Student protest comes to Holyrood

I spoke today to the demonstrators outside Holyrood who were protesting against the cuts to education and the Tory/Liberal coalition’s decision to treble tuition fees, which is bound to have a knock-on effect in Scotland.

It was a busy crowd, but you can just about see my wee baldy head behind a flag while I’m speaking!

The students who are protesting throughout the UK are doing something immensely important, and it goes way beyond the short term impact of the headlines. By turning education into a mere market commodity, the UK Government is causing immeasurable damage to our society which will be felt for generations to come. The anger being shown about this is entirely justified, and I hope that over the coming months it continues to be channelled into peaceful but forceful campaigning. I’m proud to support those who are leading that effort.

Video clip – debate on tax powers

Back in 1997 when the Scottish Parliament was finally being created, one of the key decisions was whether to include any taxation powers. In the referendum, around two thirds of the electorate voted to give Holyrood some limited tax power. That power has never been used yet, but there was always an expectation that it still existed in practice, not just in theory.

Now the current Government has been forced to admit to Parliament that the power can no longer be used, as the IT systems which operate it have not been kept up to date. Here’s my contribution to Holyrood’s debate about that admission:

Swinney hands back Scotland’s only tax power

Yesterday’s revelation that John Swinney has failed to renew the computer system which allows use of Scotland’s only national taxation power took my breath away.

Ask almost anyone who the most able, competent, respected performers are in the SNP administration and you will see John’s name at the top of the list. I don’t always agree with his policies of course, but he’s usually a star performer and a genuinely likeable man.

But his decision to unilaterally and completely quietly allow Holyrood’s only tax power to lapse is unforgivable.
He doesn’t want to use the power to vary the basic rate of income tax – he prefers to hand on the Tory cuts to Scotland. He is completely entitled to that view. It’s shared by most politicians in Scotland at the moment; so far only the Greens are talking about raising revenue to defend public services – and even we prefer to empower councils to raise taxes locally first, with income tax used only if we can’t fill the gap.

But the political parties, all busy writing manifestos for May’s election, have now had their hands tied. We have all been told that the power has been effectively surrendered, and the electorate can no longer choose to endorse the use of a fundamental feature of the devolution deal which they voted for by around 2/3, back in 1997.

John Swinney constantly puts the case for more financial powers – a case I support. What would happen to a Chancellor who had to admit to Parliament, after someone else exposed the facts, that he had allowed HMRC to forget how to change the rate of income tax? I can’t think of much that would result in a quicker sacking.

John Swinney is, as I say, someone who I have respected even when disagreeing with him. But this disgraceful act of negligence cannot be overlooked. Coming so close to an election, I know that there is little chance that this will be seen as a resignation matter, but he will end his period in office as the SNP minister who handed back to London a fundamental part of the devolution settlement, and left the Scottish public less able to defend the country against the vandalism of a Tory Government we didn’t vote for. This is shameful.

NEWS RELEASE – Tory cuts or progressive taxes

Tomorrow’s Draft Budget from Scottish Ministers is expected to confirm that the SNP intend merely to implement Tory cuts rather than setting a more progressive course for Scotland. The Scottish Greens will continue to argue that Ministers should look at an alternative approach and use the existing powers of the Scottish Parliament to raise revenue, either through the introduction of a Land Value Tax (1), other local taxes, or the Scottish Variable Rate of income tax (2).

Patrick Harvie MSP said:

“No-one voted SNP to see their Ministers simply implementing Tory cuts, cuts which are designed to hit the poorest and most vulnerable hardest. Neither did they campaign for years to establish a Scottish Parliament only to watch it implement a radical right-wing agenda that Scotland didn’t vote for. Holyrood’s options to raise revenue are limited, but we must take them.

“The Scottish people voted by a clear margin for a Parliament with tax-varying powers, and Parliament’s Budget has never been under more pressure. It’s time to honour that decision. Instead, this week it seems likely that the Scottish people will be offered four variations on a theme by the other parties, four ways to implement Tory cuts. Only the Greens are prepared to make the case for an alternative approach, one which uses the most progressive ways available to us to raise revenue and limit the cuts. If the Budget rules these options out it will be unfit for purpose.”

1. A recent report by Andy Wightman, commissioned by the Green MSPs, showed that Land Value Tax at 4.4p in the pound could raise more than £5bn if required, more than currently raised through Council Tax and the Uniform Business Rate combined while also being socially progressive.

2. In 2008, HM Treasury estimated that a penny change in the Scottish Variable Rate during financial year 2009-10 would vary income up or down by £400m. A 1p increase would cost the lowest earners nothing, but higher rate tax payers would pay a little more than £30 per month extra. See p113.

Tax vs Cuts. Simple as that.

From this afternoon’s Politics Show:

Human rights discussion on Politics Now

Last night I was in the STV studio for Politics Now, where the debate was on human rights, and the court ruling that the UK Government must lift the blanket ban on prisoners voting.

Here’s the debate between myself and Bill Aitken of the Tories, with Bernard Ponsonby keeping order.

How should Scotland face the Liberal/Tory cuts?

The UK coalition government’s spending cuts are an assault on the poorest and most vulnerable in society and pose a huge challenge to anyone who wants to see a progressive agenda for the people of Scotland.

The Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) announced by Chancellor George Osborne included £18bn slashed from the welfare budget and will see at least 500,000 public sector workers consigned to the dole queue, with as many more job losses in the rest of the economy as a result.

This is absolutely the last thing the economy needs and will make recovery less likely. More than that, it will cause untold amounts of harm to individuals, communities, and to our whole society. They’ve attacked higher education, child benefit, housing benefit, social housing, and more. The Tory/Liberal programme is a more savage attack on social justice and the foundations of the welfare state than anything Margaret Thatcher attempted.

And it’s unnecessary! A host of other options exist, including slowing down the deficit reduction, or raising revenue in progressive ways, from those most able to pay. A financial transaction tax, or Robin Hood Tax, would ensure that the banks paid their share for the damage they’ve done. Progressive income tax or a one-off wealth tax on the richest 10% would mean that those with the broadest shoulders took more of the burden. George Osborne could be shutting down the tax City’s avoidance machine, rather than wiping out massive tax bills for his friends in big business.

Listening to the spending review was a nauseating experience – the LibDem/Tory coalition is clearly determined to exploit the deficit to justify the most fundamental attack on the welfare state since its creation. For many right wingers this is a dream come true but it is ordinary people across Scotland and the UK who will be living with the nightmare consequences for generations.

Cameron’s claims that the coalition government would be “the greenest government ever” also proved to be hollow. Chris Huhne has pointed out that the UK needed £200 billion to rebuild its energy infrastructure however George Osborne announced today that the much trumpeted Green Investment Bank will have a paltry £1bn allocated to it, while the huge publicly owned banks like RBS continue to pour our money into some of the most polluting and unethical industries in the world.

The challenge for Scotland – and a key test of devolution – is to maintain a progressive agenda in the face of this radical right wing ideology. It’s vital that the SNP doesn’t just hand on these cuts to Scottish public services, but instead sets out how we in Scotland can raise revenue too. Greens have put forward our ideas, by proposing to empower councils to raise a range of taxes locally. As long as Council Tax continues in its current form, additional higher bands would ensure that the wealthiest pay more. Land Value Tax could do even more to raise revenue and reduce people’s housing costs at the same time. Other options should be explored, such as a hotel tax, a sales tax, and some use of environmental taxes. Finally, it’s time for a full debate on the national tax-varying power, which could help protect vital public services. If the other political parties are unwilling to contemplate raising revenue, then all they have left is to hand on the cuts.

Whatever the SNP propose in their budget, Parliament as a whole must ensure that public services are maintained and the people hardest hit by the Liberals and Tories are given some protection. Like most Scots I want a society which uses its wealth to attack poverty, but right now it’s being used to punish people who’re living in poverty.

The evidence from around the world has never been clearer – equality is better for everyone. It makes society healthier, happier, safer and greener. And the values which have created the inequality we can see around us were values of selfishness and greed – the same values which led to the financial crisis and shaped the political environment which allowed it. So Greens are not only opposing the UK Government’s cuts; we’re not only trying to shape an alternative Scottish budget which will protect public services; we’re also speaking up for the values of a better society which will put the emphasis on health, wellbeing and quality of life.