Chamber
Plenary, 02 Sep 2009
02 Sep 2009 · S3 · Plenary
Item of business
Diageo (Campaign Against Closures)
Thank you, Presiding Officer.
"Wha could withstaun this haimmer blow!?
Nine hunner joabs at Diageo,
This day we're gaithert tae say ‘No!'
This isnae fair!
Wha wis it helped yer business grow,
Twa hunner year?"
Those are the opening lines of a poem by Rab Wilson, read on an epic day on 26 July, when 20,000 people marched in support of the campaign to keep Johnnie Walker in Kilmarnock and to save the plants at Hurlford and Port Dundas. Led by the First Minister, we marched together: workers; MSPs; MPs; councillors from all parties; the chairman, management and players of Kilmarnock Football Club; trade unions; churches; and local traders. This afternoon, I welcome to the Scottish Parliament many of those who marched that day.
The scenes that I witnessed at the Johnnie Walker plant on 1 July will always be with me. What do you do when you hear that 189 years of history are to be consigned to the dustbin? What do you do when you are confronted by women and men too upset and shaken to talk after such a body blow? Well, you stand up, dust yourself down and set out to persuade those who made such a decision that they got it wrong.
Since 1 July, one question has never left my mind: what have our folk done to deserve this? Loyalty and dedication are easy words to throw around, but they are in abundance within the Johnnie Walker workers. Surely this is no way to treat such people.
With support from the unions and the community, the cross-party team, led by Councillor Dougie Reid, who cannot be with us today, and Councillors McKay and Cook, has been tireless in its efforts. Des Browne MP has also made a great contribution. Our petition to Diageo contains thousands of signatures from Kilmarnock and all across the globe.
I remind Diageo that Johnnie Walker was a real person, not some corporate gimmick. In 1820, he set up his shop in Kilmarnock and started blending whiskies. These were the forerunners of red label and, of course, the famous striding man, who, with his able assistants, graces us with his presence today.
Johnnie Walker quickly became a world-class product, and the fact that its Kilmarnock roots are still there for all to see is a source of pride for many. In the hands of a company concerned about product integrity, heritage and tradition, such roots should be regarded as a major strength, but Diageo would have us believe that no one cares where things come from. The only way is to make things cheaper and wherever we can. According to Diageo's description of the problem, there are 38 lines when only 28 are needed, and three plants where two would do. Oh—and it tells us that it contributes £30 every second to the UK balance of trade.
In the briefing that Diageo circulated yesterday, I counted about 25 figures in support of its case. However, one figure that it missed out was the small matter of its £2.5 billion profit. How on earth could that have escaped its notice? Did it not think MSPs would know that its profits amount to £80 per second?
Oscar Wilde once said:
"Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives".
There might be shades of that in the proposals that Mr Walsh has endorsed. The more Diageo states its case, the more ridiculous it sounds, set against the backdrop of such profits.
Last week was the defining moment in the campaign to keep Johnnie Walker in Kilmarnock. I congratulated the company on its results, and Mr Walsh was right to say that he would not apologise for running a profitable company. However, when we set Diageo's profits against the social and economic consequences of its closure plan, we are entitled to ask the chief officer to reconsider the damaging proposals. Diageo's latest public relations moves attempt to drive a wedge between communities—between Kilmarnock, Hurlford and Port Dundas on the one hand and Shieldhall and Leven on the other.
The case for the closures fell apart with the profits announcement. For such a profitable company, there is surely more than one way forward. We need to hear why Diageo thinks that it is right to put 700 loyal Kilmarnock workers on the street and to ditch 189 years of history and heritage without blinking an eye. Diageo has made it clear that the closure plan is not a response to current economic conditions but part of a long-term strategy. From beyond Kilmarnock, concerns have been raised about Diageo's strategy and the future direction of the Scotch whisky industry. The Parliament must understand where that vital industry is going. I have asked the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee to conduct an inquiry on that, and I look forward to receiving support for that request.
Johnnie Walker grew and prospered for 177 years before Diageo, and Diageo is simply the present custodian. Properly managed, Johnnie Walker will survive after even Diageo has gone. I say to Mr Walsh that he should not let Diageo become another corporate entity that knows the price of everything but the value of nothing. I ask him to look beyond the numbers to see the damage that will be done to Kilmarnock, to Johnnie Walker and to Diageo. When the going was tough for your company, Mr Walsh, your workers did not walk out on you. I am asking you now not to walk out on them.
I started with Rab Wilson's poem, so perhaps it is appropriate to end with a clip from Robert Burns, who wrote:
"O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us
To see oursels as others see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us".
If Diageo pays heed to the campaign and the debate, I believe that we can help it to avoid a spectacular blunder. Johnnie Walker is bigger than Diageo and its Kilmarnock history cannot be erased. Diageo—don't walk out on Killie.
"Wha could withstaun this haimmer blow!?
Nine hunner joabs at Diageo,
This day we're gaithert tae say ‘No!'
This isnae fair!
Wha wis it helped yer business grow,
Twa hunner year?"
Those are the opening lines of a poem by Rab Wilson, read on an epic day on 26 July, when 20,000 people marched in support of the campaign to keep Johnnie Walker in Kilmarnock and to save the plants at Hurlford and Port Dundas. Led by the First Minister, we marched together: workers; MSPs; MPs; councillors from all parties; the chairman, management and players of Kilmarnock Football Club; trade unions; churches; and local traders. This afternoon, I welcome to the Scottish Parliament many of those who marched that day.
The scenes that I witnessed at the Johnnie Walker plant on 1 July will always be with me. What do you do when you hear that 189 years of history are to be consigned to the dustbin? What do you do when you are confronted by women and men too upset and shaken to talk after such a body blow? Well, you stand up, dust yourself down and set out to persuade those who made such a decision that they got it wrong.
Since 1 July, one question has never left my mind: what have our folk done to deserve this? Loyalty and dedication are easy words to throw around, but they are in abundance within the Johnnie Walker workers. Surely this is no way to treat such people.
With support from the unions and the community, the cross-party team, led by Councillor Dougie Reid, who cannot be with us today, and Councillors McKay and Cook, has been tireless in its efforts. Des Browne MP has also made a great contribution. Our petition to Diageo contains thousands of signatures from Kilmarnock and all across the globe.
I remind Diageo that Johnnie Walker was a real person, not some corporate gimmick. In 1820, he set up his shop in Kilmarnock and started blending whiskies. These were the forerunners of red label and, of course, the famous striding man, who, with his able assistants, graces us with his presence today.
Johnnie Walker quickly became a world-class product, and the fact that its Kilmarnock roots are still there for all to see is a source of pride for many. In the hands of a company concerned about product integrity, heritage and tradition, such roots should be regarded as a major strength, but Diageo would have us believe that no one cares where things come from. The only way is to make things cheaper and wherever we can. According to Diageo's description of the problem, there are 38 lines when only 28 are needed, and three plants where two would do. Oh—and it tells us that it contributes £30 every second to the UK balance of trade.
In the briefing that Diageo circulated yesterday, I counted about 25 figures in support of its case. However, one figure that it missed out was the small matter of its £2.5 billion profit. How on earth could that have escaped its notice? Did it not think MSPs would know that its profits amount to £80 per second?
Oscar Wilde once said:
"Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives".
There might be shades of that in the proposals that Mr Walsh has endorsed. The more Diageo states its case, the more ridiculous it sounds, set against the backdrop of such profits.
Last week was the defining moment in the campaign to keep Johnnie Walker in Kilmarnock. I congratulated the company on its results, and Mr Walsh was right to say that he would not apologise for running a profitable company. However, when we set Diageo's profits against the social and economic consequences of its closure plan, we are entitled to ask the chief officer to reconsider the damaging proposals. Diageo's latest public relations moves attempt to drive a wedge between communities—between Kilmarnock, Hurlford and Port Dundas on the one hand and Shieldhall and Leven on the other.
The case for the closures fell apart with the profits announcement. For such a profitable company, there is surely more than one way forward. We need to hear why Diageo thinks that it is right to put 700 loyal Kilmarnock workers on the street and to ditch 189 years of history and heritage without blinking an eye. Diageo has made it clear that the closure plan is not a response to current economic conditions but part of a long-term strategy. From beyond Kilmarnock, concerns have been raised about Diageo's strategy and the future direction of the Scotch whisky industry. The Parliament must understand where that vital industry is going. I have asked the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee to conduct an inquiry on that, and I look forward to receiving support for that request.
Johnnie Walker grew and prospered for 177 years before Diageo, and Diageo is simply the present custodian. Properly managed, Johnnie Walker will survive after even Diageo has gone. I say to Mr Walsh that he should not let Diageo become another corporate entity that knows the price of everything but the value of nothing. I ask him to look beyond the numbers to see the damage that will be done to Kilmarnock, to Johnnie Walker and to Diageo. When the going was tough for your company, Mr Walsh, your workers did not walk out on you. I am asking you now not to walk out on them.
I started with Rab Wilson's poem, so perhaps it is appropriate to end with a clip from Robert Burns, who wrote:
"O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us
To see oursels as others see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us".
If Diageo pays heed to the campaign and the debate, I believe that we can help it to avoid a spectacular blunder. Johnnie Walker is bigger than Diageo and its Kilmarnock history cannot be erased. Diageo—don't walk out on Killie.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Trish Godman):
Lab
The final item of business is a members' business debate on motion S3M-4647, in the name of Willie Coffey, on the campaign against Diageo closures. This deba...
Motion debated,
That the Parliament, further to motion S3M-4568 lodged on 6 July 2009, notes that a major cross-party campaign has been established to oppose Diageo's restru...
Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP):
SNP
Thank you, Presiding Officer."Wha could withstaun this haimmer blow!?Nine hunner joabs at Diageo,This day we're gaithert tae say ‘No!' Thi...
Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab):
Lab
I thank Willie Coffey and congratulate him on securing the debate, which gives members the opportunity to express publicly their support for the Diageo worke...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Lab
You must finish now.
Patricia Ferguson:
Lab
I want Diageo to show the same commitment to its workforce that its workers have shown to their employer. That its workforce is what has made Diageo such a s...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Lab
I remind members that speeches should be of four minutes. I will extend the time for the debate at some point later, if the minister agrees.
Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP):
SNP
I congratulate Willie Coffey on securing this valuable debate on an issue that is of great importance to people not only in Ayrshire and Glasgow but througho...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Lab
I call David Whitton, to be followed by Linda Fabiani.
David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab):
Lab
Thank you for calling me so early in the debate, Presiding Officer. I apologise to other speakers, because I will be unable to stay until the end of the deba...
Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
As a Central Scotland MSP who is concerned for the future of Kilmarnock following Diageo's proposals, I wish that the debate were not necessary. Nevertheless...
Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con):
Con
I congratulate Willie Coffey on securing the debate on this important topic for the economy of Scotland as a whole.The bald figures, including on the 900 job...
Bob Doris (Glasgow) (SNP):
SNP
I congratulate Willie Coffey on securing the debate. I have been proud to stand four square behind the workers at Port Dundas and Kilmarnock. The cross-party...
Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab):
Lab
I am delighted that this matter has been selected for a members' business debate this evening. I congratulate Willie Coffey on securing the debate and on his...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Lab
Before I call Hugh O'Donnell, I am minded to accept a motion without notice to extend the debate.
Motion moved,
That, under Rule 8.14.3, the debate be extended by up to 30 minutes.—Tricia Marwick.
Motion agreed to.
Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD):
LD
Earlier today we heard a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on his on-going battle with Diageo. I think that that battle...
Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con):
Con
I congratulate Willie Coffey on securing the debate and fighting for his constituents, as I would expect a good local member of the Scottish Parliament to do...
Tricia Marwick (Central Fife) (SNP):
SNP
I congratulate my good friend Willie Coffey on securing the debate tonight and on the commitment and leadership that he has shown to his constituents in his ...
Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD):
LD
I, too, congratulate Willie Coffey on securing tonight's debate and, more important, on the drive and energy that he has given to tackling his constituents' ...
Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab):
Lab
I congratulate Willie Coffey on securing this debate, which is on an issue that is important to his constituents and to Scotland, and I recognise his commitm...
The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth (John Swinney):
SNP
I congratulate Willie Coffey on securing the debate and on displaying in his speech and in his interventions over the past two months, which have been extrem...
Meeting closed at 18:17.