THE monies provided by the Westminster government to assist in the Scottish campaign to defeat the Covid-19 pandemic will be used by the Scottish Government for exactly that purpose, in contradiction of the remarks to the contrary by a few English MPs who are incapable of rising above their own prejudices.
Such financial aid is money borrowed by the UK Treasury for that and many other causes, these within or outwith the ken of the public. What is not known to the rest of the present UK is that if we in Scotland had access to the borrowing powers required by Holyrood, such available funds would NOT be classed as Westminster or Tory largesse or any other kind of generosity.
READ MORE: George Kerevan: Virus crisis makes own currency an absolute must for indy Scotland
Westminster borrowings since March have increased out of sight and are now akin to state secrets. In due course Scotland will pay its share, as decided not by us but by Westminster. No negotiation!
There is at least one further observation to be made. An independent Scottish state, a friendly neighbour of England, would not have escaped the Covid-19 outbreak and in the circumstances encountered by both nations, might well have needed unprecedented borrowings itself, possibly with temporary humanitarian help from such a friend. Would that have been denied because Scotland was no longer “part of the UK”? This is precisely the inference now being well exercised by politicising of the Covid crisis by Messrs Johnson, Cumming, Gove, Patel etc, while the Holyrood government strives to keep it, correctly, out of the political arena. The truth, ironically, is that if Covid and its effects were allowed to be politicised, the beneficiary by a long way would be our First Minister, which everyone in England knows.
READ MORE: How the European Union made history with its coronavirus recovery deal
There is no depth to which Westminster will not sink and this incompetent, to us useless Tory government is in reality a willing part of its discredited system, and has no statesman big enough to deal with its failings. The truth hurts!
John Hamilton
Bearsden
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel