Tone-deaf Tories

By claiming that VAT was devolved (Scotsman, 6 June), Theresa May’s ignorance of Scotland was cruelly exposed, particularly as Scotland’s Police and Fire Services are the only emergency services in the UK unable to recover VAT.

How can we expect Tory MPS to stand up for Scotland over Brexit when the UK Government has failed to protect Scotland’s interests in Europe for the past 30 years and the Tories considered farming and fishing expendable when negotiating entry into the EU.

According to research by Scotland’s Rural Collage and data from the RESAS Farm Accounts Survey, some 50 per cent of Scottish farms are unprofitable without EU CAP payments, yet when the UK negotiated an EU rebate West- minster retained the larger share of the subsidies due to farmers in Scotland.

Some 62 per cent of the UK seafood catch is landed in Scotland and 66 per cent of that is exported to the EU. Although trawlermen don’t much like the EU, the much larger on shore fish processing sector and the shellfish sector depends on single market access. Overall, Scottish food and drink exports grew 8 per cent last year to a record high of £5.5bn and 41 per cent of that was exported to the EU.

Our universities, already suffering as a result of Tory cuts to Scotland’s budget, are facing the continued loss of EU staff and EU research funding, yet Labour would rather spend money on Trident renewal than on education.

MARY THOMAS Watson Crescent, Edinburgh