Austerity and reality

Sir,

The cry from Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale for opposition to the SNP's austerity programme is just laughable. What austerity programme? The only party to continually oppose Tory austerity to date is the SNP. The Scottish block grant has been cut by £4 billion. Even those poor at counting know that the cuts affect everyone, including councils.

Although Mr Corbyn tells us that Labour now oppose austerity cuts he is still to convince his party's MPs. To date they have either abstained or voted with their Tory colleagues as they waltzed through the lobbies hand-in-hand with the Tories. Does Kezia not have any soul? It was her party who caused the mess and now the poorest and most vulnerable in our society have to pay for it.

Now we have councillors who believe that the Scottish Government should increase taxes to pay for the effects of the austerity programme which their party supports. We have one councillor calling for free planes for a private company and another wanting to increase the rate of income tax those dependent on food banks to survive.

Would it not have been better for these councillors to have supported the opposition to the austerity programme in the first place? To support Westminster cuts to the Holyrood budget and not expect the subsequent effects shows a lack of logic. Obviously the Labour councillors and their "independent" colleagues are completely divorced from reality.

Archie Harper

27 Shulishader

Point

Isle of Lewis

Letter: Austerity and reality

20 January 2016