THE SUNLIT UPLANDS

          I have been reading, with some degree of interest,  the views of Stuart Cosgrove, Director of Nations and Regions for Channel 4, and the reaction to them;  this reaction seems to be mainly from the cultural scene, which he had specifically mentioned.   There was also a response from the Scottish Socialist Party, whom he had criticised, and from Alex Salmond of the Scottish National Party, whom he had not criticised.  Reaction from the unionist parties there was none. 

              What Mr Cosgrove said was that the Scots, of whom he is one, gloried in failure, and that the cultural scene in general portrayed the very worst parts of Scottish life, sink estates, drugs, drink and deprivation.  He also claimed that we boasted about being the sick man of Europe, and whinged about how poor we were, and lamented that the great Scots entrepreneurs and inventors of yesteryear were no more;  well most of them would have died anyway - everybody does. 

             One of the recurrent themes in the 39 years I have been in the Scottish National Party has been whether Scotland could stand on her own;  I recall that probably the first letter I ever had printed in the Scotsman , around 1967, was on that very theme.  I can't remember all that I wrote, but I started "Dear Mr English Taxpayer", and thanked him for his generosity and benevolence in propping up my standard of living;  the Scotsman put it in a box in the middle of the letters page. (I think I've still got the letter in the loft somewhere, as I never throw anything out.)   This of course, was before oil had been discovered in Scottish waters, an event that blew the whole economic argument out of the water.   I have not changed my mind, and I have not read, or seen, or heard anything that would make me change my mind;  this is most likely the richest country in Europe. 

              On the subject of whether Scotland is subsidised, or not, I have constant discussions with friends, not of the nationalist persuasion;  my questions to them are as follows: "Does Scotland pay her way?"  invariable answer "No".  Right "So you owe your standard of living and prosperity to a generous English taxpayer?"  Answer, "No!  I owe my standard of living and prosperity to the fact that I worked hard and saved, not to anyone else's generosity."  "OK - so who is subsidised?"  "Millions of them - but no me".   Never fails, and none of them ever accepts that if Scotland does not pay her way, then all Scots are categorised as not paying their way, including them. 

               We now have a Scottish Parliament,  and one of my reasons for supporting its creation was that I anticipated that it would assume more and more powers to itself, eventually leading to Independence;  this was a change of opinion for me from 1979, but I was looking at 18 years on, and the SNP had less support than then.    However, I have been sadly disappointed, along with most Scots, at the supine attitude adopted by the New Labour/Secondhand Liberal coalition;  they keep ceding powers to Westminster via Sewel motions.  Lord Sewel, who came up with the idea, is himself appalled at the over use of the device;  he envisaged 2 or 3 a year, to save Parliamentary time, whereas the Executive have racked up 61 in 5 years.  They are using it as a means of stifling debate, or because they dance to the Westminster tune;  I have often speculated as to what dance they would perform of it was a Tory tune. 

                The present First Minister pledged to do "Less, better" - what an ambition, particularly as he has only achieved the first part;  Henry McLeish made a lot of mistakes, but he had some vision.  Free care for the elderly came about on his watch, he wanted Scotland to host Euro 2008, an idea firmly booted off the park via a joint bid with Ireland by the current First Minister.  I do not know where the bid for Euro 2012 has gone in Scottish terms but Azerbajan has put in their bid!   

                 There are visions for Scotland; we can be a vibrant, dynamic and prosperous nation, but not until we take control of our own affairs and shake off the dead hand of Westminster.  It is recognised that with Independence there would be a vast outpouring of energy and creativity;  if this is doubted, just look across the Irish Sea.   Ireland was conquered, and occupied, so they had a longer road to travel;  we had a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation, and we still have.  That is our problem.  

                 And it just so happens that there is a Policy Postcard dealing with that very subject.

SCOTLAND'S ECONOMIC POSITION

Scotland has huge economic potential and all the attributes to make a real success but, as part of the centralised UK, our economic performance continually lags behind our potential. 

To bridge the gap between our mediocre performance and our outstanding potential we need the same financial and economic independence as countries like Ireland, Austria and Sweden. Only when we have those powers, and focus them on enhancing Scotland's attributes - placing our economy at a competitive advantage with the rest of Europe - will we be able to release our full potential. 

Scotland has the attributes for success: a recognisable brand and a reputation for integrity, a skilled and educated work-force, a great environment and natural resources and modern, competitive industries. However, until we get the powers to cut taxes on growth and job creation, placing our economy at a competitive advantage, we will see Scottish jobs, businesses and ideas migrate south and beyond.  

Governments don't create wealth, but they can create conditions which can help or hinder job and wealth creation. The Labour establishment in Scotland makes a living out of being seen to treat the symptoms of Scotland's relative economic decline. We need the powers to earn our way to success, not palliatives to treat the problems of underperformance.
 

        Well, well,  just as the Westminster Public Accounts Committee start looking at how Prince Charles remunerated Mrs Camilla Parker-Bowles, he gets down on his bended knee and proposes marriage. 

        I suppose that is a rather jaundiced view of what might be a settling experience for the dysfunctional royal family, but royalty has done and continues to do very much as it likes, and in fact have great wealth and privilege purely because of their birth, and not through any intrinsic merit.   What is intriguing is the way in which the future head of the Church of England, who is divorced, can marry a divorcee, whose divorce he caused, and continue to be regarded as the future head, even although the aforesaid Church of England disapproves of divorce. 

         This brings up another little anomaly, which was highlighted by Cardinal Keith O'Brien, head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland;  Cardinal O'Brien said that it was strange that Charlie could marry a divorcee and still become King and head of the Church of England, whereas if Mrs Parker-Bowles had been a Catholic, then he could neither have become King nor head of the Church of England.  I have not been aware of any such statement from the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England, but perhaps I missed it.  My knowledge of what Cardinal O'Brien said comes from the Scotsman report on the anti sectarian summit held at Glasgow University earlier this week, when he said that the abolition of the Act of Settlement would go a long way to combat sectarianism;  this opinion was hotly disputed by the representative of the Orange Order. 

         The Act of Settlement was designed to stop the Catholic Church from making laws, and stated that neither the monarch or his spouse could be Catholics;  at the time, the monarchs were the power.  In the United Kingdom of 2005, power is exercised by the people through the ballot box, and the Prime Minister is married to a Catholic, the Leader of the Liberal Party is a Catholic, and the last Leader of the Tory Party, Iain Duncan Smith, is a Catholic;  no constitutional bar there.   Attempts to change this are seen as being too difficult, but just before the last Westminster Elections there was an Order in Council to change some rules so that a former Catholic priest could become a Member of Parliament.  At its inception, the Scottish Parliament also called for the abolition of the Act of Settlement, but no progress there yet.   However, this is something the First Minister is trying that has my approval.   

            It is also a source of great puzzlement that the Scottish National Party has one march a year to celebrate the winning of Independence at Bannockburn, while the Orange Order has about 500 marches a year to celebrate a victory in another country.

              What a merry little time our politicians are having to themselves to cover up the First Minister's Hogmanay holiday at Kirsty Wark's villa in Majorca. 

             To help muddy the waters, first Mr McConnell says that he has to register a Christmas present from his wife, a painting costing £1000.00, in the Scottish Parliament's register of gifts;  not entirely sure if this is the case, but at least he lets us all know that his wife is rich enough in her own right to give him a gift costing £1000.00.  Or was it his wife who was letting us know that?  Whatever, it is a handy distraction, but is also points out that they could pay for a Majorcan holiday, not being exactly short of a bob or two;  also, what if someone had given the painting to Mrs McConnell, so that she could give it to her husband and he would not have to declare it?  I don't mean the painting per se, but any gift someone might want to give a politician.   The rules are being reviewed anyway;  they were apparently set by the Westminster Parliament, the same folk whose "Honourable Members" rules allowed Keith Raffan to collect wads of dosh for driving to Edzell when he was in Germany, no doubt at the launch of a CalMac ferry that should have been built in Port Glasgow. 

             And I feel a bit of poetic justice is winging its way towards the leader of the Tory group in the Scottish Parliament, David McLetchie;  he angered me with his merciless hounding of Henry McLeish over the rent of his Glenrothes office.  I know Mr McLeish was guilty of mixing up the rent and double claiming it, due to the aforesaid Westminster rules, and I was very critical of him.  However, McLetchie hounded him, and there were some in the SNP who criticised John Swinney because he did not take the same vicious attitude, but Mr McLeish was fundamentally a decent bloke, as was John Swinney. 

            Mr Mc Letchie is under fire as he is a partner in the legal firm Tods Murray;  this was public knowledge, and has been in the Register of Interests from day one;  I know because I looked it up - on day one, and I think he declared £30,000 a year, now cut back to £25,000.   What has caused this to surface is that Mr McLetchie signed a motion opposing any extension to Edinburgh Airport which would affect the Royal Highland Show ground;  the Royal Highland Showground is a client of Tods Murray, so Mr McLetchie has fallen foul of that.  The code states "a member who was a partner in a legal firm would need to consider the rule on paid advocacy, not only in  proceedings directly related to that firm but also in proceedings directly relating to the firm's clients." 

            He claims that the late Donald Dewar was a partner in a law firm while he was a Member of Parliament.  "If it was good enough for Donald Dewar, it was good enough for me." he said.   He omitted to mention that this was in the Westminster Parliament where half of them have part time jobs, and to everyone's astonishment, he has not brought up the case of Gordon Jackson, Labour MSP for Govan, who rarely appears in the Parliament as he is too busy earning upwards of £100,000 a year as an advocate;  he'll never have time to vote or sign motions anyway.   Apart from that, how does Mr McLetchie have the time to earn the money, as he is a full time MSP and the leader of the Tory group -  I've just answered my own question.

        A Labour councillor in London has just resigned after attending 6 meetings out of a possible 54;  he claimed £17,000 in expenses over 2 years.   He was a member of Lewisham's scrutiny and public accounts committee, and listed travel as one of his interests. 

             He resigned after publicity that he has been living and working in Glasgow for the last 2 years; strange that his Labour colleagues never noticed.

         The abolition of tolls on the Skye Bridge could increase crime in Skye; apparently the CCTV camera and the toll collectors were able to identify criminals when they stopped to pay the tolls.  This was a great help to the police. 

         We are still awaiting the arraignment of the real criminals, the Tory Secretary of State, and the Bank of America, who pauchled millions under the Private Finance Initiative;  somehow I don't think Northern Constabulary are looking for them.

             The Westminster Parliament's public accounts committee have been asking the royal accountants some awkward questions about the Duchy of Cornwall, Prince Chairlie's personal money forest;  last year, Chairlie took £11.9 million from the estate, while the estate pension fund had been £673,000 in deficit for the past two years.  The response was that the pension fund was "very healthy". 

              Well, Chairlie's own pension fund is secure, so why should he care?

         Robert Kilroy-Silk has left the UK Independence Party, because they wouldn't crown him king, and has founded his own party, called Veritas.    Peculiar name, as the most common use of that word is in the phrase "In Vino Veritas" - roughly translated - you'll be more truthful when you're drunk. 

  Probably need a lot of alcohol to get the truth from any politician.

         
             The English Home Secretary has graciously decided that Scotland can have some skilled immigrants and asylum seekers, or to put it another way, send us the ones the English do not want. 

              Note the word "skilled";  if those persecuted are hewers of wood and drawers of water - Tough.

          Dover Harbour Board has spent £30 million on 2 new ferry berths  only to discover that they do not fit the ships that will be using them;  the port handled 14 million passengers and 2.5 million cars last year.  The Board is now altering the berths, and has asked the ferry companies to chop bits off their ships. 

              Whatever happened to the old joiner's adage "Measure twice - cut once"?

   
       
            I enjoyed an outraged letter in the Observer last week;  the writer thought lie detector tests for people claiming benefits was targeting the most vulnerable. 

            However, he supported lie detector tests for the rich submitting their tax returns -  and politicians their promises;  these of course are not planned.

SYNOPSIS

Speaking following the publication of the latest figures on teacher trainer numbers, Shadow Education Minister Fiona Hyslop MSP echoed the concerns of teaching organisations that the small increase to date is not nearly enough to combat the growing teaching crisis in Scotland. 

Ms Hyslop said: "The lack of teachers in Scottish classrooms is the ticking time bomb within our education system.  With around half of Scotland's current teachers expected to retire within ten years we need radical action now to prevent disaster in the future. 

 "Despite today's announcement we are still not recruiting enough staff to bring down class sizes in Scotland, and this is reflected in the comments today by both local authorities and teaching organisations.  It's clear from groups within the education system that teacher shortages are a real problem at the chalk face, and no amount of spin by the Executive can disguise this fact. 

 "The problem is that the Executive knew that couldn't meet this pledge as soon as they made it in 2003.  The SNP told the Executive at the time that even using their own figures they would have to at least double the intake of trainee teachers starting in with the 2003 intake if they were ever to make a positive impact on teacher numbers.   

"The Executive's failure to expand teacher numbers in schools quickly enough means that pupils are being deprived of subject choice and face a steady stream of supply teachers.  Because of this, they have already abandoned their class size pledge of 20 pupils in S1 and S2 Maths classes.   

"As it stands, Peter Peacock is relying on Scotland's falling population to balance the books.  If we are serious about increasing our population we need to be equally serious about recruiting enough teachers to cope.    

"The report card for this Executive reads 'Must try harder - should have started work sooner'.

Following the publication of two separate polls which show the SNP Leader as the party leader most trusted to stand up for Scotland's interests at Westminster, and far ahead of First Minister Jack McConnell in terms of approval ratings from the Scottish people, Alex Salmond MP welcomed the research. 

Figures produced by TNS System 3 show Mr Salmond topping the poll of party leaders in terms of trust, while another survey by YouGov shows that while only one quarter of Scots believe that Jack McConnell is doing a good job, that figure jumps to over a third for Mr Salmond. In addition, the YouGov poll shows the First Minister with a negative approval rating overall, with the SNP Leaders rating well into positive figures. 

The TNS System 3 survey was carried out between 27 January and 2 February.  Interviewees were asked: 

"Which politician do you trust most to stand up for Scottish interests in the Westminster Parliament?" 

The results show that: 

Alex Salmond is the most trusted Leader with 32% of the vote. Charles Kennedy received 22% and Tony Blair 17%. Michael Howard received only 4% support (and only 2% of female voters).

 Amongst Conservative voters only 17% of voters trusted Michael Howard most to stand up for Scottish interests at Westminster. Amongst Labour voters only 38% trusted Tony Blair most stand up for Scottish interests at Westminster. 

Alex Salmond was ahead in every age group and every socio-economic grouping in Scotland. Alex Salmond also led in every region of Scotland except the Highlands and Islands and the Lothians.

 Alex Salmond is backed by twice as many Conservatives voters as Michael Howard and a fifth of Labour voters and a quarter of Liberal Democrat voters as well as the overwhelming majority of SNP voters.

 Mr Salmond said:

 "These polls are excellent news for both the SNP and I. This is a superb boost for the party at the start of the election campaign, and shows that there will definitely be all to play for in the run up to the vote
expected in May. 

"The SNP will continue to build on this highly encouraging start to the campaign and bring our positive message to the people of Scotland. 

"Scots know that unlike Labour and Tories they can trust the SNP to stand up for their interests at Westminster. Only a vote for the SNP can make Scotland matter in May."

Speaking following the publication of a series of opinion polls which show that the SNP are set to make gains in the forthcoming General Election and that Alex Salmond is the most trusted Scottish political leader, SNP Deputy Leader Nicola Sturgeon MSP called for a series of leadership debates in the run up to the expected vote in May.

Polls published today in the Sunday Herald and Scotland on Sunday show that if the General Election were called today the SNP would gain seats from Labour. Both polls also show that the SNP Leader Alex Salmond was both the most trusted political leader in Scotland and also has a positive approval rating far in excess of First Minister Jack McConnell's negative showing. 

Ms Sturgeon said: "The people of Scotland know that they can trust the SNP and Alex Salmond to stand up for their interests in Westminster.  With both Labour and the Tories intent on fighting a General Election campaign that ignores Scotland's interests and priorities, SNP are the only party that can make
Scotland matter in May. 

"While the other parties are fighting on an agenda which is irrelevant to Scotland, the SNP is putting Scotland's priorities first. 

"That's why I'm calling today for a series of Scottish leadership debates in the run up to the General Election.  We've had a number of such debates in the past, and now's the time to agree such events with all party leaders in Scotland so we can highlight the clear difference in our agendas. 

"Other parties can run but they can't hide from the Scottish people. The SNP are ready to make progress in May, while the Tories and Labour are already running scared from campaigning on Scottish issues.

 "A Scottish debate would only serve to highlight the fact that only the SNP can be trusted to make Scotland matter."
 

Commenting on the announcement of Labour's General Election pledges, SNP Leader Alex Salmond MP said: "Labour's puny pledges are sourced in the south and only have passingrelevance to Scotland.  In all of their key areas they have policies which  either have only passing interest to the Scottish people, or in terms of their proposals for immigration and ID cards will be directly harmful to Scotland's interests.

 "Labour's southern package of southern pledges will cut no ice in Scotland.  Darling and McConnell's feeble attempt to put a kilt on English policies only dramatises the fact they are irrelevant to Scotland, and out of touch with the Scottish people.

 "In sharp contrast, everything the Scottish National Party says and does is relevant north of the border.  That's why the way to make Scotland matter in May is to cast your vote for the SNP."

Shadow Health Minister Ms Shona Robison MSP has called on the Executive to look for alternative ways to meet their targets in filling the employment gaps in the NHS, after it was revealed in statistics from ISD that the number of midwives and nurses are dropping and that there are too few consultant vacancies being filled for the Executive to keep their pledge of attracting an extra 600 by 2006.

 Commenting, Ms Robison said:  "While these figures show that there have been some improvements in some areas of the NHS, there are still areas of real concern.

 "With the recent announcement of a rising birth rate, figures showing a drop in the number of midwives may be of some concern for expectant mothers. This combined with the Executive's proposed centralisation of services, which would leave mothers and their babies from rural areas with even less choice but to travel for hospital care.

 "The fall in the number of nurses working in the NHS over the last six months also raises questions about whether the Executive will be able to meet their pledge to bring 12,000 nurses into the NHS by 2007. The same is true of their pledge to increase the number of consultants. The increase per year should be around 200 if they are to keep to this target, but these figures show that they have managed to attract less than half that number.

 "The Executive must improve their training, recruitment and retention policies if these targets are to be met, so that we can work towards improving patient care and ensuring a better deal for NHS staff. "

   The Scottish National Party has revealed the failure of the Scottish Executive's scheme to revolutionize Scotland's fuel consumption through an answer to the Parliamentary Question posed by Richard Lochhead MSP.

 Commenting on the deplorable results of the Executive's 'green cars' scheme, which show that the schemes have converted less than 2 thousand out of over 2 million vehicles in Scotland, Shadow Environment Minister, Richard Lochhead MSP said:  "Low carbon fuels are an efficient alternative to the environmentally unfriendly fossil fuels currently being used in transport vehicles.  The Scottish Executive has allocated funds to convert Scotland's transport vehicles to low carbon fuels, though most of Scotland continues to contribute to global warming.  

"Less than 2000 cars have been converted to low carbon fuels in three years while nearly 750,000 vehicles on Scottish roads are emitting dangerous levels of pollutants into the atmosphere every day. 

"If Ministers are serious about cutting transport emissions they must change their tactics, deliver on their promise, and put their money where their mouth is. 

"We can usher in the age of environmental protection and cooperation by making the 'green cars' scheme a reality, converting Scotland's transport vehicles to low carbon fuels. 

"If the Scottish Executive won't do it, the SNP will."
 

The Scottish Executive has grossly miscalculated the cost of funding free personal care for the elderly according to a new report compiled by two leading economists. Margaret and Jim Cuthbert have published the report in the latest Quarterly Economic Commentary by the Fraser of Allander Institute and it highlights that the bill over the next 15 years could be £130 million more than Ministers had budgeted for. Responding to the report Shadow Social Justice Minister Christine Grahame said:

 "This report raises very serious issues about the Executive's competency to properly cost major policy areas such as free personal care for the elderly.  

"The economists were warning Ministers back in November 2001 that their figures did not take account of the large numbers of disabled elderly in Scotland but to no avail.

 "I have written to the Minister seeking his firm assurance that this Executive remains committed to a policy which was pioneered by the SNP and to ensure that Scottish local authorities are not left to pick up the tab for the Labour and Lib Dem's inability to count."