Caron's Musings: It's The Economy, Stupid
I was a bit disappointed yesterday to see Labour leader Iain Gray shout across the Holyrood Chamber at Alex Salmond “It’s the economy, stupid”, reprising the iconic phrase from Bill Clinton’s first election campaign in 1992.
The difference 17 years ago was that the phrase was not used in anger. It was posted on the wall of the Clinton HQ as a constant reminder to the campaign team about where their focus should be. It was to remind them that whatever rubbish was flung at them from the Bush Campaign about Clinton’s character, they shouldn’t be distracted. They should stick to the one issue that was fundamentally important to the voters at the time – the failing economy. It was a strategy that paid dividends. Clinton kept driving home how Bush had failed on the economy, aided and abetted by Bush looking remote and distant not knowing how much a pint of milk cost.
Far from being a term of abuse, that phrase helped the Clinton campaign create and sustain the hopeful message that led them to victory. Iain Gray, if he’s ever going to make an impact on Salmond, is not going to do it by shouting and name calling.
It’s the economy that’s foremost in people’s minds in today’s Scotland, too. The SNP don’t get that. They are pushing ahead with their independence agenda despite all the evidence that nobody really cares. At the end of last month, only 4500 had attended National Monologue events across the country. The membership of the SNP was, last year at least, over 15000. If they can’t even get a third of their own people to engage in their own consultation, surely they should realise that the Scottish people, frankly, dear Alex, don’t give a damn.
In contrast, the Liberal Democrats’ main focus has been the economy, at Scottish, UK and European level. It’s hard to believe that it’s a year since we were saying in the Glenrothes by-election campaign that the banks needed to be broken up to protect the savings of ordinary people, ensure sustainable businesses had access to the lending it needed and keep the high risk investment stuff entirely separate.
The Labour Government at Westminster has not taken the opportunity to properly regulate the banks. They had no choice but to pour billions in to save them, but they have not used the control they had wisely. The hefty bonuses that continue to be paid to senior bankers while the rest of us struggle with a pay freeze or even cut has angered many people.
They wasted billions on a VAT cut that should have been put into infrastructure investment, creating green collar jobs to make our economy sustainable in the long term and cut our carbon emissions.
As a result, as Vince Cable observed this morning, while France, Germany and the USA are seeing small amounts of growth, our economy is still shrinking.
I’m impressed by the way that the Liberal Democrats, who instinctively understand devolution, work together at Holyrood, Westminster and Brussels. This is a refreshing contrast to Gray and Goldie who take their orders from their London leaders and to the SNP who really don’t seem to know what they’re at Westminster for.
This week we’ve had Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott, who campaigned against the Lloyds takeover of HBOS, call for the superbank to be broken up, bringing the Bank of Scotland home, in the interests of Scottish business and consumers.
Earlier in the week, Lib Dem shadow Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael warned of the consequences of the news that Barclays is to take over Edinburgh based Standard Life's banking operations, pointing out that Edinburgh’s reputation as a leading European financial services centre, and the many thousands of jobs that depend on it, are in jeopardy.
In Europe, George Lyon, Scottish Lib Dem MEP has been voting for investment in Scotland’s dairy industry and supporting EU investment in renewable energy projects.
We’ve seen this week that business leaders seem to be falling out of love with the SNP and Alex Salmond’s tackety booted, unsubtle and sometimes counter-productive attempts to support Scottish companies. Maybe they’ll find the consistent and credible approach of the Liberal Democrats more to their liking.
The difference 17 years ago was that the phrase was not used in anger. It was posted on the wall of the Clinton HQ as a constant reminder to the campaign team about where their focus should be. It was to remind them that whatever rubbish was flung at them from the Bush Campaign about Clinton’s character, they shouldn’t be distracted. They should stick to the one issue that was fundamentally important to the voters at the time – the failing economy. It was a strategy that paid dividends. Clinton kept driving home how Bush had failed on the economy, aided and abetted by Bush looking remote and distant not knowing how much a pint of milk cost.
Far from being a term of abuse, that phrase helped the Clinton campaign create and sustain the hopeful message that led them to victory. Iain Gray, if he’s ever going to make an impact on Salmond, is not going to do it by shouting and name calling.
It’s the economy that’s foremost in people’s minds in today’s Scotland, too. The SNP don’t get that. They are pushing ahead with their independence agenda despite all the evidence that nobody really cares. At the end of last month, only 4500 had attended National Monologue events across the country. The membership of the SNP was, last year at least, over 15000. If they can’t even get a third of their own people to engage in their own consultation, surely they should realise that the Scottish people, frankly, dear Alex, don’t give a damn.
In contrast, the Liberal Democrats’ main focus has been the economy, at Scottish, UK and European level. It’s hard to believe that it’s a year since we were saying in the Glenrothes by-election campaign that the banks needed to be broken up to protect the savings of ordinary people, ensure sustainable businesses had access to the lending it needed and keep the high risk investment stuff entirely separate.
The Labour Government at Westminster has not taken the opportunity to properly regulate the banks. They had no choice but to pour billions in to save them, but they have not used the control they had wisely. The hefty bonuses that continue to be paid to senior bankers while the rest of us struggle with a pay freeze or even cut has angered many people.
They wasted billions on a VAT cut that should have been put into infrastructure investment, creating green collar jobs to make our economy sustainable in the long term and cut our carbon emissions.
As a result, as Vince Cable observed this morning, while France, Germany and the USA are seeing small amounts of growth, our economy is still shrinking.
I’m impressed by the way that the Liberal Democrats, who instinctively understand devolution, work together at Holyrood, Westminster and Brussels. This is a refreshing contrast to Gray and Goldie who take their orders from their London leaders and to the SNP who really don’t seem to know what they’re at Westminster for.
This week we’ve had Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott, who campaigned against the Lloyds takeover of HBOS, call for the superbank to be broken up, bringing the Bank of Scotland home, in the interests of Scottish business and consumers.
Earlier in the week, Lib Dem shadow Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael warned of the consequences of the news that Barclays is to take over Edinburgh based Standard Life's banking operations, pointing out that Edinburgh’s reputation as a leading European financial services centre, and the many thousands of jobs that depend on it, are in jeopardy.
In Europe, George Lyon, Scottish Lib Dem MEP has been voting for investment in Scotland’s dairy industry and supporting EU investment in renewable energy projects.
We’ve seen this week that business leaders seem to be falling out of love with the SNP and Alex Salmond’s tackety booted, unsubtle and sometimes counter-productive attempts to support Scottish companies. Maybe they’ll find the consistent and credible approach of the Liberal Democrats more to their liking.
posted by Caron at
11:09
6 Comments:
It’s the economy that’s foremost in people’s minds in today’s Scotland, too. The SNP don’t get that.
Scotland produces more oil per year than Qatar. Norway across the North Sea has a $410 Billion oil fund. The SNP have Scotland’s economy right in the forefront of their minds because only independence can give Scotland the control of its own economy and natural resources that it requires to become successful.
They are pushing ahead with their independence agenda despite all the evidence that nobody really cares.
So why are the Lib-Dems holding an emergency closed door meeting about an independence referendum? It's even got through to the Lib-Dems that the independence referendum is important. It could be the end of Scotland’s regional Lib-Dem leader if it goes against his hard-line unionism.
I’m impressed by the way that the Liberal Democrats, who instinctively understand devolution...
Devolution is provincialism. It is a system of government where power is retained at the centre. Aye, the Lib-Dems instinctively understand devolution.
This week we’ve had Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott, who campaigned against the Lloyds takeover of HBOS, call for the superbank to be broken up, bringing the Bank of Scotland home, in the interests of Scottish business and consumers.
The SNP run Holyrood and always have the power that the threat of independence brings, Labour run Westminster and the Tories will soon run Westminster. Tavish is a provincial leader in a party which will never hold power in the UK. He might campaign but he's never going to have any impact on how Westminster carves up the new super-banks.
Earlier in the week, Lib Dem shadow Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael warned of the consequences of the news that Barclays is to take over Edinburgh based Standard Life's banking operations, pointing out that Edinburgh’s reputation as a leading European financial services centre, and the many thousands of jobs that depend on it, are in jeopardy.
Is this the same Alistair Carmichael who shot himself in the foot by supporting Labour on Newsnight against the SNP because they demanded more Westminster compensation for sheep farmers after the Foot and Mouth Crisis in 2007? He forgot that he represented a constituency full of sheep farmers in his haste to suck up to Labour. I wouldn't really put much faith in his abilities. An independent Scotland would fight hard to keep its capital Edinburgh as a financial centre, it's just a far-away provincial city as far as Westminster is concerned.
Maybe they’ll find the consistent and credible approach of the Liberal Democrats more to their liking.
Maybe they'll work out that the Lib-Dems will never hold power in Holyrood or Westminster even more quickly than that.
Caron
What's the underlying message here: the Lib Dems are fab and everybody else is rubbish? Please don't tell me you're a Lib Dem activist?
A little bit more enlightenment and less political point-scoring would be good.
But I have to pick you up on this bit of nonsense..
"They (the SNP) are pushing ahead with their independence agenda despite all the evidence that nobody really cares."
Many of your members seem to want a referendum, much to the consternation of Tavish, who sticks his head in the sand whenever a Lib Dem mentions the 'R' word. What's really going on?
And do you really want the SNP to ditch the referendum? Would you applaud that move? Or would the inevitable spin machine call that another 'failed manifesto pledge"?
And so the party political games continue...
Two Lib Dems on a TV political programme could not agree whether the Party should vote for or against a referendum. The lady against a referendum said that the economy should be the main focus but the fact of the matter is that the LibDems have no influence whatsoever over the economy and, to be blunt, they never will.
To my mind the LibDems lost all credibility when they were claiming to be against the Iraq invasion but continued to bolster Labour in Scotland.
They had the opportunity to show their opposition by refusing to continue supporting Labour in Scotland which would have been a reflection of public opinion. But in order to maintain their ministerial positions they decided not to do so, thus putting perks before principles.
They, again, have the opportunity to reflect Scottish public opinion by agreeing to a referendum and failure to do so will reflect badly on the party. If they refuse to allow the public their democratic rights over this issue perhaps they should consider changing their party's name?
Doug, you seem to have forgotten that the Lib Dems were in Government in coalition with Labour for 8 years during which time we did things like abolish tuition fees, pass the smoking ban, get a fair voting system for council elections and provide nursery education for all 3 and 4 year olds.
I think as well, if you look at the difference between the FOI laws north and south of the border you will see that they're stronger up here and that was down to the Lib Dem influence.
Andrew, I've knocked on a lot of doors in my time and spoken to a huge number of people. Not once has anyone ever said to me that they're desperate or even enthusiastic for a referendum on independence. People are concerned about things like jobs, crime, health and education and I honestly don't detect that anyone's that bothered about a referendum. I may be a Lib Dem, but I have a real life with lots of non political friends and it's not an issue that sets their hearts racing.
I am quite relaxed about the prospect of a referendum which you'll see if you read my own blog.
Tavish and Alistair are quite right, though, to say that the focus at the moment has to be the economy. They are also looking at it in terms of the commitment that we made to the Scottish people in 2007. While there may be a question mark over whether we should have made that commitment, it's done now. This is a leadership which is trying to keep its promises. You can't really fault them for that.
Brownlie, the Scottish Parliament had no say on the war in Iraq which I and every other Lib Dem opposed from the start. There was no sense in breaking up a Scottish coalition which was doing a lot to make things better up here.
The majority of people voted against the idea of independence in 2007 and at every other election I can remember - and given the numbers I quoted about participation in the Monologue, there's no real groundswell of enthusiasm for it.
Doug, you seem to have forgotten that the Lib Dems were in Government in coalition with Labour for 8 years during which time we did things like abolish tuition fees, pass the smoking ban, get a fair voting system for council elections and provide nursery education for all 3 and 4 year olds.
When you say, "we", are you talking about the LibLab coalition because it needed the Labour MSP's to vote through these measures as well as the rest of the parliament.
The Liberal-Democrats in a formal coalition with Labour is not going to happen again. The ability of the SNP to operate as a minority Government has not gone unnoticed by Labour.
The Lib-Dems will never run Westminster, will never run a minority government in Holyrood and Labour will never offer them a formal coalition again in Holyrood. The fact that the Lib-Dems were in power is undisputed but it is history and it will stay that way.
Caron,
In saying that the majority of people voted against independence in 2007 you assume, conveniently, that all those who voted for unionist parties did so because they did not want independence. As a matter of fact, one the LibDems on the politics programme said that he supported both independence and the Lib.Dems.
As far as the Lib.Dems attitude to the Iraqi invasion is concerned I note that you carried on the coalition to "make things better up here". Lives were not in danger "up here" but they certainly were in Irag and a clean principled, well-publicised, break with Labour at that stage might well have saved lives in that poor country.
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