Work as if you live in the early days of a

Better Nation

Worst motion of the Week – Hero of the Week

Sep 16

Posted by Aidan in Holyrood | 5 Comments

We did wonder if Hero of the Week, in a kind of perverse way, ought to be Helen Eadie MSP for her bizarre outburst in the Chamber on Thursday and persistence in the strategy of using Opposition to remind everyone why they voted SNP in the election in May.

Or if it should be Ken Macintosh MSP, for launching his leadership campaign, travelling hopefully and nicely, as befitting one of the nicest MSPs around, which is why he should not and probably will not be the next (first?) leader of Scottish Labour.

But actually one hero did emerge from the flotsam and jetsam of mealy-moothed motions. Step forward one Richard Simpson, Labour MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife. Fetch a cup of coffee: it’s a long ‘un but well worth the concentration and perseverance:

S4M-00859 Richard Simpson: Older Carers’Health-That the Parliament welcomes the report, Always on Call, Always Concerned, by the Princess Royal Trust for Carers, which surveyed 639 older carers aged between 60 and 94 (80 in Scotland) who look after a sick or disabled family member; notes that the report found that 67.5% of older carers have long-term health problems or are disabled themselves and that only half feel safe or confident in lifting the person that they care for, with many worrying about what will happen to their loved one should they become ill themselves or when they have gone; agrees with the report’s recommendations that GPs should offer both a physical health check and screening for depression to older carers once a year; also agrees that GPs should offer home visits to carers, if necessary, to fit around their caring role and that hospital appointments should be flexible to meet the needs of carers; believes that carers who need to carry out lifting as part of their caring role should receive the training and equipment to allow them to do so safely, and that this should be funded by their local health service or local authority; considers that local health services should work with local authorities to help fund breaks for carers, since it believes that having a break helps to maintain physical and mental health; further considers that effective methods of promoting mental wellbeing in older carers should be developed by health and social care agencies to reduce the risk of stress and depression, and further believes that all carers should be offered the opportunity to agree an emergency plan that covers the possibility of them being unable to care.

At last, someone using motions for what they should be used. To highlight an issue of national concern, that affects one of the most marginalised groups in society who do not always get their voice heard. And best of all, it suggests solutions to a problem. All of which are eminently achievable with a tweak here and there to established practice which would make a huge difference to people’s lives. None of it difficult either or would cost anything. Politics at its best.

Sadly, however, it seems there’s a competition amongst MSPs for the apparently highly coveted Worst Motion Of The Week, at least that’s the speculation here at Better Nation Towers (might just be our newly inflated egos) as we can’t otherwise explain the embarrassment of options this week. Colin Beattie (S4M-00864 and S4M-00865) has been reading National Lottery Grant notices, Mary Scanlon’s (S4M-00849) presumably on the look out for a shrubbery.

 

But then there’s Irn Bru, which was the subject of not one but two near identical motions this week, bitterly dividing the judges. Marco Biagi’s (S4M-00830) clearly living up to his “one to watch” billing with the chemistry pun in the title, urging that we “Don’t Let the Sun Set on Irn Bru”. However, he moved to quickly and 3 motions later…

S4M-00833 – Jamie Hepburn: It’s Still fizzy, It’s Still Ginger, It’s Still Phenomenal
That the Parliament welcomes that the secret recipe and iconic colour of Irn Bru, Scotland’s other national drink, is to be retained; notes that the European Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health had considered reducing the maximum Sunset Yellow artificial colouring to as little as 10 mg per litre for flavoured drinks but opted to reduce the level to 20 mg, the amount used by AG Barr in Irn Bru; considers that both the European Food Safety Authority and the Food Standards Agency have deemed that the 20 mg per litre limit poses no risk to consumer health; considers that common sense has prevailed in this ruling, and commends all those involved in delivering this positive outcome.

Supported by: Christina McKelvie, Bill Kidd, James Dornan, Marco Biagi, Colin Beattie, Roderick Campbell, Kevin Stewart, Adam Ingram, Gil Paterson, Kenneth Gibson, George Adam, Fiona McLeod, Paul Wheelhouse, Jean Urquhart, Mike MacKenzie, Neil Bibby, Bob Doris

Squeezing in the advertising slogan on top of what was really a non-issue (reducing the amount to 10mg was one option, but it had never been the likely outcome) is a stroke of genius, making it our Worst Motion of the Week

Jeff is away

What should Labour do?

Sep 14

Posted by Guest Blog in Holyrood, Parties | 72 Comments

Another no-punches-pulled guest post today, this time from Neil Findlay MSP, who was elected to represent the Lothians for Labour in May. This piece first appeared on The Citizen, the current issue of which is worth it for the cover image alone.

Neil Findlay MSPIt is clear from the post-election analysis that Labour lost across all social classes, regions, genders and minority groups and religions. In short, we were “gubbed”. On policy and presentation we were simply out-thought and out-manoeuvred. Put another way, Labour was “out Laboured” on policy and “out New Laboured” on campaigning. The SNP, on the other hand, constructed a narrative as the protectors of Scotland from the Tory Westminster government, all the while presenting itself as all things to all people and the party of “Scottish Social Democracy” (how does this square with the demand for corporation tax cuts?).

But, the election result brought to a head questions of policy, message, ethos and strategy which had been in need of asking for some time. Considering these questions is fundamental to rebuilding the Labour Party. How we do this is vital. Fads and nicknames should be binned and basic tenets of Labour must be brought back: no more ‘New, Old or Blue Labour’, the ‘Real’ Labour Party must be re-discovered, renewed and revived.

The party has to stop abandoning our traditional supporters in pursuit of the so-called “aspirational middle ground”. We could begin by apologising to both our loyal voters and those who deserted us for getting it so badly wrong. I was always taught that when you do wrong you should own up to your errors, be humble and seek forgiveness before rebuilding your friendship, which will in the end become stronger and more long lasting – we should follow this lesson.

Yet, only 15-16 years ago things were so different. Then Labour appealed to a very broad section of society. In the mid to late 90’s people believed Labour offered a credible alternative to the tired and nasty Tory Party. So how did we go from having broad and cross-society appeal to our current position? The legacy of Iraq and Afghanistan (and other foreign adventures), benefit cuts, the 10p tax fiasco, tuition fees, subservience to the markets and the courting of the super-rich (yes including Murdoch), light touch regulation of the banks and the subsequent banking crisis and the expenses scandals all contributed to the electorate falling out with Labour in the UK. In Scotland, this was compounded by bland, uninspiring and sometimes just silly policies and the perceived control of Scottish Labour by London.

Currently, our public services are under all-out ideological attack from the Tories at Westminster. Labour has to be at the forefront, leading a campaign for an alternative and positive agenda – we have to be seen as the defender of public services; the defender of a decent and civilised society and we need to say what we would do differently. We can do this with our partners in civic society, yes with the third sector who are feeling the brunt of the cuts but most importantly with the Trade Union movement – the greatest ally our party has. In carrying forth this vigorous defence of our public services the party can begin its renewal and the revival of ‘Real Labour’.

As can some solid ideas and principles from the Peoples Charter and Better Way Campaign which will undoubtedly resonate with a Scottish electorate who are currently feeling marginalised, under threat and unjustly treated. These could include:

  • Supporting economic stimulus to attack unemployment – the UK party’s position of “our cuts would be less harsh than the Tories cuts” is not good enough.
  • Investment in the economy to create jobs and stimulate growth can and does work – look at history and we can see how investment not cuts rebuilt the economy, created the NHS and the welfare state after 1945.
  • Oppose privatisation, like the SNP/Lib Dems are proposing in Edinburgh, and say how we would run local government better.
  • Develop – genuinely – co-operative models of public service delivery.
  • Create publicly run renewable energy projects. Rather than cede control to big business (as the SNP is currently doing) we should facilitate community schemes where there is a direct financial benefit distributed to local people.
  • If the council tax is to be frozen, let’s have a freeze for those in the smallest, lowest priced properties but create a new charging structure to increase payments for those at the top of the income scale. Or whisper it – we could look at a (genuine) local income tax based on the principle of progressive taxation – ability to pay – I have never understood why it is good nationally but not locally?

Labour should have no fear of promoting fair progressive taxation and a national clampdown on tax evasion – a Scottish, UK and global scandal. If the SNP want new powers for the Parliament then maybe they would have more credibility if they were banging the door of Downing Street asking for powers to deal with tax evasion.

We should oppose the SNP demands for powers over corporation tax – there is no evidence cutting corporation tax would create growth – Germany has 33% corporation tax, Greece has 20% and Ireland 10%. Question: do we want to be like Germany or Ireland? Answers on the back of a postcard to Mr J Swinney.
Labour has to champion and be prepared to implement major reforms of financial institutions including a Robin Hood tax on speculative transactions. This is morally and financially the right thing to do.

Labour has to promote positive polices like the living wage across the public sector and ensure that contractors are included and we should be evangelical about getting the private sector sign up too.

Labour must reform employment legislation to strengthen workers’ rights and remove fear from employees. And we need to rebuild our relationship with our greatest allies in the Trade Unions, making real efforts to re-engage Trade Unionists in our movement and getting the RMT, the FBU and others back into the party (and Ed, let’s stop listening to the metropolitan spinners and show some maturity and get yourself along to events like the fantastic Durham Miners gala day; you did more harm not turning up than you ever will by being there).

And Labour should have an investigation into high wages in the public and private sectors including the bonus culture of the city – it is our lack of challenge on issues like this this that tarnished our reputation as the party of fairness.

And we should support workers who are resisting redundancies, pension cuts and privatisation as we know it is our people (or our former supporters) who will suffer most.

Considering and then introducing these types of policies would demonstrate the substance, resolve and principles of a newly renewed Labour Party. As would our determination to fight the downgrading and downsizing of our public services, and opposition to the private vultures who see our public services as ripe for harvest. We could show imagination and vision by making the case for new models of public ownership, for the public and by the public, which create conduits of public and community participation and involvement and which sees our people and communities benefit directly. It is these types of ideas and this type of vision which will help the people of Scotland re-connect again with the Labour Party.

Why aren’t the political parties listening?

Sep 13

Posted by The Burd in Holyrood | 56 Comments

Most folk want the Scottish Parliament to have more powers, confirmed in recent polls.  IPSOS Mori’s Scottish Opinion Monitor found that over two thirds want Holyrood to have full fiscal powers, while the Angus Reid poll found that 47% would support devo-max, that is more powers but staying within the UK.

The people are saying loud and clear what they want.  So why aren’t the political parties listening?

Let’s put it another way.  Which political party is offering people devo-max, that is, the Scottish Parliament having control over a wide range of powers but still remaining in the UK?  Eh, that will be none.

Currently, the parties are polarised by extremes.  The SNP advocates full independence, though there are suggestions that it might step back from this and seek an independence lite option.  Such briefings and murmurings have yet – if ever – to be translated into official party policy.

The Scottish Greens also support independence but they don’t make a virtue out of it these days.  And while the Scottish Socialists and Solidarity both advocate it, they are so far below the sightline of Scottish voters, their views are invisible.

All other parties have allowed themselves to be defined by their opposition to independence and/or their adherence to unionism.  Towards the end of the last Parliament, there were signs of shift, in that the Scotland bill committee actually advocated more powers than Calman recommended.  Yet, amendments transferring these powers to Holyrood were slapped down at Westminster.  Is it little wonder that the Scottish people sighed wearily before rejecting them wholesale at the election in May?

One of the most entertaining and enlightening bloggers around right now is Ian Smart.  Smart by name, smart by nature.  In a recent blog, he declared himself a devolutionist and in his highly original, deprecating manner, he gets to the heart of the matter:

But defining devolution is for the devolutionists. Having seen off the Unionists on one flank there is no reason we should cede ground to the nationalists on the other. I am more than a little irritated by the demands of the SNP that we need to develop a different devolved settlement to enable them to put it as a fall back option in their legendary referendum.

And he is absolutely right.  But let’s look at it in a slightly different way.

In recent years, voters have become less thirled to constitutional absolutes and more concerned with what works and what is needed.  The SNP has recognised this and cleaned up in the voting stakes.  By marching in step with people, at a pace of their choosing, by demonstrating flexibility in the route taken, it is currently happy to accept that the journey to independence is a gradual one.  Even the noises off about downgrading the independence offering demonstrates its willingness to allow the Scottish people to lead the way.

The grand plan could still falter.  What if the Scottish people get so far and say no further?  The gradualist approach requires Scotland to reach a tipping point, where taking the final steps to independence become so ridiculously easy, the nation does it without really thinking, wondering all the time what the fuss was about.  What if that does not happen?  What if they look over the precipice and shrink back?

Moreover, at some point, the SNP are going to have to take the lead in this dance, if it wants people to vote for its goal, or even to choose devo-max.  This means setting out the options, what they mean, in all their confounding detail, and taking people with them.

And a further potential problem is what happens if – when – one of the supposedly Unionist parties wakes up and smells the coffee, and abandons unionism in favour of devolutionism.   Again, there are promising signs, what with Murdo Fraser’s declaration of ripping it up and starting again in order to create a new right of centre party that advocates full fiscal powers for the Scottish Parliament.  And somewhat ironically, the son of Westminster, Tom Harris, appears closest to getting it among the early contenders for the Scottish Labour leadership.  And there are certainly devolutionists out there, like Ian Smart, who long for this to form a key part of his party’s narrative.

But essentially, the opposition parties are still talking about fighting the referendum campaign in terms of defending the union or making the case for the union.  The response of the ancients in the House of Lords to the Scotland bill demonstrates just how attached they all are to the politics of the past.

They ignore the reality that the Scottish people have moved on and no longer want the status quo.  They want more, considerably more in terms of control and powers over their lives and politics, if recent polls are to be believed.

And the longer they stick their fingers in their ears and refuse to listen to what Scots are saying, the more the SNP can step gaily towards the referendum, and secure independence or at the very least, devo-max, and potentially another term in office.

 

We all live in a nuclear submarine

Sep 11

Posted by James in Defence, Holyrood, Westminster | 31 Comments

Astute before launchThe SNP are an anti-nuclear party, we’re always told. For instance, they’re notionally against civilian nuclear, although Jim Mather was happy in the last session to back an extension of their life in the last session. And opposition to Trident is billed as almost their second touchstone of policy, after the Holy Grail itself. In fact, some have told me that independence is primarily essential because there’s no other way to get Trident out of Scotland’s waters.

So what about nuclear-powered submarines? The Navy’s Clyde base is now expected to be home to 11 of the new reactor-tastic Astute class of sub, up from 5. As Rob Edwards reports today, the safety risks from these subs are growing as the cuts bite. Surely the SNP would be against this move?

In fact, their submission (word doc) to the UK Government’s defence review states “The decision to base the UK Astute class submarines at HMNB Clyde is a welcome one and is likely to see a significant increase in the number of personnel based there. The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting this through consideration of devolved consequences and a partnership approach to planning for example in terms of health and education.”

Seriously? This is about jobs? Each boat has less than a hundred crew, and supposedly costs around £1.3bn, but if you don’t think there are many more hidden costs there I expect you also believe the final cost of an additional Forth road bridge will be just £1.6bn. That’s a job creation scheme? We could have insulated every single home in Scotland for less money than one of these white elephants.

What’s worse, although they’re currently only holding conventional weapons, Lee Willett at the Royal United Services Institute thinks Astute might be the British military’s fallback Trident launch platform of choice. As he puts it, “Thus, it is reasonable to assume that Astute is big enough to carry strategic weapons if required, with the only changes to the hull coming in the form of the modular payloads. Perhaps Astute was designed with this eventuality in mind?“ Either way, SNP Ministers are laying out the welcome mat and apparently not asking any questions.

Obviously you’d expect a Green comment, as the only other anti-nuclear party at Holyrood, and here’s what Patrick had to say:

“The majority of anti-nuclear and anti-war Scots will be shocked to discover that the SNP are making the case on the quiet for more nuclear submarines to come to the Clyde, despite years of posturing in the opposite direction. SNP Ministers are yet again pretending you can have your cake while also eating it, just as they have done on RAF bases. There’s no credible way to combine a nuclear unionism – for the supposed jobs – with an anti-war nationalism designed to keep the activists happy. The truth is that nuclear submarines are exactly as inefficient at creating jobs as they are for defending Scotland, and it’s time the SNP started speaking with one voice on this issue.”

But more alarming for SNP Ministers will be the way the charge against their position has been led by one of their own – Stephen Maxwell, a former vice-chair of the SNP, who Rob quotes as saying: “On its current direction of evolution, SNP’s defence policy threatens to match the level of incoherence already evident in UK policy”, and that his own party’s policy “is clearly inconsistent with its declared policy of making Scotland nuclear-free” and “seriously compromising” the case for independence. That’s despite the official quote in Rob’s story again making that case – that independence is partly about a nuclear-free Scotland.

I bet there’ll be others at Holyrood thinking the same thing, even if most backbenchers are still afraid to speak out against the leadership. The joke is unavoidable – Alex Salmond’s got where he is today with some astute decision-making, but this looks anything but.

Nous Sommes Tous Américains

Sep 11

Posted by Aidan in Democracy, International, Society | 31 Comments

Like most folk, I have a very clear memory of when I heard. One of those bright, chilly September days. I was sitting at my desk in the small meeting room me and my team mates had commandeered as an office. The phone rang, my wife was on the line, wasn’t unusual for her to call around then. We’d gotten back from visiting her parents in Boston a couple of weeks before and she was still shifting back into a UK sleeping pattern.

“Somebody’s flown a plane into the world trade centre”

“What? Like a microlight?”

“No, a plane. A big one. Go find a TV.”

I went through to the kitchen, where my two team mates were playing pool and told them what happened. I remembered somebody had moved the TV from the kitchen to the main open plan office for Wimbledon and it had never been moved back. The person who’d done it had probably been laid off in the round of redundancies that had happened while I was on holiday, the dot com collapse was in full flow and I’d found out maybe 20 of my friends had lost their jobs in back channel email.

BBC1 had interrupted it’s programming and was showing News 24. I’d never seen that before, usually it didn’t start until the wee small hours. It was going to become a familiar sight over the next weeks and years. Smoke was billowing out, the presenter didn’t seem to know much of anything. People started gathering round the small, black CRT with rabbit ear antennae on top of a filing cabinet.

And that’s where the memory starts to fade. A few people asked what was going on, I don’t remember if we watched the second plane hit or if it was after that. I think we did, but it might have been a repeat. I’ve seen that footage so many times over the last 10 years I can’t trust that. I do remember grimly remarking about how my parents-in-law had lunch with us at the airport gate in Boston and thinking how different and relaxed airport security was there compared to the UK. A metal scanner, a bag check.. nobody asked for your boarding pass until you tried to get on the plane.

What I do remember is sitting in the smoking room while the towers burned, calling my wife and chewing over what had happened with the other half dozen regulars in there, and the half dozen more who joined us. It didn’t take long to realise that, regardless of insane project schedules, nothing else was getting done that day.

And so I spent the next few hours alternately smoking and on the internet trying to find friends and family.

I remember getting home and sitting on the floor, having wired up the monitor and keyboard to the server I remember the heat from the computers and the early ADSL modem, and staying up late talking with folk in the US, and smoking. A lot. A friend describing the amount of ash and dust that was billowing past her window in New York.

A few days later we had a company meeting in the kitchen to discuss it. Then now faded memories of Kenya and Yemen were fresh and along with the sorrow for the deaths and the fear of future attacks there was a dread of what the response would be and what that would mean for the people in the countries the US would retaliate against.

Kate adds:

It’s one of those memories where everyone will remember where they were when it happened.  I was at work, in a meeting.  A very important meeting with very important people.  All the way through, our mobiles were humming and vibrating.  We ignored them.  Important stuff to discuss, two hours worth, which in the end produced some very worthwhile results for some of Scotland’s most marginalised people.

The boss’s landline rang as soon as she switched the ringer back on.  Her boyfriend was almost incoherent.  He worked in high finance and had business associates in the towers.  Effectively the message was turn the TV on, the World Trade Centre is on fire.

I’d left the room at this point, not wishing to intrude on a private conversation.  A shriek beckoned me back.  We stood there in open-mouthed silence, trying to compute the images on the screen with the fragments of information we had.  It was discombobulating actually.  The whole office suddenly whirled, with everyone up from their desks and in and out of each others’ offices.  The internet crashed.  News sites were jammed.

And so it continued for the afternoon, with everyone trying to work out, find out what was going on.  But work beckoned, so dipping in and out was the best that could be managed.

I do remember an uneasy, fearful quiet settling eventually.  A sense that what ever it was, it was huge, an event of such enormity, it was difficult to grasp.

And most folk going home early.  I picked my bairn up from school, came home, switched the TV on and spent the evening holding my wee man close, flicking constantly between channels, tears rolling down my cheeks most of the time.  Still trying to sort through the snippets from the day and make sense of it all.

In the days afterwards, the mood was strange.  Subdued but with everyone being kind and rather gentle.  Everything slowed, and the facts leaked out.  Not just the World Trade Centre, but the Pentagon.  The astonishing bravery of firefighters especially, but also, all those others who ran in the wrong direction, to try to save.  The unbearable sadness of all those final messages home.  The tragedy of so many ordinary lives made utterly extraordinary by circumstance.  By being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Everyone had an opinion on what, how and why.  It was the only topic of conversation.  But in amongst all the conspiracy theories and the almost unbelievable truth, a universal realisation.  That everything had changed.  That things would never be the same again.  And so it has proved.

Malc’s recollection:

I’ll be demonstrating my youthfulness by comparison here, but on 11 September 2001, I was 17 and in my final year at Keith Grammar School.  It was a Tuesday afternoon and we had P.E – which various members of my class frequently missed.  Thus one of my friends was sitting upstairs in the cafe watching on TV as the attacks happened.  When the class was over, he came down to the hall to tell us what had happened.

P.E was the final class of the day for me, but we were due to head to Aberdeen to a schools public speaking competition at the end of the school day.  The bus left at 4, so when the bell went I ran to the school’s computer room and  got myself to the BBC website to see what was going on.  Even at that stage I knew I was watching a world-changing event, though we didn’t know the whole story.  At that point, the details were still hazy – the Twin Towers had been hit, but they were still standing, and there was no news about the other two planes at that point.

What remains with me are two clear memories after that.  The first of those was the school bus to Aberdeen.  Strangely enough, for a public speaking competition – even though there were only 3 of us involved – we took around 25 pupils with us as support.  I’d never been on a quieter school bus – especially when the news came on the radio.  There were younger kids on the trip too – 12/13 year olds who would usually be joking around – and even they were quiet, desperate to find out what had happened.

The second memory is from the following day at school.  Our sixth year was quite a small group – around 40 or so pupils – and so a few of us had a free period and were sitting around in the common room.  It was very quiet – a very strange, subdued atmosphere for a school common room.  Someone brought a US flag which we hung up in the room.  I remember a few of the folks were quite upset so we decided that – just as a group of 20 or so, when we were all together – we’d go to the hall and observe a couple of minutes silence.  A small gesture, meaningless in its simplicity and its practical implications.  But it was something that at that point in time, we could do.  And even though none of us – I don’t think – had any physical connection with any of the victims of the attacks, we had felt a connection with America that day, and that was a connection we felt, as a group, we had to commemorate.

As a politics undergraduate, and subsequently an International Relations postgrad, specialising in Terrorism, the events were a key influence on my area of study.  Making sense of it at the time – as a 17 year old – was impossible.  Making sense of it 10 years later, with an MSc in the subject isn’t any easier.