Need to set record straight

Sir, - As autumn follows summer and night follows day, the blizzard of unionist ‘SNP bad’ output attempting to blind us to the achievements of the present Scottish Government continues unabated.

Therefore, in an effort to achieve a modicum of balance, a few facts regarding Scotland’s governance won’t go amiss.

In spite of the strait

jacket imposed by Westminster, this year Scotland recorded a rate of economic growth four times faster than the rest of the UK, with employment reaching a record high.

That Westminster holds all the key economic levers and has all of the UK’S resources at its disposal, yet continually stumbles from one crisis to another should be a wake-up call to everyone in Scotland who question our own abilities.

With the credit agency Moody’s recent downgrading of the UK’S rating to Aa2, down from Aa1, and other agencies’ ratings of AA, down from AAA or AA+, we have yet another reason to doubt Westminster’s selfproclaimed superiority in all matters economic.

The UN has slated the UK Government for policies which harm its own people, and are in breach of international human rights.

At present the SNP are doing all they can to mitigate the effects of Tory policies rejected by Scots, but their valiant efforts will be undermined by a London establishment hell bent on returning to medieval rule, while inflicting on Scots yet another ‘rough wooing’.

Concerns are voiced by the Red Cross that there is a humanitarian crisis in England’s NHS.

This is in stark contrast to the Nuffield Trust’s findings that there are lessons the rest of the UK can learn from the Scottish Government’s approach to our own health service, in spite of the pressures placed on it and what the Trust describe as ‘a largely hostile press looking to attack their record on the NHS’.

The Curriculum for Excellence, a cross party initiative dating from 2002, is just one of many long term problems which the SNP have been left to tidy up.

It has now been praised by the International Council of Education Advisers as delivering ‘clear and positive momentum in Scottish education, particularly in relation to the devolution of more power and resources directly to schools’.

Add investment in a potentially world leading Scottish green energy programme, infrastructure projects neglected by previous

At present the SNP are doing all they can to mitigate the effects of Tory policies rejected by Scots, but their valiant efforts will be undermined by a London establishment hell bent on returning to medieval rule, while inflicting on Scots yet another ‘rough wooing’

administrations, and the relentless ‘SNP bad’ narrative is shown for what it is – a churlish inability to give credit where it is due. Ken Clark. 335 King Street, Broughty Ferry.