Good intentions

Stan Grodynski (Letters, 29 April) suggests I should disbelieve your report’s revelations (28 April) of the intentions of potential SNP MPs to devote their time to twisting arms to secure a second referendum and instead believe the claims of Nicola Sturgeon that they will work for the benefit of the UK as a whole.

Why? Because lots of people believe Nicola Sturgeon!

Lots of people believed Ms Sturgeon when, for example, she proclaimed in a TV debate her sincere conviction that access to further education should be based on the ability to learn, not to pay.

Noble words. Unfortunately no-one was present to ask why, therefore, she cut the bursary for students from the same background as herself from £2,450 to £1,750 – and cut the number of college places by 140,000.

Mr Grodynski goes on to assert that investing more than £100 billion to stimulate UK growth would inevitably stimulate UK growth. Really? Does it not depend on the policies?

Take the “transformational” childcare policy which was to stimulate the Scottish economy by bringing 104,000 women back into employment. It wouldn’t work very well if there were only 64,000 women available and only 14,000 of them were actually seeking employment.

It’s not a bad policy, but not one that would have secured increased growth. As to the UK as a whole we have heard little about the policies that would transform the growth rate beyond the proposal to increase borrowing by a “modest” £180bn.

Good intentions are not the same as good policies. This does not seem to matter to SNP adherents whose creed seems to be that whatever Ms Sturgeon says must be true and whatever she intends is bound to happen.

Colin Hamilton

Braid Hills Avenue

Edinburgh