Why not mimic Tories with cuts u-turn? (Brian Smith)

Jonathan and Gary have done some very good imitations of David Cameron and George Osborne recently, right down to Jonathan’s jeremiads about Trotskyism.
 
So why not, boys, mimic the Tories in their new u-turn phase? Instead of the cuts-and-more-cuts rhetoric of last week’s Shetland Times, why can’t we have a local pasty-tax turnaround, now?
 
Brian Smith
53 Kalliness,
Weisdale.

COMMENTS(2)

Add Your Comment
  • Jonathan wills

    • May 29th, 2012 23:23

    Brian Smith’s increasingly unoriginal jibes ignore the fact that, unlike national governments, councils cannot print money (which postpones the financial crisis) nor tax the rich (which would solve it). We are obliged by law to balance the books.

    Last financial year Shetland Islands Council spent around £100,000 a day from its reserves when the amount that could be spent without reducing their value was zero. Clearly this cannot continue. It does not make one a Tory to recognise this fact. I will be interested to hear Brian’s practical suggestions for solving the problem, rather than his continued insults about our imagined delight in making cuts.

    REPLY
  • Brian Smith

    • May 30th, 2012 13:42

    Jonathan has spent his life in local government advocating deep cuts in public expenditure. Anyone who doubts that should consult the Shetland Times of 11 March 1994. There they will find the tale of his secret letter to Convener Lewis Smith, and his plans to halve staff here, sack others there, privatise services and cut staff pay. His proposals led those well-known radicals Edward Thomason and Malcolm Green to chide him for “random thoughtlessness” and “ill-considered off-the-cuff comments”. Nothing changes, boy.

    REPLY

Add Your Comment

Please note, it is the policy of The Shetland Times to publish comments and letters from named individuals only. Both forename and surname are required.

Comments are moderated. Contributors must observe normal standards of decency and tolerance for the opinions of others.

The views expressed are those of contributors and not of The Shetland Times.

The Shetland Times reserves the right to decline or remove any contribution without notice or stating reason.

Comments are limited to 200 words but please email longer articles or letters to editorial@shetlandtimes.co.uk for consideration and include a daytime telephone number and your address. If emailing information in confidence please put "Not for publication" in both the subject line and at the top of the main message.

200 words left

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

logo

Get Latest News in Your Inbox

Join the The Shetland Times mailing list to get one daily email update at midday on what's happening in Shetland.