The chancellor’s sell-off of the first tranche of UK government shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland could not have been more poorly timed (Report, 5 August). The predicted £1bn loss on the price paid for the stake when the bank was bailed out demonstrates that we, the taxpayers, have been ridiculously shortchanged. This is especially troubling given the fact that six months ago the shares traded at over 400p, whereas at their sale they were traded at 330p.
While the chancellor aims to promote “financial stability” through this sale, it is difficult to see what sort of instability required it to be done so quickly, with the loss of £1bn for a 5% holding. The chancellor must also justify why, given his austerity agenda, he is able to so easily write off such a huge amount of money, equivalent to a twelfth of his proposed welfare cuts.
With the sell-off set against a background of cuts driving hundreds of thousands of children into poverty, it is clear that austerity is not being driven by necessity but by a cruel and vindictive political philosophy.
Alex Orr
Edinburgh
• It has not taken long for George Osborne to reward the hedge fund managers et al who funded the Tory election campaign in being able to purchase RBS shares at a knockdown price. Instead of staring at its own navel, the Labour party should plan an effective opposition to the sell-off of public assets by the government, combining with the SNP, Welsh nationalists and the Greens. They should remember that the Conservatives have a slim majority of 12.
V Crews
Beckenham, Kent
• Towards the end of June I wrote to the chancellor and asked if the exchequer would send me, as a taxpayer, my share of the RBS shares. I was told that Rothschild had looked into the matter and decided the taxpayer would get much more if the shares were offered to the market gradually. How Rothschild can look into the future and take a better gamble on my behalf than I would, I do not understand. Under Tory economic theory, surely I (and by implication all the other taxpayers) have a much better idea of how to manage my affairs than some Treasury bureaucrat.
Margaret Squires
St Andrews, Fife
