Tory investment in public services

Sir, – In the 1970s, the top rate of tax was over 80%. Thatcher reduced that to 60% and then 40%, where it is today, though in Scotland, it’s set at 45%.

The thinking behind this, we were told, was that people would make much wiser choices when spending their money than the government could when spending it on our behalf.

In particular, allowing wealthy people to keep more of their income would result in a wealthier country overall through the miracle of “trickle-down economics”.

There is some merit in that argument, perhaps, when one thinks of the likes of Andrew Carnegie, who used his wealth to build libraries, swimming pools, health facilities and concert halls for the improvement of society in general.

But I can’t help noticing that none of the wise choices modern Britain’s now enormously wealthy people make includes filling potholes and mending bridges, far less keeping our centres of community benefit open.

Indeed, one lucky beneficiary of Thatcher’s legacy has decided to donate £15 million spare cash he’s discovered he doesn’t need to a political party.

Is that wise?

Well, his company has been awarded a lucrative contract to supply and run IT systems for the NHS, so perhaps more an investment than a donation.

Oh, and he also supplied a helicopter for the use of his, sorry, our prime minister, so perhaps crumbling infrastructure is not something with which he’s familiar.

Meanwhile, the tax burden on the majority of the population has increased dramatically under the very government that tells us that tax is the enemy of growth.

Leaving aside the lunacy of the “infinite growth theorem” behind rightwing economics, you have to ask – in a country where every public service is a pale shadow of what it was in the 1970s – what on earth are they doing with the money?

One can only guess, but one thing is clear.

Despite their claims to the contrary, Conservatives have no problem spending public money. They just don’t like spending it on the public.

Graham Davidson, Aboyne.

Thatcher lowered taxes.