Not for the first Labour advisers reveal their ignorance of what is already happening in Scotland as they come up to tell us about their supah new ideas to find we already have the same or better.
Here’s what they claim and what they plan, responded to one-by-one.
“The Labour Party knows the value of small businesses; you are not just the lifeblood of our communities but essential to our economic success. That is why we have launched an ambitious plan to support small businesses.”
- Legislate to tackle late payments: Unlocking £20 billion in unpaid invoices.
“The Scottish Government regrets any delays in payments to suppliers and our performance in paying 98.8% of transactions within 10 working days underlines this commitment. We are continuing to strive to improve this performance.” [i]
“Scottish late payment legislation places a statutory duty on all public bodies to pay commercial debt within 30 days. This allows businesses to claim interest and recovery costs if goods and services are not paid for on time.”[ii]
- Scrap business rates: And replace it with a system that is fairer for bricks and mortar businesses.
“The Scottish government has set out a strong non-domestic rates package in 2023-24, including the most generous rates relief for small businesses anywhere in the UK, taking over 100,000 properties out of rates altogether. As part of this, it is estimated that around half of properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in Scotland will pay no rates this year.” [iii]
- Revitalise our high streets: Tackling anti-social behaviour and powers to take over empty shops.
“Antisocial offences accounted for just under a third (29%) of all offences recorded in Scotland in 2022-23. Between 2013-14 and 2022-23, the number of Antisocial offences recorded by the police decreased by 62%, this includes an 11% decrease since 2021-22 from 55,975 to 50,094 in 2022-23. The national rate of recorded Antisocial offences decreased from 102 per 10,000 population in 2021-22 to 91 per 10,000 population in 2022-23.”[iv]
The equivalent rate in Labour-run Wales is 178 per 10 000 population [almost twice as high]. [v]
- Boosting small business exports: Removing the barriers to export with clear information and support.
As far back as 2019, advice on “how to find the right markets and get started” from Scottish Enterprise. [vi] Scotland already outperforms other UK nations and is unique in its strong and repeated export surplus. [vii]
- A new direction for skills: With Technical Excellence Colleges connected to local economic needs.
Scottish FE colleges are already excellent. This sounds like another daft gimmick. ‘College graduates will boost Scotland’s economy by £52 billion over their working lives’. For just the class of 2021-22, the Scottish Government invested £740 million into colleges, which is projected to lead to a £8 billion boost to the Scottish economy, and a £2.8 billion boost to government revenues over the coming 40-year period.[viii]
- Get Britain building again: By speeding up the planning system and unblocking the grid.
I don’t think we want the planning system speeded up here if that means a less rigorous approach copying Tory plans for England to put local communities at risk. Anyhow – The Scottish planning system saw average decision times for major housing projects fall 28% last year, according to the latest government statistics.[ix]
- Make Britain a clean energy superpower: For cheaper bills and greater energy security.
Scotland already is a clean energy superpower producing from renewables enough for all of our electricity demand and still having a huge surplus to sell elsewhere. Scotland to England at 3TWh per year currently. [x] 1 TWh could fully power 70 000 homes.
The best place to start up and scale up: With better access to finance and more spinouts from universities. – 93% of Scottish, tech start-up companies believe Scotland is a good place to start a business: A study into how Scottish tech start-ups are progressing has uncovered that 93% of respondents think that Scotland is a good place to begin their business venture.[xi] The Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2019 demonstrates that nine of Scotland’s universities are in the global Top 200 for International Outlook. It is no surprise therefore that Scottish research organisations have been successful in participating in EU programmes for research & innovation. [xii] Scotland the best educated country in Europe, claims ONS report. It says that nearly 45 per cent of people in Scotland aged between 25 and 64 have had some kind of tertiary education – including university degrees and further education. England’s data not revealed![xiii]
- A fair chance at public contracts: With guaranteed shortlisting for smaller firms.
“Public bodies are required to advertise all regulated procurement opportunities on the Public Contracts Scotland website, making it easier for SMEs to find and win contracts. Public bodies are also required by law to ensure that their procurement practices are open to SMEs, the third sector and supported businesses. Figures show that almost 80% of public sector contract awards now go to SMEs.” [xiv]
“Jonathan Reynolds MP, Shadow Minister for Business and Trade, will be taking this plan on tour to listen to your experiences and get your feedback.”
Scotland too just to show how little he knows?
[i] https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-18-02549/
[ii] https://www.gov.scot/publications/procurement-reform-scotland-act-2014-statutory-guidance/pages/2/
[iii] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-66323664
[iv] https://www.gov.scot/publications/recorded-crime-scotland-2022-23/pages/11/#:~:text=Antisocial%20offences%20accounted%20for%20just,to%2050%2C094%20in%202022%2D23.
[v] https://www.plumplot.co.uk/Wales-antisocial-behaviour-crime-statistics.html#:~:text=Annual%20crime%20rate%20in%20Wales,crimes%20reported%20in%20the%20region.
[vi] https://www.scottish-enterprise.com/
[vii] https://www.gov.scot/news/scottish-trade-outperforming-other-uk-nations/
[viii] https://fraserofallander.org/publications/the-economic-contribution-of-colleges-in-scotland/#:~:text=For%20just%20the%20class%20of,the%20coming%2040%2Dyear%20period.
[ix] https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/scottish-planning-system-speeds-up-amid-21-fall-in-housing-applications-82973
[x] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6582bd5ced3c34000d3bfc38/ET_5.6_DEC_23.xlsx#:~:text=The%20UK%20was%20also%20a,TWh%20in%20Quarter%203%202023.&text=Net%20electricity%20transfers%20from%20Scotland,TWh%20year%2Don%2Dyear.
[xi] https://www.djsresearch.co.uk/InformationTechnologyMarketResearchInsightsAndFindings/article/93percent-of-Scottish-tech-start-up-companies-believe-Scotland-is-a-good-place-to-start-a-business-survey-reveals-05205
[xii] https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/corporate-report/2018/11/scotlands-place-europe-science-research/documents/00542818-pdf/00542818-pdf/govscot%3Adocument/00542818.pdf
[xiii] https://www.thenational.scot/news/19929798.scotland-europes-best-educated-population-according-eurostat/
[xiv] https://www.gov.scot/policies/public-sector-procurement/sme-access-to-public-contracts/
Talking-up Scotland 
Ah, but ….. we really are BETTER TOGETHER, because the rest of the UK will be getting all these benefits and this will prove that Scottish exceptionalism is wrong. Yese will be nae better than the rest o us!
And, we have to take control of renewables so that their benefits are properly redistributed as dividends for the City to whom we have allied ourselves.
Alasdair Macdonald.
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“How Labour’s plan for small business has been at the heart of the SNP legislation for years”
But who within the media will promote this fact to voters within Scotland ?
The MSM in Scotland are on political manoeuvres to gain New New Labour seats in Scotland at the next GE thus facts and truths will never be broadcast or published……as they would be counterproductive to the political propaganda that they , the media here, are trying to promote which is #LabourGood and #SNPBAD.
Obviously any Scot considering lending their vote to New New Labour at the next GE must then be very selective in the political news that they are listening to on TV and radio and also reading about within specific newspapers (and also where do they source their news and information via social media)…..they must also have decided to dismiss, ignore or forgive Labour’s participation, which included lying to Scotland, in the 2014 Independence Referendum……which would send a message to New New Labour that they can indeed succeed in fooling (lying to) some (enough) people all of the time in Scotland when it matters to them (Labour)….like when everyone is so very very desperate to get rid of the Tories as the UK government who then foolishly assume ,as voters, that New New Labour will somehow be the best (only) option to unseat the Tories as the UK government……THAT many be the case for some in England but in Scotland we do have another choice in voting for those who will actually stand up for Scotland within the UK i.e. the SNP……alas the media here are determined that we do not make that choice…..as in their combined wheesht for the SNP positives and any real facts/truths connected to them……and also ultimately wheesht for Scottish Independence as the next best option for Scotland…..while the opposite being the flawed case that they, the media, are promoting on behalf of both New New Labour and too their (non) Union…..that is us in Scotland being ‘Sold a Pup’…..again !!
NMRN
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*THAT many be the case for some in England
THAT may be the case for some in England
(so sick of autocorrect…..it tries to change your words…..must be Pro UK LOL)
NMRN
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I was particularly amused at this one
“Make Britain a clean energy superpower: For cheaper bills and greater energy security.” –
Scotland already is a clean energy superpower producing from renewables enough for all of our electricity demand and still having a huge surplus to sell elsewhere. Scotland to England at 3TWh per year currently. [x] 1 TWh could fully power 70 000 homes.
Echoes of “Nuclear Britain, energy so cheap it won’t be worth billing for” – The “energy market” and Treasury are not about to allow cheaper bills, and the existing grid is the bottleneck ensuring England is the only route.
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Indeed Bob….in fact Starmer stated that Scotland was to be at the forefront of this green initiative via the Great British energy company…….. via sourcing that energy that is…..LOL
The HQ is, we are told by Starmer, to be based in Scotland…..also known as a ‘nameplate’ or a ‘window dressing exercise’……
The New New Labour candidate for my constituency Edinburgh East is Chris Murray who will try to win the seat from the excellent and hard working current SNP MP Tommy Sheppard.
I got some election bumph from New New Labour candidate Chris Murray through my letter box…..but it failed to give me any bio on him including the fact that he is a member of the Advisory council for ‘These Islands’ …….who, as a Pro UK organisation, go to great lengths to diminish Scotland’s potential and capacity via renewable energy in Europe……
Included in Chris’s election bumph was this :
He states that a Labour government will :
“Lower energy bills by creating GB Energy here in Scotland”. (Will that be lower than now ? as Scotland has higher average energy bills than those living in England despite being such an energy-rich nation….. and more importantly what is the timescale for this ? )
“Investment to finally tackle climate change” (really ? as The Guardian stated today that ” Labour could be set to shelve £28 billion-a-year net zero policy pledge on green investment“)…….
“Shorter waiting times for the NHS “(let’s not mention Labour Wales NHS waiting times though or New New Labour’s Health Secretary keen to “hold the door wide open” to the NHS for the private sector. )
Change from the chaos of two failing governments (let’s not mention Wales under Labour are very much a failing government though and also specify HOW exactly are the Scottish government, according to New New labour, failing Scotland)
Chris Murray also tweeted that he is out today in my area with Angela Rayner….same Angela Rayner who was once in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet and who promoted HIS socialist style policies but now she’s in Starmer’s shadow cabinet she is promoting the opposite of what she formally promoted with Corbyn…..just what is about New New Labour that attracts them to the act of U-Turns both as a party and individual politicians….and is she ok with Corbyn being ousted from the New New Labour party ?
Here’s a thing that as an exercise would be very enlightening…..does anyone have a relative/friend in England or Wales that could send them what New New Labour are communicating to them via election bumph (bumf) that is being put through their letter boxes in them campaigning for next GE in UK….it would be interesting to compare with what we are getting in Scotland from them as a party to then see what they are communicating to both the English and Welsh voters…..I bet in Wales they are promoting that the devolved Labour Welsh government in Wales are working really hard and are doing well…….but they will use the excuse that there is a constant shortfall in funding and too no support or communication from the Tory UK government to the Welsh government…..meanwhile in Scotland etc etc etc
What a bunch of chancers
NMRN
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We should bear in mind Labour will be contracting firms such as Lynton Crosbie, or Cambridge Analytica or whatever it’s branded as nowadays, same as the Tories – The electorate are there to be manipulated for a client fee, democracy no longer has anything to do with politics, who pays wins…
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just typical of a bunch of careerist politicians who will say anything to get in power, remember Blair’s promises, all broken, just like this lot will do!!! Nobody in Scotland should “lend” them their vote….remember 2014 “the pledges”, in bed with the Tories. Sarwar IS a Tory as is the dame…..you have been warned!!!
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if you notice Labour have no detail on how they will do what is already being done by SNP Scottish Government.
Fecklessflipfloppers never have details as they would get caught out far too easily!!!
Don’t “lend” them your vote……propaganda politics are dangerous….and Labour are masters of propaganda!!!
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As I always remind people ‘Britiain’ is just a term the Eglish use when they want to appropriate something good that doesn’t belong to them, or to hide something bad that does.
When it comes to renewable energy the only way the English can claim faux credit is if they brand themselves as British and hijack our renewable success.
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It’s the case with many non governmental organisations as well. I just sent slight stroppy reply email to ‘cats protection’, who tell me they are ‘expanding into Scotland and Wales, re this…’With limited pet-fostering services available in these areas, the launch of Lifeline means we can support cats and their families in these areas quicker than ever before’. They liken Scotland to the ‘Midlands’ and the inference being Scotland is an ‘area’ of England, maybe a bit petty but it does anger me when some charities based in England, and most of them are, (in fact it’s where the £’s spent in Scotland goes to!) portray Scotland as an area or region, of England…grr.
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I agree….and they treat The Scottish Parliament like a wee county cooncil!!!
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O/T
Saw this via LinkedIN…quite a short timespan for responses the consultation via UKGov.
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-devolving-powers-for-a-scottish-building-safety-levy
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