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Lessons to be drawn from election


By Eilidh Whiteford MP



THE scale of the SNP victory in the recent Scottish Parliament elections was quite unprecedented.

It was truly humbling to see the ballot boxes emptied at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, and to see the votes pile up, and to hear the news emerging from other parts of Scotland.

To people in this area who have lent their support to the SNP over many years, and to those who voted SNP for the first time at this election, a huge thank you.

My colleagues elected to the Scottish Parliament have a great new responsibility to work hard to represent all parts of the country, and to strengthen our communities. I know that my MSP colleagues will be aware of this new obligation and will govern with this huge responsibility in mind.

There are many lessons to be drawn from the election campaign, in my view, chief among them is that people know they deserve better from politicians of all parties than another round of negative campaigning and talking Scotland down. Most people want to see our nation prosper, and expect politicians to work constructively to improve people’s lives.

There are some big implications for the Westminster Government arising from the Scottish election results. It is clear that the half-baked Scotland Bill going through the UK Parliament falls far short of citizens’ expectations.

The proposals on the table represent a minimalist tinkering with the existing devolution arrangements, when in fact, we need significant new powers to strengthen the Scottish Parliament.

There is no good reason why the Scottish Parliament should not control more taxation. The UK Government is seriously considering giving the Northern Ireland Assembly powers over corporation tax, and it would be a travesty if Scotland were to be denied similar powers. Given the UK’s recent blunders over oil and gas taxation and the detrimental impact on jobs and investment in the North Sea, it’s high time the Scottish Government took on greater responsibility for managing our precious resources.

For many years now, concerns have been voiced about the way in which the Crown Estates are managed in Scotland. There’s no doubt in my mind that it holds back development in our coastal areas.

With the advent of the offshore renewable energy sector it is more important than ever that the Crown Estates becomes democratically accountable. The Scotland Bill offers an opportunity to do just that.

Another easy win for the Westminster Government that would demonstrate their much lauded, but less than evident, ‘respect agenda’ would be to devolve borrowing powers to the Scottish Parliament.

At present, local councils have more financial powers than the Scottish Parliament in this regard, and the lack of borrowing capacity places real restrictions and limitations on what the Scottish Government can do to invest in larger scale investments in our infrastructure. While we are still emerging from recession, the ability to invest in such projects is a helpful boost to the economy.

Prior to the Scottish elections, my SNP colleagues and I tabled amendments to the Scotland Bill. These were rejected by the London parties.

It will be interesting to see when the Bill comes back for its third reading whether the Scottish Election results will encourage them to dance to a different tune.

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