THE SCOTTISH ECONOMY
SIR,—When the Spectator casts the tartan-draped eyes of the English establishment over the Scottish economy it should try and keep them open. Your sroart young correspondent, Stephen Fay, writes, 'it [the Scottish economy] relies on the national economy and on government hand-outs for its pros- perity.'
How was your correspondent able to come to this
startling conclusion without knowing the extent of the contribution which Scotland makes to the national revenue? Westminster refuses to disclose this total.
Your correspondent comes a little closer to the weed when he states, 'Scotland is not simply plagued by declining heavy industries . . . it has to live with a jobs mania too.' But still he refuses to grasp the thistle in his hand. Scotland is also plagued by seventy-one English-controlled MPs who refuse to slew the problems of the Scottish economy from a Scottish angle. Instead they prefer to follow party policies which are geared to the 'different' English economy.
Again your correspondent claims: 'Since the war successive Governments have regarded Scotland as a liability.' If this is so, why do the two main parties refuse to countenance the thought of Scotland's seces- sion from Westminster? Do they really believe the Scots Tories when they say that we are incapable of governing ourselves? I wish we were black.
RODERICK MACDONALD
118 Ardgowan Street, Glasgow. SI
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