Language of cuts

Sally Gordon-walker (Letters 2 April) quotes Labour MSP Elaine Smith, who claims that between 210,000 and 220,000 children in Scotland are living in “absolute poverty”. Of course it doesn’t suit the Labour Party’s narrative that the World Bank defines absolute poverty as having to live on £1.35 per day, but nevertheless, it is a serious situation.

In fairness to Ms Gordonwalker, she agrees with the Child Poverty Action Group which says that the main driver for the deterioration is the cuts to welfare and benefits coming as a part of the Conservative government’s aussible terity cuts. But what is Ms Gordon-walker’s solution? Apparently in post-brexit insular and philistine Britain, Scotland should not promote or protect one of its indigenous languages and should stop helping children in Malawi – children who know what real absolute poverty is.

The fact that the budget for these two items is tiny is not mentioned and by that token, the Scottish Government should have allowed the Scottish Youth Theatre to fold, but the reason for the antipathy to Gaelic lies in the perception that it is ans np project. however, the reality is that the protection and promotion of regional and minority languages was enshrined in legislation by the Labour/lib Dem coalition in 2005 and that protection and promotion is incumbent on subsequent governments.

While we’re giving credit where it’s due, it was the same government which made the first reduction in the cost of prescriptions and introduced the smoking ban. Of course in those days the Scottish Labour Party was a force to be respected and not one almost totally reliant on Freedom of Informationrequests for its political strategy.

GILL TURNER Derby Street, Edinburgh