SNP’s ‘social justice’ benefits better off

Amid the cut and thrust of the election campaign, I think it is time that those of us who have benefited substantially from the SNP version of social justice record our gratitude. The freeze on council tax has saved me, and many others like me, hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds. This money is much better spent on more foreign holidays for the middle classes rather than squandering it on adequate funding levels for schools. The bigger the house, the bigger the saving. Great idea!

Free prescriptions have been a real bonus to higher rate taxpayers who welcome the support, and the lost revenue would only have been frittered away on higher NHS spending. Similarly, free university education for the privately educated and denizens of the leafy suburbs is much appreciated. Granted, this has been at the expense of the further education sector, which tends to cater for less advantaged students, and has resulted in lower bursaries for poorer students compared to those offered south of the Border

It is something of a conundrum that in England and Wales the Conservative/Liberal coalition supports less advantaged pupils with increased school funding, the pupil premium, while in Scotland no such system exists. I take it on trust that the failure to support disadvantaged pupils is another strand of the SNP social justice approach, but I admit I haven’t quite figured that one out.

So, in all conscience I should cast my vote for the SNP in May, since they have paid me for it many times over. However, my understanding of real social justice, the redistribution of resources through taxes and charges, will prevent me from doing so. But thanks anyway, Nicola. Your generosity to those of us least in need is much appreciated.

Carole Ford

Terregles Avenue

Pollokshields

The forthcoming election is possibly the most important for decades. When the UK is at its most vulnerable from terrorism, ISIS is close to the European border, and another Cold War with Russia is increasingly likely, the SNP are still hellbent on dividing the nation. If the polls are accurate, they would thrash the Labour Party in its Scottish heartland, and have indicated that they would then be prepared to prop up, piecemeal, a minority Labour Party in Westminster. At this point democracy in this country and the future of the UK would be severely compromised. Nationalism throughout history has produced totalitarian regimes and it looks like we may be witnessing the birth of another under our noses. The extreme left wing policies of the SNP are ringing alarm bells with those of us who can see beyond the rhetoric. It is to be hoped the Scottish electorate use their votes wisely or we may be sleepwalking into a very bleak future.

Jane Ball

Tanlaw House, Kelso