Val McDermid’s backing for the SNP is misplaced, writes John Mason. But George Elder wishes voters in England had a party like the SNP to support
Val McDermid (How could I back anyone but the SNP and the bolshie, buoyant Scotland it stands for?, 26 June) perpetuates the myth that the Scottish National party, Scotland and small European countries are all “progressive”. Free prescriptions are a middle-class subsidy. The poor already received these and the money lost on them is to the cost of other NHS services. The cost of university fees is met by taxpayers, many not well-off, and fees from foreign students. This results in many Scottish students struggling to find places. The SNP balks at taxing the excess profits of energy corporations and retains the tax breaks for private schools.
Scotland is not particularly progressive, but conservative with a small “c”. The SNP currently has a deputy leader whose social views seem to me to be to the right of most of the Conservative party. As for the small progressive nations in the EU, McDermid is obviously oblivious to the growth of the far right in these countries and the opposition to immigration in Ireland.
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