SNP must use new powers

Dear Editor Some people (Jim Stamper: Reformer letters, 13.12.17) seem to think that money grows on trees.

Most people, however, accepted at the time policies initiated by the then Labour government after the banking collapse and continued by the coalition to stabilise the economy and tackle the resultant fiscal deficit, were necessary.

Liberal Democrat ministers in the coalition were, from an early stage, keen to take advantage of the low interest rates to invest in capital spending on infrastructure and on supporting and growing the economy again.

Hence, for example the multibillion pound City Deals, the Green Investment Bank and the British Business Bank initiated by Liberal Democrats in the then government.

The Scottish Government at that time operated within the constraints of a fixed budget.

But I hope Jim Stamper recognises that the Scottish budget, because of the Barnett formula, was hit far less than that of English departments and councils.

Had Scotland been independent at that time, we would have been faced with super austerity.

Now, of course, the situation is different because the SNP government has the ability to change income tax rates to raise more revenue for education, the NHS and local government.

They have been remarkably reluctant to do this and it is only pressure from the Liberal Democrats and Greens which has produced a modest and frankly inadequate change in the current Scottish budget.

The SNP government now have the powers.

However, with power comes responsibility. Robert Brown, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Rutherglen South