NEWS RELEASE – PRIVATE RENTED SECTOR BILL MUST DO MORE FOR TENANTS
Posted on January 27, 2011GREEN MSP MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release 27 January 2010
PRIVATE RENTED SECTOR BILL MUST DO MORE FOR TENANTS
The Green MSPs will today vote for the Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Bill at Stage One, (1) but Greens share the view of Shelter and the Local Government and Communities Committee that “more and further-reaching reform will be necessary”. (2) The Bill as it stands does improve the system of landlord registration, and eliminates pre-tenancy charges. However, it does not go far enough in some areas – especially around length of tenancy, deposits, and dispute resolution – and would also introduce new problems around overcrowding and planning. More than 250,000 Scottish households live in private rented homes. (3)
Patrick Harvie MSP said:
“Too many tenants in the private rented sector are still putting up with bad practice, weak protections for tenants, and poor access to dispute resolution. Inadequate energy efficiency standards still mean too many people live in cold, expensive and unhealthy homes. Tenants across the country are still waiting for Ministers prepared to take the action required on these issues, and this legislation is clearly too small a step in the right direction.
“At the same time Ministers’ existing proposals would introduce some significant new problems around overcrowding and planning, and it is now up to Parliament to try and remedy as many of these problems as possible before the final vote. Where we can, we will work with other parties to improve the legislation and get a fairer deal for the quarter of a million Scots households who rent from private landlords .”
Notes
1. For more information on the Bill, see:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/
2. See Shelter’s briefing
3. http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/
NEWS RELEASE – GREENS COMMIT TO EQUAL MARRIAGE CHANGE IN NEXT SESSION
Posted onSCOTTISH GREEN MSP MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release 27 January 2011
GREENS COMMIT TO EQUAL MARRIAGE CHANGE IN NEXT SESSION
Patrick Harvie MSP today set out a commitment by the Scottish Greens to backing equal marriage legislation in the next session of Parliament, and the party is confident that there will be sufficient cross-party support amongst the new intake of MSPs to take the necessary measures onto the statute book. A poll conducted for the Green MSPs late last year showed that equality is now overwhelmingly popular in society at large with 58% of Scots supporting the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry if they wish to, and just 19% against. (1)
Patrick Harvie MSP said:
“The idea that same sex couples are second class citizens is deeply offensive and on the wane, but it still needs to be challenged. The Equal Marriage campaign is an attempt to remove one of the last elements of discrimination in law, and deserves our support. The antiquated notion that same sex couples are in some way morally inferior needs to be put to rest once and for all.
“The progress made toward equality over recent decades has been dramatic, but prejudice and discrimination are still very real in our society. It’s important that the law should recognise that love is love, that family is family, and that a “separate but equal” system of family law is still giving cover for prejudice.
“It would be relatively simple for Scotland to open civil marriage up to same sex couples and civil partnership to mixed sex couples, so that people can make their own choice on their own terms. The churches would also be free to reach their own view, instead of being banned by law from recognising all relationships equally.”
Notes
1. Angus Reid polled 1001 Scottish adults between 14th April and 16th April 2010. The question asked was as follows:
How much do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Gay or lesbian couples should have the right to marry one another if they want to.
Figures are this poll (2006 Social Attitudes/2002 Social Attitudes)
29% (17%/10%) Agree strongly
29% (36%/31%) Agree
23% (21%/24%) Neither agree nor disagree
8% (11%/17%) Disagree
11% (10%/12%) Disagree strongly
NEWS RELEASE – SWINNEY PASSES TORY BUDGET WITH TORY SUPPORT
Posted on January 26, 2011
GREEN MSP MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release 26 January 2010
SWINNEY PASSES TORY BUDGET WITH TORY SUPPORT
The SNP and Tories united today to vote through John Swinney’s Budget after the Stage One debate, confirming the Green assessment that the SNP have effectively proposed a Tory Budget and that they would find the Scottish Tories ready to support it.
Patrick Harvie MSP said:
“A year ago at Westminster the Tories and the Lib Dems got into bed together, and today at Holyrood the SNP have climbed in beside the Scottish Tories too. It appears to be Swingers Day in Scottish politics.
“John Swinney and Alex Salmond have brought George Osborne’s cuts agenda to Holyrood, and their reliance on Tory support means they simply could not defend public services in Scotland. Labour’s position is also indefensible – how can they justify their failure to vote against tonight? When Parliament votes again in two weeks, Labour must get off the fence and vote this Tory budget down.”
NEWS RELEASE – GREENS WILL VOTE AGAINST SNP’S “OSBORNOMICS” BUDGET
Posted onGREEN MSP MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release 26 January 2010
GREENS WILL VOTE AGAINST SNP’S “OSBORNOMICS” BUDGET
The Green MSPs today confirmed that they would vote to reject the cuts set out in the SNP’s Budget at Stage One today, and called on the other opposition parties to unite to vote it down. Ministers faced a choice when Tory Ministers cut the Block Grant, Greens argue, either to pass on those cuts or to find progressive alternatives to them. John Swinney has made a clear decision to follow the ideological cuts agenda coming from the Westminster Coalition, and Greens cannot support this choice.
Patrick Harvie MSP said:
“It is exceptionally disappointing to see a nationalist administration bring forward such a misguided Budget. John Swinney talks about the economy and public services but he is following pure Osbornomics – cut and hope. The SNP should have seized the opportunity to oppose the cuts, but instead they’ve decided simply to manage them, even though the Scottish Parliament is the only institution in Britain with the power to raise taxes on the better-off and to keep funding the services the poorest rely upon.
“Scotland will pay the price for the SNP’s timidity and conservatism unless Parliament can find its backbone and act today to stop them. Alex Salmond has promised to bring back a revised Budget if that happens, and Holyrood must now take him up on this offer. The responsibility now lies with the other opposition parties: will they stand up to the Tory Government, or let Scotland down with the SNP?”
Fight for North Kelvin Meadow continues
Posted on January 20, 2011
Last week I wrote to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, John Swinney, to ask for a commitment that the expected Planning Application for North Kelvin Meadow will be called in by Scottish Ministers.
North Kelvin Meadow, a wonderful green space amidst the crowded West End, has been under threat of development for luxury flats for many months now. From a neglected playing field, a community gardening space has been created by passionate local people, who have come together to fight against the developer, New City Vision’s plans.
At the moment the proposals to develop “luxury” flats are in the Pre-Application stage, during which New City Vision are holding two community engagement events. They claim these will allow specific plans to be “genuinely responsive to local input”, while they still press ahead with their agenda to build these unwanted flats.
On Saturday 15th January I attended the first of these events in Kelbourne Street Scout Hall. The overwhelming majority of the people in the room were opposed to any development at all, and raised concerns over the extremely narrow parameters that were intended to confine the discussion of possible alterations to the development. And so the planning application will have 90-115 flats and will retain just a small scrap of green space, no matter what people’s responses happen to be in these consultation events.
Concerns were also raised as to the poor publicity surrounding the event – there was no leafleting of local residents, for example. I raised the question as to how much money was changing hands between New City Vision and Glasgow City Council for the land, arguing that the community should have more of a say in what the money was spent on, but the answer was not forthcoming.
The second event is a Public Exhibition on Saturday 12th February, 10am-4pm at Kelbourne Street Scout Hall. I urge the local community to use these events to continue to make clear that they do not want these flats at all. They want to keep their Meadow, and I hope as many people come along as possible, despite the poor publicity surrounding these events.
Read more in this Evening Times article.
Newsnight Scotland interview
Posted on January 19, 2011This month Newsnight Scotland has been asking each of the main party leaders into the studio in turn, for a one-to-one interview looking ahead to the Holyrood election. Tonight, it was my turn!
NEWS RELEASE – Greens Deliver Tough Budget Message to SNP
Posted on January 5, 2011
GREEN MSP MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release 5 January 2011
GREENS DELIVER TOUGH BUDGET MESSAGE TO SNP
The Scottish Green MSPs today published a letter sent by Patrick Harvie to John Swinney setting out the party’s position on the forthcoming Scottish Budget. (1) The current proposal from SNP Ministers is simply to hand on Conservative cuts to the Scottish Budget, with serious consequences for services in Scotland, especially those relied on by the poorest in the country.
In the letter Patrick Harvie argues that options for raising revenue as progressively as possible should instead be pursued. Last autumn the Green MSPs commissioned research into Land Value Tax, for example, which showed how an additional £1.5bn could be raised in Scotland. (2) If the SNP are not prepared to consider alternatives to the cuts, Greens argue, they will have to find support for their Budget from the parties in government at Westminster.
Patrick Harvie MSP said:
“This is a crucial moment for Scotland, a point where Ministers can either show the benefits of a distinctively Scottish approach or just blame others for their inaction. The public voted in 1999 for a strong Parliament capable of blocking a future Westminster government’s cuts agenda, and Holyrood must now live up to those expectations. While SNP Ministers do not have all the powers they would like, there are alternatives despite their carelessness with the tax-varying powers. Instead they are going further, and the iniquitous terms of their Council Tax freeze make it impossible for local authorities to act to protect their services.
“If John Swinney is ready to look at progressive ways to raise revenue, we will work with him to build support for a fairer Budget, one which protects housing and vital public services, and one which invests in green jobs instead of endless motorway schemes. If he insists on sticking to the irresponsible proposals set out in his current Budget, though, we will have to vote against them. There is no point in an SNP administration which just passes on these Westminster cuts. As things stand, the Greens are offering the only alternative to the Tory agenda, although it is still possible that the other parties at Holyrood will remember what they originally got into politics for.”
Notes
1. The letter in full is as follows:
Dear Cabinet Secretary,
Thank you for your letter of December 15, asking for proposals for amendments to the Scottish Budget for 2011/12.
You will be aware that I have repeatedly and publicly argued that our budget decisions for the coming year represent an important test for Scotland’s political institutions, which many Scots voted for (at least in part) as a defence for the country against the possibility of a future Conservative UK Government which was determined to attack the public sector and to undermine the welfare state and other aspects of social solidarity, and which had no mandate in Scotland. That prospect is no longer theoretical; it is the situation we face perhaps until 2015.
The Scottish Green Party has debated this situation at length, and we are strongly of the view that simply to hand on the UK Government’s cuts to Scottish public services would be intolerable. To listen to Scottish Government Ministers, one would often gain the impression that this view is shared. Most recently for example, your colleague the Secretary for Education argued strongly that the costs of higher education should not be moved from the state to the individual, and that general taxation remains the best way of paying for our universities. We agree, but it is simply not a credible position unless there is the political will to raise that general taxation as progressively as possible. That argument must also be applied to the wider situation facing public services.
I am convinced that a progressive approach is indeed possible. This could involve empowering local authorities to raise a higher proportion of their revenue locally from a wider range of sources, as well as some limited use of the Scottish Variable Rate of income tax, once the facility has been restored.
Sadly you appear to disagree. Almost every attempt to propose revenue-raising is criticised by you or your colleagues, the terms of the proposed settlement with local government has placed Scotland’s Councils in an impossible position if they wish to protect their services, and there appears to have been no effort made by the Scottish Government to identify and promote progressive approaches to new taxation. The Scottish Budget is of course a complex document, however at its heart this year will be a very simple question – will we impose the very same level of economically illiterate cuts which the UK Government has recklessly chosen to impose, or will we raise the revenue needed to offer Scotland an alternative?
Clearly you and I would have differences on the priorities for spending even if agreement was reached on raising revenue. We would want to protect the housing budget for new-build as well as retrofit to reduce energy bills, instead of cutting it by almost a third. We would prioritise public transport and maintenance of the existing road network, rather than the building of new capacity especially in the trunk road network. Even on the much smaller scale, the Scottish Government has recently proved unwilling to protect the funding of an important scrutiny body, and has followed the UK Government’s lead by abolishing the Sustainable Development Commission. We disagree strongly with that approach, as with other details in the budget.
No doubt you and I could enter that familiar debate with well rehearsed arguments, though as in previous years we might well find enough common ground to reach an agreement. However unless the Government is willing to change its position on the overall size of the cuts, there seems little scope for that process of negotiation. If it wishes to provide leadership for Scotland by opposing the vicious and socially destructive agenda of the UK Government, your administration must accept that while the cuts are indeed initiated by the Tory/Liberal coalition, the Scottish Government can choose whether to hand those cuts on to Scotland, or raise revenue to protect the public services which Scotland’s communities depend upon, as well as the investment in the low-carbon future which needs to be more than a paper commitment if the benefits are to be realised.
If you intend to change your position and seek progressive approaches to taxation rather than simply imposing Tory cuts in Scotland, I will welcome that and will offer assistance on the detail. If however you are unwilling to do so, I would recommend that you seek support for the Scottish budget from the political parties which have initiated these cuts. It will then be for the Scottish electorate to express their reaction to that agenda at the ballot box in May.
2. See:
http://scot.gr/lvtreport (3.9Mb pdf file)
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