Troubled new year for Scots Blairites
1999 WAS A MOMENTOUS YEAR in Scottish Politics. After decades of campaigning, planning and protesting a Scottish Parliament was finally established. The election of that Parliament has fundamentally changed Scottish politics. Gordon Morgan explains:
The focus of political discussion is now focused on Edinburgh not Westminster. This appears to have surprised Blair and Scottish Westminster MPs.
They worried about being thought irrelevant and in the lead up to the UK general election will launch a high profile campaign explaining why Westminster is important to Scotland.
This fundamental shift in perspective is irreversible, because already the Scottish Parliament has more direct effect on Scottish people than Westminster.
Schools, houses, roads, health, economic development are under the control of Edinburgh. Edinburgh politicians can be and are beginning to be held accountable for failings in areas of most importance to people’s lives.
Scottish Socialist Party
The SSP held its founding conference in February 1999. Tommy Sheridan was elected to Parliament in June and by the end of the year the SSP had around 2,000 members, 50 branches and 5% of the vote in opinion polls. This political success can be built on. 5% across Scotland could give 2 or 3 MSPs, 7% would give around 8 MSPs.
The basis of our impact is a clear identification with the fight against poverty and our engagement in popular struggles. New Labour has abandoned Socialism, the SSP has adopted it. Socialism is still popular.
Tension between Westminster and Holyrood
We have had immediate turf wars between Donald Dewar (First Minister - Scottish Parliament) and John Reid (Scottish Secretary) over who speaks for Scotland. Dewar won.
This is symptomatic of the likely outcome if a substantial policy or funding clash occurs. Labour is trying to head this off by setting up Joint committees to liaise on policy overlaps between devolved and retained powers.
Whilst Labour is in power they will prevent open conflict. More important is the fact that there is a unified civil service with close daily links between Treasury and Scottish Finance officers.
The potential for conflict is real. Essentially the Treasury controls Scottish expenditure. Over the next 2 years total English expenditure on Health and Education is set to rise by around 2%, but in Scotland under the Barnett formula it is set to fall by 2%.
Meanwhile the SNP purports to be able to show on Treasury figures that Scotland raises more in taxes then is spent.
Expectations are that the parliament will positively act on Scotland’s social problems, the main SNP demand will be more fiscal powers, or at least more money, for Scotland.
In general people will take the view that policy set locally is more democratic. There is a one- way process of power transfer: from Westminster to Holyrood. It is not reversible. Over time even the civil service is unlikely to save the UK.
Tuition Fees
Labour has no overall majority and only a small majority with the Liberals. Because of a widespread view they are only in government for the salaries, Liberals have been attacked in the press and need to separate themselves from Labour. Tuition fees in higher education are the key divide.
Labour stood in June on a platform of retention of fees while the Liberals stood on the sole platform of abolishing fees. Labour appeared unwilling to compromise and the fall of the Government seemed likely. A committee chaired by Cubie looked into HE funding.
The Cubie report has recommended the abolition of fees, but a deferred payment by students of the same amount after graduation. Repayments would only commence when students were earning over £25,000 a year. Cubie also recommend reintroducing grants for poor students.
Having clearly stated they were against deferred payments, the Liberals are not yet off the hook. They are trying to portray this a Graduate Tax and seizing on the reintroduction of grants as a way to argue that they should ‘take the package as a whole’.
They are still likely to pay an electoral price, and the government still could too. Labour for its part is looking to find the £70 million required: after all tuition fees are not abolished and its policy has not changed.
Clearly this does not meet our aspirations for abolition of fees and restoring full grants. But the £25,000 threshold does mean that most graduates will never pay tuition fees and some will get grants. So after arguing for improvements, if the choice is this or no change, the SSP is unlikely to vote against it.
This demonstrates that different policies can be adopted in Scotland although English and Welsh students will take notice.
Parliament vs Executive
After a slow start, the Parliament is finding its feet. Unlike Westminster, Holyrood was designed to have a strong committee structure and committees are calling ministers to regular account.
Ministers have reacted against that and tried to restrict the committees – this failed. Even Labour committee members stood against the executive.
On being informed a minister was acting under powers delegated from the British government to the Scottish government rather than the parliament, the committee passed a "negative instrument" returning the powers to the Parliament and forcing the minister to comply with their wishes.
Committees have the power to initiate legislation independent of the government although this has not yet been used.
Having the whole Parliament take responsibility and challenge the executive strengthens democracy and encourages people to place demands on their representatives.
Pressures on New Labour
Labour weeded out most Left candidates and elected a largely young group of Blairites to the executive on a straight new Labour programme. Unfortunately the policies aren’t working and the spin is threadbare.
On Health, Susan Deacon keeps saying everything is fine whilst beds are full and no operations carried out. Little money is available as staff morale sinks.
At Edinburgh Royal Infirmary a new PFI hospital has been built with fewer beds, fewer staff facilities and less available funding. Criticism from nurses, BMA and others is set to reach Parliament and could jeopardise future PPP deals.
On Education, even before the election Labour was defeated by teachers over major changes to conditions and over the time-tabling of examination changes.
A basic antagonism between the minister Sam Galbraith and teachers seems to be developing, despite increasing recognition that the new courses are ill-resourced.
There is a rush to push through PPP deals to refurbish schools. Glasgow is set to sign the largest PPP contract in Britain for all its secondary schools over 30 years.
This will change employment of all most non teaching staff as well as Council DLO staff. Despite scant consultation and little information on costs, this will be pushed through in February. Campaigning against this involves staff and parents and it will be questioned in Parliament.
Wendy Alexander seems determined to change the mix of housing by removing council managed housing and promoting the Right to Buy. She wants to transfer 80,000 of Glasgow’s stock to housing associations and extend the Right to Buy to them.
As housing professionals, the unions and tenants associations have attacked the proposal on cost grounds, she has played down the cost increases. Now she is being attacked by the Council of Mortgage Lenders,who point out that without increased subsidy they won’t lend and some Housing Associations could go bust.
As Alexander is one of the architects of this project and indeed of the manifesto, it is difficult for her to change, but she is facing prospect of being caught out over sums not adding up.
Labour structural problems
Labour are destroying their own patronage base in Scotland. If schools and houses are removed from council control what is the role of local government ? They are also pledged to introduce PR for local government, which whilst it is desirable on democratic grounds and welcomed by the SSP, would remove many existing Labour councillors. But councillors and their families are the core of active workers for Labour in Scotland.
The Scottish party has limited freedom of movement over funding. In England raising taxes was not argued as an alternative at the polls, but in Scotland the SNP argued for a tax rise and they will demand more money from England. Labour is still tied to Gordon Brown’s purse strings.
The SSP and Parliament
The SSP Bill to abolish Warrant Sales is proceeding through committee. This is a key issue which was highlighted during the anti-Poll Tax campaign, which was much more developed in Scotland than south of the border.
Tommy Sheridan has been able to cross examine representatives of the Sheriffs Officers as to how they defend this barbaric practice which affects over 20,000 poor people each year.
Although Labour can delay the passage of this bill, it is almost inconceivable that they can oppose it openly. It would split Labour if they did. Its passage, as one of the first pieces of legislation of the Parliament, will be a huge boost to the SSP.
The SSP is emerging as the natural spokesperson for anti-poverty campaigners and pensioners’ groups. Sheridan is frequently invited to current affairs debates with ministers on TV, radio and at conferences.
In Parliament there is a loose alliance of the 3 independents, Tommy, Denis Canavan and Robin Harper (the Green MSP). There is also dialogue with left SNP MSPs.
Although the major boost to the SSP was the electoral success in June, a precondition was the consistent campaign work of SSP and its predecessor the Scottish Socialist Alliance.
This has continued, especially over housing transfers and PFI. Ultimately the SSP credibility and focus comes from this work in the localities.
It is attracting support from the traditional base of Labour: tenants groups, union committees, pensioners, the poor and low paid.
Building the SSP is the key urgent task for Socialists in Scotland.
SSP Platform
Whilst the debates at its forthcoming conference will develop many detailed policies, the Scottish Socialist Party is beginning to engage in the key policy decisions which will reshape Scotland. Its present focus can be summarised as:
Poverty has grown under New Labour - end it;
Defend public sector, public services, trade unions and civil liberties;
Against fat cats, sleaze and cronyism;