I LIVE by the old adage of “never trust a Tory”, and every revelation from Johnson’s crooked Cabinet underlines why everyone should follow this rule. No wonder the Chancellor was keen to protect his wife’s tax affairs when he knew he was hiding his green card status in the USA.
No wonder the Prime Minister thought he could get away with setting Covid rules for everyone else while flouting these rules himself; especially openly having parties while the rest of us were denied the opportunity of saying our final goodbyes to loved ones!
It really is a government that is truly detached from the people it’s meant to serve, who instead are simply serving themselves to public money, no doubt laughing all the way to the bank at us mugs for letting them get away with it!
READ MORE: Andrew Tickell: Rishi Sunak's been defensive, aggressive and consistently dishonest
With each passing revelation I realise just how much we need independence to get away from this mess. However, I do wonder why the people of the rest of the UK put up with this corruption.
Why is there not rioting on the streets, why aren’t mobs rushing Downing Street demanding that the Prime Minister and his crooked cronies are held to account for their actions? Obviously the Met and the London centric-press – many of whom were well aware of the Covid parties – are acting as a shield for this corruption, but enough is enough. The Tories and all their enablers deserve to be locked up for a very long time. We can’t wait any longer for independence, we need away from these crooks.
Cllr Kenny MacLaren
Paisley
THERE has been much indignation over the fact that Mrs Chancellor Sunak did not pay tax on her income generated outside with the UK (in India), allegedly saving her just over £2 million pounds a year in UK tax. Perhaps a case could be made to justify her position. Perhaps her tax monies should be going in the direction of the people of India who helped generate them in the first place.
When the Sunaks have sorted out their personal tax situation, I wonder if he could spend some time considering the eight large tech companies in the UK which make an estimated £10 BILLION a year in profits from UK sales to UK customers. By moving money out of the UK, these companies ended up declaring a fraction of these profits in the accounts of their UK subsidiaries, radically reducing their tax liabilities.
READ MORE: Ruth Wishart: Avoiding tax isn’t criminal, but Rishi Sunak must realise it is unpalatable
Amazon, eBay, Adobe, Google, Cisco, Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple faced UK corporation tax liabilities of only £297 million in 2019. That puts the total amount of tax avoided by the companies in the UK at an estimated £1.5 BILLION in 2019, the latest year for which figures exist. Large US-based technology companies have tens of millions of UK users and make billions of pounds in sales to UK customers. The UK is a significant source of corporate profits for these companies, but very little of this profit ends up in the UK tax man’s pocket.
Brian Lawson
Paisley
STEPH Brawn’s article in the Sunday National is a refreshing and sobering change from the news centred on other political figures recently (Tackling poverty ‘not a priority for the Tories’, Apr 10).
Natalie Don’s life experience is probably unique but many MSPs have much more in common with the people of Scotland than do the current members of the UK Government – whose backgrounds, education, careers and policies have little in common with the majority of people in Scotland.
In fact, recent publicity on the wealth of political figures worldwide has made me wonder if many of these people who are as rich as Croesus are in governments more as a hobby than a career.
John Jamieson
South Queensferry
I REALLY must take issue with Cliff Purvis’s letters to the National (Apr 9). He cannot resist having a go at Alex Salmond and the Alba party, which is where all the long-serving, intelligent SNP supporters which he calls a gang found a place to fight for the independence that the SNP was set up to deliver. How dare he call Alex Salmond “a failed politician”? This of the man who built the SNP into the great party it became.
Cliff is void of empathy with Alex Salmond and I quite frankly find it horrible that he can watch a man being destroyed and add his bit to help in the destruction. This school of thought is the reason why I will never return to giving my vote to the SNP whilst it is under the present administration, because I feel that those who turn a blind eye are equally culpable.
Alex Salmond and others whose raison d’etre is to get independence for Scotland have a lot to offer. Let’s use them and other indy parties to achieve this, because every pro-independence vote counts.
Rosemary Smith
East Kilbride
I ALWAYS buy two Nationals on a Monday because George Kerevan offers such sound political analysis. I keep one and give one away. Let me demonstrate the sharpness of his profundity by quoting his final paragraph in last week’s essay. He nails the very essence of what the independence movement means.
READ MORE: George Kerevan: Cost of living horrors could and should be launchpad for new push for indy
“Independence is about taking power in Scotland, or it is about nothing. After 15 years of havering (I would have preferred dithering), the SNP has to start exercising that power or face a riding tide of despondency and the possible disintegration of the national movement. Independence is at a crossroads. Use the power, Nicola, or lose it.”
Profound clarity expressed with political conviction and heartfelt honesty.
Thom Cross
Carluke
PS I also buy the extra copy on a Monday for the liberating cultural reflections and analysis provided by the always erudite Alan Riach.
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