Nation’s debt

What doesn’t add up is 
Andrew HN Gray’s logic used to back up his weekly criticism of the SNP government (Letters, 21 March).

Mr Gray seems to confuse national debt with current account deficit and quantitative easing. The last Labour government at Westminster invested in the future of the banking industry, consequently the country, following a catastrophic collapse of the financial services industry.

Had they not done so a slowdown in the economy would have turned to collapse. In 2010 when the Tory/Lib Dem coalition assumed office the national debt was around £730 billion including the money borrowed to invest in the banks. That debt has now risen to £1.5 trillion, ie more than doubled under this coalition as a result of the £95bn annual current account deficit which has to be funded.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Nicola Sturgeon clearly has a better understanding of the economy when she proposes injecting £180bn. It is a sensible policy and targeted properly could pay dividends in the long term.

The one key indicator which is never mentioned by people in Mr Gray’s camp is the balance of payments deficit which has also grown significantly under the current government.

If the £180bn is used to boost exports other sections of the economy would benefit. Concentrating on domestic consumption is merely recirculating the same money in ever-decreasing value while sucking in more imports.

The SNP government has made a reasonable success of the Scottish economy because it is not bound, as are other parties, to follow Westminster.

Many of their policies have been welcomed by the electorate and it is noticeable that the Labour party are proposing to maintain them.

MA Underwood

Friars Brae

Linlithgow

Related topics: