Scotland (your report, 30 September), while UK inflation continues to inexorably rise and more costs are imposed by the UK Government on the Scottish Government is not being honest with the electorate. Condemning prison overcrowding, evident across the UK, while arresting peaceful civilians for simply displaying placards with words aimed at ending the genocide in Gaza, will not reduce the numbers in Scotland’s jails. Of course if the Scottish Government had full control of the funds generated from Scotland’s resources there is much more that could be done for all of Scotland’s citizens, but to cynically suggest that electing an Anas Sarwar government in Scotland will magically make huge amounts of money appear to invest in our NHS, our schools and in the general welfare of our people, would be a triumph for fake news of which Donald Trump would be proud. Stan Grodynski, Longniddry, East Lothian Built for some “Built for all” was the phrase that echoed throughout the Prime Minister’s speech at the Labour Party’s annual conference – with nothing very tangible to back it up. Instead, multiple soundbites designed to salve the ire of the different constituents of a fast-fragmenting Labour Party. “Built for all”. Really? Not on the evidence to date. Instead selective “big ticket” one-offs has been the order of the day: big ticket trade deals with the US, Europe and India only offering the prospect of jam tomorrow. Big ticket pricing policies favouring energy providers, good for investors, but not for household energy bills. Big ticket subsidies, good for a failing steel industry – and big ticket public sector pay settlements, good for doctors and nurses etc, but not the poor taxpayer. All the while the economic growth needed to pay for all of this continues to slow: figures for Q2 2025 just released by the ONS indicate GDP growth of only 0.3 per cent. And business confidence remains fragile. What about the small businesses that employ 13 million people who have borne the brunt of the hike in employers’ National Insurance contributions? What about the 4.4 million self-employed? What about food inflation and the 14 million people in relative poverty (households on 60 per cent of the median wage after housing costs). And what about the two million pensioners who are solely or mainly reliant on the State Pension? Building for some, maybe. But built for all – I don’t think so! Ewen Peters, Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire Patriotism Keir Starmer has asked us all to be more patriotic. Suits me. I’m Scottish and I look forward to the day that Scotland becomes independent. At the moment, Scottish taxes swell UK coffers by a greater amount than Scotland gets in return. So let us all wave banners saying “Scotland can’t afford to be tied to the UK”. Let’s all become patriotic and vote for self-government. So far, this has been the only statement made by the Prime Minister that I wholeheartedly agree with. Elizabeth Scott, Edinburgh National pride Doug Morrison of Tenterden, Kent (and others) ask whether John Swinney “didn’t understand that if you’re Scottish you’re also British” (Letters, 29 September). They might like to know that, from the results of the 2022 Scotland census, “The percentage of people who said Scottish was their only national identity increased since the previous census (from 62.4 per cent to 65.5 per cent). The percentage who said their only national identity was British also increased (from 8.4 per cent to 13.9 per cent). The percentage who said they felt Scottish and British decreased (from 18.3 per cent to 8.2 per cent).” A friend returned from holiday in Dubrovnik on Sunday and told me that, when he and his wife went on a guided walking tour, the guide asked people where they were from. Folk stated variously that they were from America, Canada, Germany and elsewhere, whilst he and his wife replied “Scotland”. Some others replied they were from “the UK”; but none of them, apparently, from “England” – though their accents suggested otherwise. Are folk now frightened to say they’re “English”? And, if so – would that allow them to deny us our own chosen nationality? Ian Waugh, Dumfries Brought to book Albert Einstein once said “The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library”, but I am sure this wise man would have been shocked to realise some high schools don’t have a library (your report, September 30). Libraries are there to serve us information, supply us with resources and give us a quiet place to read and think. I also use my local library’s electronic resources to read this paper online and the more sources of news we have, the better we understand the world. Make libraries compulsory and don’t get caught out – make librarians compulsory as well. You could read books about Einstein and see what else he had to offer the world. Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia Imperfect peace plan President Trump’s plan to end the 22-month war in Gaza is far from perfect. it stipulates that Hamas must relinquish its weapons and end terrorism. But there was no mention of Israel’s state terrorism that led to over 66,000 Palestinian deaths, the wholesale destruction of hospitals and the targeted killing of health care personnel and journalists. Hospitals which are supposed to be holy places, became morgues overflowing with corpses and bloodied and mutilated children lying on the floor. Foreign journalists are banned from entering Gaza. Hopefully, one day they will be allowed in and report who the terrorists were. Dr Munjed Farid Al Qutob, London Easy ID I have an app on my mobile called Easy ID which I can use to confirm my identity, if required. It uses facial recognition and stores a picture of my passport and my driving licence. It also has my national insurance number, my CHI reference for the NHS plus my date of birth and gender. This app is produced by the the Post Office. The Government owns the Post Office. It therefore has a system in place that could be extended without Big Brother monitoring your every move. Jack Thomson, Carluke, South Lanarkshire Sack Milband An old joke. How does one know when a politician is lying? They open their mouths. But UK electricity prices are no joke. Ed Miliband and likeminded politicians lie as they repeatedly try to convince us that wind and solar provide cheap electricity. Wrong. Figures produced by the International Energy Agency showed that UK industry is now paying the highest electricity prices in the developed world. The price paid by UK industry was 63 per cent higher than in France and 27 per cent higher than in Germany. Britain is now the second-most expensive country in the world for household electricity. This is because green levies are added to all electricity bills to fund the billions of pounds that wind farms receive in subsidies and strangely also for switching off their turbines when their electricity is not needed. No wonder manufacturing companies in the UK are struggling to survive. Jobs are being sacrificed. Energy-intensive industries have repeatedly warned that soaring power prices are forcing the closure of British factories and thousands have already been made redundant. The only growth that renewable electricity brings is the growth in unemployment figures. Time to sack Ed Miliband and let Britain prosper. Clark Cross, Linlithgow, West Lothian Climate denial We are paying little more than lip service to the biggest issue of our time, namely, climate change. Most dangerous are the foolhardy actions of Donald Trump’s America in total denial over the whole issue. Reform UK simply echo him. Climate change is not a distant risk, but very much happening now. Each hot summer is followed by an even hotter one, worldwide. Extremes of weather are becoming the norm in severe flooding and raging fires. We ignore this at our peril. Our response is to build another runway at Heathrow and Gatwick. Consideration is being given to opening up Jackdaw and Rosebank oil fields. Just because other countries are doing it, doesn’t make it right. What kind of world do we want to leave for our children and grandchildren? It’s time to go beyond sweet words to urgent action, before it’s too late. Ian Petrie, Edinburgh Write to The Scotsman We welcome your thoughts – NO letters submitted elsewhere, please. 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