ABBI Garton-Crosbie’s article “NHS Scotland: Opposition blames Humza Yousaf and ignores Brexit” (Jan 9) is a crucial analysis that exposes why devolution from Westminster has not and never will be in Scotland’s interests.
The main reasons for this are Westminster’s reluctance to yield meaningful power and the pincer movement of the Westminster parties’ control over MSPs in Holyrood.
There is so little difference between the three London-based Unionist parties’ policies that they behave as a virtual coalition of the opposition in Holyrood.
READ MORE: Union leaders will push for ‘national NHS conversation’
Now the Tory, Labour and LibDem councils have gone a step farther and are fully integrated in Edinburgh, Fife, Moray, South Ayrshire, West Lothian and Stirling, it is only a matter of time before this becomes the normal state of politics all over Scotland.
It is incredible that in spite of the shambles that we have endured under the last six UK prime ministers, Douglas Ross, Anas Sarwar and Alex Cole-Hamilton would rather have us governed by any UK Government than take that on as their day job.
Can they not envisage anything better for Scotland than UK Governments that have progressed from Labour’s bungled financial crisis, through Tory/LibDem-imposed austerity, the continuing evolution of the disaster of Brexit and on into the present carousel of ever-less-capable Tory prime ministers, consistent only in their intentions to strip us of our civil liberties and human rights?
READ MORE: How is opposition criticism affecting the morale of our NHS workers?
Now they are supporting a Westminster government that is forcing the people of one of the most energy-rich countries in the world into fuel poverty in previously unimaginable numbers, while allowing our natural resources to be plundered by multinational corporations for the benefit of financial speculators.
They rail against the Scottish Government that is in the financial straitjacket of devolution imposed by their London masters.
The current situation would not exist in an independent Scotland, the Scottish Government would not be having to balance the cost of well-deserved pay increases to those in the health service and education against offsetting the damaging effects of Westminster government policies on the poorest in our society.
They refuse to accept that the impossible demands for more money from the Scottish Government being made almost daily by their MSPs and councillors are the other side of the coin of Westminster’s austerity, incompetence and mismanagement under the strictures of devolution.
Will the day ever dawn when there actually are leaders of real Scottish Tory, Scottish Labour and Scottish LibDem parties in Holyrood answerable only to the people of Scotland – like those of the SNP and Scottish Green Party?
John Jamieson
South Queensferry
THE plans outlined by the far-right Tory criminal cabal to outlaw striking are like something dystopian from the 19th century.
They are a full-on declaration of war on workers. They are designed to reduce those in work to little more than serfs. These laws are required for the chthonian police state the the Tory fascist gangsters are building.
The Tory dictatorship of billionaire City trader Rishi Suank intends to finish the job started by Thatcher on the miners in 1984.
READ MORE: Flynn slams 'utterly perverse' extra earnings of Tory MPs amid anti-strike bill
Just as the Thatcher junta called the miners “the enemy within”, the current Tory thieves are branding striking teachers, rail workers and NHS staff as Putin’s stooges. This turns reality on its head. It was the Tories who took donations (bribes) from Putin cronies to the tune of £2.5 million. None of it returned.
The Tories are wanting to smash the unions, break the workers and impose a savage settlement.
The gormless bureaucrat “Sir” Keir Starmer has solidarised British Labour with the Tory plan of wage cuts and austerity. He is hostile to striking workers. Starmer idolises and is a protege of the war criminal Tony Blair.
As for the SNP, there was the usual faux indignation and bluster about opposing this abomination. However as per usual they do nothing of substance and won’t take any direct action. Absolutely redolent of the “feeble 50” “Scottish” Labour MPs under Thatcher.
Scotland has to suffer this fate because of the craven cowardice of the SNP leadership who will not have a confrontation with Westminster.
Alan Hinnrichs
Dundee
FOLLOWING your report about the forthcoming new energy strategy, headlined “FM: ‘Imperative’ we move away from oil and gas (Jan 10), it might have useful to readers to have details of the wind farm Neart no Gaoite, 16km off the Fife coast.
The facility will have 54 turbines manufactured by a Spanish in a yard in Hull, England. The turbines will be shipped to site by a Norwegian company. Cabling to turbines will undertaken by Belgian company. Cabling to shore will undertaken by an Italian company. The wind farm will be jointly owned by EDF of France and ESB, the state-owned company of the Republic of Ireland.
Finally, are oil-producing countries around the globe going to follow FM Sturgeon’s move away from oil and gas? Norway, Saudi Arabia etc etc.
And our promised Scottish state energy company –how is that project progressing?
Gavin Barrie
via email
THE “office” had the opportunity to rectify a blatant lie, instead they have said we prefer telling lies because the truth is meaningless (Scotland Office refuses to retract Alister Jack’s Brexit claims, thenational.scot, Jan 11). This is the behaviour of the Tories; being huge liars is the normal behaviour for them. They are dragging my country to the gutter. I simply detest these people.
Joe Graham
via thenational.scot
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