Five MSPs argue why someone from the left should vote for them

Labour

I believe that Labour in the Scottish Parliament has made real progress in the areas of everyday life which affect most directly working men and women. Aneurin Bevan in ‘In Place of Fear’ wrote that “There is no test for progress other than its impact on the individual. If…policies…do not have for their object the enlargement and cultivation of the individual life, they do not deserve to be called civilised.” Bevan wrote these words in 1952; they were correct then and remain just as valid today. I believe that the consequences of policies enacted must lead to a more “civilised” life for the majority of citizens – if they do not then they are unworthy of support. Labour in the Scottish Parliament has begun the huge task of rebuilding a “civilised” society after decades of Tory destructiveness.

Jobs, their creation and retention, have been a key priority of Labour’s programme. It is a fact that is worth emphasising that there are now a million more people in work since Labour came to power, and unemployment is at its lowest level for a quarter of a century. Labour in the Scottish Parliament would continue to build on that record. However, as a constituency MSP I am only too aware that a great deal more needs to be done if we are to enable those who are still unemployed to gain employment. Key to this is arming our people with the skills and training necessary to gain a meaningful and rewarding job. Scottish Labour has delivered 20,000 Modern Apprenticeships, doubling the number of young people in proper apprenticeships, during the Parliament’s first term. It should be noted here that the SNP has pledged to cut by £120 million the skills and training budget of Scottish Enterprise – a move which is as economically myopic as it is mystifying. Labour in Scotland has pledged to create at least 5,000 more Modern Apprenticeships in the lifetime of the next parliament and to continue to invest in skills and training – I believe this to be the correct approach for democratic socialists.

As a former teacher I place a high value on the ability of education to provide people with the means to achieve what Bevan eloquently described as “the enlargement and cultivation of the individual life”. I am proud that Scottish Labour has ensured that there is a nursery place for every three and four year old in Scotland, and that over 50 per cent of school students now continue their studies in further or higher education. I am also content that Labour has guaranteed classes of 30 or less for all five, six and seven year olds. These are solid achievements and, along with our school building programme, visible signs of real progress. Of course, I want to see more, and I wholeheartedly support Scottish Labour’s pledge to increase education spending by over 40 per cent in real terms over the next four years. This commitment will help achieve our policy objective of closing the gap between the poorest performing pupils and the performance of all pupils at standard grade.

In the areas of transport (with free off peak travel for elderly and disabled people to be extended to a Scotland wide scheme) and health (with an extra £3.2 billion worth of investment) I believe we are also making significant strides. Additionally, the prevention of crime and the creation of safer communities has been, and will remain, a key component of Scottish Labour’s progressive programme: making communities safer, tackling crime, punishing drug dealers and protecting the victims of crime is a crucial part of any left-wing agenda, and of the creation of a “civilised” society.

I don’t for a moment believe that Labour’s task is finished; it has only begun. I hope that working men and women will vote for Scottish Labour on May 1st and allow us to continue the job.

Bill Butler MSP, Labour

——-

SNP

In the first years of the millennium, what should Scotland be like as a nation, how should it be governed, and what should be its place in the international community? In truth, these are questions best addressed to the Scottish electorate and not to politicians. When democratic values are under attack, not least by those who claim to fight in their name, we owe it to the people of Scotland to ensure that their values, their ambitions for Scotland, and their priorities set the political agenda.

We have seen the incredible sight of a Labour government continue the dismantling of our National Health Service. That must be reversed; Scotland wants and demands that healthcare be delivered based on need, not ability to pay. That is why the SNP is committed to increase nurses’ pay so that nurses can be recruited and retained in Scotland’s health service. That is why we want to give patients a voice in the NHS, while empowering the healthcare staff to deliver the service. That is why we must have a beds audit and review, to end the disgrace of cancelled and delayed operations and patients sleeping on trolleys.

Education in Scotland must be of a standard that allows us to compete in the world, and it must deliver for each and all of our children. That is why the SNP is committed to reducing class sizes; because research shows that helps deliver results. That is why the SNP is committed to investing in our education infrastructure; our children must be allowed to grow both physically and intellectually in an environment that nurtures and develops their potential.

As if the devolution process itself was not a challenge, the past four years have seen major issues emerge nationally, at UK level, and internationally, over the governance and funding of public services. Arguing over the minutiae of particular services, we can lose sight of the need to set clear frameworks suited to today’s conditions. The SNP, for example, not only opposes the use of PFI / PPP projects, but has developed Public Service Trusts as a mechanism to keep public services public. The benefit of these Trusts is that, used for some public services, they keep these in public control and public ownership while freeing up government borrowing for other services.

Despite the denials of the Scottish Executive, the World Trade Organisation’s General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) threatens our public services. The recent Bettercare case, regarding personal care in Northern Ireland, shows the efforts being made to undermine all aspects of public service. Scotland needs its own voice in the GATS negotiations just as it needs one in the EU Fisheries debate.

The touchstones that drive the SNP, the cohesive enthusiasms of the party, dictate that we put people before profit; that the rights and benefits Scots derive from their country are not restricted to a vote every time an election comes around. We need to reach out to improve and enrich the lives of every single one of us and by so doing improve and enrich the society we live in.

Linda Fabiani MSP, Scottish National Party

——

Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats are one of the most radical parties in Scottish politics. Our policies clearly reflect the real needs of ordinary working people in Scotland. As a party, over the last four years we have achieved many things as part of the Partnership Executive – things which many voters on the left would see as reflecting their views.

We are passionate about human and civil rights, a core belief of our party since the very beginning. In government we have made huge steps towards the creation of a Scottish Human Rights Commission that will promote a culture of rights throughout Scotland. As a party we are dedicated to minority rights in all their forms. We were at the forefront of the fight to abolish the homophobic Tory Section 2A legislation and we have launched powerful anti-racism campaigns as part of a wider strategy of social inclusion.

We are committed to real investment in public services, particularly in our schools and places of further education and in our National Health Service and to the alleviation of poverty for all our people. We have already overseen unprecedented levels of investment in our schools and hospitals and Scottish Liberal Democrats will ensure that investment will continue in the future.

Our green credentials should not be underestimated. Throughout all our policy research, across all policy areas, we take into account the environmental impact. In government our Environment and Rural Development minister Ross Finnie has set a challenging target for renewable energy in Scotland and impressive targets for recycling waste and reducing landfill.

In the current international situation we have led calls for the supremacy of the United Nations, international law and democracy – as opposed to unilateral action and the dangerous flouting of the democratic will of the people. Our stance over war on Iraq has been praised by many and opinion polls show it is supported by the majority of Scots. We are committed to the United Nations as we believe it is the best way of ensuring world peace and security. War should be a very last resort only after all other channels have been exhausted. Weapons Inspectors should be given more time and war should only an option after a substantive vote in the House of Commons and comprehensive approval by the UN.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have always been at the forefront of democratic reform and renewal and are committed to empowering our local communities. We fought for many years for devolution in Scotland, Wales and the English regions with proper proportional voting systems – putting more power in the hands of the voters. We are now taking this fight to Scotland’s local authorities with a published draft bill on implementing PR and a reform agenda that includes giving Councillors a paid salary and our policy of introducing a fair local income tax to replace the discriminatory Council Tax.

With Jim Wallace as Justice Minister one of our major priorities has been to ensure the implementation of a Freedom of Information Act. This important measure will open up government and public bodies to the people for the first time. We have lived for too long under secretive and distant government and in a similar vein we are currently in the process of creating a Judicial Appointments Board. This will finally give transparency to the process and open up the system to a wider range of people – particularly under-represented women and ethnic minorities.

Unlike some of the other ‘left-leaning’ parties we are not only radical – with a wide range of fresh and imaginative policies – but we are the responsible and rational alternative. We are far more radical than Labour and far more realistic than the Nationalists. Neither party offers the best solutions to Scotland’s social and economic challenges. The Tories remain reactionary and backward while the Scottish Socialists represent the extremist and dangerous opposite. Both would do profound damage to our country. The only realistic alternative for any progressive and radical voters is the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Donald Gorrie MSP, Liberal Democrat

——

SSP

The crucial Scottish elections are just weeks away. Every socialist and progressive citizen in Scotland faces a stark choice – between conscience and misplaced loyalty. There are six credible parties standing in this election. Four of these parties are to the left of Labour. Four oppose the bloodthirsty warmongers now in charge of the USA. Four have refused to pander to the naked racism of the Murdoch press. The other two are the Tory Party and the Labour Party. Labour may still have precarious links to the trade unions. It may still have some decent, genuine socialists within its ranks. But increasingly, these socialists and trade unionists are being used to prop up and lend respectability to a project which is anti-socialist and anti-trade union. They are like the black and Asian councillors which the Tories used to parade as a ploy to mask the party’s racism.

From the party of the underdog, Labour has become the party of the rich and powerful. Last week, the moderate leader of the transport union, Bill Morris, attacked Labour for “surrendering to the CBI” over anti-trade union laws. Then Age Concern lambasted Labour for increasing pensioner poverty by two million. Then refugee charities attacked Labour for pledging to slash by half the number of asylum seekers entering Britain. But it is their support for the Washington warlords that really does put Labour beyond the pale. No matter the views of individual Labour politicians, every vote for Labour in the coming election will strengthen Blair and galvanise the warmongers. In contrast, every vote for anti-war parties will be a vote of no confidence in Blair and his buddies in Washington. That especially applies to the votes for the two parties which have been most robust and consistent in their opposition to war, the SSP and the Greens.

That places Labour activists and candidates in a difficult position. Do they encourage people to use their vote to endorse the massacre of innocents in Iraq? Or do they courageously break ranks and sabotage the Bush-Blair axis of mass destruction? Many Labour members oppose this war – though their ranks are dwindling by the day as the bonfire of party membership cards grows higher. Those who are now leaving Labour to fight for socialism and peace should be applauded for their principles. Those who remain now have to look at themselves in the mirror. They have to ask themselves whether they can square their socialist convictions with membership of a party which hammers the poor, privatises public services, locks out refugees fleeing tyranny, chains the trade unions, grovels before the rich and unleashes hell against innocent children. In Scotland, there can be no excuse that it’s too cold outside. With threadbare resources, the Scottish Socialist Party has taken the campaign for socialism out of the smoke-filled back rooms to where it really counts – to the communities, the workplaces, the universities and colleges. I would issue this challenge to all socialists in Scotland and those still in the Labour Party, including MSPs and councillors. Stay with Labour and ask people to vote for a party that stands for everything you oppose. Or break with Labour and fight alongside Scotland’s rising socialist party for policies and principles that you believe in.

Tommy Sheridan MSP, Scottish Socialist Party

—-

Green Party

The latest opinion poll published in the Herald predicts that the Scottish Green Party will get four seats in the May 1st elections. We will be campaigning to make sure that we get at least five in order to register as an official party. It is interesting to note that we have progressed at the same rate as the SSP who are in an even better position according to the polls, polling the same percentage as the Conservatives in the second vote. The important thing which Tommy and I discussed on television last month is that so far we seem to appeal to different constituencies and are certainly not yet at the point where we will be treading on each other’s toes in campaigning. In the last Westminster election in the constituencies where both SSP and Green Party candidates stood, both parties registered increases in their vote. If people want a real difference in Parliament, the message is clear – second vote Green or second vote SSP.

Bearing this in mind, it is as important at this juncture to reflect on the similarities between our manifestos at the last election. The Green Party manifesto was constructed around the issue of poverty, and how concepts of sustainability and environmental justice could be brought into play to address the worst problems of our poorest communities. If all the things that Greens stand for were brought into play there would be better pensions, no family or person would live in a poorly insulated and badly heated home. Planning regulations would make sure that children had play spaces, and all communities were properly designed or redesigned, with children, old people and disabled people particularly in mind. Public transport would be cheap, clean, and available to all. Small businesses and local shops would thrive. A host of initiatives would improve our diet, consumer education and the health of young children.

Tommy Sheridan and I have supported each other on countless occasions in the Parliament and I am certain that we will be doing so in the next Parliament. However, I feel it is important to state at this point that it is highly unlikely that we would form anything other than the loosest alliance with the SSP. World-wide, a very distinctive green political philosophy, perception and agenda is growing. It would be very unwise for us to risk the possibility of being swamped by the SSP at this early stage in our development. We are entirely confident that we will win enough support in the course of time to follow the example of the Green parties in Europe and become a powerful political influence on Scottish politics. We do, after all, seem to have made a very good start. The basis of our political message is that we are going to have to learn to live in a different way to become a conserver, rather than a consumer society. This is a difficult political message to get across, that we must satisfy need, not greed. But in terms of the world’s limited resources this is indeed the most important political message of the century.

Robin Harper MSP, Green Party