Talk of a steam roller in the Scottish Parliament
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The new SNP Government is allocating committees and preparing to take on the regular work of the parliament. Photo: Adam Elder / Scottish Parliament.
THIS week in Parliament we have followed up the Scottish Government ministerial appointments with electing our presiding officer and her deputies. Now we are getting allocated to committees and preparing to take on the regular work of Holyrood in the next few weeks.
Because the SNP has an absolute majority in a system of voting which aimed to stop us, the talk is of a steam roller. Critics in Labour and Lib Dems forget they had an absolute majority in each of their 1999 and 2003 coalitions. The London media fuels the cruder end of debate on the Scottish condition.
A typical example was last Sunday’s Observer newspaper which lined up a string of people who lodged a lot of doubts in the readers’ minds. Except one voice...
Andrew Hughes Hallett, professor of economics at St Andrews University, backs the ability of Scotland to improve its economic performance by using the “whole range of fiscal policies” independence would bring.
This is a welcome endorsement of independence from a leading economist, who makes it clear that an independent Scotland would have the ability to use the whole range of tax levers to help boost our economy, creating wealth, jobs and opportunity for the whole nation.
Scotland currently does not have these powers, which is why the immediate priority is getting economic teeth into the Scotland Bill currently going through Westminster, to give Holyrood responsibility for things like corporation tax and borrowing.
But, as Andrew Hughes Hallett makes clear, only with independence will we be able to compete on a level playing field with other nations, by taking control of all the tax levers and making the most of our comparative advantage in sectors like electricity generation and our vast renewable energy sources.
IN my first speech in this session I was able to stress matters that match our area’s needs with the national priorities of the Scottish Government. Firstly I championed the potential of renewable energy that is poised to make a breakthrough in Caithness both in the Pentland and Moray firths.
Secondly I highlighted the taxes levied by the Crown Estate Commission which it hopes will increase hugely when marine power gets into its stride. Thirdly I challenged the notion that localism has any substance.
In my view, more local decision-taking has to be part of our approach to local government. As well as the return of full powers to Edinburgh we need further efforts to create more local decisions right here in Caithness.
That’s a culture of independence that takes responsibility and does not seek to blame others. I’m fully behind that right which is so much more embedded in neighbouring countries. That’s another reason why we need to raise the level of debate about taking decisions over our lives right here.
I was lucky to win the ballot for the first General Questions of the new parliament that took place yesterday.
On Thursday, June I took the chance to highlight the Crown Estate Commission issue. That’s because we have to make rapid progress on who gets the benefit from on and offshore renewable energy.
It’s about making the breakthrough towards new jobs, transferring the skills being shed at Dounreay and seeing Caithness achieve real progress that is central to my work as your MSP. We want to become a sustainable community in a nation that is capable and willing to take the big decisions about our future ourselves.
I HELD the first bus summit meeting in the constituency last Monday. It concentrated on Easter Ross issues. However, my mail bag is full of complaints about Stagecoach service changes across the area. Members of the travelling public made their strong views known. Also other parties, including HITRANS, THE Highland Council, the ambulance service and community transport, Scotland broadened out the debate.
I’m sure that the Caithness Transport Forum will need to conduct a similar focused bus summit too. I have often attended its excellent meetings and feel that the area is well served by it, however, I am keen to hear the views of the transport commissioner on these bus issues because so many of you rely on the service network to get to work and have no other options.
THE Olympic torch should visit John O’Groats on its way to the Northern Isles. Why would it go to Land’s End and not Caithness? We are told by a spokesperson for London 2012 that a number of options are under discussion. However, it seems the further north you go, the vaguer the plans get.
Least you think, readers, that I’m succumbing to a pessimism induced by our Far North weather in May, the “by-pass” has also happened in Galloway as the route from Belfast is also “unclear”, despite the shortest route to Scotland from Northern Ireland being Larne to Stranraer. Until Scotland can bid for some future Olympics this is part of our show, so we deserve to be part of the build-up, just as our best athletes get a chance to compete – football being the one special exception, as we know.
But Caithness is not the exception. We deserve to witness the footfall of dozens of athletes bearing the Olympic flame till it goes over the sea to Orkney.
www.robgibson.org
