The Yes campaign has borrowed one of New Labour’s best tricks, and not in a good way.
The Yes campaign has borrowed one of New Labour’s best tricks, and not in a good way
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and the latest turn of the independence referendum shows it to be true, as the Yes campaign has borrowed one of New Labour’s best tricks.
Those of us with long memories will recall various by-election campaigns in Tony Blair’s spell as leader of the opposition when Peter Mandelson would run a last-week leaflet bearing the headline ‘One Week To Save Our NHS/Hospitals’ etc.
This would appeal to the natural concerns of the local public who would then turn out to defeat the hapless Tory candidate who would be left shaking their head in bewilderment.
The Yes Campaign is now playing the same game, but with an important difference: where the New Labour case was based on genuine concerns, the Nationalists are spreading a pack of lies.
A further difference is that Labour was genuinely concerned about the future of the NHS, and later acted by doubling and tripling spending on the NHS and building a new generation of modern hi-tech hospitals.
In contrast, the interest of the Yes campaign in the Scottish NHS is solely to use it as part of its programme of attempting frighten people into voting for independence.
At the heart of the Yes Scotland NHS Scares And Lies Strategy are two assertions which are bare-faced lies of the highest order.
Big NHS Lie No. 1 is that the Scottish NHS is vulnerable to health policy decisions made in England.
The Truth is of course that for decades, the Scottish NHS has been run from Scotland by Scots, first through the Home & Health Department and now as a fully devolved service under the direct control and responsibility of the Scottish Government. The Truth is therefore that no decision made in Westminster can impact on the Scottish NHS.
Big NHS Lie No. 2 is that structural reforms of the NHS in the rest of UK can reduce the block grant available in Scotland, e.g., if parts of the NHS in England and Wales are privatised, the cash available (calculated by the Barnett Formula) would go down.
The Truth of this story is that even in the highly unlikely event of most or all of NHS treatment in England and Wales being privatised, it would still be paid for by the taxpayer. The Truth is that the bill for the NHS would not go down and so neither would the proportion allocated to Scotland.
There are two calculations behind the Yes Scotland NHS Scares and Lies Strategy.
The first is the knowledge that the usual drift of opinion in referendum campaigns is towards the status quo, and only exceptions are when the voters are convinced that only the change proposal can protect those things which they value. (The best examples are those of countries like Sweden and Austria joining the European Union in the belief that membership would protect their economies and social fabric better than isolation.)
So Yes needs to put fear into the voters to have any chance at all of winning in September. Hence the lies about threats to the Scottish NHS.
The second calculation is that they recall the way in which in 2011 Holyrood election the SNP took protest votes (overwhelmingly from Liberal Democrats) in the final weeks of the campaign. This time the party in the firing line is Scottish Labour, as the founders and saviours of the NHS – Scotland’s true party of the NHS.
So Yes needs to support its NHS Scotland Scares And Lies Strategy with a parallel onslaught of lies about the Labour Party’s record in office since 1997.
This of course ignores The Truth of Labour’s achievements of 10 years continuous growth, The Truth of highest-ever levels of employment, The Truth of rising living standards across all social and economic groups, The Truth of radical reductions in child and pensioner poverty, The Truth of big improvements in education and childcare, the UK’s largest ever programme of schools building, The Truth of improved maternity rights and statutory paternity rights, The Truth of the first ever Minimum Wage, The Truth of full employment rights for part-time workers, and The Truth of civil partnerships.
And, of course, in health matters it ignores The Truth that the NHS under Labour enjoyed its lowest waiting times and highest level of satisfaction ever, and embarked on the largest ever programme of hospital building, and The Truth that the Labour Scottish government took such bold steps as the early introduction of the smoking ban and the nationalisation of the Royal Jubilee Hospital.
It also neglects The Truth that Labour wrote off Glasgow’s housing debt, making possible the massive investment which has transformed the city’s social housing stock and made history of the old health hazards of damp and avoidable fuel poverty.
And it dismisses The Truth that devolutionto Scotland, delivered by Labour according to the wishes of the Scottish Constitutional Convention, absolutely guarantees that the NHS in Scotland remains a matter for the people of Scotland.
Pretty soon, Yes Scotland will put out the Mandelsonian message ‘x weeks/days to Save Scotland’s NHS’. However, voters are being asked to vote Yes on the basis of the Yes Scotland NHS Scares And Lies Strategy.
This is a proposition which is much more serious than a mere carelessness with the truth, or a little bit of tweaking it for a bye-election. It is an invitation to start a new state on a prospectus of lies.
There can be no doubt that Scots should all choose the rational truth instead, and vote No.
Peter Russell blogs at Planet Pedro!
173 Responses to “Yes Scotland’s NHS scares and lies strategy”
John
I thought you were voting for independence because of governance. In any case, if your perspective is that the SNP delivers everything what it promises, and Labour and Conservatives do the opposite of what they promise, there is not much I can say. Irrespectively, I hope you agree it would be good to hold the SNP accountable for the substantial underperformance of our NHS versus the English NHS, despite our NHS having more generous funding.
Arthur
I am voting for governance reasons – voting yes is not a vote for the
SNP, no matter how many times people try to make that link. My
perspective is definitely not that the SNP deliver everything I want.
Please don’t try and put words into my mouth. I accept that you think
the Torys have done some things right, but I’m not going to assume that
you voted for them, or that you think they will deliver everything you
want.
I think that a Labour or Conservative administration in
Westminster will be harmfull to Scotland, and I see the voters in
Scotland having no control over that. Under independence I would still
see a Conservative administration in Holyrood as harmfull to Scotland,
but I think we’d have more control over that, i.e. I don’t think we
would vote them in if they behave like Westminster Tories.
I
would hope that the Labour party in Scotland would change, being freed
from the need to keep shifting to the right due to the Tory voters down
south. I am encouraged by the likes of Labour for Independence, and the
left wing groupings like the SSP and the Radical Independence Campaign. I
would hope that they will have some influence over Labour Party
policies, and Scottish government actions.
I would also hope for a
rebirth in the Conservative party. I don’t like them, but other people
do, and they should be allowed a voice. An independent Scotland will
need a strong voice for business. This is one of the reasons that I
think proportional representation is so important – we need a range of
voices in government and an end to the two party state of Westminster.
And yes, the SNP should be held to account for failings in the Scottish NHS. I don’t accept that the Scottish NHS is in a worse state than the English NHS though. I am genuinely scared for the people that live in England.
Arthur
There is a huge difference between allowing nuclear weapon carrying vessels in ports or airspace and having them permanently stored in within your borders. I would hope that an independent Scotland wouldn’t allow nuclear weapons in port, waters, or airspace, but getting rid of the permanent bases has to be the first priority.
I don’t think nuclear weapons are any use a defense mechanism, but I understand that some people think they work. This may cause them to hesitate when advocating their removal them from Scotland. Is it hypocritical to shelter under the umbrella of a nuclear alliance, and not allow them on your own soil? It depends how you look at it. What I see is that we have stored and paid for part of the umbrella for many years now. It’s someone elses turn. We’ve done our bit. Come back to us once everyone else has stored and paid for them for 50 years.
Guest
“you Labour people”. Nasty stereotyping, go!
Fact is, YOU are aiding the Tories. You are voting for the SNP’s campaign. Labour won’t have a hope in Scotland – even after the right wingers peel back off the SNP, Salmond and his buddy Murchoch will have a field day.
And no, it’s entirely correct to say that separation is separation, and you’ll need to negotiate on those issues. Roaming charges are a big issue on the NI border, which is be far less hard than the one which you’ll have if you join the EU, since Schengen membership is not optional for new members, etc.
Guest
And when the Scottish right-wingers get power?