Trump and Johnson should be blamed, not praised – Letters

A reader says the two leaders got things badly wrong over Covid-19

US President Donald Trump (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Assessing the leaderships of the UK and the USA today one could be forgiven for thinking that lunatics have indeed taken over the asylum. While the supporters of the President and the Prime Minister, many of whom have been seduced by the arrogant air of superiority that Donald Trump and Boris Johnson openly exhibit, continue to denigrate those opposing the views of these ‘master politicians’, Covid-19 sadly continues to take the lives of many of their citizens.

Also far removed from reality, their sycophants declare that this is not the fault of those same leaders who alarmingly ran down their respective national health service resources, refused to listen to advice on preparing for a future pandemic and initially acted as if Covid-19 was comparable with a minor flu outbreak. Instead, the ideological acolytes of Trump and Johnson proclaim their ‘generosities’ with the vast amounts of money ‘given’ (much of which has been promised but not delivered) to their citizens, primarily in order to further their own selfish ambitions. Of course this money is not their money or even their government’s money, it is our money raised through taxes and borrowings which will diminish the prosperity and well-being of not just ourselves but of our children for many years, if not decades, to come.

In the UK specifically, even more incredible are declarations by some more fanatical Johnson supporters that the unfolding disaster of total Covid-19 deaths somehow indicates that the four nations of the UK are ‘better together’ in being governed by Westminster. I may be missing something here but I doubt if Norway, Singapore or New Zealand, with similar populations to Scotland but death-rates per head of population that are tiny fractions (average less than one 20th or five percent) of that of the UK, would advocate surrendering the independent controls they have over their borders and their economies.

Perhaps Tim Jackson (Letters, 1 May) should remove his Union flag-tinted spectacles and open his eyes to the unnecessary suffering of so many around him, not all of whom misguidedly or unwittingly placed their faith in a self-serving charlatan.

Stan Grodynski

Gosford Road, Longniddry

Bump the bias

Carolyn Taylor (Letters, 1 May) seems to be one of a vocal minority in Scotland who are overly critical of the Trump administration in the US.

Granted, his knowledge of science and how to tackle the virus is noticeably lacking; however, his knowledge of business and the economy has revitalised many up until now ‘forgotten’ regions of the US.

If we had a Prime Minister who was successful in revitalising certain areas of central Scotland, the Welsh valleys and the former industrial towns of northern England, he or she would be lauded as a saviour of the people.

In the relatively well off middle-class area of Indiana that my brother lives in, many citizens recognise the positive effects that the Republican administration has had on the area – even if they are not Trump voters. That is visible, material effects people observe in their daily lives – increased employment, wage rises, greater opportunities for BAME citizens, and not what they find in the biased articles they might read in NYC-based left-of-centre newspapers.

Perhaps people who live thousands of miles away should keep their opinions of US politics to themselves and leave the election of the next US President in November to the American people.

Andrew Hamilton

Forth Street, North Berwick

Who cares?

Victor Clements (Letters, 30 April) should realise that 50 per cent of infection spread comes from people who don’t know they have coronavirus and that’s why we all need to follow the Scottish Government’s advice to wear face covering when visiting shops or on public transport. There is a case for supermarkets etc to refuse entry to those who don’t use face coverings.

There is no confusion over Nicola Sturgeon’s clear press briefings and despite Scotland’s better record in tackling coronavirus she has refrained from the bluster that came from Boris Johnson, who on 27 April claimed: “I know there will be many people looking now at our apparent success [tackling Covid-19]”. Many analysts estimate the true number of UK Covid deaths is 47,000, which makes it the second highest in the world.

In light of the key role of care home workers, it is disappointing that Health Secretary Matt Hancock can’t commit to ensuring care workers in England are paid at least the real living wage of £9.30 an hour as has been the case in Scotland’s publicly run care homes for several years.

Fraser Grant

Warrender Park Road, Edinburgh

Too little, too late

Westminster being late on testing, late in ordering PPE, late on keeping NHS staff and other frontline workers safe and five fateful weeks behind other countries in lockdown, has cost so many more lives.

Now, short on trust and public confidence, the UK government, with its abysmal handling of this coronavirus crisis, has greatly strengthened the case for an independent Scotland. The EU, however, with its early concerted action against the global pandemic, has demonstrated how its prosperity, security and many decades of peace has benefited the independent nations within its borders.

Sadly it would appear the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is hosting a poor but deadly Late, Late, Late Show.

Grant Frazer

Cruachan, Newtonmore

Build anew

Listening to Thursday’s news, which stated that the building industry in England and Wales is coming out of lockdown, I knew the response from our First Minister would be the opposite. Of course there is a risk of more people catching the virus but it is minimal to workers outside as long as they social distance. They are not confined in limited spaces and on the whole are a healthy bunch. One large firm went to the wall today. How many others does she want to see go down? It is time she made a rare bold step instead of trotting out the same rhetoric each day which tells us nothing new and gives us no uplifting message. If she wants to be thought of as a leader, let the building trade start up and get the economy moving.

John Muir

Newbattle Terrace, Edinburgh

Travel into future

Although this may be at odds with the green lobby, I sincerely hope that ,when Covid-19 is contained, worldwide travel may resume, as it is only by first hand knowledge of other cultures that one can fully appreciate that the world is full of good people of every race, creed and colour. It is only those politicians with their own agenda who would fool us into believing otherwise, with bigotry, racism and conflict the inevitable result.

John M Nisbet

Auchencrow Mains, Reston

Cycle of death?

Edinburgh Council have banned vehicular traffic on the city’s Silverknowes Road, Braid Road and Links Road in favour of their darling cyclists. This insanity is dressed up as “emergency measures for cyclists and walkers” but is, in fact, really for the benefit of those hooligans of the road, cyclists, who in addition to the luxury of anonymity and lack of insurance, are already allowed to break the law by cycling aggressively on pavements with impunity.

The banned roads, being on hills, will allow cyclists to whizz down at speeds in excess of speed limits on both roads and footways.

We are encouraged to use small stores if possible. Recently, we discovered the excellence of Silverknowes Store in the now-banned Silverknowes Road for everyday provisions, a short drive, but fairly long walk, from our home. Now we would have to park a fair distance away and walk from there. Wrecking the store’s business and denying access for elderly people is of no consequence to the council when measures for cyclists are involved.

David Hollingdale

Easter Park Drive, Edinburgh

Matchless mind?

It seems to me, as a non-soccer fan, that there is an easy and fair solution to the end of season. If the season normally involves four matches with each opponent in the league, reduce it to three and let each team choose its best three. This will give not only points but goal difference. It would settle matters on the pitch and not leave some fans feeling unfairly treated as their team had played more against the ‘top’ team!

James Watson

Randolph Crescent

Dunbar, East Lothian

Stamp out tax

In 1694 the Stamps Act introduced a tax on property valued over £20 to assist the government with the cost of the Nine Years War. Since then various versions of property tax have been introduced, each lasting for different periods of time.

There were periods when large estates were rich in property but short of cash and consequently had to sell off land or donate houses to the National Trust to settle the tax bill. When I moved to the house I live in now the price, including extensions, was £6500. The maximum mortgage I could have was restricted to one and a half times my earnings – wives’ earnings were not taken into account. Since then, no thanks to me, the value of the house has increased by 34 times.

Part of the increase comes from the increase in mortgage borrowing rate, which I believe is now four times the combined earnings of the partners. This means I now fall into the inheritance tax bracket. The number of people who were charged this tax in 2014, the last year on record, was 28,000, considerably less than 0.1 per cent of the population. The tax raised in the year ended 5 April 2016 was around £4 billion. In my opinion it would save the government money to abolish the tax and raise it elsewhere. Anyone involved in this process knows that it can take up to year to close an estate and allow the beneficiaries use of their legacy.

AA Bullions

Glencairn Crescent

Leven, Fife

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