Economic growth is a taboo subject in Scottish politics. Throughout a succession of administrations, of all shades and stripes, the focus of government in Scotland has been almost wholly on social policy. To the extent economic policy has been widely considered, it is in the context of how yet more money can be squeezed from an increasingly compressed and constricted tax base.
The consequences of this inertia are now evident in abundance. Scotland’s GDP growth rate has lagged significantly behind the rest of the UK over the last decade – a not inconsiderable achievement given recent circumstances – while productivity remains stubbornly low, below the national average. Meanwhile, Scotland also faces significant structural challenges, not least its rapidly ageing population. In short, without significant and sustained economic growth, Scotland and its public services are on course to fall into an ever darker, ever deeper, black hole.
Across Scotland, there is a cohort of frustrated taxpayers and bemused business leaders who are growing increasingly tired of paying more and more and getting less and less.
Despite increasingly urgent and apocalyptic warnings from business and industry about this looming crisis, Scotland’s politicians remain reluctant to act (if you are kind) – or incapable of acting (if you are not). Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s ailing First Minister, is likely to announce plans to increase Scotland’s already significant income tax rates further, but in this instance at least he is not the only culpable party.
For years it has been perfectly common – indeed, almost accepted – that party political manifestos for Scottish parliament elections need not be costed. This not only betrays the lack of seriousness among the Scottish political class when it comes to economic policy, but also its distinct lack of vision. After all, if you are not going to bother to cost your manifesto, there is no reason why you should not promise to, quite literally, pave the streets with gold. Instead, an absence of ambition and imagination leaves Scotland with bizarre policy pledges about the banning of the use of wild animals in travelling circuses or the creation of a fleet of mobile abattoirs – unrelated proposals, I should add.
In fairness to the Scottish Conservative party, they are now trying to right this considerable collective wrong. In a speech in Edinburgh on Tuesday, opposition leader Douglas Ross outlined his plan to ‘grasp the thistle’ and get economic growth back on the agenda in Scotland.
This makes good political sense for the Scottish Tory leader given his party’s diminished popularity among voters. A poll by Survation this week showed a majority of people in Scotland believe they do not get value for money from public services, despite the highest tax burden in the UK. A similar number, logically if unsurprisingly, agreed that the SNP-Green government’s policies are actively making Scotland less competitive and, by implication, a less attractive place to do business.
With the threat of Scottish independence receding in voters’ minds – at least for now – it is shrewd of Ross to fill a void that has emerged not just in the last few years, but since the dawn of devolution itself. Across Scotland, there is a cohort of frustrated taxpayers and bemused business leaders who are growing increasingly tired of paying more and more and getting less and less.
This is obviously natural territory for the Tories to occupy, but it is also an issue that seemingly transcends the often deeply entrenched party-political loyalties found in Scotland. One of the reasons why Kate Forbes’ eye-catching but ultimately ill-fated campaign to become SNP leader garnered so much attention was her evident desire to refocus the Scottish parliament on economic rather than social policy. The necessity of her argument, and the forcefulness with which it was articulated, won her a considerable number of admirers in Unionist parties as well as the SNP.
Of course, while he talks a good game, Ross’ plans as they stand are light on detail while he also – understandably if absurdly – ignores the issues in Scotland’s economy created by Brexit. But we can live in hope that the detail and delivery will come later. For now, at least, Ross deserves credit for talking about a vital subject that has otherwise been ignored for far too long in Scottish politics.
Source: The Spectator
