Lancastria honour demonstrates
Scotland’s value for war veterans

Rarely in politics do you get the chance to witness a truly historic event and one that is genuinely unique. But last week the Scottish Parliament finally saw the survivors and relatives of the Clyde built Lancastria recognised.

My own direct connection to this tragedy is fairly widely known as my grandfather from Dundee was a survivor of this forgotten action of World War II that claimed over 4000 lives, an estimated 400 of them Scots.

The Scottish Government decided to act where previous British Governments failed to and struck a commemorative medal which represents “official Scottish Government recognition” of a disaster that Winston Churchill, the “Scunner of Dundee”, officially tried to cover up.

The decision by Stewart Maxwell MSP, the Minister responsible for veterans issues in Scotland, was a brave one. There was and remains real opposition to the medal and any attempt by the SNP Government to recognise this loss from the Ministry of Defence.

However the very positive reaction to the decision from survivors and relatives, amongst them SNP Councillor and leader of East Ayrshire Council Douglas Reid (whose father was a survivor) and prominent SNP activist Robert Cruikshank, whose grandfather was a victim, demonstrate that this was the right move, for the right reasons.

At the presentation of medals, which was an emotional occasion, First Minister Alex Salmond said:
"These medals serve not only to remember this extraordinary loss of life but also to signify the Scottish Government's recognition for the survivors and the families of the victims. It's so richly deserved after all these years."

In St. Nazaire, from where I write this article, the decision has also been warmly welcomed by the French who have commemorated and remembered this sacrifice for decades. It has helped build Scotland’s international reputation and demonstrated that despite the chains imposed by the devolution settlement, our Government is still capable of pushing the boundaries. It has demonstrated we have the ambition to work like other normal nations and officially remember and honour those who paid the supreme sacrifice, even when Brown’s lumbering Labour Party would prefer us to forget.

 

Staff allowances

 

If there was ever a subject guaranteed to diminish MSPs’ standing in the Parliament it has to be when they are deciding their own allowances and pay.

The issue divided Parliament and the recommendations arising from the Langlands report, to give constituency MSPs more money for staff was supported by Labour MSPs, not least because they were set to secure an additional one million pounds more than the SNP, who have less constituency MSPs.

I should at this point declare an interest, of sorts. I am one of the aforementioned staff, however I will soon be departing for pastures new and will not be around when the new allowances come into force. It is clear though that the basis of Labour’s argument did not reflect the founding principles of the Parliament, that all MSPs are equal. The danger of the Langlands recommendation on giving more money to constituency MSPs was that it would create two tiers of MSPs and give Labour a clear advantage.

There is no evidential basis for believing constituency MSPs have a greater workload. Like any large workplace there are hardworking MSPs and others who are less so. In some instances there are regional MSPs whose reputation is for securing results, for working hard which means their caseload is far greater than constituency MSPs, because of the size of the region they represent. In the end equality was maintained, and the consensus will be to hope that this issue does not come up again soon, as there is nothing more guaranteed to garner public opposition as MSPs allowances.



 

French keyboards

 

Finally, as some of you will appreciate, this is my first contribution to the FITW. It has been a real challenge, not least because I am in France on my own, with only a basic grounding in French, but also dealing with the challenges of a French keyboard, which has keys configured in a completely different arrangement to the QWERTY keyboards at home. These words were in fact written on an AZERTY keyboard with the result that it has taken me almost 3 hours to write this contribution... Before I left Scotland my good friend Christophe Francois agreed to lend me his laptop, but omitted to mention that I may struggle with the keys being in a different position than I was used to. This problem has been compounded by the constant flow of red wine he has fed me as I sit on the balcony overlooking the sea and glance at the slowly diminishing sunset. It’s a hard life !  However I am happy to reflect on the fact that amongst the very many French people I have met on this trip that Scotland’s reputation as a country of determined and fundamentally honest people remains intact and there is a strong set of shared social and cultural values between this part of France (Brittany) and Scotland. If there is an opening soon for an Ambassador to Brittany, then I will certainly apply.