SPAIN VOTES YES TO EU

So Spain has just voted Yes to the new European Union constitution.  It is an interesting result with some very worrying underlying features.

Spain is one of the most Europhile nations within the EU.  Not surprising, when you consider that there is - rightly - an identification in many Spanish minds with the end of the Franco dictatorship and membership of the EU.

Spain, since joining, has received more than £60 billion in aid - another very potent reason for being very pro-EU.

But only 42 per cent of the  the Spanish electorate bothered to vote.  Perhaps bothered is the wrong word, for it sounds as if I am trying to blame the Spanish people for being apathetic.

Not at all.  Many seem to have abstained from voting because they had not read the constitution, or even a summary of it.  They did not want to vote on a subject about which they were ignorant.

You can only ask why there seems to be a conspiracy of silence, a desire not to present the facts and to eliminate debate.

Only about nine out of 25 member states are to have a referendum on the matter.  There can be little doubt that the governments of many of those countries which are refusing to hold a referendum are afraid that a referendum would produce a negative result.

People can deal with facts and figures, if they are presented in a palatable form.

Let us hope that in Britain at least, we get them.
 

WHERE ARE THE STATS?

I was browsing through the football results in the sports section Herald newspaper this morning and it set me thinking.

Not only were there detailed reports on the games, but for the big match of the day - between Rangers and Celtic - there were almost three pages of information on the actual players, with each single one given a performance commentary and a rating out of ten, which substitutes were used and the precise minute that they came onto the pitch, which substitutes were not used, the name of the referee, which players were booked  and the exact attendance figure.

There were further figures, apart from the score: number of shots on target, shots off target, corners, offside, tackles, per cent of tackles successful, number of fouls and  yellow cards, and percentages for possession, territorial advantage and pass completion.

It would be true to say that readers of the Herald now know more about this one game of football than ninety per cent of Spaniards knew last Sunday about the reasons for saying yes or no to the new European Union Constitution.

Every week, the Herald sports pages produce an astonishing range of statistics - especially about the Scottish Premier League.

Could the Herald or any other newspaper not just once a month, maybe, or once a quarter, say, produce two or three pages of statistical data?

It would prove a useful data bank for their readers, and would at least help to improve the level of knowledge and political debate.

It would also help to boost circulation - just think of the boon such a digest of political statistics would be to teachers of modern studies in our schools - and what a great introduction to serious journalism it would be for our Scottish pupils.

WHY ARE PEOPLE ANTI-INDEPENDENCE?

Last year I reported on a conversation I had with a Scottish friend about why he was anti-independence.

Although I think there were probably deep-seated reasons and possibly his political thinking had quite simply not been challenged in any serious or thoughtful way, the reasons he gave were all to do with current perception:

Just look at that Scottish Parliament! Financial disaster!  Bunch of numpties!  Couldn¹t even run a sweetie stall!

Basically, he thought that the Scots - or Scottish politicians, at best - were a bunch of incompetents.

When I pointed out that the project faults and overruns on cost had basically been set in motion long before the new Members of the Scottish Parliament had been elected, he simply did not believe it.  Such is the impact of propaganda repeated ad infinitum.

Now, the other day I had a chat with friend from from the north-east of England.   He has worked in Scotland for over thirty years, but unlike many he has remained a believer in the Union.

It was only as we talked that I realised the gulf separating us.  Basically, Eric feels British, but even more important he enjoys feeling that he belongs to a country that counts for something in the world, that is important.

Furthermore, he feels that Scotland on its own is too small to count or have influence in the world and would soon descend to the level of a country like Norway!!

As I say, the difference in our attitudes fair took my breath away.

I often like to compare individual countries to individual people.  As a person, I want to get on well with my neighbours and belong and contribute to my local community.  I certainly do not want to feel that I am bigger or better or richer than they are, or that I am somehow more important.

And the same goes for countries.  Eric seemed quite taken aback when I said that far from descending to the condition of Norway I in fact aspired to that condition - independent, progressive, sponging off no-one, husbanding its own resources and in general being a good friend and neighbour among the other nations of the world.

So talk to your Unionist friends - they may have ideas that are stranger than you think.  But if we fail to open up a dialogue about independence we are failing our beliefs.

 

SECTARIAN STATISTICS

One of the scourges of Scottish society is sectarianism.  The problem is not so serious as it used to be but it can still give rise to ugly scenes.

It is imperative that reporting on such a sensitive issue should be informed, fair and unbiased.  Alas, too often our newspapers go fore the cheap and misleading headline which can actually aggravate the problem rather than illuminate it.

So it was great to come across the following letter in the Church of Scotland¹s Life and Work magazine from Steve Bruce, Professor of Sociology at the University of Aberdeen.  I have seldom read such a cogently argued case.

It may be a little long for a website, but this is what he says:

Since June 2003 it has been possible for a criminal offence to be aggravated by religious prejudice.  So a mugger who shouts obscenities at his victim can be hit with a second charge if those obscenities include expressions of religious hatred.  The Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal Service recently released the results of their study of the first six months of the new system.

The Scottish press mostly led their reports with a comparison of victims, as when the Daily Telegraph (sic! Scottish?) opened with:  Catholics are twice as  likely as Protestants to be targets of sectarian abuse, or they reported the Catholic Church¹s condemnation of the data:  Church leaders yesterday condemned the scourge of sectarianism ... (Daily Express).

A quick glance at phrases such as Catholics target of most abuse and Catholics are twice as likely to be attacked might well create the impression of gangs of thugs wandering the streets of Glasgow and Motherwell (more than half the offences were committed in Glasgow and Lanarkshire)  asking people their religion before assaulting them.

A detailed examination of the figures suggests something very different.

First, we should note what none of the Scottish press saw fit to mention: almost all of the primary offences (92 per cent) were breaches of the peace.  Add to that the fact that almost half the accused were drunk (and we may speculate about the blood chemistry of others) and that one-third of those abused were police officers.  Add also that 14 per cent of offences were associated with football and that 15 per cent were associated with sectarian marches and the reality of Scotland¹s sectarianism becomes clearer.

The typical case is not a bigot searching for someone to assault.  It is a drunk objecting to the police trying to discipline his uncivil behaviour.

Second, and contrary to the press reports, we do not know the religion of victims.  What we do know is the putative target of the verbal abuse.

As the perpetrators could not know the religion of the person they were insulting, we must assume that the insult was produced was produced ritualistically and hence tells us about the identity of the abuser, not the abused.  Hence the correct description is not that two-thirds of the victims were Catholics.  It is that two-thirds of the perpetrators were anti-Catholic and hence probably Protestant and one-third were anti Protestant and hence probably Catholic.  If the drunken hooligans of Glasgow divide two-thirds Protestant and one-third Catholic that is about par.  Incivility is evenly distributed.  Catholics are not especially victimised.

A combination by the Crown Office and sloppy reporting by the media has inadvertently created a misleading impression.  It seems clear to me that religious  affiliation and identity plays very little part in uncivil behaviour.  Our towns and cities have a hooligan problem.  Those hooligans will call on every rhetoric to insult people.  Hence religion is mentioned. When set against other evidence (such as the fact that over half of young married Catholics are married to non-Catholics), the data on the aggravated offence need not cause us to come to the conclusion that Scotland is riven by religious hostility.


Interesting?

NO COMMENT!  THE ANSWERS
 

The author of the extract I printed from a novel a fortnight ago was Eric Linklater (1899-1974).

The book is called The Dark of Summer, and it is indeed a novel that is darker in tone than almost all his other works.

It was first published in 1956, although the setting is just pre- to post- World War Two.

Eric Linklater is now a much neglected novelist.  His most famous books are probably Juan in America, Magnus Merriman and Private Angelo.  The last was made into a film in 1949, starring Peter Ustinov.

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THE MCDONALD ROAD GANG
 

Every week, up to the General Election, we will be profiling a member of SNP Headquarters staff;  we will also supply a comprehensive list of who they all are.  This will help Party activists  know who to contact.
 

Clare Adamson works as Campaigns Executive, Systems in the Campaign Unit, working with Richard Thomson, Lorraine Reid and Claire Bennett.  Clare is primarily concerned with co-ordinating the Party’s approach to the development of systems within Headquarters and specifically leading the deployment of IT in campaigning.  Her main duties include co-ordinating the provision of electoral database support services to SNP organisations and dealing with all issues relating to the electoral database, including: managing the Party’s relationship IT suppliers on service, operational and technical matters. Clare liaises closely with Lorraine Reid, Campaigns Executive Training in the development of training materials to support the use of electoral databases. Clare has worked at SNP HQ for two years, having joined just before the 2003 Council Elections when she stood as the Candidate in Jack McConnell’s own ward, Belhaven, Wishaw and narrowly missed taking the seat.  Clare still lives in Wishaw with her husband, NOC member John Adamson, and their son Aidan.

 

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The Working Life of Linda Fabiani MSP

Click here to read SNP MSP Linda Fabiani's working diary.

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SYNOPSIS

A brief snapshot of what some of our Parliamentary representatives have been up to over the last week.

Tuesday 15th February 2005

EXEC MISCALCULATION ON FREE CARE FOR ELDERLY

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 inability to count.
 

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Wednesday 16 February

GOVERNMENT SABOTAGES SCOTLAND'S RENEWABLE FUTURE

On the day Kyoto comes into force Scotland should be leading the way

Alex Salmond MP, Leader of the Scottish National Party has made a submission to the latest Ofgem consultation on energy transmission pricing.

His remarks are made as the Kyoto Protocol, which aims to slow climate change comes into force today just as the Ofgem consultation comes to a close. The consultation looks at the proposed transmission charges and the general transmission system under BETTA (British Electricity Trading and Transmission Arrangement) which is a UK wide energy transmission network set up under the Energy Act 2004.

Under BETTA transmission charges would be introduced on a locational basis with the highest charges to generators in more remote areas.

This will have a damaging effect especially on renewable energy generators as remote and offshore areas are often the most efficient for resources such as wind, wave and tide power.

Alex Salmond said:

The Government is sabotaging Scotland¹s renewable future by implementing these obscene charges. Today the Kyoto Protocol comes into force and Scotland could and should be making a very valuable contribution.

The government has pledged that it will work towards cutting emissions of carbon dioxide by 60% by 2050, indeed this was one of the initial aims of the Government¹s Energy Act. These charges will make these grand pledges impossible to achieve.

Instead the Government is undermining Scotland¹s potential with unfair charges. These proposals mean that on average Scottish generators will pay 6.3 times more per unit than English and Welsh. Scotland has 25% of Europe¹s wind power with the biggest potential in offshore power but the burden could prevent them from being harvested.

The SNP has made a submission to Ofgem because Scotland¹s energy industry matters and that it matters in the fight against climate change, we will continue to fight against these discriminatory charges.
 

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Friday 18th February 2005

PUBLIC SECTOR PENSION CUTS A BREACH OF FAITH

MORE DEBATE NEEDED IN SCOTLAND - STURGEON

SNP Holyrood Leader Nicola Sturgeon MSP has labelled proposed plans to reform public sector pensions a breach of faith and has called for a halt to the reforms pending extended consultation and a full debate in the Scottish Parliament.

Speaking on a major day of action by public sector workers, Ms Sturgeon said:

I am deeply concerned about the proposed reforms to public sector pensions.
There may well be a case for some change to ensure that the system is sustainable in the future but the proposed reforms are a blatant attack on the existing rights of public sector workers.

It is a simple matter of fairness that promises made to existing pension scheme members should be honoured. The reforms on the table are a breach of faith.

It is essential that these reforms are not bulldozed through. There must be thorough examination, extensive consultation and a full debate in the Scottish Parliament.

The Scottish Public Pensions Agency has indicated that it will follow the English reforms - which include increasing the retirement age from 60 to 65 - but it is under no obligation to do so.

The Scottish Executive must now step in, call a halt and allow time for proper consultation and debate.
 

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SALMOND  OPENS SCOTLAND HOUSE IN ESTONIA

The Leader of the Scottish National Party, Mr Alex Salmond MP,  joined a delegation of Scottish business people in Estonia where he has opened Scotland House jointly with Professor Ene Ergma the Speaker of the Estonian Parliament.

This venture will provide services to Scottish and Estonian businesses who wish to trade with each other as well as promote Scotland in Estonia. The project has been entirely financed by Scottish business people. The official opening will be attended by senior Scottish and Estonian business people, representatives of the diplomatic community in Tallinn and senior Estonian politicians.

During his visit Alex Salmond MP also had private meetings with the Estonian Foreign Minister, the former Prime Minister and other parliamentarians as well as Ambassadors of EU and other states in Tallinn. Mr Salmond departed from Scotland on Monday 21 February and returned on Wednesday 23 February.

Speaking ahead of his visit Alex Salmond MP said:

Scotland¹s links with Estonia have grown stronger and stronger over the past few years, due in large part to the relationships that have been developed between our business communities.

There are tremendous opportunities for Scottish business people in Estonia and Estonians in Scotland. I am very much looking forward to this visit and building on the important ties between our two countries.

Scottish companies have played a central part in reviving a historic relationship between Scotland and Estonia. Scots companies have traded with partners across the north west of Europe, including Estonia, for centuries and that trading relationship is still strong and valuable. Scottish business people have created multi million pound enterprises due this relationship employing thousands of people and the opening of Scotland House is a great opportunity to deepen this relationship.

Since achieving independence in 1991, Estonia has shown what can be achieved when a nation takes responsibility for its own affairs. Estonia has made remarkable economic progress boosting Estonians standards of living enormously. Estonia now sits at the heart of Europe with a strong voice in the European Union and strong links across the globe. There is a lot that Scotland can learn from Estonia¹s experience.

Spokesperson for the Scottish business people behind Scotland House, John McGlynn, Director of the Entrepreneurial Exchange in Scotland and a Director of Scottish Capital in Estonia, who joined Alex Salmond on his visit, said before leaving:

I am delighted that Alex Salmond will be joining us in Estonia and in particular his participation in the opening of Scotland House in Tallinn.

It is amazing what a small country can achieve when it takes responsibility for its own affairs. Estonia does not have the same natural resources as Scotland but has seen tremendous economic achievements due to its government¹s motivation for success.

Iain Lawson, the Honorary Consul for the Republic of Estonia in Scotland said:

I know Alex Salmond's forthcoming visit is creating a great deal of interest and anticipation from both Scots living in Tallinn and Estonians. The International Reception that Alex is hosting is a complete sell-out including ambassadors and representatives from over 20 different countries.

Estonians like the Scots and the potential for trade between Scotland and Estonia is absolutely first class. Alex Salmond's visit, coming on the back of other visits by senior Scottish political figures is very important as it helps Scotland's profile in Estonia.

Alex Salmond has a very busy programme and has meetings with many senior Estonian political figures. These meetings were easy to arrange as Estonia wants closer ties with Scotland and I think Alex Salmond will be very impressed with the staggering progress Estonia has achieved since gaining Independence from the Soviet Union.

 
Estonia has shown what small nations can achieve when there is a commonality of purpose and a determination to fully utilise the skills and assets of the country to the fullest.

Note:

The opening of Scotland House took place on Tuesday 22 February.

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Saturday 19 February 2004

ALEX SALMOND ADOPTED FOR BANFF AND BUCHAN

Speaking at his adoption meeting as SNP parliamentary candidate for Banff and Buchan SNP leader Alex Salmond MP set out the Scottish agenda for the election.

At the meeting held in the Union Hotel Turriff the supporting speaker was the SNP MP for Moray Angus Robertson.

Mr Salmond said:

Blair¹s election phoney war has flushed out all of the London parties and exposed the extent of the southern drift of their policies.

In virtually every policy launch thus far whether it is on the economy, on immigration or on health and education Labour, Tory and Liberals have one hinging common - they been putting forward an agenda, which is irrelevant to Scotland.

On the economy, the Government boast of continuous growth but that has not been the case in Scotland, which has been in technical recession twice in the last four years.

On immigration Tory and Labour compete in a Dutch auction to keep people out of the country while Scotland faces a declining population.

Meanwhile the Liberals are fighting an election claiming to be an opposition party while they prop up a Labour Government in Scotland.

The London parties all act as if Scotland was a faraway place of which they know nothing.

Scotland means nothing to them and they are irrelevant to Scots in this campaign.

In contrast everything the SNP say and do in this election - whether it is for a Citizens Pension, an oil fund or saving the Scottish regiments - will be directly relevant to the Scottish people. We are the only Party who are fighting a Scottish campaign.

As our vote, increases then Scottish interests will start to matter in this election. That is why we say to the people: If Scotland matters to you then there is only one way to make it matter in May.

Speaking in support of Mr Salmond Angus Robertson said:

Every poll conducted thus far shows the SNP gaining seats and every poll shows the SNP are the only party that the people of Scotland trust.

In Alex Salmond we have the one political leader who is trusted to represent Scottish interests and with the peoples help we can use this campaign to make the London parties dance to a Scottish tune.

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Monday 21st February 2005

MACASKILL CALLS FOR FINES CASH TO STAY IN SCOTLAND

Shadow Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill MSP has published a response to a Written Question in the Scottish Parliament which showed that Scotland has lost out on 31 million pounds worth of fines to the Treasury in London in the last year, and over 100 million since 1999.

Despite Scotland's separate justice system, the payment of fixed penalties and fines in Scotland is sent to the Treasury for redistribution, rather than being kept in Scotland.

Mr MacAskill called for the money to be kept in Scotland and used to directly fund anti-crime measures here.  He said:

Since the inception of the Scottish Parliament, a total of over 100 million pounds of fines and fixed penalties has been collected in Scotland.  But rather than this cash being kept here to fight crime we continue to send it south to be swallowed up by the Treasury.  

What we need is a system where we keep the money collected from fines in Scotland so that it can be put directly  back into anti-crime initiatives.  An extra 30 million pounds a year in investment would go a long way to tackling the underlying causes of criminal behaviour and to supporting existing programmes designed to keep levels of crime down.

If we are serious about fighting crime in Scotland we should be using the money raised here through the courts to aid the police and others who are working hard to protect out communities.
 

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MoD CHARGES £2.5M FOR TSUNAMI RELIEF - MP CALLS FOR RETHINK

IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO DO THE RIGHT THING

Following revelations that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is to charge the Department for International Development (DfID) £2.5m for the MoD role in the relief effort following the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, SNP MP Angus Robertson has tabled further parliamentary questions calling for a government rethink.

The information on MoD charges emerged following a series of parliamentary answers from the MoD and DfID to questions tabled by Mr Robertson, MP for Moray.

The government admitted that the MOD charged at a rate they claimed was competitive with commercial rates.   DfID has confirmed that £2.5m is to be paid to the Ministry of Defence.

Commenting, Mr Robertson said:

The Ministry of Defence have been caught out charging the aid budget for services that most of us would have expected them to give for free.

£2.5m is an awful lot of money and even now would make a difference to the aid effort in the region or indeed in Africa.

Millions of people gave their own hard earned cash and showed enormous generosity to the tsunami relief effort. They have every reason to shocked and angry that the MOD is taking a multi-million pound slice of the aid cake for services that they could give for free.

I am calling on the government to rethink this decision. It is not too late for the MoD to do the right thing and to agree to waive the cash so it can be spent by DfID on better things.