Beware, Salmond is back with a vengeance
An alarming warning about threat to your pension
WE learned a lot during the referendum. We were reminded that we Scots on both sides of the argument love our country. And many people realised for the first time that only Scottish Labour is big enough and strong enough to stand up to the SNP.
Although we all talk of four main parties in Scotland, in reality there are two who will go head to head here. In 2016, either Scottish Labour or the SNP is likely to win power in the Scottish parliament. That’s not to be disrespectful to the other parties, it’s simply a realistic assessment.
This year, at the General Election in May, we have a big decision to make. Anything that strengthens the SNP or provides it with the momentum it craves makes it more likely it will remain in power at Holyrood the following year.
The referendum was an exciting and passionate moment in our nation’s history, and that is exactly where it should remain. But for the Nationalists, staying in power after 2016 means carrying on the debate about Scotland’s place in the UK.
Last week, Alex Salmond said the General Election in May won’t be a re-run of the referendum but a ballot on the devolution of everything apart from defence and foreign affairs.
Think, for just a moment, about what that proposal really means.
It means an end to the present pensions system, whereby taxes raised across the whole of the UK go towards the pensions of Scots, and an end to the UK-wide welfare system that makes sure the vulnerable in our country get the support they need.
It means an end to the Barnett Formula that ensures Scotland gets a higher share of public money to invest in our schools and hospitals, leaving the Scottish Government budget overly reliant on volatile oil revenue.
Just when we thought we had seen off the SNP threat to Scotland’s future in the Union, Alex Salmond is back with a vengeance with a new threat to Scotland’s pensions.
As I write this article, the oil price has fallen to $50 a barrel. That’s less than half the price on which the SNP based its entire case for independence.
Think of the damage to Scotland’s schools and hospitals if we had to slash their budgets to match the fall in tax revenue we are experiencing because of the low oil price. There are now predictions by economists and OPEC ministers about how low the price a barrel of oil could plummet. Alex Salmond told Scots in the referendum that a high oil price was a fact. He should now admit that it was a hopeless guess.
Mr Salmond also made a big strategic mistake by announcing his party’s campaign strategy, showing he is not content with being a back-seat driver and wants to jump in the front and get his hands on the steering wheel again. What should have been an announcement by First Minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon was made by the former leader. Who is really in charge?
Contrast the shambles that was the announcement of the SNP’s General Election strategy with the purpose and drive shown by a Scottish Labour Party beginning to be re-energised.
I announced our plan to fund an extra 1,000 NHS nurses in Scotland, using the money raised from Labour’s mansion tax on houses worth more than £2 million. Around 95 per cent of the revenue will come from homes in London and the South-East of England.
Anybody who has spent time in one of Scotland’s hospitals in recent months knows how dedicated the medical staff are. Nurses care for patients like they are their own family. But it’s clear that our NHS nurses need more support.
In the last week alone, patients all across Scotland have been turned away and had appointments cancelled because our hospitals are too busy. Put simply, the NHS is creaking under the control of SNP ministers in Edinburgh who seem to have worried more about running their referendum than running our health service.
An extra 1,000 nurses would make a big difference – yet i nstead of welcoming our announcement, the Nationalists instead tried to stop medical staff speaking of the problems facing our health service.
The SNP’s response to this avoidable mess in the NHS is similar to its reaction to the threat to thousands of jobs in the North sea oil industry, seemingly shrugging their shoulders and saying: ‘Crisis? What crisis?’
The First Minister wants to pretend there isn’t a problem. When I was in Aberdeen last week meeting oil workers and their employers, SNP ministers were nowhere to be seen.
I have called on the Scottish Government to set up a resilience fund to help key industries facing hardship, and to support small businesses i n the North-East of Scotland so reliant on a thriving oil industry. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and we need to do everything we can to help them thrive. Sadly, instead of taking these issues seriously the Nationalists choose to play their usual political games. The patriotic thing to do is to get the best for Scotland, not to resort to petty point-scoring. But there will be a big choice soon at the General Election. A vote for the SNP is a vote to put at risk pensions and the funding of our public services. A vote for Scottish Labour is a vote for the only party big and strong enough to stand up to the Nationalists.
‘Salmond wants to jump into the front seat again’