THE FIGHT FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR

I have just returned from Bournemouth where I made my annual pilgrimage to the UNISON UK Conference.  The highlight was attending the Denis Goldberg fringe where he read from excerpts of his book, The Mission.  Another highlight was pointing out the difference between Council Tax freezes in Scotland from that of England, and I welcome the setting up of a Council Tax working group to look at this.

However, the consistent theme, was the fight for public sector service provision, with more and more services in England being outsourced, the fight for Scotland’s Public Sector remains and will I believe dominate public debate between now and the next Scottish Elections.

This will prove crucial as Osborne wields the butcher’s knife to the Budget, aided and abetted by his Lib Dem poodles.

This will require a strong and unequivocal response from the Scottish Government.  New Labour, who are trying to convince us that we have collective amnesia over what they did over the last thirteen years, in particular presiding over an unregulated market which brought about this mess, are desperately trying to position themselves to the left of the SNP, confirmed by a quite idiotic editorial by the Daily Record yesterday – even by their standards – who incredibly suggested that the SNP were in favour of a smaller state and smaller spending – TRIPE.

The SNP is well placed to meet the challenge head on.  Outflanking New labour who sooner or later will let the mask slip as they will sooner or later revert to type by demanding more outsourcing and PFI – having been responsible for saddling the country with a mountain of PFI debt already, by continuing to believe that in-house provision is best, as we have done with cleaning contracts in hospitals for example, has more resonance in Scotland, and with voters than believe that strong, accountable public services deliver the best services.

 The other challenge will be in protecting public sector pensions, which UNISON members and other Card carrying trade union members will hit the streets for if necessary.  Even I was speechless when I heard Nick Clegg talk out about gold plated public sector pensions, really?  The average public sector pension is £4000 a year, and the average for women is £2,600 – hardly gold plated.  The cost of public sector pensions in Britain is £4.1 billion.  The cost of tax relief for private sector pensions for the richest one per cent is a whopping £10 Billion.  So when I hear the Tory vultures and the Liberal poodles’ talk of us all being in this together, I just shake my head in disgust.

It was clear to me during the election that people are not willing to pay the price for the Bankers bail out. 

The fight starts on Tuesday when Gideon takes to his feet.  I believe that the SNP have a unique opportunity to show Scotland that there is a better way.

Let’s start by talking about tackling tax avoidance, the waste of hiring consultants – who are manly hired to hive off services, bring in a Tobin Tax, and above all cutting Trident.

BATTLE LINES

The battle lines are becoming clearer since the Liberals did the dirty deed with the Conservatives, and could lead to an interesting battle for the Holyrood Elections next year.

The Liberals, to paraphrase George Galloway, look set to get the mother of all hidings next year, for propping up a Government who are set to use a butcher knife to public services.  I am starting to believe that it is not altogether surprising given the authors of the Orange Book are now the leaders of the Lib Dems.  The proposed part privatisation of the Royal Mail is only the beginning I fear for public services.

It will be incumbent on all of us of a left of centre persuasion in Scotland to ensure that we protect our country’s vital services and infrastructure against these attacks from the Tory vultures, and their Liberal poodles.  The SNP are well positioned to be the social democratic champions.  All Lib Dem votes are up for grabs.

Labour in Scotland has many choices, but will I believe be also held to account for their lack of achievement at Westminster.  For a Party to have had two landslide majorities and one comfortable one to have failed on so many fronts will not be forgotten in the context of a Holyrood Election, where the understandable fear of a Tory Government was so prominent only a couple of weeks ago.

The disgraceful court decision regarding the BA strike, thankfully overturned today on Appeal, is a result of the last Westminster Government failure to bring about real change to employment law, and to bring some justice to working people.  An outrage for a party funded by Trade unions.

The idiocy of New Labour allowed itself to be attacked by the Tories from the left on civil liberty issues.

Even today the Holyrood Labour group have not grasped opposition, and stand accused of double standards.  Iain Gray complains about cuts to Health Service Jobs, yet his Finance Spokesperson, Andy Kerr, criticises the SNP Government for delaying Westminster cuts till next year.  Indeed only a few weeks into the SNP administration, New Labour demanded 4% efficiency savings, more than the SNP asked for.  Put simply you can’t ask for more savings then complain about cuts.  It is this lack of thinking and strategy which will ensure they have no credibility.

Next years elections will be determined by those who can stand up to the CON-DEM coalition.  The votes of those who ran, understandably, to Labour a few weeks ago as they were the least of the two evils, know they have a different choice for Holyrood.

A PROGRESSIVE REFLECTION

So I wasn’t able to blog during the campaign, I was so busy talking to voters on the doorstep, now that the blisters have rested, it is of course time to reflect on the result n Glasgow south west, and how we go forward.

There is no reason to blame voters for trying to block the Tory vultures from entering into Downing Street, and that was the clear message in the last few days.  Even at the polling station, some people said to me when I was asking for their vote – not today.

 This really gained ground in the last few days of the campaign when it looked like a balanced parliament was a real possibility, because for weeks I have never known so many electors who said they were undecided.  In a Westminster election, we must accept that some will vote for New Labour, warts and all, to prevent the Tories ruling the country.  To many of us of course this is a contradiction and we must ensure that should Scotland vote again in a Westminster election we hammer home the message that Independence means the Tories would never ever rule our nation again.

Sadly, it looks like Scotland’s efforts were in vain, and the lib dems look to be the poodles who if they do the dirty deed, will never be forgiven for a generation.

Yet,  

I support the progressive alliance proposal, should talks break down we must offer Labour a chance to govern, yes warts and all, because the clear, and overwhelming message from the election was the Tories are not wanted in Scotland, they are still a decontaminated brand, and have never been forgiven for the destruction they caused Scotland.  Indeed the Scottish voter would I believe be comfortable with the SNP reigning in New Labour from its right wing excesses.

This would of course require more maturity from New Labour in Scotland than what we have seen in the last few days.  To say that the SNP is irrelevant in an election and then claim that the result was a rejection of the Holyrood Government is frankly stupid, and kids no-one.  The Scottish electorate is more sophiscated than they are given credit for, and unfortunately the lazy analysis of the media in Scotland means that no-one has quite grasped that the Westminster and Holyrood elections are different and the electorate can distinguish between them. Also, the great unsaid truth is that there are many people who vote Labour who are entirely relaxed about an independent Scotland, even amongst the activists, who would welcome the opportunity to redefine what a Scottish Labour party would stand for in that new reality,

The next few days will determine the future of the UK, because I predict that if the CON/Lib Dem deal goes ahead, the Scottish people will run a mile at the earliest opportunity. If it is a progressive alliance the people of Scotland will reward us for complying with their wishes.

Over the next 12 months, the party with the values of social and economic justice, the values that say we do not need nuclear weapons, and the values of internationalism, will triumph, and that will be a victory for the SNP

ON YOUR MARKS

The Westminster Election can be officially called any day now, and as I stated at the UNISON Retired Members Hustings last week, you have to feel sorry for the electorate in England, such is the level of debate between the Tories and New Labour.

Why they believe in putting each others leaders in their material and posters beggars belief.  If the SNP is such an irrelevance why do they both direct so much fire on us?

Of course when they both promise big cuts in Public Spending, (even more than Thatcher did in the 1980's,) it is little wonder when you are told from Labour and Tory voters that they will not vote in this election on the doorstep.

The expenses debacle is still an issue, and the anger of the public is just as fierce as it was 6 months ago.

Elections are all about choices and values.  With the so-called big two bereft of ideas, or values, we must ensure that the SNP message is heard.

The need for a fiscal stimulus, protecting public services and spending, the need to to retain Attendance Allowance, and moreover, the need for political representatives to rebuild a relationship with the voters, by championing their communities, and cancelling the replacement of Trident, are all reasonating on the doorstep.

Only the Scottish National Party have the choices and values to properly represent the people at this election.

GLASGOW'S GOVERNANCE

I have delibrately waited to blog for a while, whilst the allegations and revealations concerning my employer settled down.  It could be that there is more to come.  But I feel now is the moment to comment, and after much reflection.

I will not comment on the private lives of any politician, and therefore will keep my observations in respect to Steven Purcell to the political.

In truth at this moment in time there is no silver bullet that can suggest there is corruption in the City Chambers.  However, corruption or no, there is poor governance.

Officials are given too much devolved powers over staffing structures, contracts awarded are not being reported to Committees, and the ALEO's do not need to enter into service agreements or purchase services from the Council, yet Councill Departments are compelled to do the reverse.  Why was the controversial contract awarded  for transport provision for City Building ever tendered for at all, when the Council has a transport section who could have provided this service?

Culture Sport Glasgow has failed, no private investment of note as been attracted, yet business leaders were invited onto the board.  

Interestingly only late last year did the Council admit that one of the reasons for setting up such bodies was to mitigate against equal pay claims.  An insult to employees.

At the May Day Rally two years ago the Trade Unions warned that the creation of such companies was the slippery slope to undemocratic, and unaccountable service provision.

The irony that Nicholas Ridley's dream of an enabling local authority was tested by New Labour in Glasgow is not lost on yours truly nor I suspect the voters.

If the death knell of the enabling authority is what comes out of this sorry affair, then the citizens of Glasgow will benefit.

LOSING THE PLOT

A perhaps predictable headline for this post, but I have been thinking over the last week or so that the recent developments at Westminster are part of a wider malaise within New Labour as they appear to stumble towards the Election.

Whilst acknowledging that some of the publicity that Brown receives from the English establishment is out of order, what was the rebellion actually about?  From what I can observe there is no political difference between the so-called Blairites, and Brownites.  Their biggest problem is they have no political narrative, and most importantly no real difference with the Tories.

Given Brown's admission to Darling to accept that big cuts are needed on public spending, surely we will hear no more nonsense of rip-offs campaigns?  Perhaps not.  Last weeks dreadful performance by the Holyrood New Labour Group, where they blame the recent cold weather on the SNP demonstrates that they have lost the plot too, if they ever had one!  As Michael Russell said to me only the other day, if the SNP had invented the light bulb, New Labour would attack this as an anti-candle device!

The statement that voting New Labour will lock out the Tories only has reasonance if there are actually big differences between the two.

The SNP now has a wonderful opportunity to show clearly to the voters that the SNP can make a big difference at a Westminster election.  The fight for our rightful share of public money, a vision that the unregulated market is not the only way to run an economy, that people can be put before profit, that a non nuclear Scotland can succeed and take its place in the world..

Thats what I will be doing in the next few months.

Meanwhile, the rest will be losing the plot.

PREDICTIONS 2010

As is customary, and I have been reminded about the success of my blog post making predictions, I thought i would come up with another effort.  Here goes;

(1) The New Labour Government will be ousted by a Westminster regime even more right wing than they are by a majority of over 70 - the good lady and I have a bet on this with a bottle of champers being the prize.  This will be as a result of fresh sleaze and economic mistakes.
(2) Gordon Brown and Iain Gray will no longer be the leaders of the British Labour Party or BLP (Scotland Region) by this time next year.
(3) The Tories will have less than 3 Scottish MP's in the General Election,  creating anther Doomsday scenario, which will usher in huge support for Independence.
(4) The Tories will end the year behind in most polls at a UK level.
(5) The Lib Dems will lose half their Westminster seats. They will come under huge pressure to support Independence after secret plans by New Labour and the Tories to oust the Scottish Government, and form a coalition are revealed.  The Lib Dems back a referendum for 2011 after initially voting it down.
(6) Glasgow's No.1 football team will go on a glorious run , and emerge victorious and win the First Division with a couple of points to spare. The Mighty Jags take points off the Old Firm in the first half of the SPL  season.
(7) The Evening Times sensationally back the SNP for the general election, after Glasgow is awarded Metropolitan Status by the SNP Government.  The Evening Times will run this as part of its Labour let Glasgow Down/ Rip off Scotland campaign.
(8) The SNP will win most votes in Scotland at the General Election, and polls comfirm throughout the year that the next Holyrood Elections could result in a landslide.
(9)  Holyrood the Musical will go into production, whilst a petition is launched to bring back Glen Michaels Cartoon Cavalcade.
(10) The SNP make the 20 seat target, and in Glasgow East, John Mason proves that lightning strikes twice when just like his Council seat ten years before he beats his by-election opponent twice, after a recount.  The SNP gains another two seats in Glasgow, before the real drama starts.  The tension mounts as Glasgow South West heads into its fourth recount.  After a tie is declared the result goes to a toss of the coin.  And the winner is ....................................