At last week’s Scottish Parliamentary election hustings, we ended up with more Spurtle readers’ questions than we had time to ask.
We subsequently sent them to all the candidates who had appeared, and invited them to respond in writing before 5 May – if and when they had an opportunity.
Here are the first two sets of responses. We'll add any others as they come in.
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1. Tonight, women and girls in Edinburgh are afraid to go out in the dark alone. At this moment, women here are afraid to stay in their own homes, through fear of violence and abuse. What specific measures will your party bring forward, in the next parliament, to ensure that women and girls in Scotland are safe in their own homes, and are able to go out freely and confidently into the world? What will you do to stop women in Scotland living in fear?
Ensuring we have high employment levels is also very important, as a woman with a career is far less likely to be reliant on a partner for housing needs.
Lastly, it’s absolutely critical that females of all ages leave school knowing how unacceptable it is to be assaulted, and why it should be reported straight away. One of my proposed amendments to the curriculum for excellence is for pupils to have a longer engagement in Social Education classes.
We cannot ensure the safety of women and girls if local councils’ budgets are squeezed and vital safety features such as adequate lighting or safe transport can’t be funded and funding for women’s services such as refuges is cut. We would scrap the unfair Council Tax and replace it with a fairer system to properly fund local services.
By committing to top up older women’s pensions which are being cut for a cohort of women in the transition to the single-tier pension, we can ensure that women don’ t face poverty in old age and if in a violent or abusive relationship, they have the financial means to leave an abusive situation.
When it comes to equality and women’ s representation, Scottish Labour goes into the Holyrood elections with the most gender-balanced slate of candidates of every political party in Scotland. If we are serious about discussing violence against women, safety of women and girls, and want to see women and girls going out freely and confidently into the world - women politicians need to be equally represented in political office. We need a seat at the table to make the decisions.
The Scottish Parliament also recently passed the Abuse Behaviour and Sexual Harm Bill which puts domestic abuse aggravation on a statutory footing which will lead to tougher sentences for perpetrators.
If re-elected to govern, the SNP will create a new criminal offence to help tackle all forms of domestic abuse. This will cover not just physical abuse but also other forms of psychological abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour (which cannot easily be prosecuted under the existing criminal law).
If elected I will stand up passionately for gender equality and against misogynistic and/or aggressive behaviour.
Please also see the section on ‘A Safer Scotland’ in the SNP manifesto: http://www.snp.org/manifesto
UKIP would also make it explicit to police officers at all levels that the law is to be enforced equally for all; we never want to see a Scottish Rotherham with authorities putting political correctness above the prosecution of those who abuse and rape. We would make clear to community leaders that so-called cultural practices such as female genital mutilation are anathema and will be vigorously investigated with extremely harsh sentences when prosecuted successfully. This is 21st-century Britain, and such pre-mediaeval barbarism has no place here.
- Introduce a new offence of domestic abuse
- Support early intervention with those at high risk of first-time offending
- Take major action to improve conviction rates for sexual offences, including consideration of legislation to allow research to be undertaken with jury members; the right of juries to be able to ask questions of expert witnesses or the provision of an expert adviser to assist juries with expert evidence, together with suggestions made in the Bonomy Review.
- Legislate to prohibit physical punishment of children. The evidence from dozens of studies is now indisputable on what our law describes, in Victorian fashion, as the "justifiable assault" of children. It damages their wellbeing, increases aggression and antisocial behaviour which can continue into their adult lives, and risks escalating into physical abuse.
My colleague Alison McInnes, the Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson, did a great deal in the last Scottish Parliament to help protect women and girls from violence and abuse. You can read a recent speech she gave on preventing violence against women ny following this link.
My personal view is that some of it comes down to early education, both in schools and in the examples from parents and carers. Some people, usually but not exclusively women, are simply more vulnerable to abuse. Recently schools have done a great deal to tackle bullying in our schools but until we live in a society where signs of weakness do not trigger an oppressive response in some others, the challenge will still be ongoing. Peer pressure has a lot to do with this. When it is not done for a group member to cat-call or abuse a passing stranger in the street and the peers turn upon others for doing so, progress will have been made. We do not yet live in such a society.
2. Edinburgh, in my opinion, has some of the worst new building in Europe. Why is planning law so slanted towards the developer when decisions arising may put the UNESCO World Heritage status at risk? (My specific concern as a local resident is the RBS proposal to develop the site bordering Eyre Place, Dundas Street, Royal Crescent, Fettes Row, Dundonald Street and overwhelming King George V Park. The RBS proposals suggest overdevelopment of the site that will place unrealistic pressure on local services and the environment.)
Secondly, local authorities need money. With the Council Tax freeze payouts set at a rate only suitable in 1991, local authorities are looking for other avenues to raise funds, mainly through tourism. This is why the proposed hotel plans split the CEC. This campaign is all about allowing councils and local authorities to raise their own funds.
I attended the New Town & Broughton Community Council’s meeting regarding the new developments on the Royal Bank of Scotland land, and believe the CEC should make better use of data mapping tools to chart population density. This is something I will push further if elected.
I made the point that planning law needs to be changed to level the playing field between developers and objectors.
I believe that local opinion needs to be taken fully into account when projects are proposed.
IM: We believe that the planning system is an example of where local communities’ wishes are overridden by central government priorities. This has been most apparent over the last few years with the spread of onshore wind developments across the countryside, where all too often planning decisions were overturned on appeal centrally.
- If a major development application decision is taken in line with the Strategic and Local Development Plan, the appeal should be decided in a full Council meeting, as opposed to being referred to Scottish Ministers.
- This has to go hand in hand with a better consultation process during the drawing-up of Strategic and Local Development Plans.
If elected as the local MSP I will make sure the voice of the community is heard on inappropriate development proposals. Furthermore, if re-elected to govern, the SNP has pledged to introduce a Planning Reform Bill. This will provide an opportunity to consider the issue of a third-party right of appeal (something I’m very much open-minded about).
The section on Planning in the SNP manifesto is at page 36 of the ‘Next Steps’ section.
AM: Planning in Edinburgh has been contentious (to say the least) since the 1960s. It seems clear to me, and I have no doubt to most other residents, that the Council cares almost nothing for Heritage status or anything else when it comes to developers.
UKIP’s proposal to allow binding referenda on local issues would go a long way to restoring the balance in favour of local people. We would also end Cabinet governance in local authorities, which would prevent a small clique from dominating Council business to the detriment of the people.
This last point shows that developers address the issues that planners address. They know that under the current system, public views rarely matter: it is the Council planning committee that they have to satisfy and that is everything. Another example would be the redevelopment of the Edinburgh Academicals stadium in Stockbridge. The local residents are overwhelmingly against the scheme as it stands, but it is being pushed through by the Council nonetheless. It seems that the threat of losing the next election is not enough to hold over politicians.
This is something that perhaps can be addressed by the Scottish Parliament. When it comes to housing, the first thing I would look at is housing density. There are minimum standards for room size here in Scotland but I am not aware of any minimum standards of dwelling density. It is in a developer's interest to maximise the return. It is in the power of Holyrood to set maximum numbers of dwellings in a given area for a given city zone if the Council is not providing suitable local standards.
The right of counter-appeal can also be looked at, although there are dangers if this becomes too powerful, resulting in neighbourhoods refusing any form of development. Some may say that the Edinburgh trams should not have gone ahead at all but imagine if each neighbourhood the line goes through had had to grant the scheme access.
The main point, though, would be to make any appeals scheme both fair and affordable. At the moment, the residents of Stockbridge have only the option of spending tens of thousands of pounds if they want to launch a judicial review. That probably is not going to happen.
As for the point over UNESCO World Heritage status, I have mixed feelings on this. True, it does identify areas of outstanding character across the world (thus bringing in tourism and revenue) but some cites complain that it also halts necessary development. Now I am not saying that Edinburgh is getting its planning right; just highlighting the potential conflict between UNESCO standards and city needs.
In the end, cities are for people to live in. Not just for the people already there but also for those who need to come and live there. It is the politician's job to find the best way through the possible areas of conflict.
3. What concrete measures will you put in place to alleviate poverty and inequality in Scotland?
Secondly, I believe in and will actively fight for tighter legislation to ensure local authorities and property developers alike get incentivised to increase the amount of high-quality social housing (note: not ‘affordable housing’, but actual social housing, with metered electricity sockets and good insulation). As you’ll be aware, homelessness is a huge contributor to poverty and hostels/bed & breakfasts should never, ever be a long-term solution.
Third, the recent rise in foodbank use can be attributed to delays in receiving Job Seekers Allowance or Child Benefit. With the Scotland Bill coming into effect on the 23rd March, we have the ability to create new welfare systems. I will push the next Scottish Government to responsibly use this power to find out why these financial delays are so common, and to investigate if using our new welfare-creation powers is a productive way to prevent future instances.
Lastly, local employment is the key to ensuring youth find meaningful jobs upon leaving school. I can understand a 16-year old leaving Trinity or Craigroyston would be sceptical or dismissive of going for a job at the other end of town because there aren’t enough local businesses to meet demand in the area. (I was an 18-year old who was in that sort of situation.) To resolve this, I will be working a lot with local communities to attract local business into the area and create job opportunities before that 16-year old even has to contemplate receiving JSA.
Lesley Hinds (Labour): Naomi Eisenstadt, Independent Advisor on Poverty and Inequality for the Scottish Government, made 15 recommendations in her report ‘Shifting the Curve’.
They can be found here: http://bit.ly/1SzDAOh. Scottish Labour has endorsed her recommendations.
As well as taking action on the root causes of poverty, Scotland also needs to address the effects of poverty. We know that recent Scottish Government PIPS (Performance Indicators in Primary School) data shows that the most deprived children start school 14 months behind their richer peers, and this is unacceptable. The Scottish Conservatives therefore believe that the expansion of funded childcare should focus on one and two-year olds – starting with the most disadvantaged. High-quality early-years education can be instrumental in providing equality of opportunity for our most vulnerable children.
If re-elected to govern, the SNP will provide free school meals to all 2, 3 and 4-year olds; increase investment in the Scottish Attainment Fund by £750 million; protect free education; implement recommendations of the Wider Access Commission to university; extend payment of the Living Wage to all social care workers; double the number of accredited Living Wage employers; introduce a Warm Homes Bill (to help tackle fuel poverty); increase the Carer’s Allowance; abolish the Bedroom Tax; maintain the level of disability benefits (and make the process of assessment fairer); and use new powers to establish a Maternity and Early Years Allowance to help tackle child poverty.
The SNP would use tax powers responsibly and progressively to raise an extra £2 billion for investment in public services; and publish a Fairer Scotland Action Plan, bringing together all of our actions to tackle poverty and inequalities.
More details are in the ‘A Fairer Scotland’ section of the SNP manifesto.
We would reduce average P1–3 class sizes to 20 and ensure that the cap of 25 per class is met. We would cut bureaucracy and paperwork for teachers, and remove centrally imposed targets. Teachers would be thus be able to teach rather than fill in endless forms.
UKIP would also restore proper further education to Scotland, enabling adults to improve their qualifications and prospects. We would restore college places lost under the SNP in their foolish quest for a 50 percent degree target; not every job requires a degree. Employers must be encouraged to release staff to attend part-time further and higher-education courses. Finally, we would work towards a balanced educational system, with FE colleges, universities, apprenticeships, technical schools, grammar schools and vocational training.
Finally, UKIP are committed to building 50,000 units of good-quality social and affordable housing by the end of the next parliament. We would also restore the Right to Buy, with the proviso that monies received from such sales are ploughed back into building replacement social housing. Quality housing helps improve health and life expectancy, and should not be the preserve of the few.
The key to this on an individual level is education. Scottish Liberal Democrats believe that education is the first and arguably most essential investment when it comes to tackling any form of poverty. That is why we have proposed a Penny for Education – a penny on income tax to enable investment in a transformation in Scottish education that will make it the best in the world again and enable people to get well paid jobs. This is fair because the rising personal allowance will mean that anyone earning under £21,500 will actually pay less tax next year. Those at the top will pay 30 times more than someone on an average income.
For those already in work, we have sought to ensure work pays and that the system is fairer to those on low and middle incomes. In government we raised the income tax personal allowance, cutting the bills of 2 million Scots by £800 and lifting 2.7 million across the UK out of paying income tax altogether.
We will pay the Living Wage for all public services and stop giving government grants to companies that don't pay the Living Wage. The Scottish Government has given £5 million to Amazon, even though it pays its workers more than £1 less an hour than the living wage and there have been real concerns over working conditions at their base in Dunfermline.
Scottish Liberal Democrats have committed to working with the other parties and stakeholders to ensure that the new Scottish welfare system is fair to those in and out of work and has the full confidence of users.
I believe that fuel poverty is a major issue in our city and across Scotland. Liberal Democrats will work with other parties to see the energy efficiency of our nation's entire housing stock – not just new builds, but all our nation's homes – improved. This will be a major, long-term project but a necessary one. If we leave this to the free markets, it will never happen for all. The nature of Scotland's housing, especially for the older buildings, means that there are people living in older property who will never really afford the major improvements required for their homes to truly become energy efficient. As we undergo the transition towards a low-carbon, more energy-efficient future, it is important that our homes and, indeed, our businesses, too, are fit for purpose. Frankly, we are a northern nation but previous generations of regulators and builders did not seem to appreciate this, especially when it came to mass-market housing.
4. In the light of the current PPP scandal, how do the candidates see future funding for large infrastructure projects?
Secondly, after reading over the legal documents myself, it doesn't look like the CEC can make a successful case against the contractors. Again, this could potentially show a lack of accountability from the CEC legal department, depending on how it is followed up.
Lesley Hinds (Labour): The Scottish Parliament has been granted increased capital borrowing powers. We should fully utilise them.
Funding large-scale infrastructure must be affordable and should not result in raising taxes on hard-working families or plunging Scotland into debt.
In terms of the Edinburgh school-building issue, what’s most important right now is that political parties work together to make the affected buildings safe, get children back to school, hold relevant parties to account and make sure more public money isn’t wasted. Going forward, I support Nicola Sturgeon’s call for an inquiry, and a Scottish Futures Trust review of existing PFI/PPP contracts.
For more information, see the section in our manifesto entitled ‘A Wealthier Scotland’; and this article on Edinburgh school closures: http://www.snp.org/getting_edinburgh_pupils_back_to_school
One of the main difficulties is that SMEs are prevented by over-regulation and EU procurement rules from competing with multinationals – even though the SMEs are more often than not more efficient, more flexible, and cheaper. UKIP would remove the necessity to demonstrate compliance with regulations not directly relevant to the contract in question. We would also require that Scottish projects took a ‘Scottish bidder preferred’ approach to tendering to help support local industry. We should not be building bridges with Chinese steel when our own steel industry is on its knees.
The second major issue in this area is PFI (by whatever name). UKIP would issue gilts to buy out existing PFI contracts as much as possible, and end the practice entirely. It is dishonest for politicians to pretend that PFI-style deals are not actually government debt, and extraordinarily wasteful to pay commercial rates to service that debt. Total PFI debt in the UK is more than £200 billion, and if that were funded via gilts we would pay some 8–10 percent less interest per annum. That’s a saving of over £15 billion a year in debt interest.
Our fully costed manifesto sets out the infrastructure projects we plan on taking forward and how we will pay for them. For example:
- We will establish a Fit For The Future Investment Fund, drawing on the earmarked resources from half of the Scotland Act borrowing powers (more than £200 million a year).
- Action to reduce the persistent underspending of the Scottish Government's budget to ensure underspends are redeployed into other projects that are waiting for the green light.
- The Scottish Government's capital budget is increasing.
- Our Help to Renovate loans will come from the special financial transaction consequentials in the Scottish budget.
- We will expand the Housing Fund for Scotland model that has seen investment in rented homes pioneered by a local government pension fund.
In view of Liberal Democrat commitment to local democracy and councils being responsible for raising and spending funds locally and transparently, I would be open to ideas on other alternatives, such as funding of city projects through the issue of bonds.
5. Although the independence referendum was the occasion for great political involvement, it has also led to a very polarised political environment in Scotland. (As anyone who follows social media will be aware!) How do the candidates intend to heal the political divisions of post-referendum Scotland if they are elected?
I believe only two parties in this election are actively seeking a second referendum immediately (RISE and Solidarity). On the other side of the equation, I will not waste parliamentary time by retelling the story of the referendum for political gain, something the Conservative & Unionist Party, Scottish Labour and the Scottish National Party have done in the chamber on several occasions in 2015 and 2016.
Political discourse now needs to address fundamental issues, which are close to people’s concerns - health, housing, jobs etc.
Constant debate about constitutional matters is unsettling to people and investors. We have powerful, new powers which can be used to address inequality and we should use them.
But it is time to move forward, which is why my party are urging the next Scottish Government to respect the result of the referendum and concentrate on the things that really matter to Scots like improving schools and the NHS. We need to stop the posturing that almost any event could ‘trigger’ another referendum. This is why Scotland needs a strong Opposition – like Ruth Davidson and the Scottish Conservatives – to hold the SNP to account on this.
I think achieving this requires strong characters to get elected who care about this matter – and then lead by example. For this reason, I purposefully haven’t made any negative political points in my campaign literature. If elected, I intend to help move our political debate into a more constructive environment by leading by example and encouraging others from all parties to do the same.
There is an even more important referendum on 23 June, and we encourage all those who believe in democracy to join us in voting to leave the corporatist, bureaucratic and anti-democratic EU. Whether Scots want to remain in the UK or not, freeing ourselves to govern our own country is a vital step in restoring accountability and democracy to our politics and our people. I urge all voters, regardless of constituency-party loyalties, to vote UKIP on the Regional list on 5 May so that we can lead the campaign to leave the EU and restore our democracy post-Brexit. This is our country; let’s get it back.
We are living in exciting times here in Scotland and we have an opportunity to use the new powers coming to us to make a real difference to all our lives. We can show the rest of UK that there is a different way to do things than the old Labour– Conservative Punch and Judy show. But, to my mind, nationalism is not helping in this. It is, in fact, a distraction from us as a society making use of the powers we already have.
I say that instead of blaming others or calling upon any form of jingoism, let us focus on the task at hand, right now. Goodness knows they are big enough. Education, housing, the NHS and a myriad of others, just as vital. How do cries for either a second independence referendum or claims to be the protector of the Union help? They simply don't.
If on Thursday I were to become your MSP, my pledge would be to focus on the issues, encourage others to do so, take responsibility for our own actions here in Scotland, and work, constructively and transparently, with others in finding and delivering fair, democratic and liberal solutions for the people of Scotland.
[Photos by Rhys Fullerton]
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Comment:
The first four responses by Ben Macpherson replace and elaborate upon those published the day before on 23 April. The originals comprised very brief hyperlinks to the SNP website, and were the result, says Macpherson, of a misunderstanding about the intended format. In the interests of presenting voters with as much information as possible about candidates’ opinions, Spurtle has made the changes. For readers’ reactions to the original answers, and to our subsequent decision – see the Spurtle Facebook page. Alan McIntosh (ed.)