Westminster’s failures exposed

Sir, – Derek Farmer (Letters, August 31) complains that “the union” is constantly blamed for Scotland’s problems.

With Westminster having control of Scottish interests for more than 300 years, there are, inconveniently for the gentleman, no other candidates.

Contrary to his assertion, the numbers crunched by the Scottish Government in order to calculate the GERS figures are of Westminster origin also.

Incomplete and flawed as they are, they do serve to illustrate Westminster’s failures.

Separate Scottish economic figures were once issued, revealing we had as little as 17% of our revenues returned to us some years.

The balance, listed as, “Contributions to Imperial Services”, is spent by London on our behalf.

This is a process – implemented by governments Scots reject election after election – that continues to this day.

Mr Farmer’s claim that the SNP’s “grasp of fiscal management, is tenuous to say the least” wilfully misrepresents a government the Auditor General praised for its budgetary management.

The divergent paths Scotland and Norway have followed since North Sea oil and gas discoveries are but one demonstration of how poorly our diverse resources have been husbanded by Westminster, which no amount of “Better Together” flim-flam can excuse or hide.

Scottish revenues for 2017/18 were £1.3 billion.

Norway’s, during the same period came to £28 billion.

The, “sovereign independence” Mr Farmer is so fearful of obviously holds no such terrors for a Scandinavian neighbour more reliant on oil and gas than an independent Scotland would be, while also successfully cohabiting with other countries.

One wonders how they would have fared under London’s, “Better Together”, broad shoulders. Ken Clark. c/o 15 Thorter Way, Dundee.

“The divergent paths Scotland and Norway have followed since North Sea oil and gas discoveries are but one demonstration of how poorly our diverse resources have been husbanded by Westminster, which no amount of “Better Together” flim-flam can excuse or hide