Herald letter: WHY LABOUR WON’T BACK INDY

ANDY Stenton (Letters, April 28) wants Scottish Labour to support Indyref2. Here is his handy cut-out-and-keep guide to pursuing that end.

1. Join the Labour Party.

2. Move a resolution at his local party along the lines of “This CLP rejects the principle that ‘by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone’ and accepts that all redistribution of resources, especially from the rest of the UK to Scotland, is a weakness not a strength.

“Therefore we demand that the Scottish Labour Party supports any Scottish nationalist demands for further independence referendums whenever they feel like it.”

3. See how his fellow members react. (That will put an end to it.)

Peter A Russell, Glasgow.

Herald letter: SNP LOATHES LOCAL CONTROL

THOSE who have recently debated local council budgets on these pages are missing the proverbial pachyderm in the room – the question of how local authorities are funded and their role in Scottish political life.

For Scotland to enjoy truly local government, local authorities need to have access to buoyant and autonomous funding for which they are themselves are accountable. Then they will be able to develop policies which reflect local priorities and address local needs. In the past, Scotland’s former regional councils produced people like Geoff Shaw, and others like Charlie Gray, who were responsible for initiatives like the Strathclyde Integrated Partnership which brought large amounts of European funds to communities across the region. Likewise, Glasgow District Council developed community-based approaches to regeneration which led to the 1974 Housing Act, and to arts and culture policies which culminated in the City Of Culture 1990 accolade.

The point about these examples are that they were local and creative – and went against the grain of the governments of the day. In doing so, they not only served local needs and promoted local communities, but stood as checks and balances against overbearing central power.

The Scottish Government has it in its power to restore local government and to recreate strong and creative local councils. It has it in its power to develop a flexible and sustainable system of funding local government, and one that is based on the ability to pay as well as on the value of property assets. The failure of the SNP in its 15 years of power to do so – despite being elected on a mandate to introduce Local Income Tax – is testament indeed to its loathing of local control and its utter intolerance of alternative policies and centres of power.

Peter A Russell, Glasgow.

LAWMAKERS/LAWBREAKERS: SO WHAT WOULD STURGEON DO?

NICOLA Sturgeon – like many of your correspondents – is of course completely right to demand the resignation of the Prime Minister and his colleagues who have broken the law. However, it would also be useful to ask her what she would do if one of her ministers broke the law and then attempted to wriggle off the hook with the excuse that he was unaware that he had been acting illegally. Perhaps he might have committed the offence of driving without insurance.

Would the First Minister (a) sack him or (b) promote him to Justice Secretary? (We already know the answer.)

Peter A Russell, Glasgow.

WHAT THEY ALL THINK…

ALLAN Sutherland (Letters, April 9) asks what is fair. It is all a matter of politics.

A Conservative thinks fair is only getting out what you have put in.

A Social Democrat (like me) thinks fair is putting in what you can can afford and getting out what you need.

A Liberal thinks fair is whatever they say it is.

A nationalist thinks everything is unfair to them.

Peter A Russell, Glasgow.