Salmond ejection

Andrew Whitaker (Perspective, 11 March) refers to Alex Salmond’s ejection from the House of Commons after interrupting Nigel Lawson’s Budget speech, saying Mr Salmond was “speaking out against the controversial poll tax”.

By The Newsroom

Published 28th Feb 2019, 14:03 GMT

In fact, according to Hansard, the Banff and Buchan MP’s intervention of: “This is an obscenity. The Chancellor cannot do this” came immediately after Nigel Lawson had announced a cut in the basic rate of income tax and also to corporation tax for small and medium businesses.

No mention was made of the poll tax either in the Budget speech or in Mr Salmond’s interruption.

Also, there was no mention made of cuts to higher rate tax by the Chancellor until after Mr Salmond had been “named” and ejected.

So it would appear that the measures which had so incensed the new MP that he called them “an obscenity” were the reductions in tax for ordinary people and for small and medium businesses.

Electors of Gordon, tak tent.

Jane Ann Liston

Largo Road

St Andrews