Here is the text of a letter submitted to the Annandale Herald for inclusion today. This was not printed but the Annandale paper found space to print letters from Carsluith and Dumfries. Regarding Mr. Mundell’s comments in your issue of 10th July, after the visit to Dumfries of Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon – “ This visit, like so much of what the SNP do is about paying lip service to Dumfries and Galloway. As part of the SNP plans for separation those of us from this part of the world are being asked to give up our close economic and cultural ties with the North of England in return for an ever more shoddy deal from the Scottish Government. Paying lip service? Shoddy deal? Give up our ties with the North of England? It is complete and utter nonsense and few will believe it. Same applies to recent visits by Cameron, Osbourne and Clarke – was it supposed to show that senior English Conservatives really really care about people in Scotland, and particularly all those who livein Moffat and Lockerbie? Who amongst us would possibly believe that? The Scottish Government ignores the south? It is Westminster that has neglected Scotland for so many years. Large numbers of people across the South of Scotland suffer from unemployment, low wages, welfare cuts and cost of living rises. PERHAPS LOTS OF PEOPLE HERE IN THE SOUTH ARE NOT AWARE THAT ALL THESE AREAS OF POLICY, WITHOUT EXCEPTION, ARE NOT DEVOLVED TO THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT. THEY ARE STILL RETAINED BY THE WESTMINSTER GOVERNMENT, which controls 93% of Scotlands taxes, all welfare, employment and the (very poor) regulation of energy bills. The SNP Scottish government by contrast has used its limited powers to freeze the council tax, get rid of prescription charges which hit 600,000 workers earning less that £16,000 a year, and of course make university tuition free - all of which have benefitted people in our region. The Scottish Government delivered this on a fixed grant from London that Mr Mundells Tories have slashed. Our capital allocation from London has been cut by 26%. Welfare cuts and cuts to tax benefits introduced by Mr Mundell and his colleagues at Westminster have hurt thousands of families and individuals in the south of scotland and removed millions in spending power from our local economy, further hitting our high streets. George Osborne says another £25 billion cuts have still to come and since Ed Miliband says he will stick to Tories spending plans, these will go ahead whatever party is in power at Westminster. The only way to stop this happening to you is to vote Yes in September. The people who live here must control Scotlands money and must make all decisions about their own and their childrens future. That will benefit every part of our country, including Dumfries and Galloway. J.M.ORR Annandale North YES Group
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 20:01:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015