On being a woman in politics

A few things have recently been rattling around in my head which concern women in politics; I've been trying to gather some ideas as to why there aren't more of us, and how I might encourage female candidates to come forward. At the same time, I noticed that the launch of the Counting Women In campaign, couldn't miss the outrageous attack on Dr Eilidh Whiteford MP, and I've been enjoying Winnie Ewing's very readable autobiography. I've also been out on the doorsteps for Ken Andrew in Hillhead.

All of these together really say: the culture of politics in the UK is what's at fault. Women don't think it's for them and just disengage. 

Now, obviously that's a generalisation. I'm a woman, and I'm very engaged in politics. I'm prepared to accept I'm a bit odd.

I chapped on a door the other week while canvassing. I had Alexander with me in the pram. A woman answered, I politely introduced myself and my purpose on her doorstep - she shook her head and told me she wasn't interested. I asked why. She firmly asserted that all politicians are just the same. I asked her if anyone from any political party had ever come to see her with a baby in a pram. She thought briefly, admitted that'd never happened, and sent me on my way. 

I'm not sure whether that experience tells me whether I ought to a) leave the wee man at home or b) work on my doorstep pizzaz, but I bet that woman had opinions on all kinds of things. I don't think she believes them to be particularly political - provision of care services, or bin collection, say - but in the end they're determined by politicians. I want women like her to tell me what she wants and why it matters. More than that, I want women who care about issues to join political parties to further that cause. There are all kinds of causes promoted within the SNP, and I will most likely welcome you in.

I'm sure I've said before that I've always felt welcomed as a woman in the SNP, and that remains true. I'm not sure how Labour men treat women in general (not great by some accounts, which appear to be no barrier to reselection), but they're certainly not great at giving SNP women the respect they are due.

I recalled hearing when Winnie's book came out that she had been bullied while at Westminster. The Scotsman's 2007 interview put it thus:

As the lone SNP member in the Commons - at best an intimidating place for an inexperienced politician - she found herself without friends, without party colleagues, without any supporting structures. She was completely alone. She was hundreds of miles from her husband and her children in an excessively macho and very hostile environment. "I was treated as the enemy, I was shunned and despised. It's a peculiar experience to suddenly find yourself hated. At times I did feel terribly lonely, close to despair." 

Reading the autobiography, you really get a vivid picture of the pressure Winnie Ewing was under as an MP on her own. Her every action was scrutinised; if she didn't attend a debate, the other parties would ensure it got in the papers. The nuances of what said were taken apart. She was under political and personal attack from all sides and, even more sinister, stalked by another MP. Interventions by others had some impact, but it must have been a great emotional strain.

What I didn't know was that when Winnie was appointed as an MEP (pre-democratic elections to Europe), the bad behaviour of two particular Labour bullies continued in the European Parliament when she was alone again, deliberately working to ridicule and undermine her for over a year. By the account in the autobiography, this only ended when the President of the Parliament intervened, threatening to have them withdrawn as being "not fit to represent their country and Parliament in Europe".


You might think that, around forty years later, a female SNP MP might expect some kind of change to have occurred in attitudes, as with wider society. Women are accepted in a range of jobs, universities are gaining majorities of female students, there are innumerable opportunities and directions for careers. And then, there's Ian Davidson MP.

Eilidh has written a revealing article in the Scotland on Sunday - I'd urge you to read the full article, but I think this small quote does illustrate the point perfectly:

"It does not matter that all I had done was disagree with the committee. In fact what inspired Mr Davidson’s remark is utterly irrelevant. There is no action, no misbehaviour that justifies the threat or act of “a doing”. We hear too often of women being told they were “asking for it” in justification for intimidation or violence. I never expected to hear that from an MP in Parliament.

But this is not simply an issue of aggression towards woman; it’s about a culture of intimidation and bullying affecting men and women that seems to flourish with impunity in the Westminster world."

The tragedy is that it's primarily through this Westminster lens that the viewing population sees politics and politicians. They see argument, they see confrontation; they see crowds of boorish suits moaning a weary "hear hear". And they switch off. They say "that's not for me".

They don't see a politician arguing the case with a housing association, trying to help a vulnerable tenant. They don't see someone working on a committee, trying to improve a policy that will help improve children's health. They don't see the joy that is presenting prizes to year groups of school students, with the hope that you can encourage them in that tiny second as you shake their hand. They don't know what a privilege it is to be invited into so many lives and homes, to meet with groups and organisations and offer what help you can.

The work of politics should never be that yah boo nonsense that men excel at and so many women hate. More women should be in politics for the fantastic difference they can make every day.

Illiterate Labour

My mum passed on to me this rather poor piece of campaign literature from Labour in Clydesdale. Labour are claiming to support the apprenticeships and the Council Tax freeze which they voted against, present falsehoods about NHS cuts, are apparently now against tuition fees which they introduced in government, and are promoting the 'two week cancer guarantee' (sounds a bit scary, but relates to waiting times, which have actually fallen under the SNP's stewardship).

The real sweetie in the letter is in the fourth paragraph. I've noticed before that Labour have a bit of a problem when it comes to literacy. This letter is just embarrassing - two typos in the paragraph which calls for bringing literacy teachers 'back' into schools for goodness sake. The simplest spell checker could pick that up. 

Furthermore, I'm not sure where these imaginary literacy teachers went, or how something which never existed can be brought back; as ever for Labour, the facts just get in the way of a nice wee bit scaremongering. 

If this is Labour's standard of campaigning, I do hope they contact lots of people...  

Oh, what tangled webs they weave...

I found Newsnicht unusally satisfying last night. It was something of a relief to see that finally, finally, the truth has caught up with the Labour Party in Scotland and bitten them on the bum. 

I've seen it often enough - scaremongering over bus passes when we actually expanded the scheme, saying Glasgow is 'ripped off' when we have the Commonwealth Games, M74, Southern General, the new rail line linking the East End to Edinburgh and new housing  for social rent popping up all over the city (and much more besides!).

The Megrahi affair was particularly distasteful, attempting to make party political gain on the back of Scotland's justice system and the families of the Lockerbie dead. 

All the time, when they had been notching up the fury against Kenny MacAskill for taking the legally and morally correct decision to release Al Megrahi, their counterparts in London had been bending over backwards for some time to help Libya secure his release by any other means. 

Other bloggers out there have made particularly good points on the matter, so I feel it best just to point you in their direction: Joan, Moridura, Pop, and Peat Worrier. This video of the hapless Richard Baker on Newsnicht is a must-watch.

"That leaves you with only three positions; either you knew and have been completely hypocritical, you didn't know and were completely sidelined by London in this or you knew and thought that the Prime Minister, the foreign secretary, the entire Government were unprincipled in the decision they were making and you would stand against them. Which is it?"

Battling the booze

I attended a meeting last week which was rounding off a local alcohol campaign in my ward. There was a lot of partnership working between GCSS, Strathclyde Police, Land and Environmental Services, Health and Licensing Officials and youth providers to crack down on public drinking and youth disorder. The results of the work are quite impressive.

Over the period of the initiative, from April to October, there was a reduction in anti-social behaviour by 11%, and a reduction in youth disorder by 22%. Sixty-eight drinking dens were identified and removed, and over 450 visits were made to licensed premises to ensure that under-aged and agent selling was being challenged and shop staff were aware of their responsibilities.

Most impressive of all was the haul of alcohol confiscated from people drinking in the street - a total of 467 litres! This was broken down as over 250 litres of cider, over 100 litres of beer/lager, over 90 litres of wine (of which, I understand, a particular tonic wine forms a part), and over 30 litres of spirits.

I wouldn't want to claim that my ward is representative of Scotland as a whole or al fresco drinkers as a group, but it certainly seems that of those people likely to be caught drinking outside and causing anti-social behaviour, most are drinking low cost, high volume drinks - cider and beer. These are the drinkers and the drinks that minimum pricing would target, and by this evidence rightly so. That particular wine is a problem but, in the inner East End of Glasgow, it's certainly not the problem Labour claim it is.

Partners are now discussing the actions which were taken over these past months, and what aspects they can afford to pursue. There is still much work to be done.

Iain Gray - not a statesman!

Something to consider for the Scottish Parliamentary elections next year: Iain Gray isn't much of a statesman.

Regardless of whether the Scottish Parliament is independent or not, it's surely a matter of common courtesy and respect not to demean other nations for party political gain. Again and again, Labour politicians are more than happy to slag off other nations in order to demonstrate how poor, wee and stupid they believe Scotland and her people really are.

The trouble is, these other nations might hear Mr Gray. They might not be too impressed. If Mr Gray was in charge of Scotland, such public denouncements might even result in damage to Scotland's trade and diplomatic relations. After all, would you want to deal with a man who clearly has no respect for you?

Mark Coleman, the Economics Editor with NewsTalk in Dublin and columnist with the Sunday Independent, can be heard on the iPlayer (around sixteen minutes in) giving his rather pointed reaction to Iain Gray's comments at this weeks FMQs. He says:

"...Looking at 10 years of Labour leadership has left Scotland unfortunately with a GDP per capita that's significantly lower than the EU average and the EU, so perhaps the credibility of that remark should be filtered through that simple fact.

"All I will say is that Ireland's population is a million higher than it was 14 years ago; we have a quarter of a million more employed, a quarter of a million more in work than we did a decade before; we have a quarter of a million people in Ireland now working from other EU countries, a GDP per capita 30% higher than the EU average...

"...Have we taken a blow, we certainly have. Are we still standing, we absolutely are."

Labour's argument is painfully backwards - it's obvious that despite their current difficulties, Ireland isn't interested in rejoining the UK, Iceland isn't going back under the wing of Denmark, and for that matter none of the small successor nations of the former USSR are looking to cede their hard-won sovereignty back to mother Russia. Yes, some nations are facing hard times but none of them are questioning their independence.

Managing your own finances is just one of the many things that normal independent nations do every hour of every day. Scotland is not uniquely incapable of doing the same, despite what Labour would have us believe. The main barrier to independence is Scotland's own self-doubt.

Until independence comes around, we need someone to fight Scotland's corner, to win friends and gather as much support for the development of our nation and our economy. Building solid relationships with our neighbours and other smaller independent states is a good start.

I've decided to reproduce Iain Gray's questions from FMQs. You can judge for yourself whether this man is capable of leading Scotland.

Iain Gray: It was one of those clear autumn mornings this morning when we feel like we can see for miles. Where should we look for the First Minister's arc of prosperity today: Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Iceland or Ireland?

The First Minister: I think that we should take a variety of international examples in following best practice in Scotland. As Iain Gray knows, I recently visited Norway and made a number of announcements about renewable energy and collaboration in Scotland. One thing that particularly impressed me as I visited Norway was the £200 billion oil fund that that country has accumulated by having access to its own natural resources. Would that Scotland had been in the same position over the past 30 years.

Iain Gray: The fact of the matter, of course, is that Norway's oil fund has been built up because Norway—

Members: Is independent.

The Presiding Officer (Alex Fergusson): Order.

Iain Gray: It is because the Norwegian state still owns its oil and gas industry. If the First Minister is proposing to nationalise the oil and gas industry, he should probably tell us. [Interruption.]

The Presiding Officer: Order.

Iain Gray: It is no surprise that when the First Minister is asked about Ireland nowadays, he talks about Norway. The First Minister once said:

"I am sure that most of Europe's Finance Ministers would give at least one limb—possibly more—to have Ireland's problems".

Today, the cost for Ireland of bailing out the Anglo Irish Bank reached €34 billion. The finance minister warned that its failure would destroy Ireland's economy.

Which limb would the First Minister give to have that problem?

The First Minister: Iain Gray will forgive me if I correct him on his understanding of the Norwegian oil fund. The Norwegian oil fund was built up from

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revenues from oil—not just from Statoil, the Norwegian state oil company, but from all the major oil companies exploiting oil in the Norwegian sector. It is unbelievable! I thought hitherto that Iain Gray opposed the concept of Scotland benefiting from its own natural resources because he wanted Westminster to have them. I now realise that it is because he did not even understand the proposition. I will send Iain Gray a paper on the Norwegian oil fund. Given that so much is changing in Labour and given that new Labour is buried, despite Iain Gray's attachment to it, if all the policies are changing, who knows, maybe Labour will be in favour of an oil fund before long.

I point out two things to Iain Gray. First, on direct capital investment in the Scottish banks, currently the Treasury is making a profit, given the current share price of Lloyds and the Royal Bank of Scotland. [Interruption.] That is a fact nonetheless. Secondly, Ireland, like many countries, has substantial economic problems at present, but I note that its wealth per head is actually higher than that of the United Kingdom.

Iain Gray: It was an Irishman who said that there are none so blind as those who will not see. Ireland is teetering on the edge of collapse, and Scotland's banking sector is 10 times the size of Ireland's. The Royal Bank of Scotland alone had a balance sheet 15 times the size of the Scottish economy. The investment in saving those banks was £470 billion. Will the First Minister admit that, in an independent Scotland, RBS and HBOS would have collapsed and the Scottish economy would have collapsed with them?

The First Minister: Just as Iain Gray confused Statoil with the Norwegian oil fund, he is confusing capital injections into banks with general support for the financial and monetary system. The capital injection into the Scottish banks is now making a paper profit for the UK Treasury.

Iain Gray says that the Irish economy is on the brink of collapse. Judging from Labour's conference, I thought that it was the UK economy that was on the brink of collapse. The Labour Party has argued, with some justification, that the UK Government is risking a double-dip recession because of an approach to an austerity programme that goes too far and too fast in its cuts in public spending. I agree with that proposition on the basis of the evidence from Ireland. If that is the argument that Iain Gray is putting forward—that, unless an alternative policy programme is agreed, the UK risks moving into a double-dip recession—does that not support the argument that we should look to European countries such as Norway, which have avoided that by mobilising their natural resources to power

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their economy forward? I would that we could do the same in Scotland.

Iain Gray: Support for the Scottish banks was £470 billion—£70 billion capital injection, £100 billion special liquidity scheme, £100 billion credit guarantee, £200 billion asset protection scheme and £10 billion in fees. The Government may get some of that back, but if it had not had it at the time when it was needed, we would have suffered the consequences. Everyone in Scotland knows that, in a separate Scotland, our two biggest banks would have gone and, with them, all the jobs, savings, pensions, mortgages and salaries. Everyone in Scotland knows that we would have tipped over the edge on which Ireland teeters today. Is Alex Salmond the last man in Scotland who does not realise that his personal obsession with independence is daft, deluded, deranged and downright dangerous for this country?

The First Minister: Alex Salmond realises that it is only with economic powers for this Parliament and this Government—the economic powers that would be delivered by independence—that we will have an alternative to 10 years of despair and public spending cutbacks in the United Kingdom.

As they also say in Ireland, if I was going there, I would not start from here. That applies to Iain Gray's questions. He has confused the capital injection into the banking sector that is taking place in Ireland at the moment with general financial support for a monetary system. The two things are entirely different. It is not me who claims that there is a profit to be gained from the capital injection into Lloyds and RBS; that is in the Treasury documents—not just the Treasury documents of the new coalition, but the Treasury documents that were produced by Iain Gray's old boss, Alistair Darling.

Ed Miliband evoked a new atmosphere of consensus at the Labour conference when he said that he would not attack policies to restrict short-term sentences and say that people were being soft on crime. As Ed Miliband moves in a sensible political direction and supports the SNP Government's policy on crime, which has been so successful, will not Iain Gray eventually realise, in that changing atmosphere, the obvious, inarguable point that only in our having economic powers and growing the Scottish economy is there any alternative to being at the mercy of coalition cutbacks, two thirds of which were started by his own party?

Let them eat cake?

Not only are Glasgow Labour getting rid of free fruit to save cash, they now want to bring back cake in school canteens. Mixed messages? Undermining their own public health initiatives? That'll be Glasgow Labour at work...

Jimmy Reid

I was saddened to hear this morning about the passing of Jimmy Reid, Trade Union activist and legend in his own lifetime. He was a truly great and inspirational man.

I met him on a few occasions, first when I worked as a researcher for Bruce McFee MSP - we were running a campaign to save the threatened Ferguson's Shipyard in Port Glasgow and Jimmy had gotten involved. He came into the office, and shared some tales and advice with us. It was a treat to be in his presence, although he felt my tea-making skills weren't up to scratch!

Later, he spoke at a meeting at the Pearce Institute in Govan - at length and without notes. My mum and dad had come along (unusually for them) to hear him, and were as captivated as the rest of us. His stories at times seemed to be a series of anecdotes, but by the end, he had gathered all of them elegantly together to illustrate the central thrust of his argument. It was quite an experience.

It was mentioned by one of Jimmy's close friends on the radio this afternoon that he often 'held court' after meetings, and SNP campaign conference in Glasgow in 2007 was such an occasion. He had been looked after at conference by the Trade Union Group, but found himself in the wee small hours surrounded by members of the party's youth and student wings. It was quite something to sit near this great man and listen to his experiences, asking questions and soaking up his wisdom. He was principled but realistic, explaining to us his place in the SNP had come by understanding that Labour was no longer the party he had joined.

At the time, he said:

"I have waited a long time to see forces emerging within the New Labour Party that would bring the party back to its roots, "

"But I have been waiting in vain and with every year that passes, Tony Blair and New Labour move further to the right. They are now indistinguishable from the Thatcherite Tories."

He made a great contribution to our cause in the relatively brief time he was a member, making the trip up from the Isle of Bute to give of his precious time despite his age and failing health. The most recent contribution I recall was during the Glasgow East by election.

I feel incredibly fortunate to have met Jimmy. Scotland is a greater place for having had him, and a dimmer place tonight.

Glasgow Labour think scrutiny is a waste of time

Yesterday's Full Council meeting was always going to be a tetchy affair - since their new leader was elected, Labour have been foutering about with spokespeople, committee places, chairs, and places on arms length organisations. It's all internal stuff, but it has an impact on how the Council operates, and how the administration is held to account.

As the main opposition party on the Council, we were unconvinced by some of the plans - and in particular the decision by the Labour administration to nominate two Lib Dems and one independent to chair the Scrutiny committees. Labour nominations are in practice unchallengeable given the mathematics of the Council.

The principle of freezing out the main opposition (we have 19 Councillors to the Lib Dems 6) is a bit iffy; to add insult to injury, Committee chairmanship comes with extra money. Labour also decided to reduce the size of the Executive Committee, reducing the SNP places to four, while the Lib Dems have two and the Greens (with 5 Councillors) only one.

The SNP group had also been disappointed to learn via the Sunday papers that Glasgow's Lord Provost appeared to have been using Council cars inappropriately.

Our response to these issues was a sensible one - to ask as many difficult questions of the Labour administration as we could. Among these, we asked about the appointees to Committees, we asked why two more Labour Councillors were being given paid positions on the board of Cordia, we asked about contradictions in Council policies (such as the Air Route Development Fund and the Carbon Reduction commitment).

All of this clearly rattled a few cages amongst the administration - and at one point the Lord Provost accused the SNP of wasting everyone's time. Scrutiny is never a waste of time. The point of the exercise is that we don't get answers when we ask them politely elsewhere. I personally feel as though I've been fobbed off in the past on several occasions - more on that in another post.

The issue of the Lord Provost's car bills is not a matter we can easily raise anywhere else - yet Labour took the very questioning of this as an attack on the office of the Lord Provost. They seem to genuinely believe that the Lord Provost's expenses should not be subject to scrutiny. One Labour Councillor was even heard to call us "sewer rats" for asking whether public money had been used appropriately. We seek higher standards - to pull Glasgow out of the gutter. It's disappointing to see that those with the most to lose don't agree.

David Milliband - campaign fail!

I was pretty amused the other week to receive the following email from David Milliband. A couple of my SNP colleagues in the Council also received it - I wonder if perhaps he thinks Glasgow City Council is still synonymous with the Labour Party?!

Anyway, there's also a link to a survey, inviting me to give my views on the future of the Labour Party... ooooooh, where to start?

Dear colleague

I’m writing to ask for your help, not just in my leadership campaign, but in building our party for the future. It is a strange time – great gains in local government, heroic successes in the general election, but our second worst defeat in 80 years. Learn the right lessons and we can repair and rebuild - and get back to power.

So I'm writing to ask you to complete my local government survey now by clicking here

Many local Councillors know me from my time as Local Government Minister. I believe strong local government is a central part of our mission to spread power and opportunity in our communities. We must be a movement for change across the country, using power at the ward and council level as the basis for being an effective electoral machine nationally.

Last Saturday I set out the steps I think we need to take to achieve this vision of a renewed, living, breathing Labour Movement. I highlighted a number of commitments. If elected leader, I will:

1. Lead with Action, not words: offering training for 1000 party members as community organisers

2. Give a voice for Labour Councillors in the Shadow Cabinet

3. Return democracy to the Party starting with an elected Party Chair

4. Double Labour Party membership

5. Defend the Union Link and recruit trade unionists to Labour

You can read more about my vision at http://www.davidmiliband.net/2010/06/05/rebuilding-our-movement/

I believe the ideas in our next manifesto can be road tested in local government and by Labour Councillors. We need to make up for lost time on housing and anti-social behaviour, reclaim ground on education and welfare and forge new ground on jobs and political reform.

And of course I oppose the dangerous politics of the new government.

It’s a big task but a vital one for our country.

Best wishes

David

Last week, more amusement - a second email! Personally addressed too, I feel quite flattered (not least as I didn't bother to attend the campaign visit).

Alison

I wanted to write to thank the hundreds of party members and trade unionists who took the time to talk to me during my visit to Scotland last week.

I came to Scotland because I wanted to learn from your success. Labour had a great General Election in Scotland. We held every seat and achieved a swing towards Labour across the country.

We need to understand your success because, in truth, we had a really bad election result elsewhere in Britain. In the southern regions of England we won just 10 seats out of 212. We have now lost 4½ million votes and 180 seats since 1997.

Scottish Labour has rebuilt itself since 2007 as a community party and as an effective opposition exposing the broken promises of the SNP. I believe that is the way back for Labour across Britain: renewing our ideas, rebuilding ourselves as a mass movement that can resist the Tory Liberal coalition. That is why I have put such an emphasis on renewing our organisation with ideas like an elected Party Chair and it is why I have committed to train 1000 members in community organising techniques during this leadership contest.

The Scottish parliament elections are the biggest electoral test next year for our new Leader and our party. Defeating the SNP and Scottish Labour winning again is a priority for me. We have a strong team around Iain Gray and I am committed to doing everything I can to ensure that we return to power in Holyrood is the first step towards a return to power in Westminster. To win we will need the whole party pulling together. Scottish politics has been transformed since 1999 but our party’s structures haven’t kept pace. That is why I have said I will support the creation of a specific place on the NEC for Scotland.

I have appointed Jim Murphy and Douglas Alexander as Joint Chairs of my leadership campaign - I will keep working with, and listening to Scottish voices if you choose me as your leader.

You can listen to my thoughts on my visit, recorded as I travelled around Scotland, here. I would really like to continue the discussions that we started last week and would encourage you to visit www.davidmiliband.net

Finally, I would like to ask for the support of your CLP. Your local party will have the opportunity to support one of the candidates for Leader. You have until 26th July to return a supporting nomination from your CLP. I would be honoured to have the support of your members. Copies of of a leaflet I have prepared can be found here. I would be grateful if you could send forward this email onto friends in local parties.

Whoever you, and your CLP decide to support I hope we can work together to build on Scotland’s success and to rebuild our movement.

Best wishes,

David

Who will I support? Well, I think despite his overtures, I'll still be backing the SNP government and an independent Scotland!

PFI costs continue to rise

Labour are constantly bleating these days about jobs in the NHS and teacher numbers. The truth behind the stories, however, reveals Labour's complete and utter hypocrisy.

Labour choose to ignore the impact of their profligate PFI credit card spending on education and health budgets. Figures released in March demonstrated quite clearly that the more Councils have to spend on paying their PFI costs, the less they have in their education budget to spend on teachers.

In Glasgow, PFI payments represent 8.6% of the Education budget for the city - and considering that budget is around £515m, that represents quite a wadge of cash. How many more teachers could be employed for that sum? How many more nursery places could be provided?

I'm not in any way arguing for the closure of schools, but the PFI contracts in Glasgow were so ill-thought out that they have also had the effect of the forced maintaining of secondary schools which have so few pupils that key subjects like history are being dropped. When Primary Schools in the city were described as being 'half empty' plans were brought forward to close them. The Council can't possibly do this for secondaries, as we're still paying for their refurbishment. Primaries and nurseries have been moved into schools to mitigate the effect of this, but in reality, the Council has been tied to the dead weight of the PFI deal and can't do much about it.


Today, I see that Tris has a blog post showing that the NHS are facing a similar problem.

Kenny Gibson MSP puts it well when he says:

“PFI is typical of Labour’s irresponsible buy now, pay later approach to public spending.

“The NHS will pay more to banks in repayments over the next five years for three hospitals than those hospitals are actually worth. That is an example of the profligacy and incompetence that characterised Labour’s financial management and that Scotland’s public services are now paying for."

The really frustrating thing is that we're tied into these contracts. Our health boards, Councils and Government have to pay over the odds for something that we don't want and even warned wouldn't work. We must strive to remind the voters of this truth, whenever Labour trot out lines on cuts. The SNP are fighting to keep jobs in Education and the NHS, despite having to cope with the consequences of Labour's buy now-pay later policies.

Slapdash...

I noticed in the latest edition of the Re-Gen that one of my ward colleagues has made a bit of an error in the surgery ad he's submitted.

The Labour administration he's a part of closed the school he's advertising a surgery in almost a year ago... you'd think he'd have noticed!

Other errors include the names of two of the community centres.

As seen in a litter bin at Shandwick Square...

...the question Glasgow East has been asking!

Labour caught fibbing

One thing I just can't stand is politicians deliberately misleading the public, spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt. Once a leaflet is out there, the damage is done - I've never heard of a party putting out retraction leaflets, or writing to people afterwards to clear up the misunderstanding.

I missed the leaders debate tonight as I was attending the Evening Times Community Champion awards (more on that tomorrow), but watching Newsnight, it seems that Gordon Brown has been caught lying to the public in a leaflet put out in his own constituency.

Coming on the back of their abhorrent mailing targeting cancer patients, Labour have been scaremongering on concessionary travel. In the debate, Brown said "I have not authorised any leaflets".

Maybe he didn't authorise it, but a leaflet put out on his behalf in his own constituency clearly states that Gordon Brown will "fight against SNP cuts to concessionary travel".

What cuts would those be? The SNP Government has actually expanded the concessionary travel scheme to include disabled veterans from April 2011. Our manifesto reinforces our commitment to the current scheme for pensioners.

This is an issue that really matters to pensioners - it allows them the freedom to get about and to visit friends and family. Once Labour spread this kind of untruth, SNP activists and candidates have to fight doubly hard to win back the trust of voters.

Brown's leaflet also wanders into other devolved matters , mentioning making communities safer - that'll be the SNP delivering record numbers of police - and improving town centres - that'd be through the SNP's successful and popular Town Centre Regeneration fund.

Any campaign I've been involved in has agonised over the wording of leaflets, semantics, pedantry and meaning taken apart and put back together several times by a team of people before a leaflet goes out. It's unacceptable in my view to deliberately mislead the public, especially when it attacks another party.

I'm really glad of websites like www.thestraightchoice.org and Channel 4's factcheck, who allow us now to see all the leaflets and give the voters a better chance of finding out the truth.

Leading the debate in Scotland

Commenting on the Leaders’ Debates which took place tonight, SNP Leader Alex Salmond said:

“All the debate confirmed was that the London parties plan deep cuts to Scotland’s budget and public services. That’s why Scotland needs local and national champions in the House of Commons to break through this cosy Westminster consensus and win a better deal for Scotland.

“Over half the debate should have been captioned ‘Except for viewers in Scotland’.

“It was billed as a historic event but we got was three Westminster politicians looking the same, sounding the same and saying nothing of relevance to Scotland.

“From Wick to Whitburn, viewers would be turned off by television which simply didn’t address the issues which matter to them.”



Excellent pre-debate comment from Lallands Peat Worrier.

Clean Glasgow

Fun filled day today, meeting constituents, gathering myself some more casework, and trying to snap suitable pictures of John Mason and Alex Salmond.

The last task was made slightly trickier by the hoardes of professional media types who came to capture the 'fishel opening of our campaign office in Glasgow East.

In a big election campaign, there needs to be some kind of stunt every day to capture the flighty interest of the media. If you're lucky, it'll make it onto the news, and a few people might find it thought provoking and/or amusing. A lot of effort goes into thinking up these events, so I hope that you do get something from them!

Today's was pretty good - John and Alex cleaning up Glasgow. This took some window cleaner, a nifty SNP branded label, and the cooperation of our neighbouring shopkeeper (well, who wouldn't want the First Minister round to do a spot of cleaning?!).

It's an appropriate metaphor for the difference between SNP and Labour in Glasgow - us trying our hardest to shine light into those cobweb strewn corners, Labour mired in the grime of generations of one-party domination in the city.

After the press had finished their lengthy interviews, we took to the streets with Alex, chapping doors, and discussing among other things, the intricate tactics of how to get the birds to eat the slugs off your strawberries but not the actual fruit. It's not the first time I've seen Alex surprise a voter with his bafflingly wide knowledge, but it never fails to be impressive.

Ravenscraig

As regular readers will know, my family are from Lanarkshire. My Gran and Papa Thewliss live in Motherwell, my Gran White in Wishaw.

Growing up, I saw the decline of these towns from busy, bustling hubs, to ghost towns.

The single biggest contributory factor to this was the closure of Ravenscraig Steel Works at the start of the 1990s. According to the Evening Times, Labour are launching their Scottish campaign from the site of the steel works today.

Jim Murphy is to visit the former Ravenscraig site in Motherwell alongside Labour’s leader in Holyrood, Iain Gray.

In a visit to the new Motherwell College building on the site, the Scottish Secretary will say it symbolises the difference between Labour and Tory policies to the area.

He will say: “The difference between Labour and the Tories’ approach to Scotland is symbolised here in Ravenscraig.

“The Tories left people to fend for themselves as the area was abandoned to decline.

“Labour invested in this area, built the new college and is still rebuilding in Ravenscraig.

“Labour’s plans will rebuild Scotland’s economy and renew Scotland’s public services and political landscape.”

The new College building at Ravenscraig is impressive (and construction work started under the SNP Government); other than that, there's precious little to show on the site for 13 years of Labour in Westminster, 8 years of Labour in Holyrood, and generations of Labour control in Lanarkshire local government.

Furthermore, plans for a shopping hub has drawn criticism from other shopping centres in the area. Since nearby Wishaw was described by it's Labour MSP as a 'pigsty', I'm fairly sure that local residents might prefer money (such as the town centre regeneration fund) to be invested in their areas first, before something shiny and new draws even more people away from their local shops.

My grandparents have fewer and fewer quality local shops to get their messages - my Gran White can't buy things like fresh fish or wool in Wishaw any more, yet there are plenty of bookies and off-sales.

I can see what Labour are trying to do with the whole harking back to the Tories line - but there's responsibility to be taken there too. Labour MPs in the '80s and '90s failed to stop the closure, and their inaction over the years has done little to repair the damage inflicted on Lanarkshire.

Labour need to think more carefully before they fall back on simply blaming the Tories for the woes of our communities.

Campaign Saturday

I'm just about to head for bed, absolutely knackered after a satisfying day's campaigning.

Before heading out canvassing for Chris Stephens in Glasgow South West this morning, I baked two dozen fairy cakes. I canvassed from 11 'til 1.30, grabbed some lunch, and joined the Glasgow East team leafleting for John Mason. We worked through until nearly 5pm, then I came back home, made some Easter nests and iced the fairy cakes (with suitably elegant yellow icing and wee SNP symbols), had a shower and took the cakes to Billy McAllister's Glasgow North East adoption meeting in Sighthill.

I feel I should commend the One Stop Shop on a wonderful spread of food - delicious curry as well as pizza slices and salad. Perfect after such a long day! I did manage a Canadian barndance at the ceilidh; sadly, the dashing white sergeant is a bit much for me in this condition!

In the SNP, we all work incredibly hard to get our message out, and support all our candidates. Most people there tonight were also out campaigning during the day, and will be out again tomorrow.

I'm telling you all this because I want to let you know how hard we're all working - right across the city and across Scotland - because we're a party that takes nothing for granted.

The sad thing is, Labour still do, and have clearly learnt nothing from their defeats in Crewe and Glasgow East. Between all my various tasks today I read that, speaking at the Labour Conference in Glasgow today, John Prescott said:

"I was in Crewe the other week, we're going to win that back, it's a Labour seat. We let it go and we shouldn't because we didn't fight hard enough.

"And that's the same as I want that fight in Glasgow East, getting those seats back for Labour because they belong to us and we've got to convince the electorate a bit more."

The arrogance of Prescott, saying that they 'own' these seats, and presumably the voters within them, is just breathtaking.

In this General Election, moreso perhaps than previous elections, this kind of arrogance just won't do. Why should people continue to slavishly, unquestioningly, vote for a party who has been in power for so long? People I speak to on the doorsteps certainly don't see why they should. The majority of people I spoke to today used to vote Labour, but were giving serious thought to switching. I hear from colleagues that this is happening all round Scotland.


John Mason, the SNP MP for Glasgow East, said:

"It is this arrogance that loses Labour elections. No seat in Glasgow 'belongs' to any party.

"Seats are not Labour seats or Lib Dem seats. They are not even SNP seats. They are the people's seats.

"The SNP will never forget that and we will make sure that the people of Glasgow East know how Labour still take their votes for granted with this arrogant blunder."

Jim Murphy - running scared?

I'm a fan of Question Time (geeky, it's true), and was looking forward to seeing Jim Murphy get grilled this Thursday when the show comes to Glasgow. Sadly, it seems he has pulled out.

I would have thought, with the 'Scottish' Labour Conference coming up this weekend, he would have wanted to make a bit of a splash, promote whatever policies they're keeping under their well-worn hat, and do a bit of fighting for his own political life in East Renfrewshire. However, the SecStatSco's most recent big party event was the Labour party fundraising dinner held immediately prior to Steven Purcell's resignation. I wonder if he's worried about a Glasgow audience posing the questions that the local media were too nervy to ask.

The lineup for Question Time is a bit disappointing - I see the shows located in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland as a wee window for the rest of the UK to peer in and see who our politicians are and what devolution means in practice. There's so little reporting of devolved issues in the mainstream media as it is - I really don't see what's gained by putting up Liam Byrne (Lab, Birmingham Hodge Hill), Baroness Warsi (Cons, from Dewsbury), Julia Goldsworthy (Lib Dem, Falmouth and Camborne) and Sir Martin Sorrell. Since the show's coming to Glasgow, surely it's worth putting up a majority of Scottish politicians and commentators?

Of the last 37 episodes, the following five have been outside of England - Cardiff (26.02.10), Belfast (11.02.10), Edinburgh (26.11.09), Llandudno (01.11.09), and Dunfermline (07.05.09). Most of these have featured what I would consider to be prominent and appropriate politicians.

I've heard that there is hope for some relevant debate tomorrow night in the form of our First Minister, Alex Salmond. Fingers crossed! As Alex Neil joked at conference, give people in England the choice, and they'd probably vote SNP!

More police on the beat, fewer crimes

Good news today on police numbers in Scotland; new figures show that the SNP Government has surpassed its manifesto commitment to increase police numbers by 1000.

At the end of 2009 there were 17,273 police officers in Scotland – 1039 more than when the SNP came to power, and 1272 more than in 2005. This record number is reflected in the Community Police in my own ward, who have been popping into my surgeries to say hello and keep me updated on what's been going on. There are a lot of faces and names to remember! They now cover smaller geographical areas, and are getting about on foot and on bikes to see and be seen.

It's not just my ward that's been so well covered - every single Police Force area in Scotland has seen an increase in the number of police officers. This is due to record funding for police recruitment under the SNP, and has helped crime rates hit a 30 year low.

I suppose in this context, the news yesterday that youth offending in Glasgow has dropped by almost a third in the past two years shouldn't be a surprise. Glasgow's Youth Justice Strategy Group has been diligently working away all the while when Labour have been screeching and fudging. The Intensive Monitoring and Support Service is an alternative to jail for young people, and re-directs them from a life blighted by a cycle of re-offending, anti-social behaviour and crime.

According to the Evening Times:

The number of under 18s in Glasgow identified by Strathclyde Police as having committed an offence last year:

Attempted murder, serious assault, robbery, threats – 343 (down 11%)

Indecency – 39 (down 35%)

Housebreaking, theft, fraud, other dishonesty – 1541 (up 3%)

Fire raising, vandalism, malicious mischief – 1209 (down 15%)

Possession of offensive weapon, knife carrying, drugs offences – 2476 (down 17%)

Petty assault, breach of the peace, consuming alcohol – 6782 (down 5%)

Driving offences – 396 (down 20%)

Total – 12,786 (down 9%)

Yes, that's right - instances of young people carrying an offensive weapon or getting involved in drugs are down a massive 17%. Coupled with the work being done by CIRV, I think that should be commended, and Labour should be ashamed at their opportunistic scaremongering. Of course there's still a lot to be done, but the figures show real progress. Well done to all involved.

Purcell to quit

I heard very late last night on twitter and the political scrapbook blog that Steven Purcell, Labour leader of Glasgow City Council was to step down. I could scarcely believe it, but picking up the papers on the way to the pool this morning confirmed the story was real .

Being leader of Glasgow City Council is a big gig; come the general election, it could be the most significant position Labour in Scotland have. Scotland's biggest city has a massive budget and all the trappings of power that accompanies that.

Keeping going as the political leader of the city for five years must take it's toll, and the stress story certainly sounds believable. I hope Steven gets the time, support and space he needs to recover.

I wonder though, who will fill his shoes, and will they be able to unite a Labour group which has it's own rivalries and history. Whoever takes over will seize control of the considerable patronage available in Glasgow, doling out lucrative paid positions as senior Councillors, Committee Conveners, and places on arms length organisations. What will it mean for Glasgow Labour's relationship with the rest of the party, and with the Scottish Government (which they pettily refer to as 'Executive' whenever they can)? Interesting times lie ahead...

UPDATE: just had an email from the Council's Chief Executive, who says Councillor Jim Coleman, the current Deputy Leader, will take over in the interim and Labour will appoint a new leader in May. Lots of time for shenanigans, back-stabbing and dealmaking!