UK ‘growth' strategy is making the world a more dangerous place
What the current cost might be for the Dreadnought nuclear submarines being built by the time they are ready – this is currently running at £41 billion including contingency costs – is anyone's guess.
READ MORE: Treasury says Rachel Reeves crying at PMQs was 'personal matter'
In addition to this astronomical expenditure, Keir Starmer has now ordered twelve F-35 nuclear-bomb-carrying stealth jets from the US at an as-yet-unknown price or delivery date.
Why does the RAF needs stealth bombers in the first place, let alone 12 of such an aircraft? I appreciate that it might have something to do with Nato, in which Trump appears to have little interest, having walked out of its last little jolly before the end of its agenda. However, if it means selling American-made armaments, then that probably would be to his delight.
Keir Starmer has already admitted that he took his eye off the ball (when parliament was about to vote down his welfare policies) through his complete attention on all things Nato and his notion of being an important world leader.
READ MORE: Plane damaged by Palestine Action at Brize Norton spotted over Scotland
It looks to me that he has still put his world leadership notions to the fore with a pathetic attempt to pacify his MPs, while still pandering to all things nuclear in the arms industry.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has flown to Turkey on a trade mission involving any defence ties the UK has with that country. He wants to export a number of UK Eurofighter Typhoons jets. This is all part of another free-trade agreement, this time between the UK and Turkey.
Talk about UK policies on growth. More like contributing to making the world a more dangerous planet. Why on earth anyone in Holyrood would want to be a part of this is beyond my comprehension. Time yet again to make more noise regarding Scotland's independence.
Alan Magnus-Bennett
Fife
TUESDAY'S 'click bait' was on BBC Scotland's Mornings with Kaye Adams, where the producers covered the UK Government's reduction of Personal Independence Payments, the Scottish version of which – called Adult Disability Payment – will be affected due to the way the Barnett Formula works.
The initial guests were from the TaxPayers' Alliance and The Poverty Alliance, both with differing views.
The taxpayer guy said the benefits bill was predicted to 'rocket' to £70 billion in 2035. The key word being 'rocket'.
The poverty guy said that the wealth gap was increasing, with more people needing help.
READ MORE: Anas Sarwar 'totally humiliated' by Labour's dramatic benefits U-turn
What I find disgraceful is the frequent anecdotes broadcast about 'the guy who lives next door and never works', who has a wife in another house and is living with his bidie-in, to whom he has sired a child, who have two cars and the latest smart phones.
This is the same trope that the Conservatives used during the 1980s in Thatcher's era, which lambasted people that had been turfed out of a job. They were told to 'get on their bikes to find a job' by Norman Tebbit, the Chingford Skinhead named by the Spitting Image crew.
They were lazy and good for nothing, waiting for handouts.
Whilst there are undoubtedly some people with the intention of getting something for nothing, the popular press during that time and again now seem to be creating a view that this abuse is rife. The truth is something quite different.
READ MORE: What it's actually like to apply for DWP disability benefits
Hansard (the Westminster Parliament record of reference) states that the overall rate of overpayments is now 3.7% (£9.7 billion) for 2023-24, compared to 3.6% (£8.3 billion) in 2022-23. Overpayments due to fraud were 2.8% compared to 2.7% last year while claimant error and official error remained at 0.6% and 0.3% respectively. The rate of overpayments in Universal Credit was 12.4% in 2023-24 compared to 12.7% in 2022-23.
Compare this to tax evasion. The UK's tax gap has widened, according to latest figures from HM Revenue & Customs. New data show that the UK missed out on £46.8bn of tax liabilities in the 2023-2024 financial year, or 5.3% of the total theoretical tax liabilities.
The gap refers to the difference between the total amount of taxes owed to the government and the amount actually collected. In 2024 this was reported to be £39.8bn or 4.8% of overall theoretical liabilities.
It would seem that pursuing tax-avoidance loopholes would be a better use of parliamentary time and effort.
Alistair Ballantyne
Angus
I WAS well impressed with Pat Kane's article 'Are you one of the doomscrollers? It's time for us to focus on hope instead' (June 28). He articulated on a number of issues that concern me. 'Hopescroll' – spot on.
James Grosset
Montrose
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