Sent to the Herald: 29th August 2007. Not published.
Sir
Where is the rush of letters from your Unionist correspondents defending the PFI contracts that have landed taxpayers in Scotland with a £22bn bill (Front page, 28th August; letters page, 29th August)? Perhaps they are all struggling under the irony that the cost of £4500 per man, woman and child in Scotland is almost exactly the figure they cited as the ‘cost of independence’ while trying to engender fear of the SNP before the election in May. What these figures now expose is just how much of a failure the short-term, managerial politics that characterised the first eight years of devolution have been. For the sake of some ‘easy wins’ and photo opportunities, the Labour Party in Scotland has cemented Thatcherite policies into the very fabric of our social infrastructure, and left future generations to pick up the bill. No wonder those so normally quick to defend the Union find this indefensible.
The SNP MSP Jamie Hepburn, and the SNP Government, have done the voters of Scotland a huge favour by asking and answering questions about the true cost of Unionist government. Even with limited powers, in the Scottish Futures Trust the SNP is seeking to find a more cost-effective, democratic method of achieving the investment our schools and hospitals badly need. This in itself can only strengthen the case that to fully realise the aspirations of the peoples of Scotland, the Scottish Parliament must achieve the full powers and ambition of independence as soon as possible.
Yours etc
