FMQs Review

After what has felt like a number of months of FMQs being almost exclusively focused on the independence debate, opposition members turned their attention to other issues of importance to Scotland.

Johann Lamont tackled the First Minister on the issue of waiting lists, and highlighted the case of one of her constituents who had been left on a trolley at for over 8 hours. The Labour leader has often been at her strongest when presenting individual cases, and using them to reflect wider problems. Most notably over the issue of blankets in hospitals.

The First Minster pivoted to the larger questions of the NHS, arguing that people were more satisfied with the service than ever before, while at the same time funding was at its tightest in a generation. In response Lamont widened out the issue from her constituent, highlighting figures from NHS Glasgow which showed that the number of people waiting in A&E for over four hours had trebled from 10,100 to 31,700.

In a weaker performance than normal, the First Minister concentrated on the record of Labour in Wales, and the lack of commitment from the party in Scotland to secure the health budget and keep hospitals open.

While focused on health, the questioning from Lamont was really about the performance of Nicola Sturgeon in her previous role as Cabinet Secretary for Health, and her anticipated future appointment as leader of the SNP.

Ruth Davidson questioned Salmond on the issue of life sentences following a high profile case this week of a convicted murderer who was released early, and had used European legislation to allow him to apply for parole after 30 years of imprisonment. The First Minister responded that Ministers should not be able to intervene in legal matters such as sentencing, but that he would be open to hearing suggestions from the Conservative leader.

While some barbs were traded between the leaders, this was a FMQs grounded in the day to day issues facing people in Scotland.

By Robert

FMQs Review

Choices. The debate that Johann Lamont sparked last week over the choices of expenditure by the Scottish Government, and their long term viability, has continued into this week.

Labour are still trying to articulate their vision of the debate between universal benefits and a targeted approach, but by opening the door, the party has presented a debate which others are taking up. Do universal policies such as free personal care, tuition fees and the council tax freeze, really help the poorest in society or in fact reduce the quality of service provision?

In what was actually (to a point) a very good debate, the First Minister argued that universal benefits are what hold societies together, and that the solution to budget cuts was not to reverse these benefits (the inference being that independence was the solution).

While Lamont has yet to actually make any commitments on policy, it is clear that Labour is moving towards a more targeted approach to benefits. Indeed the Scottish Government uses a similar idea when providing free boilers to households that are most in need. Sadly the Labour leader went on a personal attack, labelling Salmond a fantasist in believing that Scotland could continue to support all these policies. It wasn’t needed, and allowed the First Minister to retort that Labour did not want a “quality debate”.

Ruth Davidson attacked the Government’s record on university funding following the publication of a new Times survey which showed Scottish institutions falling down the global league tables. Salmond attacked the Conservatives for their cuts to education in England and Wales, and that in Scotland, provision was being protected.

It seems likely the choices debate is here to stay. For those wanting a reprieve from the independence debate, this will be welcome news.

By Rob

FMQs: Review

Today’s FMQ’s begun with collective congratulations to Scotland’s Olympians, Paralympians and Andy Murray. The collective goodwill then disappeared.

In a strong performance by Johann Lamont, she led with an independent Scotland’s position within the EU. The SNP has consistently argued that on independence Scotland would automatically be a member and not have to join the crisis hit Euro.  However, this position was thrown into doubt yesterday first by the President of the European Commission and then his official spokesman.

During an interview on Radio 4 yesterday, Jose Manuel Barroso stated that any “new state” would have to apply for membership. This was then followed by Olivier Bailly, the EU Commission’s spokesman stating that “If it [the seceding country] wants to apply for EU membership then this has to be done according to the treaties and the provisions regarding accession. There are two different steps. There is a secession process under international law and the request for accession to EU member state under the EU treaties.” Its worth pointing out that after pressure from the Scottish Government, Mr Bailly backtracked slightly by stating that the EU did not interfere in internal workings of member states.

Lamont jumped on this arguing that this is clear evidence that an independent Scotland would not be guaranteed automatic membership to the EU and that it would have to join the Euro. She went on to call on the First Minister to release any legal evidence that he has received on the issue – the Scottish Government is currently fighting to prevent the release of such evidence.

Salmond’s response was simply that “Scotland is part, and will remain part of the EU” on independence. This led to possibly Lamont’s best line when she asked that if the SNP were not fighting for a “new state” in the form of an independent Scotland, what have they been arguing for, for the past 100 years? Surely the whole point of independence is that Scotland becomes a “new state”? Choosing to ignore this jibe, Salmond provided a personal guarantee that the Scottish Government’s White Paper on independence (due this time next year) will provide full details of Scotland’s position in the EU based on legal advice.

Given the Scottish Conservative’s position on Europe, it was no wonder Ruth Davidson decided not to continue with Lamont’s line of attack. Instead she led on patient treatment within the NHS.

FMQs Review

A complete change of tack this week.

Having had varying degrees of success on independence and the economy, Johann Lamont led with the issue of child care. According to Lamont, Scottish families are facing the highest charges in Europe and the Scottish Government should be doing more to elevate this situation.

Currently, Scottish parents are entitled to 475 hours of free child care per year. At the recent SNP conference, Alex Salmond pledged to enshrine child care in legislation and raise this to 600 hours by the end of this parliament. While Labour has nothing against this, Lamont’s attack is based on the delaying in implementing this pledge. This again links into the wider debate Labour are trying to cultivate, that the SNP is not only preoccupied with constitutional issues to act now, but also has a history of failing to deliver on its most popularist pledges. Additionally, through highlighting this issue, Lamont is deliberately pandering to the female vote ahead of May’s crucial Local Elections.

Ruth Davidson repeated her party’s calls on the Scottish Government to introduce a Scottish Cancer Drug Fund, following the Scottish Medicines Consortium’s (SMC) recent decision to refuse a licence to a new prostate cancer drug. Salmond highlighted the fact that the SMC is independent and that the drug manufacturer had already indicated that it would reapply.

FMQ Review

Johann Lamont led on last week’s unemployment figures, which indicated Scotland’s unemployment continued to increase. As with past releases of economic figures, spin was prevalent. Lamont led with the well-used charge that faced with Scotland having lost more jobs than anywhere else in the UK since the economic downturn began, the First Minister was preoccupied triumphing the “separation” agenda. To back this argument up, Lamont used the official figures to paint a damming picture of the Scottish Government’s response to the economic downturn. Figures indicate that that 1 in every 3 UK job losses were in Scotland; female unemployment is at record highs; and that youth unemployment continues to soar. This is despite the SNPs much publicised ‘Plan MacB’ and the introduction of a dedicated Minister for Youth Employment. Using this as a backdrop, Lamont then claimed that the SNPs answer (or lack of) is to complain about powers they don’t have and to lecture on independence.

Using the same figures, Salmond defended ‘Plan MacB’ before retorting that there are more Scots actively involved in the Labour market than elsewhere in Scotland; female employment is higher in Scotland than the rest of the UK; and thanks to his Government there are more modern apprenticeship opportunities than ever before. 

Ruth Davidson had a less than successful outing this week. Leading on whether the much trumpeted claim that OECD figures suggest that an independent Scotland would be the 6^th richest country by GDP, following a radio interview last week in which, Nicola Sturgeon suggested this was not an OECD endorsed claim. Salmond confirmed he stood by his party’s claim, before attacking Davidson over her party’s fluid position on devolution.

FMQs Review

The decision to strip Fred Goodwin of his knighthood, and the events leading up to the collapse of RBS, has dominated this week’s headlines. Alex Salmond, when commenting on the issue, expressed regret over a letter that he had sent to Goodwin, while he was still in charge of RBS, offering the Scottish government’s assistance in the takeover of Dutch bank ABN-Amro, which subsequently led to the crisis at the bank.
Johann Lamont drew on these comments from the First Minister and set out to make a comparison between independence and the fatal decision made by RBS and, beyond that, a direct comparison between Goodwin and Salmond. She asked for an apology from the First Minister for his previous support of the RBS deal.
The First Minster deflected this request by pointing out that Labour leaders had also supported Goodwin including the previous First Minister, Jack McConnell, and highlighted Labour’s own record on bank de-regulation.
Lamont then raised the comments of Professor John Kay, who served on the SNP Government’s Council of Economic Advisers, who asked in the Financial Times this week whether an independent Scotland that kept the sterling currency would “cause people to start wondering what the point of independence was in the first place”.
The First Minister ignored this quote, and reiterated that the benefits of fiscal independence would result in control of 100% of Scotland’s finances, as opposed to the current figure of 12.5% currently controlled by the Parliament.
While giving a strong personal performance, Lamont was unable to draw together the strands of her argument that would have allowed her comment that Alex Salmond was in danger of becoming the “Fred Goodwin of Scottish politics”, to hit home.
Ruth Davidson tackled the First Minister on what shape Scotland’s post-independence defence policy would look like. Highlighting the number of military jobs, and contractors currently based in Scotland, including the 6,500 jobs at the Faslane naval base, she asked how many jobs could be expected to be retained following the post-independence settlement.
The First Minister was unable to answer this question beyond criticising the cost of Trident replacement, and that Scottish shipbuilding would remain competitive for future Ministry of Defence contracts. A further point about the choice of serving soldiers to remain with the UK military was turned back on Davidson by the First Minister who criticised the UK Government for cuts to the number of service personnel.
However Davidson did manage to score a hit by showing that the First Minister was unable to make a commitment to military numbers. The SNP are reaching a point in the independence debate when people are beginning to ask for specific policy details, and it is becoming ever more apparent that a detailed plan for a post-independent Scotland needs to be forthcoming.

FMQs Review

Having enjoyed little success on the economy last week, Iain Gray returned to the much played record of the independence referendum. Opening with the claim that the First Minister is focused solely on independence, rather than the economy and youth employment, he once again pressed for the date to be revealed. Using a narrative that has been employed by UK ministers, that the current constitutional uncertainty is having a corrosive effect on investment in Scotland, and quoting the latest independence poll, Gray is once again trying to paint the First Minister as ‘running scarred’ of the potential result. This argument is given more weight by the SNPs refusal to let the Electoral Commission oversee any independence referendum. Indeed the SNPs comeback to this – that a referendum will be held in the second half of the parliament – is also beginning to wear thin. As Gray correctly pointed out, nowhere in the SNPs 2011 manifesto is there reference to this, only a commitment to hold one before 2016. Nevertheless, the First Minster, once again deflected the blows with ease, while playing on Scottish Labour divisions on the issue. While this line of questioning is politically beneficial, in terms of attempting to create a narrative, the repetitive nature of the questioning at FMQs will be of little comfort to individuals more concerned with rising bills, unemployment and education.

Leading on the issue of reduced sentences for sex offenders, Ruth Davidson once again enjoyed an FMQs to forget. Salmond easily dismantled her line of attack and ended by questioning whether the Scottish Tories will be supporting upcoming legislation to deal with the issue of reduced sentences.

FMQs Review

Iain Gray decided to focus on and try to link, with moderate success, the issues of post-16 education and the so-called ‘lost generation’ at FMQs today. On the week that it was revealed that applications for universities fell and that 1 in 4 young Scots cannot find employment, Gray pushed the FM to confirm his commitment to maintaining student numbers and ensure that any commitment would not fall short like other SNP educational commitments (primary school numbers) in the face of budget cut concerns. Salmond reconfirmed his manifesto commitment re college places before reminding the chamber that the Government has committed £5.95bn, an increase of 3.2% over the spending review period, to funding post-16 education.

Gray is increasingly attempting to portray Scottish Labour as the party concerned with ‘real issues’ such as the economy, youth employment and crime. By doing so he is contrasting Scottish Labour with the SNP, by attempting to portray them as a party fixated with independence and aloof of public concerns over ‘real issues’. This imagery was reinforced by the SNP launching – with great fanfare – their ‘roadmap’ to independence at the weekend and the legion of SNP backbenchers donning ‘Yours Aye for Scotland’ wristbands in the chamber. How successful this will be only time will tell, but overall a better outing for Mr Gray.

The FM also paid tribute to Annabel Goldie who he sparred with for the last time at FMQs today.

FMQs Review

Iain Gray’s decision to focus FMQs on sectarianism and the Offensive Behaviour and Threatening Communications Bill proved moderately successful today. While the FM was able to rely on the defence that the police authorities actually want the proposed powers, Gray was able to pressurise Salmond on the matter given the number of organisations that have appeared before the Justice Committee to warn of the potential negative effects the measures could have.

Is this a tactic by Gray to portray the FM’s increasing demagoguery of power since May’s landslide? The FM gifted Gray and the Labour backbenches by implying former Labour staffers, now working for Nil by Mouth (an anti-sectarian lobby group), opposed the bill on political grounds. This was met with outcry from the Labour backbenchers but with little sympathy from the Presiding Officer – this might rumble on, but if Labour continue to paint the picture of the SNP running amok in parliament, with very few checks and balances, it could soon start to fester on the minds of the public. Something the SNP should be keen to avoid.

By Matt

FMQs: Review

Iain Gray chose to ridicule the FM’s claim’s that re-industrialising Scotland via renewable energy was the greatest thing since man began farming and living off the land. Shame he can’t do it as well as the Scotsman’s cartoonist. Gray’s quip that the FM should also welcome the parting of the North Sea to welcome a proposed interconnector between Peterhead and Norway was quickly rebuffed by Salmond as he plunged the dagger into Scottish Labour by claiming the North Sea would likely part before Scottish Labour got themselves re-elected to government. Salmond also did an effective job of rebutting Labour’s claims that they have reduced the NHS budget by £300m in last week’s spending review. The FM was able to undermine Gray’s attack by saying that front line spending was being protected but capital expenditure had declined due to Labour’s planned and Tory enacted cuts to the Scottish budget. Whatever the Labour leader tries, the FM’s team is always one step ahead, anticipating Scottish Labour’s next moves.

Willie Rennie was also jeered by the SNP backbenches when he announced the re-defection of a former SNP councillor from Paisley back to the Lib Dem fold – his question on victim support hardly seemed to register – the Lib Dems few opportunities in front of the parliamentary cameras is seemingly clouding their judgement as to what constitutes a good opportunity.

Annabel Goldie does however manage to put Salmond in stormier waters. A bombastic response to a carefully thought and delivered question by the Tory leader on the anti-sectarian bill was met with a morally superior rant by the FM in support of the proposals. Of all the Opposition leaders, she will be the most missed.

By Matt