Meeting of the Parliament 08 October 2014
In case there is any doubt, I say at the outset that I accept the result of the referendum. It was of course hugely disappointing for those of us who campaigned for a yes vote, but we placed our trust in the people of Scotland to make that decision and we have to respect the result. However, some of us, including me, represent areas that voted yes. I will certainly remember that in the work that I do as MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, in which there is majority support for independence.
Despite my disappointment with the outcome, I have to say that the referendum campaign was the most invigorating and exciting political effort that I have ever had the privilege of being involved in. It resulted in massive political engagement that I have never seen before—the 85 per cent turnout testifies to that.
There is now a real interest in the political process—I could literally hear it in the streets during the campaign and I think that it continues. I believe that people in Scotland want, more than ever before, to be involved in the processes that affect their lives. One of the questions before us is how to sustain and foster that sense of civic engagement and how to empower people. I very much agree with Patrick Harvie’s points about the necessity of achieving that.
During the campaign, there was a clear sense that people want greater efforts to tackle inequalities in Scotland. In the on-going debate about Scotland’s future, we need to ensure that the Parliament is equipped to rise to that challenge. During the campaign, much was made of the powers that are coming to the Parliament through the Scotland Act 2012. Earlier today at the Finance Committee, Professor David Bell presented a paper to us that states that the 2012 act
“implicitly leaves income redistribution as a reserved issue for the UK Government”,
through the Scottish rate of income tax. We saw at the Tory conference that the Tories intend to redistribute income only up the way.
The Scotland Act 2012 also leaves decisions about social security out of our hands. The welfare reform process is set to push 100,000 more children in Scotland into poverty by 2020.