I READ Alyn Smith MP’s piece on his Question Time appearance (Transparency will be key as we gear up for indyref2, May 25). Calling right-wing commentators “phoney actors” really is hyperbole. It’s a phrase that should be reserved for agents of foreign states trying to influence our democratic processes or members of parliament that are succumbed to such an act through soft manipulation, eg believing you’re invited to theatre of war or CIA-sponsored events in the USA because they care about your opinion, when in fact it’s the simplest form of political seduction to get you to do the bidding of an organisation.

I really don’t think any reasonable viewer of Question Time can’t see the worldview of a commentator for what it is, and I really don’t know what is wrong with a commentator having a political leaning. You don’t have to like it or agree with it but surely that’s the bedrock of democracy that values free speech?

However, I did note that Alyn Smith stated that runaway inflation was good for savers. I don’t know who he banks with, but in what world does high inflation create a good return for savers? Inflation is currently approaching double digits. It shows no sign of peaking any time soon.

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But let’s have a look at the best you could get on the market. If you look to a high-end savings provider you can get at best about 1.3%. If you are willing to fix your rate for a year you could get about 2.3% and if you fix for two years the best you’ll get is about 2.8%. But these figures are for people that invest substantial amounts of savings into an account. The vast majority of us don’t have that money, we have savings accounts that pay us about 1% whoever it is we bank with.

So with a return of about 1% on your savings and the 12-month inflation figure likely to hit about double figures next month, this means the cash you have saved will buy you less than this time last year because there are no accounts that will have paid you enough interest to keep up.

High-end (worst) projections of the base rate for next year are 3%. Personally I think with the bunch of charlatans in charge at Westminster we are set to see a base rate of 5% by the end of 2023, because as the orthodox response fails the politicians will rush to a different form of economic destruction. This would lead to a cooling of the property market and a housing crash that would make 2008 look like a good year. But even then, this would be an even more devastating event for savers.

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At the moment the only group of society that look like they’ll stay close to inflation are state pension recipients, who get an increase based on September’s 12-month figure. But with that likely to mean somewhere in the region of 8.5%, no doubt Rishi Sunak is already plotting a way to stop that happening.

Therefore, perhaps instead of Mr Smith attacking a panellist being on Question Time because he doesn’t agree with them he should consider e enrolling in a first-year course in economics at James Watt College.

Frank Wood
Port Glasgow

ALYN Smith’s column reminds me of a comedy routine by the late Robbin Williams; he suggested that “like Nascar”, politicians should have been wearing team jackets that helped identify who their industry sponsors were.

Some members of Team Tory could turn out in full black uniform, reflecting their undisclosed dark money funding. I’m sure many would turn out in oil and energy company jackets. The Minister for Energy, sponsored by Shell and BP, rises to discuss the energy crisis, claiming that blocking obscene windfall profits would damage investment in the sector.

Alistair Potter
via thenational.scot