By stewartb

There are multiple reports of leading Labour politicians joining with the Tories to dismiss out of hand the Scottish Government’s proposals for the reform of drug laws.

Candidly, it’s no longer a surprise: the Bain Principle – ‘Labour opposes anything proposed by the SNP, regardless of the merits of the thing in question’ – is in rude health. And at times the Labour leadership even seems intent on making mountains out of molehills of small differences with the SNP. Presumably this is to make their party even more attractive electorally in Scotland to erstwhile Tory supporting Unionists. The ‘betterness of togetherness’ trumps all!

In The Scotsman (7 July), under the headline ‘Tories and Labour to block Scottish proposals for decriminalisation of drugs for personal use’ we learn that: ‘Both the Conservative UK Government and Labour poured cold water on the request from the Scottish Government, effectively killing the plans within an hour of them being announced.’ (my emphasis)  Just like that! It is so very easy to do to Scotland’s government!

I also spotted this in The National (7 July) under the headline ‘Anas Sarwar fails to support Scottish drug decriminalisation bid’. Mr Sarwar is quoted: “Let’s be really clear about this. We have a drug death crisis here in Scotland. We have three times the number of drug deaths in Scotland compared to other parts of the UK despite us having the same drugs laws across the whole of the United Kingdom. That demonstrates we have a Scotland-specific issue we have to address.’

One obvious response to this last line is: ’well yes and that’s the f.. point of these proposals!’ But note his logic: (i) three times more drug deaths in one part of the UK compared to other parts; (ii) this despite the same drug laws across the UK; (iii) so this means there is a unique, a Scotland-only problem – and it must be addressed without any change in UK law which by implication is just fine as it is!

Mr Sarwar goes on: “What I hope the Scottish Government is not doing – but I fear they are doing – is as usual looking at a problem Scots face and looking for a constitutional fight they can pick, rather than confronting the issue head on.” And of course the Tories in Scotland, unsurprisingly, support him in this!

Perspective

The most up to date statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on deaths caused by the misuse of drugs in England and Wales were published in August 2022. The next release is scheduled for August, 2023.

Source https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsrelatedtodrugpoisoninginenglandandwales/2021registrations#drug-misuse-deaths-by-english-region-and-in-wales

The first graph below (ONS Figure 2) shows the trend in drug deaths aggregated for England and Wales. Do the rising trends evident in this chart suggest policies to reduce the death rate are working well? Because rates are not as bad in absolute terms (yet) as the death rates in Scotland, the Labour leadership, the Tories in government and in Holyrood, the public service broadcaster and most of the mainstream media avert their eyes and focus only on that ‘SNPbad’ Scottish Government!

Turning to Figure 4, the ONS reports that: ‘In 2021, the highest rate of drug misuse deaths was observed in the North East (104.1 deaths per million; 255 registered deaths), while the lowest rate was in the East of England (27.4 deaths per million; 166 deaths). The North East has had the highest rate of drug misuse deaths for the past nine years and has a statistically significantly higher rate than all other regions of England.’

Furthermore: ’In Wales, the rate of drug misuse deaths rose to 72.4 deaths per million from 51.1 deaths per million in 2020, returning to the high point recorded in 2018 (72.0 deaths per million).’ (For Wales, the 2020 figure may be anomalous due to the impact of administrative delays caused by Covid.)

So within one national geography, namely England, under – what Mr Sarwar would no doubt emphasise – the very same drug laws, the mortality rate due to the misuse of drugs varies by a factor not of three but nearly four. Borrowing from Mr Sarwar’s logic: (i) nearly four times more drug deaths in one part of England than in other parts; (ii) this despite the same drug laws across all of England; (iii) so this means there is just a NE-specific problem. But Labour’s view is that any new proposals to address the specific issues facing the NE of England would be picking a fight for political reasons?

However, the evidence of a need for policy change to tackle the scourge of drug deaths comes from more than just the NE. Looking at the ONS’ regional graphs, the following areas have long term upward trajectories: NW, Yorkshire & the Humber, SW, West Midlands and more recently, the East Midlands. A north-south divide is apparent, notwithstanding the same laws applying throughout!

Equivalent information on drug deaths in Scotland come from data released by the National Records of Scotland. The NRS reports that ‘deaths have increased substantially over the past few decades – there were more than five times as many deaths in 2021 compared with 1996’ (see https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//statistics/drug-related-deaths/21/drug-related-deaths-21-report.pdf ) This is awful trend even when learning that ‘This makes 2021 the first year since 2013 where drug misuse deaths have not increased.’

In NE England the rate of deaths due to drug misuse amongst males was 23.5 per million people in 1996: by 2021 the rate had risen to 159.4, an increase by a factor of 6.8. For females, the rate was 11.3 in 2000 (earlier data not available) and had risen to 50.6 by 2021, an increase by a factor of 4.8.

What of Wales with it’s long-term Labour government?  According to the same ONS source, in 1996, pre-devolution, the death rate for males due to drug misuse in Wales was 23.7 per million people (7.4 for females). At the time of devolution, in 1998, the rate for males was 28.3. Pre-Covid, in 2019, the rate for males was 80.9 and in the latest ONS data release, for 2021 the rate for males is 107.6 per million people (37.6 for females). So from 1996 to 2021, the male death rate in Wales have increased by a factor of 4.5 and by a factor of 5.1 for female deaths.  Nothing amiss here? No opportunity for an ‘SNPbad’ angle!

Does any of this matter to the Labour Party’s leadership? In response to the latest Scottish Government proposals for reform of drug laws, Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves chose to comment in a particular manner. In The Scotsman (7 July) under the headline ‘Tories and Labour to block Scottish proposals for decriminalisation of drugs for personal use’ we learn that: ‘At an event in Hamilton, Ms Reeves also said her party would not support the policy if they win the next election. She said: “The short answer is no. I do not think this sounds like a good policy. I find it quite stunning that this would be a priority for the Scottish Government.” She referenced rising mortgage rates and NHS waiting lists, adding: “Pick an issue. There’s so many issues that you could focus on.” 

So proposing new, evidence-based ways to reduce drugs deaths – just one strand of a diverse and complex array of Scottish Government policy initiatives – is derided for being a government’s priority? Socially progressive Labour voters in Scotland should be embarrassed!

Ms Reeves could have opted to give a mature response, something like: ‘Before commenting I’d need to read in full what’s being proposed as this is a matter that Labour takes very seriously’. But clearly it was too good an opportunity to miss – to demonstrate power over Scotland when in government in Westminster – and just dismiss out of hand!  It seems as if Ms Reeves was on one of those visits to North Britain so beloved by ‘our imperial masters’ in Westminster – who can forget the scenes in Glasgow’s Buchanan Street in September 2014?

However, you have to admit that the Labour Party is adept at shapeshifting. On 25 May, 2022 under an article headed ‘Could drug consumption rooms become legal in Scotland?’, the BBC News website reported: ‘..  the UK government remains opposed to OPCs (overdose prevention centres). A Home Office spokesman said: “We have no plans to introduce drug consumption rooms in the UK. A range of crimes would be committed in the course of running such facilities, by both service users and staff, such as possession of a controlled drug or knowingly permitting the supply of a controlled drug on a premises.”

As explained in the same BBC piece, the article was written in the context of Labour MSP Paul Sweeney announcing a consultation on his proposed Drug Death Prevention Bill, which would see the Scottish Parliament vote on introducing overdose prevention centres (OPCs) – also known as consumption or “fix” rooms. In the article we learn: ‘… OPCs have already been given support by the SNP, Scottish Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Greens. The Scottish Conservatives have said they wouldn’t block proposals for a pilot scheme.’ 

As an election approaches, it’s necessary and timely for Labour to make some policy swerves. Presumably Labour’s leadership calculates that electoral success in Scotland – and indeed across England too – will only be possible by aping the Tories!