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CAMPAIGNING FOR SCOTLAND
(Owned, Edited and Printed in Scotland since November 1926)
"Promoting all that is best in Scottish Nationalism and all that is best in Scotland."

Compiled by Jim Lynch
[Issue 86 - 25th January 2002]

ROBERT BURNS

Today is the 243rd Anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, and his poems will be recited, his songs sung, and his Memory praised all over the world.

It is not my intention to dwell on his genius, or how a poor farmer, and a man who struggled to earn a living all of his short life, (he died in poverty at the age of 37) became one of the world’s most widely loved poets, but just to marvel at that genius; at school, I was never taught any Burns, but I think that as I was educated by nuns, perhaps he was perceived as too bawdy. In any event, the portrait of Robert Burns as a carousing philanderer could only be partially true, as a man who had to work as hard for a living as he did could not have produced the poetry he did, if he spent his life in an alcoholic haze. His many amours likewise, will be mirrored by many sexually active men and women today, but they are not producing the poetry.

One comment, made some years ago, by the Scots Independent Chairman, Peter Wright, has always stuck in my mind; despite being the author of so many radical poems and songs, Burns was helpless to improve anyone’s lot. Like 99% of the population of Scotland at that time, Robert Burns never had a vote!

You can listen to The Scots Independent Burns Supper and do also see "A Kist of Ferlies" below.

THE AMERICAN SUCCESSION

Last week, in the article on Enron, I mentioned that there could be a constitutional nightmare in America, as the influence of Enron over American political life was wide and deep; I also said that I was not aware of the actual succession.

A helpful reader, Matt Smith, of Richmond, Virginia, very kindly sent the details of the presidential succession, which we have reproduced below with thanks to the gentleman concerned.

1. Vice President (currently Dick Cheney)
2. Speaker of the House of Representatives (currently Dennis Hastert, Rep. of Illinois)
3. President Pro Tempore of the Senate (currently Robert Byrd, Dem. of West Virginia)
4. Secretary of State (currently Colin Powell)
5. Secretary of the Treasury (currently Paul O'Neill)
6. Secretary of Defense (currently Donald Rumsfeld)
7. Attorney General (currently John Ashcroft)
8. Secretary of the Interior (currently Gale Norton)
9. Secretary of Agriculture (currently Ann Veneman)
10. Secretary of Commerce (currently Don Evans)
11. Secretary of Labor (currently Elaine Chao)
12. Secretary of Health and Human Services (currently Tommy Thompson)
13. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (currently Mel Martinez)
14. Secretary of Transportation (currently Norman Mineta)
15. Secretary of Energy (currently Spencer Abraham)
16. Secretary of Education (currently Rod Paige)

Most of the names are unfamiliar to us on this side of the Atlantic, in the same way that in America they will only have heard of the Blessed Tony, but we know of Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfield and John Ashcroft, along with Dick Cheney, as their names are figuring prominently in the news at present. We also suspect that the name and face of Spencer Abraham, the Secretary of Energy, will also come to the fore as the investigation into Enron proceeds; Dick Cheney and John Ashcroft have received a few mentions in that affair.

Colin Powell seems to have been sidelined, as he advocated a much more cautious approach to the Afghan problem, but he is back in there, as rebuilding starts ; as a former General, he was very strong on minimising casualties, and his advice must have been heeded since American casualties were very light indeed, but the spotlight has been very much on Donald Rumsfield, Secretary of Defense (American spelling). Mr Rumsfield was very prominent during the hostilities, and is still to the fore on the treatment of the captives; this is one of the paradoxes of the terrorist strategy. The terrorists use every means to achieve their objectives, and care not for man, woman nor child, who in their eyes have no rights; come the reversal of the situation, and the terrorists demand human rights, and cry foul. While not condoning ill treatment, we should also remember that the al Qaeda members are very dangerous people indeed, and are liable to overpower and kill their guards, because they themselves are prepared to die anyway, expecting to get to heaven for killing an infidel; no doubt that Allah, the compassionate, the merciful, will straighten them out if they get there, but that’s no consolation to their victims.

JOB PROTECTION SCHEME

The cost of the Scotland Office has risen from £3.9 million in 1999/2000 to £7.3 million in 2001/2002; the number of Scotland Office civil servants has risen from 57 to 113 in the same period.

The office is presided over by Mrs Helen Liddell, Secretary of State for Scotland, and her deputy, George Foulkes, and lurking somewhere in the background is Lynda Clark, who rejoices in the title of Advocate General; between these three they rack up salaries totalling the thick end of £300000 pounds per annum, plus expenses, of course. So what do they do? Well, starting with the last first, Lynda Clark, Labour Westminster MP for Pentlands, has a salary of £111,208 per annum, plus expenses, and her job is to represent Scotland’s legal interests at Westminster; she was appointed in 1999, and has only intervened in 20 departmental cases in that time. She was attacked by Lord Hardie, for failing to present legal arguments at the Court of Session over "slopping out" , even though she had flagged this up as an important constitutional issue; Lord Hardie, who is a former colleague of Ms Clark in the Labour Governmenet said "I also wish to record my disapproval of any practice whereby the advocate general elects not to appear before this court but chooses to intervene in proceedings before the House of Lords or Privy Council if the decision of this court does not meet with her approval." Or to put it another way "Don’t get caught speeding in Scotland, missus!" She has also managed to stay away from the Saltire number plates controversy, and she is facing calls from within the Labour Party for her defenestration.

George Foulkes, Labour/Co-op Westminster MP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, is said to be a congenial chap, and is the cheapest of the trio, at a measly £88800, plus expenses; he deputises for Mrs Liddell when she is abroad, which is most of the time. He is supposed to represent Scotland’s interests, and when the issue of the £23 million of attendance money came up, George backed the London side, so they kept it. I know I mentioned this last week, but it is worth repeating:

Scottish Cash Paid out of General Taxation.

When the matter was raised in the Scottish Parliament, the First Minister, Jack McConnell said that it was agreed that whichever institution, Holyrood or Westminster, made the decision, then that institution would bear the additional cost; Margo MacDonald, SNP, MSP, then asked if that meant that Westminster would pick up the cost of the Scottish Parliament building, as it was Westminster which decided the location and the plan. Answer there was none, but this will run and run. George Foulkes also told Alex Salmond on a previous occasion that the Euro Referendum Count would be declared as one figure for the Disunited Kingdom, with no separate figure for Scotland; Labour also tried that one in 1975, but it didn’t work.

And what about Mrs Helen Liddell, Labour Westminster MP for Airdrie and Shotts, and Secretary of State for Scotland, whose salary is more than George’s but less than Lynda’s, but plus expenses, of course ; just before Christmas she was given a confidential document "Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland" (on 12 Dec 01 to be exact) . The document was due to be laid before the Scottish Parliament on Monday 17 Dec 01, but there was an article in the Herald (Glasgow) that very day with Mrs Liddell attacking the SNP and using figures from the confidential report, known as GERS; Alex Salmon has now written to the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service, Sir Richard Wilson calling for an inquiry into the leaking of the document which breached the concordat governing relations between Westminster and the devolved administrations. So Stalin’s Granny broke the rules, and she seems to have been out of the country since then, touring the world, allegedly on our behalf, because it gives her something to do; the point of the whole matter is that she was given a document, out of courtesy, and she misused it, not to clarify, or support, but to attack the SNP, using public money in the process, for Labour Party purposes.

If any of the above had happened with a different party in Government, you can lay all your money that the Scottish Executive would have been shouting and bawling, and stamping their collective wee feet at such blatant and unfair conduct; because it is the same Royal Imperial Labour Party, the Scottish Executive are cringing lickspittles.

Do we need the Scottish Secretary? Do we need her Deputy? Do we need the attorney general? Come to that, do we need Mrs Liddell’s parliamentary private secretary, Jim Murphy, Labour Westminster MP for Eastwood, who wants to buy all the Afghan heroin crop, about £40 million worth, and get rid of it. Where will they get the money? Well, we know where £23 million of it is coming from - Scotland.

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER EURO

This time it is Euro 2008, where there was massive public support for Scotland to host the Euro 2008 Football Championship in Scotland; the Daily Discord did not agree, and even wrote a letter to the Scotsman , attacking it for attacking them. How nice it is when thieves, sorry ,Unionists, fall out (same thing).

The latest is that now that the Scottish Executive has done their sums , the decision is that Scotland cannot afford to host this on its own ; we require 8 world class stadia (correct Latin plural) and at present we only have 4. The 4 are, Hampden, Murrayfield (yes to be borrowed from the rugger chaps) Ibrox Park and Celtic Park; the others would have to come from Edinburgh, Dundee , and Aberdeen, with Kilmarnock and Falkirk in the frame for the last one. It was anticipated that the Executive would have to fork out £100 million, and that the tournament would generate around £500 million, of which £50 million would go in taxes to the government.

The Executive case is that it cannot afford to finance four new stadia, but it could afford to finance two; this works out at £25 million per stadium, and they have just surrendered, without a bleat, £23 million a year from the Scottish budget. The £23 million was never intended to go on care for the elderly, but to replace the money taken from other budgets, and the whole business of getting back your own money from London to spend it as they think fit is palpable nonsense. With independence we would spend our money as we required, not as London dictated.

The solution to the problem is that Scotland is going to launch a joint bid with Ireland for Euro 2008. This is not a long term carefully thought out plan, but First Minister, Jack McConnell phoned up the Irish Taoiseach (I hope I’ve got the spelling right) Bertie Ahern, just before he saw the Scottish Football Association delegation, to ask him if he liked the idea! It was then announced as a done deal to the Scottish Parliament, although it would appear that all he has is a "worth thinking about" commitment from Mr Ahern; they would need to build two new stadia, as well, but the Irish are no’ daft. If they approve they might want to build more than two, and then hijack (appropriate word) the tournament, probably calling it "Eire 2008". Mr McConnell claimed that Holland and Belgium were hosting a joint bid, and they were much larger nations than Scotland; true, but while the Executive might have done their sums (Mr McConnell having been a Maths teacher) perhaps no one has looked at a map lately. There is not an Irish Sea between the relevant stadia in the Low Countries.

HAI - HOSPITAL AVOIDABLE INFECTIONS

We know the correct term is Hospital Acquired Infections, and that 500 people die every year from them, but they are avoidable.

Since the days of Margaret Thatcher, the drive has been to reduce costs in the National Health Service, and this was done by introducing a business style culture, with a "market" for goods and services and the cheapest alternative always being seen as the best. This gave rise to the "contracting out" of services, and while they have not quite got to the privatisation of medical care, they started with the cooks, the cleaners, the porters and the maintenance staff. Now we have a "viral infection" rampaging through hospitals, and this is claimed to be "air borne" and to have no connection with the cleanliness of hospitals; so far we are not aware of what proof there is to justify that stance.

It is not rocket science to observe that the biggest cost in any cleaning contract is wages, and that to obtain the contract in the first place, costs must be pared; it is axiomatic that those competing for contracts are doing so in order to make money, and therefore low wages are essential to the success of the contractor. Anyone who imagines that a person on a low wage doing what is seen to be a menial job will do that job superbly well is living in cloud cuckoo land; the expression "a lick and a promise" comes to mind. Cleanliness may be next to godliness, but we also know that where there’s muck there’s brass.

There are other pointers; junior doctors in Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock had to sleep in their cars, because their on call accommodation was bug infested, and the toilets did not work. This was on hospital premises. Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride has cancelled operations; this is a showcase hospital, just opened, where they bring the meals from Manchester and are employing nurses who have not worked on wards for 20 years, due to staff shortages; their heating system didn’t work either, but perhaps that’s been sorted, probably by an engineer coming from Manchester on the dinner lorry.

While the infection, which started in Glasgow’s Victoria Infirmary was at its height, a hospital spokesman said that whereas nursing staff could be kept on wards and thus help to contain infection, doctors had to move between wards, and this spread the infection. We accept that there was nothing the hospital could do about that, but how did the infection spread to other hospitals? One other consequence of the Tory philosophy, not yet changed by Labour, is the vast number of Agency nurses; they go to where the Agency sends them, and this will be from hospital to hospital, as circumstances dictate, ergo, the infection spreads.

Hospital staff are also exposed to the virus, but are generally in better health than the patients; both are failed by the culture put in by the Tories, and not tackled by Labour.

ALLISON’S FAREWELL AT HOME
FROM OUR GOVAN CORRESPONDENT VISITING EDINBURGH

The SNP’s capacious headquarters building in Edinburgh’s McDonald Road is nevertheless somewhat remote and, some would say, necessarily soulless. It was always going to be a practical, no-nonsense work-centre far away from the former glamorous HQ-above-the-smart-bar off Charlotte Square.

To disprove its totally austere image, however, Friday January 11 saw hordes of Party activists crowding into the main reception hall for Organisation Director Allison Hunter’s At Home.

Allison, a fragrant 60 now, has retired ("moving on" is the expression she prefers) after serving in the front line for 12 years of the Party’s dramatic further progress on the road to independence.

The evening of totally relaxed, politics-free jollification was interrupted only for the presentations to Allison by Party Leader John Swinney MSP. In a hair-letting-down speech, John gently lifted the veil on the outstanding moments of her political career. As a contrast, Allison was as discreet and ladylike as ever, waxing generous about friends and ex-friends alike, blushing fleetingly only now and again.

A full interview with her is featured on page 7 of the February issue of the Scots Independent.

(And I shall pinch that when it becomes available.)

FOOT IN THE MOUTH NOTES

From the Observer, 14 Oct 01 "Why is the Scotsman taking an increasingly nationalist line?"

From the Herald 14 Dec 01 "Yet another new editor appointed at Scotsman."

The various companies operating on a "no win no fee" basis do not tell the whole story in their adverts;if they accept a case , after checking, the claimant has to take out an insurance policy to cover the legal fees.

The small print conceals the fact that a successful claimant has to pay a fixed premium which can be as much as £1500.

The ex Chief Executive of ASDA is rumoured to be taking control of Consignia (That’s the Post Office to you and me.)

They probably need someone like that; they ran out of second class Christmas stamps at the start of December.

The Episcopalian Bishop of Brechin has torn up his Labour Party membership card after 40 years, because of Britain’s role in the Israel Palestine conflict.

We could think of a few more reasons.

I am grateful to George Bush, US President, for assisting in my education.

At the age of 67, at last I know what a pretzel looks like.

From Donald Dewar’s memorabilia collection in the National Library of Scotland, a copy of the Scotland Act, signed by Tony Blair. It says "To Donald. It was a struggle; it may always be hard; but it was worth it. Scotland and England together on equal terms! Tony Blair."

Looks as if he didn’t understand it either, or does he know something we don’t?

A new door is being fitted to the office of the Chief Executive of Glasgow City Council; it is to cost £30000.

The Governor of the Bank of England, Sir Eddie George, was kept waiting at the door of Bute House, the official residence of Scotland’s First Minister, because there was no one available to answer the door; we don’t know what that door cost, but someone should be looking after it.

SYNOPSIS

LIB DEM LEADER ATTACKS "BIT-PART" ROLE

Liberal Democrat Leader Charles Kennedy launched a surprising attack on coalition deals with Labour, despite the fact that his party is involved in just such an arrangement in Scotland. Mr Kennedy distanced himself and his party at Westminster from any deals with Labour, arguing that it was now time for the Liberal Democrats to make their "own way". He added: "I don't see a future in co-operation with Labour if all we achieve is the perception that we are bit-part players in someone else's show." The SNP claimed that Mr Kennedy had "torpedoed" the credibility of Jim Wallace, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader. Fiona Hyslop said: "Jim Wallace likes to pretend that he is making a difference, but even his own leader is now effectively admitting that the Lib Dems are irrelevant. The Lib Dems are just bit-players to Labour."

Liberal Democrat Leader Charles Kennedy launched a surprising attack on coalition deals with Labour, despite the fact that his party is involved in just such an arrangement in Scotland. Mr Kennedy distanced himself and his party at Westminster from any deals with Labour, arguing that it was now time for the Liberal Democrats to make their "own way". He added: "I don't see a future in co-operation with Labour if all we achieve is the perception that we are bit-part players in someone else's show." The SNP claimed that Mr Kennedy had "torpedoed" the credibility of Jim Wallace, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader. Fiona Hyslop said: "Jim Wallace likes to pretend that he is making a difference, but even his own leader is now effectively admitting that the Lib Dems are irrelevant. The Lib Dems are just bit-players to Labour."

COOK ASKED TO OUTLINE WESTMINSTER TOBACCO AD BAN PLAN

The Leader of the House of Commons, Robin Cook, is to be asked to appear before a Scottish Parliament committee to say when he expects a UK-wide ban on tobacco advertising to be introduced. Shadow health minister Nicola Sturgeon said Mr Cook must give an indication of the Westminster Government's plans before MSPs decide whether or not to back her plans for a Scotland-only ban. Members of Holyrood's backbench Health and Community Care Committee are due to begin scrutiny of Ms Sturgeon's Tobacco Advertising and Promotion (Scotland) Bill. Ms Sturgeon said she would call on the committee to invite Robin Cook to Edinburgh to say whether or not the Government will support a similar Bill introduced at Westminster by Liberal Democrat peer Tim Clement-Jones. She said: "I think it's important that Robin Cook gives an indication about what exactly the Westminster Government's intentions are. I will be proposing that we call Robin Cook to give evidence to the committee as part of the stage one process. Robin Cook can then do one of two things. He can either set out a clear and acceptable timetable in which case, as I have said all along, I will withdraw the Scottish Bill. Or he can confirm that Westminster has no intention in the immediate future of introducing this type of legislation. In which case, the decision for the health committee stops being one of UK legislation or Scottish legislation, and becomes one of Scottish legislation or no legislation." Ms Sturgeon's Bill would ban billboard tobacco advertising in Scotland as well as adverts in Scottish publications. It would also regulate point-of-sale advertising and ban free distributions designed to promote tobacco products in Scotland.

ROSYTH FERRY RIVAL HIT BY "HYPOCRISY" STORM

An English-based ferry operator who campaigned to block a government grant for a rival Rosyth project was today accused of "gross hypocrisy" after it was revealed it had received similar cash help. DFDS Seaways, which runs ferries from Tyneside to the Continent, lobbied unsuccessfully against the award of 12 million pound start-up aid for the new Superfast service from Rosyth to Zeebrugge. The company objected to the freight facilities grant - which will help fund the ferryport terminal - and claimed it had received no subsidies for its Newcastle-Amsterdam service launched in 1995. But a question in the House of Commons from SNP MP Mike Weir revealed DFDS has received three freight facilities grants totalling 2,549,922 pounds since 1979. And the Port of Tyne received two such grants worth nearly 1 million pounds. SNP shadow transport minister Kenny MacAskill said: "The attempt to sabotage the Rosyth ferry is now exposed as gross hypocrisy because they have received substantial freight facilities grants themselves. They are afraid of the competition. I hope Scottish people switch their business from Newcastle to Rosyth and ignore the advertising campaign launched by DFDS. Our economic future lies in supporting Rosyth and not a port in another country."

CONCERN OVER PRISONER ESCORT PLANS

Prison staff and politicians tonight voiced concerns after Scottish justice minister Jim Wallace announced plans to give private security staff the job of escorting prisoners to and from court. The escort service is expected be contracted out to a private firm within the next two years. Michael Matheson, the SNP's shadow deputy justice minister, said he was concerned about the "creeping privatisation" of the prison service. He said he was also worried about the experiences in England, where there were a number of high-profile escapes after the prison escort service was privatised in the 1990s. Mr Matheson said: "The use of any private companies has got to be done very cautiously, given the experience they had in England." SNP shadow justice minister Roseanna Cunningham added: "Ensuring that prisoners get to and from courts with due care to the safety of the public and the prisoner is an important role and not one that sits easily alongside the profit motive."

CALL TO SCRAP LIDDELL's POSITION

Helen Liddell's role as Scottish Secretary came under fire from within her own party yesterday when a former government minister demanded her job be scrapped. Doug Henderson is one of a number of Labour MPs from the north-east of England who have become increasingly angry and frustrated by the power and influence Scotland enjoys at Westminster. The cost of running the Scotland Office at Dover House in Whitehall and Melville Crescent in Edinburgh rose from 3.9 million pounds in 1999-2000, the first year of devolution, to 7.3 million pounds last year. The criticism is likely to overshadow the first day of Mrs Liddell's week long trip to the Far East to encourage business links with Hong Kong, China and Malaysia. Pete Wishart, the SNP's chief whip at Westminster, said: "At a time when Tony Blair has been criticised for foreign trips and failing to tackle the rail crisis back home, Helen Liddell's big idea as Scottish Secretary is to roam the world as some kind of ambassador. That proves she doesn't have a proper job." 

CHILDREN IN NEED STILL FACE LONG WAIT FOR HELP

A specialist service for Lothian children with mental health problems, which closed its waiting lists due to overloading, has re-opened - but with no extra resources. GPs were banned from referring non-urgent cases to the region's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service last August because it was over-stretched. Now they have been told the waiting list has re-opened but with no extra staff and the same letter still urges doctors to find alternative support for troubled youths. After the waiting list was closed to non-urgent cases, SNP leader John Swinney condemned the situation as "a disgrace". Today he said it seemed "pretty clear" from the NHS letter to doctors that, although the waiting list had re-opened, the message to doctors was "please do not refer anyone to the service". He also predicted without extra resources non-urgent cases would soon be banned again. Mr Swinney added: "While I am glad that the list has re-opened, I am concerned about how long it is going to be open and whether young people are genuinely going to get access to this service."

SNP USA RELAUNCH PLANNED TO BROADEN APPEAL

The American offshoot of the SNP is to be re-launched as a pro-Scottish organisation open to all those who "support Scotland". The changes were confirmed today by SNP MSP Duncan Hamilton who said SNP USA is opening up to become a more inclusive organisation for everyone who believes in Scottish Independence and supports Scotland and not just the SNP. "To an American, the distinction between being pro-Scottish independence and being pro-SNP is a bit arcane," the Highlands & Islands MSP said. "We don't want to be exclusive, we welcome people who are pro-Scotland." Mr Hamilton, who liases between the Party in Scotland and supporters in the USA, said the changes were part of an ongoing transformation of the association. "We felt that it was not working to have the group as a part of the party as such." SNP USA will still play a key role in promoting Scotland and Scotland's interests in the USA and continue to support Tartan Day, the annual event which celebrates Scottish culture and the major role played by Scots in America. "The grouping will change into an association of Scots who work for the good of Scotland, whether or not they are fully signed up to each and every element of SNP policy," said Mr Hamilton.