Well that’s the Scottish leadership election over. There was at least a real debate about ideas and strategy and Neil Findlay’s campaign ensured that we didn’t get the coronation the system usually delivers. Neil also delivered ideas of substance and generated energy amongst party members that I haven’t seen for a long time. From Jim […]
The real chill in the Autumn statement
Dec 7th, 2014 by Dave Watson.A budget package in December may not be Autumn, but it certainly had a real chill for those least able to afford its consequences. This was a classic Osborne budget statement. Massive real cuts, sugar coated by handing back a few pennies in the form of announcements on the NHS and infrastructure. Yes, Scotland will […]
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Why Scotland and the UK should oppose TTIP
Dec 3rd, 2014 by Dave Watson.Politicians can be so fixated by the benefits of free trade that they are missing the real dangers of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a series of trade negotiations being carried out mostly in secret between the EU and US. In my view TTIP is primarily about reducing the regulatory barriers to trade […]
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Two cheers for the Smith Commission
Nov 30th, 2014 by Dave Watson.The Smith Commission report is an important step forward on the devolution journey, even if many of us who support further devolution will be disappointed over its omissions. First of all let’s dispose of the political froth. It’s impossible to know if the ‘vow’ has been delivered as, other than a newspaper headline, it was […]
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Let’s be bolder on tackling poverty pay during Living Wage Week
Nov 6th, 2014 by Dave Watson.During Living Wage Week we should focus on ensuring that the 400,000 workers in Scotland on poverty pay are paid the living wage. The idea behind a living wage is very simple. A worker should be paid enough to live decently and to adequately provide for their family. It helps prevent in-work poverty and ensures workers are […]
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Why Scottish Labour’s structure matters politically
Oct 25th, 2014 by Dave Watson.The structure and rules of an organisation can say much about its culture and vision. This is particularly true of the Scottish Labour Party. In my article in the latest Citizen and in my contributions to both recent Scottish Labour grassroots events, organisation was just one of four points on my Scottish Labour ‘to do’ […]
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Why energy policy should be devolved
Oct 22nd, 2014 by Dave Watson.Devolving energy policy would tidy up the often conflicting mix of devolved and reserved powers and enable Scotland to develop new approaches to energy policy. At present energy is a largely reserved matter to Westminster. Specific reservations in Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998 include the generation, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity; the […]
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Greater devolution for a fairer Scotland
Oct 6th, 2014 by Dave Watson.If the referendum result tells us anything, it’s that most people living in Scotland want a big change in how we are governed so that we can can seriously address poverty and inequality. This means that further devolution has to be more than just tinkering at the edges. As Lord Smith started his work with […]
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To reinvent our economy we need to reframe the debate
Sep 12th, 2014 by Dave Watson.The left needs to reframe the debate by imagining a different way of running our economy. In his Guardian column last week, Oliver Burkeman commented on the reclining airline seats ‘war’ by saying, “Stop arguing. Capitalism already won this stupid war“. It’s not the fairness of reclining or not, it’s because airlines cram so many […]
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Britain needs good jobs and a pay rise
Sep 5th, 2014 by Dave Watson.Britain needs a pay rise, not just to bring relief to hard-pressed workers, but also to drive a sustainable economic recovery. That’s the message from the latest research and is particularly relevant to our members in Scottish local government, who are being balloted on industrial action over pay from next week. Their pay is the lowest, even […]
