WE have seen in the media recently what the SNP has allegedly not delivered since 2007, particularly with regard to education. To paraphrase from The Life of Brian “what has the SNP ever done for us”?

Let us look at just a few of the initiatives that have been delivered under an SNP government:

1) Free university tuition
2) Free meals for pupils in P1 to P3
3) Spending on education increased by £189 million in 2018/19
4) More than 850 schools upgraded since 2007
5) National school clothing grant of £100
6) More than £1 billion invested in universities since 2012
7) Educational Maintenance Allowance scheme expanded
8) Further education students supported by £111 million funding in 2018/19 – up 33% under the SNP
9) Highest bursary in the UK for full-time college students
10) £20,000 bursary for career changers becoming science, tech, engineering or maths teachers
11) Increase of 2,500 in the number of teachers
12) Investment of £750 million to reduce the attainment gap has led, before Covid struck, to the gap being reduced by more than a third at National 5 level and a fifth at National 6 level.

READ MORE: Ian Blackford blasts Westminster as girls’ education hit badly by foreign aid cuts

Now let us look at a few of the initiatives that the SNP will deliver if elected to government on May 6:

1) Digital access with a free device for all pupils and free internet access
2) Access to free school breakfasts and lunches for all pupils in primary
3) Abolishing of curriculum charges for practical subjects
4) School clothing grant increased to £120 in primary and £150 in secondary
5) Investment of a further £1 billion to further decrease the attainment gap
6) Increase the number of teachers and classroom assistants by a further 3,500 to reduce teacher class contact time to allow them more time for preparation, training, etc
7) Take forward the OECD recommendations on the review of the Curriculum for Excellence and examinations.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats have been very vocal in condemning the SNP’s record. What have both of those parties ever done for education? Oh yes, Labour gave us Public Private Partnerships for building new schools, which has had a crippling effect on local authorities, and the Liberal Democrats are the party that promised no tuition fees in universities and then immediately introduced them in England with a crippling effect on the students who have to pay them.

Let us take education forward on May 6 with BOTH VOTES SNP.

Tom Tracey
Greenock

IT’S been reported in the Unionist press that Scots receive £2543 per annum more than they contribute, presumably thanks to the largesse of Westminster and the UK Union. While I suspect this smacks of the same accounting chicanery of the GERS figures, doesn’t it beg salient questions?

We Scots pride ourselves on fair play, so why would we want to be a burden on anyone else rather than stand on our own feet? And if we are such a burden on the UK Union, why are Unionists fighting tooth and nail for us not to secede from the Union?

Perhaps Scots who recognise the banality of such reporting may now be reaching for the back oftheir heads to check for the zip that Unionists surely believe we have. Let we Scots do the UK Union a favour, and leave it to languish in its fantasy.

Jim Taylor
Edinburgh

ONCE again in the House of Commons the issue of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) was raised, this time by SNP MP David Linden. Mr Linden pointed out that with the exception of the Conservatives, all main parties in the Holyrood election support the trialling of a UBI and asked in light of this support, and if those parties manifestos are supported by the electorate, if we can go ahead with those trials.

Unfortunately the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Iain Stewart, MP for Milton Keynes South) gave no assurance, in fact he rejected such a proposal, demonstrating how out of touch and lacking a vision for a whole new approach to welfare.

Once again clear evidence that in the interest of the people of Scotland, we need full welfare powers devolved with immediate effect.

Catriona C Clark
Falkirk

CHANNEL 4’S debate on Tuesday evening was horrible. It reminded me of the first Trump/Biden encounter. Krishnan Guru-Murthy, who at his best can be brilliant, was obviously stirring things up. The result was a shouting match that obscured the real issues at stake and hampered a rational debate about the long-term fundamentals of Scottish independence.

J Lindsay
via email

WHAT an awful excuse for a debate. Just a “see who shouts loudest” programme. As for Sarwar, I’m fed up listening to his holier-than-thou stance telling us that he’s better than the rest but not telling us HOW he would be better. Waste of time watching that display . Why is nobody interested in properly organised, structured debates?

Maureen Blakely
via thenational.scot