John Reid
Not long ago, at a public meeting, I was asked to describe what the Labour Party had ever done for working people. I told them the story of my maternal grandfather.
His parents were both unskilled labourers - his father in the quarries and his mother in the bleaching factory. His birth certificate was signed with an X by both his mother and father - neither of them could read or write.
He was also illegitimate, as the birth certificate made plain, a stigma in those days.
And to cap it all, he was a Catholic, not exactly a passport to social advancement in the West of Scotland of his day, when boarding houses regularly carried signs saying “No Dogs: No Irish”.
And yet, within two generations, the grandson of this illegitimate son of illiterate working class parents attended University, was elected to parliament, and served in the British Cabinet.
How come?
It wasn’t because of the unique talents of the grandson. There had been generations before just as talented, as bright, or as ambitious, maybe more so.
But they were never given the chance. They never had the opportunity.
So what changed?
That chance, that opportunity - for me, the grandson, and for millions like me - didn’t just happen by accident. It was the result of the struggle of our parents - and the Labour Party and Movement.
It was them who fought for and provided the Welfare State to protect the vulnerable. The NHS to care for the sick. Comprehensive education to liberate working people. Minimum pensions to protect our Senior Citizens. National Insurance to compensate the injured at work. The Race Relations Act to prevent discrimination. The minimum wage to protect the low paid. And a hundred other measures of social justice.
These didn’t provide heaven on earth, and still haven’t. But they gave a decent basis for a fair society.
They gave people a “decent kick of the ball”, a chance to develop their talents, to make their way in lives, to have as much chance as the next guy.
And, as we approach next Thursday’s vote, we should remember that they were all provided by Labour Governments - British Labour Governments.
By men and women from throughout the UK. Not one of them owes anything to Nationalism or the SNP.
In fact, those Governments were opposed tooth and nail by the nationalists for the past 70 years.
When the Labour Government of the 1940s was establishing the Welfare State, the nationalists were campaigning for Separation.
When the Labour Government of the 1960s was expanding educational opportunity for working class boys and girls, the nationalists were campaigning on Separatism.
When the Labour Government of the 1970s was introducing the Race Relations Act, the nationalists preferred separatism.
So much so that when asked to choose between that Labour Government and the Tory Opposition led by Thatcher, they walked into the lobbies to vote with the Tories, bringing down the Labour Government and leading to 18 years of Thatcherism.
And remember – it was Alex Salmond who said that Scotland ‘didn’t mind’ Thatcher’s economics. Well I’m sorry Alex – we did.
You can start with the workers at Linwood and Ravenscraig but really we more than minded the devastation Thatcher’s economics caused.
In the 1990s, the same story. When the last Labour Government introduced the minimum wage, the SNP couldn’t even be bothered to turn up to vote for it.
They were more interested in their sole aim, separation from the UK.
Just as last week, a majority of their MPs couldn’t be bothered to turn up to vote to join with Labour in defeating the Tories over the Bedroom Tax.
They didn’t even support the struggle for devolution and the establishment of our own control over our own affairs.
For decades, when John Smith, Donald Dewar, Gordon Brown and thousands of other in the Scottish Labour Party were campaigning for devolution - joined by hundreds of thousands from other parties and non-party individuals - the nationalists opposed it, right up until the last minute when it looked inevitable.
And now, having contributed virtually nothing towards the establishment of all the institutions and measures which underpin a decent, fair society, the nationalists masquerade as the champions of social justice. What a travesty of the true history!
Even worse, is the vain promise that their sole aim over the decades - Separation - will be the magic wand that provides a Scotland that is a land of milk and honey, a future that is all Reward and no Risk.
I have some respect for those who admit to the risks of Separation, but insist that independence is worth those risks.
I have no respect who would pretend to the Scottish people that separation carries no risk. That everyone else but Alex is mistaken, bluffing or lying.
The truth is that there are huge risks attaching to an abandonment of all the benefits deriving from our membership of the UK. Leaders have a duty to spell these out.
Our financial stability is at risk over doubts over the currency. Our economic strength is at risk through over-dependence on a volatile commodity of oil.
Our trading position is at risk through leaving the UK - our biggest domestic market by far, and doubts over our entry to the trading market of EU membership.
Our pensions are at risk because of the larger number of older people in the Scottish population compared to the rest of the UK. Our jobs are at risk if there is a flight of investment.
Our security is at risk when we reduce our defence, our armed forces, intelligence service by 90%, in the vain hope that the threats will somehow automatically reduce by 90%; they won’t!
According to Alex, we’re not supposed to mention these things. He says it’s “negative”. I wonder if he was ever taught at school “look before you leap”. Or “look both ways before crossing the road”.
Every child knows, these are not negative. They are the necessary means of increasing the chances of successful survival and minimising the risks of failure.
It’s called Risk Assessment. - every businessman knows it, every adult knows it, every child knows it - but apparently not every leader knows it!
To say all these risks can be overcome is one thing, however optimistic. To deny they exist is quite another; it is a cruel deceit.
The people who will carry the can and face the consequences are not Alex and Nicola, they are every parent, every family, every worker, every pensioner, every patient and every child in Scotland in the next and every succeeding generation.
Our Welfare State is not perfect. There will be challenges in the future as there have been in the past. The best way to face them is to work with those who founded them and protected them over the decades.
Vote No Thanks next Thursday.
And vote in a Labour Government next year.
Not long ago, at a public meeting, I was asked to describe what the Labour Party had ever done for working people. I told them the story of my maternal grandfather.
His parents were both unskilled labourers - his father in the quarries and his mother in the bleaching factory. His birth certificate was signed with an X by both his mother and father - neither of them could read or write.
He was also illegitimate, as the birth certificate made plain, a stigma in those days.
And to cap it all, he was a Catholic, not exactly a passport to social advancement in the West of Scotland of his day, when boarding houses regularly carried signs saying “No Dogs: No Irish”.
And yet, within two generations, the grandson of this illegitimate son of illiterate working class parents attended University, was elected to parliament, and served in the British Cabinet.
How come?
It wasn’t because of the unique talents of the grandson. There had been generations before just as talented, as bright, or as ambitious, maybe more so.
But they were never given the chance. They never had the opportunity.
So what changed?
That chance, that opportunity - for me, the grandson, and for millions like me - didn’t just happen by accident. It was the result of the struggle of our parents - and the Labour Party and Movement.
It was them who fought for and provided the Welfare State to protect the vulnerable. The NHS to care for the sick. Comprehensive education to liberate working people. Minimum pensions to protect our Senior Citizens. National Insurance to compensate the injured at work. The Race Relations Act to prevent discrimination. The minimum wage to protect the low paid. And a hundred other measures of social justice.
These didn’t provide heaven on earth, and still haven’t. But they gave a decent basis for a fair society.
They gave people a “decent kick of the ball”, a chance to develop their talents, to make their way in lives, to have as much chance as the next guy.
And, as we approach next Thursday’s vote, we should remember that they were all provided by Labour Governments - British Labour Governments.
By men and women from throughout the UK. Not one of them owes anything to Nationalism or the SNP.
In fact, those Governments were opposed tooth and nail by the nationalists for the past 70 years.
When the Labour Government of the 1940s was establishing the Welfare State, the nationalists were campaigning for Separation.
When the Labour Government of the 1960s was expanding educational opportunity for working class boys and girls, the nationalists were campaigning on Separatism.
When the Labour Government of the 1970s was introducing the Race Relations Act, the nationalists preferred separatism.
So much so that when asked to choose between that Labour Government and the Tory Opposition led by Thatcher, they walked into the lobbies to vote with the Tories, bringing down the Labour Government and leading to 18 years of Thatcherism.
And remember – it was Alex Salmond who said that Scotland ‘didn’t mind’ Thatcher’s economics. Well I’m sorry Alex – we did.
You can start with the workers at Linwood and Ravenscraig but really we more than minded the devastation Thatcher’s economics caused.
In the 1990s, the same story. When the last Labour Government introduced the minimum wage, the SNP couldn’t even be bothered to turn up to vote for it.
They were more interested in their sole aim, separation from the UK.
Just as last week, a majority of their MPs couldn’t be bothered to turn up to vote to join with Labour in defeating the Tories over the Bedroom Tax.
They didn’t even support the struggle for devolution and the establishment of our own control over our own affairs.
For decades, when John Smith, Donald Dewar, Gordon Brown and thousands of other in the Scottish Labour Party were campaigning for devolution - joined by hundreds of thousands from other parties and non-party individuals - the nationalists opposed it, right up until the last minute when it looked inevitable.
And now, having contributed virtually nothing towards the establishment of all the institutions and measures which underpin a decent, fair society, the nationalists masquerade as the champions of social justice. What a travesty of the true history!
Even worse, is the vain promise that their sole aim over the decades - Separation - will be the magic wand that provides a Scotland that is a land of milk and honey, a future that is all Reward and no Risk.
I have some respect for those who admit to the risks of Separation, but insist that independence is worth those risks.
I have no respect who would pretend to the Scottish people that separation carries no risk. That everyone else but Alex is mistaken, bluffing or lying.
The truth is that there are huge risks attaching to an abandonment of all the benefits deriving from our membership of the UK. Leaders have a duty to spell these out.
Our financial stability is at risk over doubts over the currency. Our economic strength is at risk through over-dependence on a volatile commodity of oil.
Our trading position is at risk through leaving the UK - our biggest domestic market by far, and doubts over our entry to the trading market of EU membership.
Our pensions are at risk because of the larger number of older people in the Scottish population compared to the rest of the UK. Our jobs are at risk if there is a flight of investment.
Our security is at risk when we reduce our defence, our armed forces, intelligence service by 90%, in the vain hope that the threats will somehow automatically reduce by 90%; they won’t!
According to Alex, we’re not supposed to mention these things. He says it’s “negative”. I wonder if he was ever taught at school “look before you leap”. Or “look both ways before crossing the road”.
Every child knows, these are not negative. They are the necessary means of increasing the chances of successful survival and minimising the risks of failure.
It’s called Risk Assessment. - every businessman knows it, every adult knows it, every child knows it - but apparently not every leader knows it!
To say all these risks can be overcome is one thing, however optimistic. To deny they exist is quite another; it is a cruel deceit.
The people who will carry the can and face the consequences are not Alex and Nicola, they are every parent, every family, every worker, every pensioner, every patient and every child in Scotland in the next and every succeeding generation.
Our Welfare State is not perfect. There will be challenges in the future as there have been in the past. The best way to face them is to work with those who founded them and protected them over the decades.
Vote No Thanks next Thursday.
And vote in a Labour Government next year.
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