Brexit disaster
Where has Dr C Wardrop been for the last 18 months (Letters, 18 December)? He complains of protracted delays in negotiating Brexit whereas the UK agreed to the timescales and missed its first closure date on phase one by two months.
We have no information from the government on its preferred outcome and only now is this being considered. The borders, money and sovereignty mantras are repeated ignoring the fact that we already control access but do not apply existing regulations, we are not in the euro zone and have always been sovereign, we made our own decision on Brexit and on foreign policy decisions in Iraq and Libya, to name but a few.
He requested indicators of the specific dangers of leaving: since the Brexit decision the UK now has the joint poorest-performing economy in Europe, we have the lowest G7 growth, and far from providing an extra £350 million per week to spend, the UK economy has already lost more from reduced economic output and tax take, and our labour laws are at risk.
Due to the loss of value in the pound we have higher inflation, including food prices and travel. Meantime, our health service, education, social care and welfare systems are failing around us.
We are selling our house without knowing the price or the location of our new residence. We are failing to maintain the building. We want to stay on for another two years beyond our contract completion and will meet all the costs as before but have no say in any alterations which we will have to live with. We rely on May, Davies & Fox, as estate agents. Is it any wonder 87 per cent of Scottish businesses want to Remain or that the latest poll indicates an 11 point spread in favour of staying in the EU, including 76 per cent of the 18-24 age group. The good news is the pound has increased in value against the Uzbekistani som. GRAHAM HAY
Player Green Livingston, West Lothian tish Government has used the powers available to it to vary not just bands, but rates as well.
To be fair to Mr Clements, he is right to say that the size of the proposed changes outlined by Derek Mackay last week were “conservative” – very much with a small “c”! – but they are sure to be incremental and the divergence is bound to continue in the years to come. I am in no doubt that the real reason for Mr Clements’ ire is that yet another strand which binds Scotand to England – the common tax code – is, slowly but surely, being unpicked.
Perhaps Mr Clements’ time would be better spent trying to make a positive case for the union (assuming one still exists post-brexit?) rather than taking cheap shots at the Scottish Government which are easily seen for what they are: baseless, weak and ineffectual.
DAVID PATRICK Thirlestane Road, Edinburgh