Another good reason to get out of the UK

There are many many good reasons to get out of the UK, but another one emerged today, with the release of the 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index. Following the expenses scandal, the UK has dropped to 20th and now rates at 7.6.

By contrast, a group of relatively small, independent states, where elected representatives are closer to the people have come out on top:

"Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore are tied at the top of the list with a score of 9.3, followed closely by Finland and Sweden at 9.2."

I wonder how Scotland would fare if taken out of the UK - i's certainly a shame that our reputation around the world is being tarnished by association with the Westminster regime.

Scotland needs Champions

As reported elsewhere, we launched our election campaign this morning in Edinburgh.

I spent today campaigning in Glasgow East, both canvassing and leafleting, and received an interesting response on the doorsteps. There's a genuine warmth for John, even among those people who aren't SNP supporters. People recognise the work he does, and appreciate the regular newsletters they receive. John is a natural champion for the area - hardworking, tireless, patient and kind.

What I also heard on the doorstep was a disaffection for politicians, borne of the expenses scandal. They see Labour and the Tories as just being the same, and some people have now become so disillusioned that they don't think they'll vote this time.

The Westminster politicians who abused our trust have done what seems like irreparable damage to the fabric of our democracy. I wish I could get a hold of them, these duck-pond owning, first-class travelling, hospitality abusing, money grabbing fools; I don't think they have any comprehension of what they have done.

Their selfish actions have also had a knock-on effect those who do work hard, who do their best and see their job as being a servant of the people. It's not right that the diligent get lumped in with the dilettantes.

I hope that, as the election draws closer, we're able to get that message across. It's difficult, especially in a Westminster election with the usual built-in media skew, but I hope, with every door I knock and every leaflet I deliver, I can remind people of the good work being done by our local champions. They set the standard for all our other candidates; it's about representation, being there for your constituents, and standing up for a better deal for Scotland.



I thought it might be of interest to those who missed it to publish Alex's speech. The capitals are original for emphasis - I'm sure everyone who has ever heard the First Minister speak will hear it quite clearly in their own heads!



At this election, more than ever before, Scotland needs champions.

And so on polling day, we are not just choosing MPs in the House of Commons. We are choosing national champions to stand up for the people of Scotland.

National champions and LOCAL champions, who will offer communities across our nation the voices that they need.

Have no doubt the outcome of this election is in the hands of the people.

The people will decide whether Scotland is the winner.

And the London parties would do well to remember that.

Any party that takes the people for granted – any party that says Scotland's votes are irrelevant will pay a heavy price on polling day.

Labour, Tory or Liberal - they have come together to try to cut Scotland and the SNP out of the election debates. Just as they are trying to carve Scotland out of this election.

The pundits and London politicians think they know what is going to happen on polling day.

They say it is all about Gordon or David, Labour or Tory, tweedledum or tweedledee.

But they are wrong.

These are the people’s elections and what will matter are the people’s votes.

And the seats we are fighting, the constituencies we look to represent. These are not Labour seats, or Liberal seats or even SNP seats. They are not the possession of any one party.

THEY ARE THE PEOPLE’S SEATS.

AND IT IS THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY WHO WILL DECIDE.

I remember last year how the pundits were so certain who was going to top the Christmas charts. All bets were off. The X-factor had it sewn up.

The system, the slick PR, the prime time TV shows, would make sure of it.

But then the people decided they would have their say. They would decide.

They raged against the machine.

They voted - and they won.

There is much to make us rage with politics today.

Westminster expenses, greedy bankers, an illegal war, the deepest recession since the 30s.

And the obscene decision to waste £100,000 million on new nuclear missiles while public services are under real threat from the consequences of recession.

That alone, that one choice, tells us everything we need to know about the today’s Labour Party.

THEY HAVE LOST THEIR WAY, FORGOTTEN THEIR ROOTS.

THEIR PRIORITIES ARE NO LONGER THE PRIORITIES OF THE PEOPLE

There is rage at the metropolitan political consensus. A consensus of cuts that has left the ordinary people of this country out in the cold.

Decisions taken in London that impact hard on families and communities.

This is the Westminster machine and people are raging.

Against a system that favours the few and ignores the many.

Against a way of politics that leaves the people on the outside.

I SAY TO THE LONDON PARTIES – THERE IS NOT GOING TO BE BUSINESS AS USUAL.

AT THIS ELECTION THE PEOPLE OF SCOTLAND WILL BE HEARD.

AND THEY WON’T VOTE FOR JUST POLITICIANS. THEY WILL ELECT LOCAL CHAMPIONS.

Around our shores, in our universities, colleges, in our successful growth companies, there is so much potential.

Across our country talent we can build on, energy, determination we can unleash.

There is too much at stake, too promising a future, to let the wrong decisions, the wrong priorities stand in the way.

WE MUST NOT LET OTHERS HOLD SCOTLAND BACK.

So have no doubt, Scotland needs champions.

National champions and local champions.

We meet here today in Edinburgh East a seat the SNP is working hard to win. And you heard earlier from George Kerevan. Someone who has what it takes to be a local champion.

And you saw SNP candidates from across the country – from Dundee, Glasgow, Inverness, Aberdeen, Moray, Ochil and Perthshire. SNP candidates talking about the local issues they care about.

Setting out how they can make a difference for the communities they come from, the communities they are working hard for, the communities they represent.

That is what is important today and for this next parliament.

At this election we can elect a team of MPs who will champion the causes that matter.

Working hard for the people they represent not only when elections are looming, but every day and every week. SNP members in parliament and in our council chambers.

People’s politicians. Local champions.

Scotland needs more of them.

We are told that the Parliament might be balanced with no majority. Good. If so then let us balance it in Scottish hands.

We are told that the UK debt is now a crippling 1 trillion pounds. But Scottish north sea oil and gas reserves are worth a trillion pounds and yesterday just yesterday it was revealed that the Norwegian oil fund has increased by $100 billion dollars in a single year.

Some people say that the lights could go out in the UK through energy shortages. But offshore Scottish renewables could produce 10 times our own electricity requirements.

The London parties say that Scotland shouldn’t get the chance to vote on our own independent future. Apparently they already know the result. Well why don’t we let the people speak.

Because the threat to Scotland is real and pressing. Recovery is fragile. We all know the pressures people are facing.

And yet, at a time when government should be doing all it can to help, the London parties – Labour, Tory, Liberal – have the axe sharpened and poised.

That is the biggest current challenge facing us as a nation – as a national community. A challenge that is about more than budget lines. Because the London axe is poised not just on Scotland's budget, but on Scottish jobs.

On lifeline services.

On our health service, schools and police.

Poised on these things that really matter in our lives and for our communities at a time when £100 billion - £100,000 million - will be spent on new nuclear bombs.

Whether it is Gordon Brown or David Cameron sitting in No. 10, the next London government is ready to unleash a sustained attack on Scotland and our public services.

Tory or Labour the prospect is just the same and it is depressing, dismal and desperate.

They plan immediate cuts. New cuts this year. Early cuts, deep cuts even cuts targeted on Scotland.

Further cuts in the year ahead that Scotland's councils have warned could be 'catastrophic' for the services communities rely on.

The shared agenda of the London parties is a threat not only to our economic recovery, but to so much that makes Scotland what it is today.

To the social democratic ethos that means we as a community know the value of looking out for each other; the value of investing in education, in housing and in health.

WEALTH CREATED, WEALTH INVESTED AND WEALTH SHARED.

The London parties talk about cuts as though it was all about numbers on a balance sheet. But we know different. Behind those cuts will be real people, real services, real jobs.

At this election, the choice is clear. We must do all we can to protect those people, those services and those jobs.

Thus Scotland needs champions. Now more than ever.

SNP MPs who will be at Westminster with a clear purpose – as national and local champions. Working to win the best deal for our nation.

Giving the people in communities across Scotland the strongest voice.

The more SNP MPs elected the stronger Scotland's position will be.

Because at this election the message is simple.

MORE NATS MEANS LESS CUTS.

At this election people across Scotland have the opportunity to do more than just vote for a politician.

THEY CAN ELECT A CHAMPION – A LOCAL CHAMPION, A NATIONAL CHAMPION

Today we launch an election theme.

BUT IT IS MORE THAN THAT. IT IS A CALL TO ACTION.

A chance to take that London script, Rip it up and create something better, something bolder.

THE LONDON PARTIES ARE ENGAGED IN A PHONEY WAR. THE REAL FIGHT, THE REAL FIGHT IS FOR SCOTLAND.

Where's my candyfloss?

So Labour's latest slogan is "A Future Fair for All". The first few splutters on Facebook were about this future fair, and whether we could expect candy floss and bumper cars. Another friend suggested that re-electing Labour could be a fête worse than death (sorry!!!).

I don't get Labour at all. They've had thirteen years to make a fair future a reality, and to suggest they need more time smacks of desperation.

Children starting primary school in 1997 are now of voting and working age - do they see a world which is fair? And are they even likely to vote in this, a real election, rather than the X Factor or Strictly?

Yes, it takes time for policies to work through, and the early actions of a government might not be seen for several years. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation's study from last year on Poverty, Inequality and Policy since 1997 examined the details and found a mixed picture. While some progress has been made towards a more equal society, there is still a long way to go and, more worryingly, from around 2003, the momentum seemed to peter out.

"Notable success stories include reductions in child and pensioner poverty, improved education outcomes for the poorest children and schools, and narrowing economic and other divides between deprived and other areas.

But health inequalities continued to widen, gaps in incomes between the very top and very bottom grew, and poverty increased for working-age people without children. In several policy areas there was a marked contrast between the first half of the New Labour period and the second half, when progress has slowed or even stalled."

It seems to me to be difficult to argue that the Labour rollercoaster will pick up speed again. I am really not keen on a Conservative Government in Westminster, but I feel just as strongly that Labour don't deserve another term in office.

I see independence as a genuine alternative to this punch and judy show - a chance for Scotland to try to make our own impact on the inequalities which scar our society. The report notes that devolution hasn't made a great deal of impact, and really that should be obvious. We have no control over the levers which would tackle inequality - taxation, benefits, employment - these remain reserved to Westminster. The Scottish Government can take many actions to help alleviate a few of the symptoms of poverty and inequality, but only independence allows us the chance of finding our own cure.

I was out on the doorsteps on Saturday working for Patrick Grady, our candidate for Glasgow North. It's always interesting speaking to voters, and I enjoy the questions and debate you get faced with. I think though, in terms of strategy, there's a lot to be done to give people a reason to vote. I don't mean to vote SNP, but to vote generally.

An SNP vote in the Westminster elections can't change an unequal society overnight - but neither will a vote for any other party. What it will do is put Scottish issues high on the agenda, and allow our Government to have greater leverage. Sending a bunch of Labour MPs - an increasingly inexperienced and unknown bunch too, given the number standing down - to Westminster will not do this. They will end up as anonymous backbenchers in a Labour opposition, biding their time. We send our MPs to get the very best deal for Scotland at every opportunity; to settle up, not settle down. Who else can say the same?

How some MPs live

I've been out delivering leaflets in the past week or two, and have been mulling over a comment one of my constituents made. It's been bothering me.

I'd put a leaflet through a door, and moved on to the next house in the street. A guy came out of the house, scrunched up the leaflet and, for dramatic effect, put it in the bin.

He said "when youse live like us, then you can come back and speak to us".

I didn't take the bait to go back and argue with him, because he clearly hadn't bothered to read the leaflet. The front of the leaflet was an update from John Mason. The back was a wee bit from me. John's side features a FAQ section, letting people know some details of his life as an MP. It mentions his home address, a flat in Sandaig Road Barlanark. Pretty modest. Certainly not a £350,000 house on the south side.

John gives an honest account of what Westminster requires of him - four days in London, three in Glasgow. I know this is odd to him, being so used to daily life in his ward. He's doing his utmost to be there for his constituents despite this, employing staff in the constituency, opening a highly visible shop on Shettleston Road, holding regular surgeries, visiting local groups. When Parliament's in recess, he's out leafleting and getting seen around the constituency. He works incredibly hard.

It upsets me that people think all politicians are the same, that we all have our noses in the trough. It's clear that the continual expenses scandals from London don't help combat this. It's a real shame that the badly behaved few manage to smear the rest of the hard working public representatives in this country.

I'm sure I've probably said it on here before, but I favour a move to the Scottish Parliament's open, accountable system, where all expenses are available for everyone to see. The Council isn't open enough either, and I'd like that to change. The register of interests isn't enough. Something like this would be a start.

PS - I realised I mentioned John's home but not mine - for info, I live in a flat on Roebank Street, between Ally Parade and the M8. It's small, comfy, and conveniently placed.

Strange times

I've just been watching tonight's Newsnight Scotland, and I can't decide whether I'm more amazed at the strange leap the Labour party has taken from "no new powers" to "bring it on", or that David Cameron picked independence as his main issue for Prime Minister's Questions.

Wendy Alexander's comments, you could put down to blind panic and a desperate attempt to win back ground from the SNP. David Cameron was more considered however - I imagine that for the PMQ circus questions are more carefully considered. It's an easy hit look to highlight a split, but it also puts the issue of Scottish independence on the news agenda in London (or at least on a couple of blogs. Is it just this week's news, or will it run til we're independent? Hmmm...

(incidentally, while googling, this turned up. Wonder how they're getting on?)

Honesty will put people off

I'll admit to a bit of a sigh of exasperation when I read this article on the BBC website, which reports on the claim that having to publish expenses claims will put people off entering politics;

Greater transparency over MPs' expenses could put people off standing for Parliament, Commons authorities say.


Resources boss Andrew Walker said rent, phone, food and other bills could offer a "peephole" on MPs' private lives.

I had two gut reactions to this; firstly - good. Politics has far too many people already in it to make a quick buck. Money should never be what attracts a person into a career in public service, not least as it opens you to corruption from the outset. I didn't stand for election to make money, and that that's how things have remained (if you want info on how much ordinary Councillors actually earn, it's here).

Secondly, scrutiny is good. Elected politicians are paid for by the public purse, and it's only right that the public should know how that money is being spent.

The Scottish Parliament, after a few early slip-ups (step forward Henry McLeish and David McLetchie), has made it's MSPs accountable down to the bottle of milk and the newspaper through public publishing of allowances paid. If you want, you can check through every MSP in Scotland. You can find out that Wendy Alexander for reasons unknown bought several copies of the same book. You can discover (and ponder why) Pauline McNeill paid minimal rent on her West End office in the last session. It's all in there.

So why doesn't Westminster follow the Scottish Parliament's good example? When even the much maligned European Parliament has made moves recently to improve it's systems of accountability, you can see how far Westminster is lagging far behind. All moves to improve access to allowances information tend to be fiercely resisted. Why? The only plausible reason is that MPs have too much to lose financially from public disclosure of their spending.

You might wonder where I think Glasgow City Council fits in all of this. Well, we do have to at least complete a declaration of interests. Mine is here. Personally, I don't think that's enough accountability, and I believe Council should also follow the example of the Scottish Parliament.