And what a mealy-mouthed, lily-livered response from “Scottish” Labour, whose branch manager, Anas Sarwar, had also campaigned alongside the Waspi women and declared that they should “receive the justice they deserved”, but who has clearly abandoned them in obedience to the instructions issued by his London boss. There is no change for the better and no seasonal cheer from Labour; their ghost of Christmas present will continue to haunt them for all the Christmases still to come.
Ruth Marr, Stirling.
• THE announcement of no justice for Waspi women even took Labour’s own backbenchers by surprise. And the hypocrisy of many cabinet members who were happy to campaign alongside the Waspi women while in opposition is breathtaking. This announcement affects 3.6 million women in the UK, women who are determined to see justice. Labour is certainly not getting into the Christmas spirit with this news. Its MPs should be ashamed.
Catriona C Clark, Falkirk.
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Failed promises
LABOUR promised to lower our energy bills by £300 but they are going up and up again next year. Labour promised to save Grangemouth but choose to spend billions on carbon capture hubs in the north of England while ignoring Peterhead. Labour has reneged on promises to abolish the two-child benefit cap while scrapping the winter fuel payment for millions of pensioners.
Now some Labour figures have been busy deleting their social media self-promotions standing alongside the Waspi women demanding justice for those pensioners who lost out over state pension changes without proper notice.
If Labour had adopted the Scottish Government’s progressive income tax rates then it would have the £10.5 billion Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall claims it would cost to compensate the Waspi women. Ms Kendall also displayed her ignorance of the devolved settlement, as part 211 of the 2016 Scotland Act states: “The power to create new benefits will not extend to pensions as the Smith Commission Report specifically states that all aspects of pensions should remain reserved.”
In addition to alienating the majority of pensioners, the Understanding Business survey, compiled by 56° North and the Diffley Partnership, revealed that Scottish companies are concerned about Labour’s rise in employers’ National Insurance contributions, which will begin in April.
The research suggests that nearly half of firms believe John Swinney’s Government understands their concerns but the UK Budget has dented support for Labour and Keir Starmer’s approval ratings have dropped by a staggering 51 percentage points since July according to the recent Opinium poll.
Mary Thomas, Edinburgh.
• BEFORE “legal rights to personhood” are granted to the River Clyde (“Calls are made to grant River Clyde ‘same rights as people’”, The Herald, December 18), the river’s gender will need to be determined so that the Labour Government will know whether or not to diddle it out of its pension, like the Waspi women.
David Hay, Minard.
Reeves was right – in Opposition
IT is only three short years since the now-Chancellor Rachel Reeves declared that a potential Tory rise in employer’s National Insurance contributions would “make each new recruit more expensive and increase the costs to business”. Further she noted, “it would go against the strong advice of businesses and trade unions”.
She ignored her own comments when she did precisely the opposite in her recent Budget but perhaps she will now reflect on those wise words when noting the longest slump in hiring staff continues apace. Job vacancies in the UK fell by 31,000 to a three-year low of 818,000 in the three months to November. It now seems the previous advice proffered by businesses and trade unions was on the button.
Richard Allison, Edinburgh.
Yousaf’s series of disasters
OVER the last 20-odd years, many MSPs and ministers have come and gone at Holyrood. To my mind the worst of them, ability-wise, and in a field like that the choice is overwhelming, was Humza Yousaf, who recently announced he would not stand again (“Yousaf: ‘I will never regret my role as FM’”, The Herald, December 18). It takes a lot to choose one from all these candidates, but he was close to hopeless.
His career was a series of disasters. In one office after another, he was continually promoted and eventually became First Minister. Only in SNP-run Scotland could this have happened. Nice chap he may well be. Competent and sure-footed he is decidedly not.
His career in fact merely epitomises everything that is wrong with Holyrood.
Alexander McKay, Edinburgh.
• SO farewell, then Humza Yousaf. Scotland is not a large enough stage for you. You think “I have a lot to contribute” and you “hope to make a good contribution on the global stage”. The question is, which international body will take up an offer from a man whose main contribution has been to fall upwards?
If Nicola Sturgeon has not been able to attract the international offers that she was said, at the time of her resignation, to anticipate, what hope is there for Humza Yousaf?
Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh.
Transparency is vital
THE urgency of fostering transparency within the Scottish Government cannot be overstated (Letters, December 18). John Swinney’s approach to addressing public concerns has often leaned toward obfuscation rather than the accountability expected from elected officials. The repeated failure to engage with uncomfortable truths is a disservice to voters and threatens the very fabric of our democracy.
The importance of transparency was articulated by Adam Smith, who believed that “justice and fairness should be the undisputed rights of all”. Yet, in recent times, it appears that those in power prefer to shield themselves from scrutiny, further alienating the public. This lack of accountability breeds cynicism and disengagement, resulting in a populace that feels increasingly disconnected from those who represent them.
As we move forward, it is imperative to demand that our leaders, particularly those in the SNP, accept they are accountable to the people. Engaging in open and honest dialogue is not just preferable; it is essential to restoring the connection between citizens and their representatives. The health of our political system depends on it.
Transparency must become a foundational principle, not an afterthought, in Scottish governance.
Alastair Majury, Dunblane.
Failing to learn from the past
ROBERT IG Scott (Letters, December 18), laments that Scotland has not benefited in any way from the quest for independence and seeks a return to the political policies of conservatism, socialism or liberalism.
Those would be the self-same policies that have failed Scotland and the UK for the last 50 years, have resulted in the present government withholding pensioners’ winter fuel allowance and inflicting upon us the highest taxes in 70 years?
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it without a sense of ironic futility.”
Alan Carmichael, Glasgow.
Humza Yousaf (Image: PA)
Parties should be state-funded
YOU report that Reform UK’s leader Nigel Farage and its treasurer, multi-millionaire Nick Candy, met Elon Musk at President-elect Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort on Monday (“Farage in meeting with Musk in Florida”, The Herald, December 18). You also report the rumours that Mr Musk is preparing to donate up to $100 million to Reform UK. I find that idea profoundly alarming.
When Labour came to power at Westminster in 1997, there was discussion about banning donations to political parties, either entirely or above a modest level of perhaps £1,000; instead, parties would be funded by the state. I thought that was an excellent idea and it’s a great pity it wasn’t carried forward, presumably because Labour’s big backers in the unions were afraid they’d lose much of their influence.
Some will ask: why on earth should the state spend a portion of the taxes I pay on funding political parties I oppose? The answer is that state funding helps prevent the slide towards elections being essentially bought by the wealthy, who can fund extensive advertising, campaigning and influencing to ensure that their chosen ones occupy the seats of power. And very few of the wealthy do so out of concern for the wellbeing of their fellow citizens.
US election costs run into the billions of dollars, making politics a game for those with deep pockets or wealthy puppeteer backers. That’s not a road we should go down any further than we already have. Political parties should be funded by the state, openly and at moderate levels. Donations above a modest sum should be banned.
Doug Maughan, Dunblane.