SNP history is littered with failed promises - your views


Saturday, 3rd April 2021, 7:00 am

SNP history is all failed promises

Scotland is often linked with New Zealand, Finland and Sweden as examples of successful small countries

The big difference is that the leaders and political parties in these countries actually care about their citizens and make policies to improve life for everyone. New Zealand is raising the minimum wage for all and hiking taxes for the rich.

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SNP history is littered with failed promises: Reform council tax - they didn’t.

Land reform - they didn’t.

Close attainment gap - they didn’t.

Reduce class sizes - they didn’t. Education is starved of resources, so children are now getting a very poor educational experience in larger classes, with basics like art, music, PE and drama cut to the bone.

The SNP answer - give every child a laptop! Every child getting enough food would be a better aim! In the last 10 years food bank use has risen by 400%. Many older or disabled or vulnerable Scots are not getting essential care in their homes, and too often any care that is provided is very poor indeed.

The trouble is that the SNP are not interested in creating a better Scotland for everyone. They are only interested in an independent Scotland. So, from youngest to oldest, things have got worse.

Anne Wimberley, Belmont Road, Edinburgh.

We have EU to thank for vaccine success

There is much media noise about the current EU vaccination programme roll-out difficulties and unfavourable comparison against the apparent success of the UK programme.

However, it is worth noting that the EU is one the largest vaccine manufacturing hubs on the planet (producing 106 million doses of Pfizer/Biontech, AstraZeneca and Modena since December 2020) and exporting the bulk of these (72% or 77 million doses) to countries mainly in the developing world, also including 10 million to the UK under its contract with AstraZeneca, and even 1 million to the US.

To date the EU has only blocked one export order of 0.25 million doses to Australia. Similar vaccine production and export data for the UK is not publicly available and it is highly likely that UK exports of the AstraZeneca vaccine (the only one currently manufactured in the UK for use) are zero or close to zero.

Critics of the EU would do well to remember that UK ‘success’ in its vaccination programme is in part due to EU willingness to export vaccines from its territory, while its own population remained under-protected and UK unwillingness to do the same. No-one is protected until everyone is .

Mr D Jamieson, Newington, Edinburgh.

Faith believers have human rights too

Jack Fraser (letters, 1 April) is so eager to condemn churches that he did not bother to read the Court of Session's carefully weighted judgement.

The Court found that the Scottish government had literally breached the freedom of religion clauses of human rights legislation as a matter of fact and of law. This is a human right to freedom of religious worship that exists in all democratic countries.

But the judge, Lord Braid did not say that places of worship should not still follow social distancing, restrict numbers, shorten service times and not sing hymns and all the other precautions which places of worship continue to follow rigorously.

So what is Mr Fraser's real point? Does he knock the judge for applying the law or does he only dislike human rights legislation when it is used to protect the rights of religious believers?

Gus Logan, York Road North Berwick.