U-turn on LBTT long overdue

SIR, – It seems that SNP Finance Minister Derek Mackay is about to perform a classic U-turn in the matter of the Lands Building Transaction Tax (LBTT) which is much higher than that of England's and is progressively strangling the Scottish property market at the higher price range. It is good that he is at last listening to those who know the Scottish property market, but it has taken since its introduction in 2015 for him to admit that the LBTT tax was wrong in its price banding. Dennis Forbes Grattan, Mugiemoss Road, Bucksburn, Aberdeen

After much rhetoric about the influence the 13 Scottish Tory MPs would wield in Theresa May's government, it seems they've buckled at the very first opportunity