Rutherglen Reformer

Working for you

-

There can be no doubt that the vote to leave the EU is the biggest political event in a generation.

The effect of this earthquake is still sending tremors through the country.

In the political world, we have seen the resignatio­n of Prime Minister David Cameron and the instalment of new PM Theresa May in a short period.

There is no doubt in my mind that David Cameron and the Tories must shoulder the blame for the drastic situation that we have been left in. Let’s be clear, David Cameron called this referendum to try and calm down critics in the right wing of the Tory party.

I t has turned out disastrous­ly for both him and the country.

The result was also bad news for local people in Ru t h e r g l e n and Cambuslang.

Those heading off to holidays only need to look at the falling exchange rate to see how this has vote has hit their holiday spending money. We have also already seen the impact on business with some businesses announcing that they will leave the UK.

In Scotland some have focussed on the whether this means that there should be another independen­ce referendum.

Personally, I think that this would be entirely the wrong call. The main focus of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government just now should be on issues like improving our NHS and providing skilled and well paid work.

Clamouring for another independen­ce referendum distracts from the big issues that Holyrood needs to be getting on with.

The reaction of the SNP to a potential referendum has been interestin­g. Nicola Sturgeon was very bullish about it in the hours after the Brexit vote saying it was highly likely that there would be another referendum.

However in recent days they have backed off and begun to hedge their bets.

There is little wonder that this has happened as the Brexit vote makes it more difficult for nationalis­ts to make the case for independen­ce. The EU exit has made people focus more on the economic impact of such decisions.

This means that in any future independen­ce vote people will rightly want to know how this will impact on their standard of living. With what we spend being £15billion greater than what we take in on taxes, people will start to realise that this could mean £15bn of either public spending cuts or tax rises.

Some might argue that we could borrow to cover the deficit. However, becoming independen­t and re-joining the EU could mean signing up to a Euro currency. This would limit our on- going deficit and we would be then forced to make cuts or raise taxes to cover the £15bn shortfall.

As I have watched and listened to SNP politician­s in recent weeks, it seems to me that the penny has finally dropped and there is now a degree of caution as the SNP mull over their options.

I will be watching their next moves with interest.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom