Big disadvantage

Research published by Sheffield Hallam University on the impact of welfare reform shows that, on average, the loss to the Fife local economy is £660 per (all) working age adults. In the most disadvantaged community, Buckhaven, Methil and the Wemyss villages, the loss is estimated to be £995. With already low incomes in the area, the local multiplier effect on the local economy is devastating, affecting businesses and jobs far beyond those families on welfare.

The iniquity of discriminatory austerity is based on the lie that a national economy is the same as the individual household. The 1930s idea that if you “tighten your belt” and “make savings’”then you can regain a stable footing is simply not true for government handling a complex interconnected economy.

This is compounded by the UK Government’s vicious scapegoating of the poorest, while allowing tax reductions and privileges to the more affluent, exacerbating inequality. Even the more progressive Scottish Government seems either unable or loath to break the downward spiral of the coalfields areas of mid-fife by channeling necessary investment here.

There is a huge opportunity for significant economic investment projects to turn around the fortunes of places like Buckhaven and Methil, such as reopening the Leven rail link, insulating homes, renewable energy, training and employment schemes.

These once prosperous exmining areas can once again become a net contributor to the national economy. JAMES ROBERTSON

Casan, Leven, Fife