Speech made 09.06.2021
Presiding Officer,
This report is unoriginal. It is an un costed, utopian fairy tale which has been drawn up by the SNP to distract the people of Scotland from their failures in Government. This report has been designed by the SNP to try and allow them to avoid accountability, and to stoke up their grievance agenda. But this parliament already has the powers to address the most pressing issues facing Scotland today, and it is the SNP’s dismal record in Government that should be subject to debate, scrutiny, and accountability.
Take the following quote from the executive summary of this report: “The democratic renewal that independence offers is an opportunity to re-imagine our approach to local democracy. There is a strong argument for radical reform of local government, guided by the principle of empowering communities across Scotland to take the decisions that affect them.”
The SNP do not need independence to empower communities across Scotland. They need to give them proper funding and respect decisions made by local councils. Between 2013-14 and 2018-19, the SNP Government cut local government spending in Scotland by 7.5%. The SNP also take the attitude that they know better than local councillors, overturning over a third of planning decisions made throughout Scotland’s councils in the last parliament.
Another quote from this report reads: “Those struggling with addiction need to be heard and empowered to be at the centre of their own treatment and recovery”. The Scottish Government already has the powers to allow those with addictions to be heard and empowered. But under the SNP’s watch, Scotland has had a record number of drug deaths for six consecutive years. The SNP like to complain that it is legislation to blame for this, but Scotland’s drug deaths are 3 and a half times above those seen in England and Wales who have the same legislation.
This report correctly calls for cooperation. Perhaps in the spirit of cooperation the Scottish Government can reach out to the UK and Welsh Government’s to learn what they are doing to help those with addictions.
Cooperation between Scotland’s Governments would also promote immigration to Scotland. With an increasing elderly population, it is vital that Scotland is seen to be open and welcome. Sadly, the rhetoric that associates with the nationalist movement makes Scotland feel like a hostile environment for many of our English friends. Banners such as: “get out of England” or tweets telling English tourists to ”f off” add to this narrative, and should be called out the First Minister and her Government.
For social justice and fairness to emerge in Scotland, we do not need to change the constitution. We need the Scottish Government to change how they exercise their powers. Rather than seeking grievance, they should seek to create an equality of opportunity for all Scots. Rather than having people’s lives shaped by their postcode, the SNP should be seeking a levelling up agenda which leaves no-one behind. The SNP should be focusing on bringing us together, because Scotland’s is more powerful when we work together. Doing all of this, and more, would be working in the national interest, but I fear that the SNP will continue to work in the nationalist interest.