Readers' letters: Growth figures hide UK economic reality

Former prime minister Benjamin Disraeli famously warned against putting too much store in statistics, and the latest growth figures are a perfect example of why he was right.

On the face of it, 2021 was an absolutely fabulous year for the economy. Britain has had some boom years in the postwar period, but the 7.5 per cent growth last year was the fastest of the lot.

Yet 2021 can’t be seen in isolation. Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are correct when they say the UK had the fastest growth in the G7 last year, yet what they curiously omit to add is that it came after the UK had the biggest contraction of any G7 nation a year earlier.

The real story is that the economy collapsed by almost 10 per cent in 2020 and then recovered most of the lost ground last year. Indeed, while the economies of likes of the US, China and the eurozone have recovered to pre-pandemic levels, the UK still lags behind.

Before we get the bunting out, as the cost-of-living crisis hits this doesn’t herald a rosy outlook, and this year the UK economy’s growth will inevitably slow to its poor post-Brexit level.

Alex Orr, Edinburgh.

Nuclear waste can be safely stored

According to John F Robins (letters, 9 February) we don't have a clue about how to safely store and manage nuclear waste.

Actually, there are various technical solutions in place to manage it. A common one for nuclear reactor waste is vitrification with borosilicate glass, then placing it in stainless steel cylinders and storing underground. Nuclear power is always on unlike, wind, solar, tidal or wave power, and is developing all the time, while nuclear fusion promises even more without any waste at all.

William Loneskie, Lauder.

Pension poverty

Nicola Sturgeon, Ian Blackford and Kate Forbes are leading the way in their campaign to muddy the waters on pensions, claiming that there will have to be a negotiation with the UK government on pension assets and liabilities.

Ms Sturgeon has, however, got egg on her face as she was filmed in 2014 before the independence referendum saying: “We would guarantee all of the accrued pension rights for people in Scotland.”

She also said “there is no money fairy sits in Westminster and provides us all these things for nothing”. Indeed there isn’t, Ms Sturgeon, so why now pretend there is?

Ms Sturgeon and her colleagues are well aware that there is no pension pot and it will be incumbent on the government of the day in an independent Scotland to fund the pensions.

It was one of the sticking points in 2014 and the situation has not changed, if anything it has only got worse. Scotland has an ageing population with not enough working taxpayers to sustain the level of pension that is currently paid. Separation will only make us poorer in so many ways. If the SNP want to have an honest debate, let’s start now.

Jane Lax, Aberlour.

Vote against levy

The Scottish government skilfully passed the Workplace Parking Levy (WPL) over to councils. This will become law in April unless a motion to annul is laid in the Scottish parliament by 21 February.

Cash strapped employers will have to pass this levy onto their workers.

However, the public can fight back on 5 May when the council elections are held. At present there are 431 SNP councillors. A vote for any SNP candidate is a vote for WPL. Everyone eligible can show their disapproval by voting for any party other than the SNP, thus stopping this poll tax on wheels.

Clark Cross, Linlithgow.

Write to the Edinburgh Evening News

We welcome your thoughts. Write to [email protected] including name, address and phone number – we won't print full details. Keep letters under 300 words, with no attachments. If referring to an article, include date, page number and heading.

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers. If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription. Click on this link for more information.