Meeting of the Parliament 08 October 2014
The motion and the Government amendment refer to a “more equal” society. I will concentrate on that. There is no doubt that it is frequently mentioned in the Parliament. It definitely sounds good and as though it is the right thing to say but, unfortunately, although we might talk a fine game about fairness, equality and social justice, the inconvenient truth is that we do not deliver.
We sometimes spend an inordinate amount of time criticising one another and, frankly, we do not spend enough time praising what others have done. So, unusually for me, I want to put on record my thanks for everything that the SNP Government has done for me and my family. While I am at it, I suppose that I should register the thanks of all MSPs, every MP in Scotland, senior civil servants, the highly paid senior staff in local government and the health service, senior managers in colleges and universities, lawyers, doctors, accountants and the well-paid staff in the private sector. We all have cause to celebrate what has been done for us.
Our council tax has been frozen since the SNP came to power and we now all have free prescriptions. Our sons and daughters no longer have to make any financial contribution at any point for their university education, and that applies even to those who have the money and who choose to pay for their child’s school education. More extensive student loans are available to students, even the better-off, and those of us with young children will no longer have to pay for school meals in primaries 1 to 3. What have we got to complain about?
I suppose that, as long as we say that we are committed to a fairer and more equal society, that helps us to explain all that to our constituents, particularly those who have not gained anything. It is a shame that low-income households who receive full council tax benefit have not received an extra penny in all this time, but I suppose that that is a price worth paying to ensure fairness.
Those who are on low incomes or with certain chronic health problems have not gained at all financially from free prescriptions, but no doubt they will rejoice in our satisfaction, even though there may be less to spend on cancer treatments. I know that it may be frustrating for those from poorer backgrounds who might no longer be able to access a college place or for poorer students at university who might be angry at cuts to maintenance grants, but surely they recognise that we are building a fairer society, even though no extra money has been spent on them.
Low-income families who already receive free school meals in P1 to P3 will not receive a single extra penny with the new policy of free school meals, but everyone has to do their bit for a fairer and more equal society, and I am sure that they will not mind that education budgets across the country are being squeezed at the same time.
Bus fares have had to rise because of cuts by the Scottish Government to the grant that is given to bus operators to compensate for free concessionary travel. I know that it is causing hardship to hard-working commuters who rely on buses to get to work and who do not have access to a chauffeur-driven car, but they need to remember that everyone has to share the burden for a fairer and more equal society and that someone has to pay for the free concessionary travel.
In short, let us take satisfaction from everything that has been done for members in this Parliament and the thousands like us, and let us recognise that the talk, as opposed to the action, about fairness and equality has been supported by a broad coalition of Scottish civic society, and that for that we should be extremely grateful. Let us tell our poorer constituents who have not gained a single penny that today we are renewing our commitment to a fairer and more equal society, and that although they might not see any material benefit we are truly sincere in what we say, as always. It is just that we would rather be judged on our words than on our actions.
16:56