The Flag in the Wind
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CAMPAIGNING FOR SCOTLAND
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Compiled by Jim Lynch
[Issue 104 -  31st May 2002]

This in turn meant that the Scots Independent, which is a monthly, had to look to some additional form of publication to at least attempt to keep up with the fast moving political situation; in that time we have had three First Ministers, and goodness knows how many other ministerial changes, as the Parliament, or more correctly, the Labour Party tried to adapt to the new situation. The biggest problem each week is not what to include, but on how much to exclude, as events keep eventing, and different individuals have different fish to fry.

Anyway, the Flag happened because as we were looking for a way to go on the web, Alastair McIntyre was looking for political content to put on the web, and we met, almost by chance, and behold a Flag in the Wind was born; it is now two years old, and it has published every week. Thanks must go to Peter D Wright, our Executive Chairman, as in addition to his Scots Language section he did my bit as well when I was on holiday and also when I landed up in hospital; thanks also to Kenneth Fee, Editor of the Scots Independent Newspaper who puts up with my shenanigans every week.

I am sure that at this time John Swinney, Leader of the SNP, is thinking of that famous quote from Mark Twain, "Rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated." One of the excuses for the rumours is that Alex Salmond will be coming back to the Scottish Parliament - in 2007! Well. shut ma mouth! As Alex only went back to Westminster because we needed an experienced old head, it was always only going to be for a short time; and when we also remember the criticism heaped upon him for going there, we are entitled to wonder at the motives of the critics. We also know that Alex did not shine in the Scottish Parliament, perhaps, as I wrote in January 2001, because he is a brilliant individualist, and not a team player, as such.

So Alex’s return, in five years time, being one excuse, what are the others? Well, would you believe some MSPs, senior nationalists according to the press, but not named, think we are not going to do well at the next Scottish Parliament Elections; it may not have dawned on the "senior nationalists", if they exist, and are not part of someone’s fertile imagination, that if the SNP does not do well, most of them are in as list MSPs, so a fall in the SNP vote will lead to a fall in MSPs, and in the words of the Lottery catchphrase "It could be You!". The only names quoted in the press, are Margo MacDonald and Dorothy Grace-Elder and as both were recently reprimanded by John Swinney, albeit for different reasons they may have axes to grind. Margo says that "They are circling him like piranhas. Waiting for him to leave a trail of blood." One other thought, the public hate divided parties; that’s what did for John Major in 1997.

Comments that John Swinney is not doing enough about Independence are quite frankly, ludicrous; for the first time in over 10 years, Independence is being highlighted very, very publicly. As we are publishing on a weekly basis the SNP publication, "Talking Independence", I am sure that readers will agree. So where is the evidence for dissatisfaction with John Swinney? Is it the opinion polls? Below is the System Three for the last three months, and we note in particular the jump in Labour popularity in the May poll; as Gordon Brown had just published his Budget and all the hype about spending on the National Health Service, we expected no less. Labour gained 4 points on the constituency vote, and three points on the list vote, and the SNP lost five points on the constituency vote, and three points on the list vote; this leaves Labour up one on the constituency vote, and down three on the list vote since the Election, and the SNP down two on the constituency vote and up one on the list vote for the same.

There are eleven months to go before the Scottish Elections, and it does not matter what the opinion polls say now (lying toad) but on where we are in six months time; having said that, in the run up to the elections in 1999 we were doing really well, and it all went pear shaped. The press were vicious in their attacks on us; I met a reporter from Le Figaro during the campaign, and he was astonished at how isolated we were, and what the press and other parties were able to get away with. He wrote a report on it for Le Figaro and promised to send me a copy, but apparently forgot; as I wouldn’t have been able to read it because it would have been in French, maybe it was just as well!

Other little straws in the wind that we are noticing; Labour do not have the workers to mount an election campaign, and are going to bus in workers from England. Also they are short of cash, as donors are drying up because of the cash for favours; maybe Labour should just get all their quangoeers, whose name is legion, to give tithes, as that would give them enough and to spare.

A RIGHT ROYAL TIME

This week the Queen visited Scotland at the start of her Jubilee Tour, and I suppose it was a bit like the poll tax, try it on the Scots first and see how we get on; as far as can be judged by the crowds, she seems to have had a reasonable reception, if not a riotous one. People are naturally courteous, and would not wish to hurt her feelings as this year she has lost both her younger sister and her mother.

Winnie Ewing, President of the SNP, did write to her with the request that she put right a gaffe made on her accession to the throne, 50 years ago, and style herself, Elizabeth II of England & Wales, and Elizabeth I, Queen of Scots. This would be historically correct as the English did have an Elizabeth, but we never did; the Palace has not yet responded to the request. We have also asked that come next year any celebration of the "Union of the Crowns" be kept on ice until after the Scottish Elections; it would be a bit of a liberty if Her Majesty came up here just before the elections on a tour to celebrate the aforesaid Union, when the main Opposition, the SNP, is campaigning against that very Union. The very title is itself specious, as it never happened; writing in "A Concise History of Scotland", James Halliday puts it this way - "There was no such thing as a Union of the Crowns. The king of Scots merely, and personally, inherited an additional office, which paid much better than his old one. The two kingdoms were in no sense united, and Scotland was left in the hands of managers while her king went off to better himself. In England his standard of living was higher. The respect accorded him was vastly superior to anything he had experienced in Scotland. In England, monarchy James found, was more like what monarchy should be. And furthermore, he could now put Presbyterians in their place."

The Queen did address the Scottish Parliament, and publicly made a plea for it to be given time to settle down; this looks more like the Defence of the Realm, since the SNP want to settle up, not down. Whether her "impartiality" in politics will stand her overt defence of the status quo in Scottish political affairs remains to be seen; again she read the speech given her by her advisers, and this of course was approved by the Scottish Executive, unionists to a man - and woman. The SNP is not a republican party, nor is it a monarchist one; we accept the constitutional monarchy, and after Independence, there will be a referendum as to whether we retain the monarchy or not. Australia did this last year, and while there was a very strong case for abolishing the monarchy there, the Crown was seen as the lesser of two evils; if not the Crown, then the Head of State would have to be a politician, and the Aussies trusted the politicians even less than they did the Crown, and a politician would have cost a lot more money than the Queen.

In the "Talking Independence" booklet, the position of the Crown in an independent Scotland is spelt out very clearly; I particularly like two bits: "The Queen, in her Scottish capacity, will be constitutionally barred from acting on the advice of her Westminster Ministers", and towards the end, "The Monarch will not have the right to veto legislation, and instead, the Chancellor of Scotland will certify that laws have passed all their parliamentary stages." In other words, keep them for their tourist attraction; sounds reasonable.

BYE BYE BYERS

As happened in the Scottish Parliament when Henry McLeish resigned, there was a great deal of sadness at Westminster when Stephen Byers resigned as Transport Secretary; with Henry McLeish, the sadness was on the Opposition benches, as we had been hoping for a lame duck First Minister, but the smug Tories kept after him in a vicious manner, and we got "I’m All Right Union Jack" in his place. The Westminster sadness is very much a Tory one, as they relished the weekly saga of "Resign, resign" until Byers spoiled it by taking them at their word. The Blessed Tony, who would have issued the instructions in the first place, used the event to split the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions, in two; this seems eminently sensible, if somewhat belated. Irene McGugan, SNP MSP, was somewhat incensed when she received a copy of the White Paper, "Your Region, Your Choice: Revitalising the English Regions", and this had as a front cover the map of the United Kingdom; problem was that the Scottish Borders, Dumfries and Galloway and a large chunk of Ayrshire was shown as being part of northern England." Residents of Gretna, Dumfries, Stranraer who are waiting for the train may now realise that it stopped at Newcastle.

So Mr Byers has gone, and Alastair Darling, Minister for Work and Pensions, is taking over the transport bit, and John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister is taking over the local government and the regions. He has already promised the new English regional parliaments more fiscal powers than the Scottish Parliament has, so we’re on his side, as this is a clear indication that the "settled will" of the Scots regarding devolution is so much hooey. As to how Mr Darling will get on with that other Blessed Tony appointment, Lord Birt, remains to be seen; Lord Birt was given the mission of doing "blue sky" thinking about transport, a rather peculiar expression for an industry that should keep its feet, or wheels rather, on the ground. His "big idea" was to build motorways parallel to the existing ones, and charge for them, in the hope that people would use the charging ones to get there faster, or something like that, completely ignoring that people do not like parting with money. Let us be kind and just say that he probably has shares in Balfour Beatty.

Probably the saddest two words in the English language - "If only" - and we as a party must take responsibility for allowing ourselves to be persuaded by the "bleeding hearts" that talking about oil wealth was obscene. In the Seventies, after oil had been discovered, the SNP ran a brilliant campaign, masterminded by Gordon Wilson, on the benefits that could accrue to Scotland from the oil money. Our thrust was not that Scotland was dependent on the oil money for survival, but that we could put things right much more quickly with the vast sums available; anyway we were abashed by the "social consciences" in the party, and we soft pedalled. The Tories took over, made vast fortunes for stock market traders in red braces, appealed to greed, and squandered the oil money; now we can look back and say that whereas 10% of Scottish children lived in poverty in the Seventies, that figure has risen to 30%. I have often wondered how many of the aforementioned "bleeding hearts" were what were defined during World War II as fifth columnists; I also wonder how many of these apologists are still around in this great party of ours?

Next week we will be discussing how an independent Scotland will be governed, and the short answer to that would be "A damn sight better than at present!"

FOOT IN THE MOUTH NOTES

In his capacity as First Minister he still seems unaware that he will be expected to carry the can.

Picked up one little item this week about George Bush, senior; when he was visiting an old folks’ home, he asked one confused resident "Do you know who I am?"

He was apparently unabashed to get the reply "If you don’t know who you are you have to ask at reception."

A few weeks back there was a furious outcry from the Labour Party because the SNP suggested paying more money to nurses to attract them to work in the Scottish Health service; Labour said this was totally unacceptable and would lead to problems in the Health Service South of the Border.

The Treasury now wants to pay public service workers flexible salaries that more closely reflect the costs of where they live, because of worsening recruitment problems in the South-East of England; a deafening silence occurred.

Where will they put them all? The Scottish prison population is 6660, compared to 4839 11 years ago; Saughton in Edinburgh is 45% over capacity, Greenock is 40%, Glasgow Barlinnie 38%, Aberdeen 33% and Inverness 25%. Someone, somewhere, must be doing something wrong.

During the World Cup, the words "Jesus Christ" will be uttered frequently, though not necessarily in tones of reverence; we understand that this is still politically correct.

The Scottish Executive’s finance minister, Andy Kerr, told the STUC in Perth in April that he would end one of the main grievances of the trade union movement, the two tier workforce; this is the practice of employing public sector and private sector workers on different pay and condidions for doing the same job.

The Westminster government are now bringing forward proposals for employers to "offer fair and reasonable terms and conditions to new recruits", and also state that unions’ demands for new recruits to be treated "no less favourably" than transferred workers would seriously lessen "the degree of flexibility that contractors would have to make improvements and cut costs." Sounds as if Andy Kerr is either deceiving or being deceived.

In 1995, air traffic controllers involved in the design of the air traffic nerve centre at Swanwick, Hampshire told their managers that the writing on the proposed computer screens was too small; their concerns were ignored and earlier this year the £623 million centre was opened to a great fanfare.

A week or two ago there was confusion when one controller misidentified a plane heading for Glasgow as one heading for Cardiff, and other controllers have misread the height of aircraft on the radar; reason - words on the screen were too small.

Lord Falconer, now to become the minister for criminal policy is well prepared for his new role; he has just sold off the Millennium Dome, which cost the taxpayer £623 million. He said the deal was "excellent value for money."

It was given to developers free.

SYNOPSIS

SNP URGES GM CROP TRIALS END Wed 29 May 02

The SNP today demanded a moratorium on trials of genetically modified crops in Scotland because of concerns about possible risks to human health and the environment. SNP shadow deputy environment minister Fiona McLeod said the crop trials threatened Scotland's reputation for quality produce and should be halted. Speaking during an SNP-led debate in the Scottish Parliament in Aberdeen, she said environment minister Ross Finnie should revoke permission for the on-going trials and pledged an SNP government would end them. She said: "Scotland has a reputation for quality and it cannot ever compete on the basis of quantity with mass production. That is what Scotland is at present and it is what Scotland must continue to be in the future." Crop trials in Munlochy on the Black Isle have attracted considerable attention in the Parliament as anti-GM campaigners make repeated appeals to MSPs for the trials to be scrapped. Ms McLeod said the minister had the power to impose a moratorium, adding EC directives forced him to ensure "all appropriate measures" were taken to protect human health and the environment. And she said the Environmental Protection Act 1990 gave the minister the power to revoke consents for GM trials at any time. The SNP's Brian Adam said Scottish agriculture relied on "differentiation" in the food market as he argued in support of a moratorium. "If we are only going to aim at mass, worldwide markets, then perhaps we should go hell for leather for GM crops and reduce the costs to ensure we've got something to sell at the cheapest price. Well that's not going to happen. This is against the interests of Scottish agriculture because the kinds of things that will differentiate Scottish produce is the quality, and part of that is the environment in which they are grown."

EU PROPOSES RADICAL FISHING CUTS Tue 28 May 02

Proposals for a major overhaul of Europe's fisheries policy have been announced in Brussels. The plans, aimed at saving endangered fish species, could mean the loss of about 28,000 jobs in Europe's fishing industry. The reforms, which would mean cutting the size of the European fleet by 8.5%, are expected to meet fierce opposition from the countries most affected. But with Scotland's fleet already greatly reduced in recent years, fishermen's leaders are hoping the latest cuts will not be too punitive. SNP shadow fisheries minister Richard Lochhead gave the proposals a cautious welcome, but warned that there must be no attempt to take away historical access rights from Scottish fishermen. The SNP MSP said: "The emphasis on longer-term planning and on regional committees are overdue, but these committees must have teeth and not just be talking shops whose views are ignored. What is worrying is that the proposals raise question marks over access to fisheries. Rather than offering to guarantee Scotland's historical fishing rights we are promised that a further review of access arrangements is in the pipeline. That could mean opening up the North Sea to other states and places a question mark over the protected Shetland Box by the end of 2003. This is unacceptable."

ITV UNVEILS PLAN TO BOOST REGIONAL SPENDING Tue 28 May 02

ITV yesterday unveiled a new charter to safeguard the future of the regional television network and take it into the digital age. The package of reforms will commit ITV to spending at least half of its annual total commissioned programme budget, which is believed to be between 450 and 500 million pounds, outside London. This year it is anticipated that about 55% of productions will be made outside London. Mike Russell, SNP broadcasting spokesman, said: "I welcome the expansion of news, and the development of a model closer to the BBC structure. However, the BBC model remains largely insensitive to Scottish opinion. These problems must not be replicated in our independent TV companies."

McCONNELL SET TO BREAK PROMISE ON COUNCIL PR Sun 26 May 02

Jack McConnell is set to anger Labour's coalition partners in the Scottish parliament by ditching a pledge to introduce voting reform in Scottish council elections. In his speech to MSPs in Aberdeen this Thursday, where he will announce the Scottish Executive's priorities for the year ahead, the First Minister will not announce any plans to introduce proportional representation voting for local authority elections, despite previous pledges by Labour ministers to "make progress" towards voting reform. In November Jack McConnell secured the backing of the Liberal Democrats in his bid to become the third First Minister by promising progress towards voting reform in council elections. Today SNP shadow local government Tricia Marwick said the LibDems had allowed themselves to be "duped" over the issue. "The LibDem record on progressing proportional representation is woeful," she said. "The Liberal Democrats are now tainted by the same degree of cronyism, the same degree of unwillingness to open democratic scrutiny, because they refuse to put PR top of the political agenda."

CIVIL SERVICE "PREPARE LABOUR MANIFESTO" Sun 26 May 02

Scottish Labour are being accused of using the civil service to prepare their election manifesto for next year, in clear breach of government rules. The SNP claim the legislative programme to be set out by First Minister Jack McConnell in the parliament this Thursday will effectively instruct impartial, tax-funded officials to work on Labour's campaign policy. Mike Russell, the SNP education spokesman, said the expensive advertising campaign to encourage the public to contribute to a national debate on education was intended to draw ideas in so they could be worked up by officials, announced next February and re-packaged six weeks later as Labour's schools policy. He claims he has evidence of Labour putting pressure on councils they control to ensure a high response rate from schools. Mr Russell has already sought to question ministers on their use of officials for party activities, and says they have been evasive: "This Thursday will be a curtain-raiser for an attempted year of abuse of the civil service and the political process. I am 100% certain Labour will use the levers of government to manipulate the civil service to work on their programme for next year. Watch for a large number of consultations which will have results or policy announced between November and March. The pattern is already emerging. All governments make an attempt to do this, but what was a Tory abuse has become a deliberate Labour strategy, which was elevated in 1999 to a discreditable art form."
PS: A Panorama programme on BBC on Sun 26 May 02 called "Tony in Adland" showed how the Government spent millions of public money on "Information" programmes that were really Labour Party advertising; the Scottish Executive is just following that lead.

JOHN REID CLEARED BY LABOUR "STOOGES" - MARTIN BELL Sun 26 May 02

Martin Bell, the former anti-sleaze MP, has accused Labour of having "stooges" on the Commons standards committee that cleared cabinet minister John Reid of wrongdoing. Reid had earlier been found by the independent standards commissioner Elizabeth Filkin to have misused his Westminster office allowances. In written evidence to the Wicks investigation into the standard of MPs' conduct, Bell says he regrets not resigning from the committee after it watered down the report into Reid and fellow Scottish Labour MP John Maxton. Both had been accused of misusing parliamentary allowances for political purposes - in Reid's case paying his researchers, including his son Kevin, from public funds while they worked as Labour election campaigners. But the findings were not upheld by the Labour-dominated committee. Alex Salmond, the SNP's Westminster group leader, called for a reform of the system. "The behaviour of the standards committee towards its own commissioner is an example of how MPs cannot satisfactorily sit in judgment on each other."

LABOUR FINANCIAL WORRIES DEEPEN AS DONORS DRY UP Sat 25 May 02

Labour donors are being put off giving money by concern that they will be accused of "sleaze," one of the party's principal fundraisers has reportedly said. Lord Levy told the Daily Telegraph that it is becoming increasingly difficult to raise money for political parties following high profile rows over donations. Opposition politicians have called for an independent commission to examine claims of corruption in government. SNP treasurer Jim Mather expressed no sympathy for Labour's plight, instead predicting bleak times ahead for a party already loaded with debts estimated at 10 million pounds. "Labour is saddled with debts, and now funding has dried up as the government becomes more and more mired in allegations of cash-for-favours abuses," said Mr Mather. "There is a grubby pattern of sleaze involving the Ecclestone million, the Enron donation, the Mittal money, the Desmond cash, and the PowderJect deal."

SNP DEMANDS ANSWERS FROM COMMISSION CHIEF Sat 25 May 02

SNP Euro-MP Ian Hudghton MEP has demanded that European Commission President Romano Prodi be called to account before the European Parliament. Mr Hudghton issued his demand following an appearance this week of Commissioner Franz Fischler before the Parliament's Fisheries Committee. During the Committee meeting, Mr Fischler confirmed that Spanish Prime Minister Mr Josie Maria Aznar had recently telephoned Mr Prodi at home. Mr Hudghton said: "The delay in the CFP reform and the dismissal of Fisheries Director General Steffan Smidt came a mere three days after the call between Mr Aznar and Mr Prodi. Now we are being asked to believe that these events are entirely unconnected and that Mr Aznar put no pressure on the Commission. However, Franz Fischler was unable to explain exactly what Mr Aznar said to Mr Prodi by telephone. "It's time for Prodi to answer the serious allegations which have been levelled against him. The answers we've had from the Commission so far seem to stretch credibility to the limit."

FIONA HYSLOP TAKES UP HEALTH CUT FIGHT Sat 25 May 02

Lothians MSP Fiona Hyslop has demanded an explanation for a decision by Lothian NHS to deduct one per cent from the budgets of each of the NHS Trusts in the area. The decision, buried in the text of a document known as the Pan Lothian Health Review, was described as "extremely worrying" by the SNP frontbencher. "At a time when the health service in Scotland is already overstretched, any reduction in the resources serving any area of the country is a concern," she said. Ms Hyslop also went on to suggest that the people of West Lothian are set to face a diminishing local health service due to the costs of relocating Edinburgh's Royal Infirmary to Little France.

OUTCRY OVER PLANNED POSTAL SERVICE CUTS Fri 24 May 02

Consignia is considering adding more than 2,000 Scottish households to an "exemption list" of homes which it is not obliged to make daily deliveries to, postal watchdogs warned today. The former Post Office has suggested 4,643 exceptions from its Universal Postal Service obligation, which dates back to 1840 and requires it to deliver mail six days a week. Galloway & Upper Nithsdale SNP MSP Alasdair Morgan hit out at the plans, describing them as "alarming". "Government should be supporting rural communities not making things more difficult for them. Under Labour we have seen local rural schools close, rural post offices close and now we are witnessing the end of the universal postal service."

MSPs CHALLENGE QUANGO "CRONYISM" Thu 23 May 02

The Scottish Executive tonight ruled out forcing people who apply for quango posts to declare whether they are the member of a political party. Opposition politicians called for the current rules to be changed following reports that an increasing number of key quango appointees are members of the Labour Party. MSPs seized on the reports in The Scotsman newspaper, which claimed that in some sectors Labour Party members made up half of all quango posts. At the moment, those seeking to join quangos need only declare whether they have taken part in any political activity on behalf of a party. But SNP shadow local government minister Tricia Marwick said: "The public appointments system must be changed to allow proper scrutiny and to ensure that people are appointed on merit, not because of who they are or who they know." The Scotsman report also revealed that more than a quarter of health boards are chaired by Labour activists, while only one Tory is a health board member.

LONDON MUST LET GO OF THE REMOTE - KEVIN PRINGLE Thu 23 May 02

Scotland has distinctive broadcasting needs which are utterly different from the media requirements of an English region, argues Kevin Pringle. Writing in the Evening News, the head of media for the SNP Westminster Group, says this is exactly why the SNP has always demanded that broadcasting should be devolved to Scotland. "Winning responsibility for broadcasting is a basic requirement of a self-governing nation, and would come automatically with the full powers of independence. It would also create hundreds of highly skilled jobs and training opportunities in Scotland. Only with a vibrant Scottish broadcasting sector can we interpret Scotland to the world, and the world to Scotland." Mr Pringle goes on to warn of the dangers within the Communications Bill for Scotland. "As broadcasting powers become more centralised in London, and regulatory obligations to Scottish audiences are removed, the danger is that this Bill will lead to less local programming and high-quality production in Scotland. All of Scotland - culturally and geographically - must be included in the new broadcasting era."