How Scottish Labour could give the Nationalists a run for their money
Anas Sarwar January 2021. (PA Images)
The first rule of politics is that leadership matters. Scottish Labour’s opportunity to ditch Richard Leonard has come not a moment too soon. Anas Sarwar, the favourite to win, would be the first BAME leader of a major UK political party. It’s always a gift to a leader to be the change they want to see in the world — and Anas is that.
After leadership comes purpose. Opposition leaders spend most of their time being against things, but the question voters are asking is “What are you for?”
In Scotland, that’s simple. Change the game. The SNP want to play draughts (or checkers), so sweep the pieces off the board and play chess instead.
On the constitution, just stop engaging with all the “Whatifery”. Will there, won’t there, be a referendum. Of course not! As Prime Minister, Boris Johnson is a man of his word. He said he’d “Get Brexit Done”, and he did. He said he wouldn’t grant a second referendum. He means it: he won’t.
Scottish Labour should just leave “windyref” to indy-fixated groupuscles and get on with Labour’s historic task: giving people control over their own lives. That was the point of devolution in the first place – it just wasn’t meant to stop at the door of St Andrew’s House, the headquarters of the Scottish Government.
Tony Blair gave away more power from Whitehall than any Prime Minister in history. It is indeed a savage irony that this self-denying ordinance created the potential for Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon to create the most centralised European state since the fall of the Berlin Wall. So Labour should remind Scots of how it was before the SNP took over. Bring back the regions. And the districts too. And add in community councils for good measure. The SNP believe that they – and only they – know best. Scottish Labour’s slogan should be the tried and tested one: “Power to the People!”
Devolving control of public services away from St Andrew’s House frees the Scottish Government to tackle the real challenges of the next decade: jobs and climate crisis. The rise in unemployment caused by the pandemic has already been severe – particularly for young people, many of whom have never worked, much less had a secure job. Further job losses will come as furlough is unwound. This is Labour’s issue – the clue is in the name. Nationalists create borders, Labour creates jobs.
What are the programmes? In the words of Ronald Reagan, it’s simple but it’s not easy. At least not easy for the SNP. Because the programmes require working with the UK Government – whether it is bringing back the Enterprise Allowance scheme that Alan McGee credits for the creation of his career in music, or using the freedom from the European Union to use state aid to invest in the businesses of the future. The supply chain for electric vehicles is just one example. The problem is that the only industry the SNP ever want to invest in is manufacturing grievances.
The pandemic has been the ultimate proof that devolution works. Scotland got the firepower of Westminster to support the economy with furlough payments and a VAT cut, to finance the NHS with vast additional spending, but was able to combine that with the Scottish Government leading public health. The best of both worlds. Which is how it can be on jobs, too — but only with Labour.
Finally, from growing the Union, to greening the Union. The UK’s green energy incentives have helped to turbocharge Scotland’s renewable energy. Now it’s time for Scotland to repay the favour. Scottish Labour led the UK with the smoking ban. Now Scottish Labour needs to lead UK politics with a plan for greening every home in Scotland – insulating them, retrofitting carbon neutral heating, and more. Creating jobs while tackling the climate crisis.
There’s a rich agenda for Scottish Labour under new management. With fresh leadership, policies and a sense of purpose, Labour could confront the SNP with serious opposition for the first time in at least a decade.
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