Labour's Plan for Jobs

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arthurduncan

arthurduncan

Nijinsky Radge
Private Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2002
I like getting back to proper policy - away from the increasingly nasty fighting in Holyrood and back to vision for the future and ideas on how the achieve the vision. So let's start with Labour's 5 point plan for growth and jobs in Scotland:

  1. a national jobs plan for young people funded by a tax on bank bonuses
  2. Bring forward investment projects, and stop cuts to Scotland's college
  3. temporarily reverse the Tory government's VAT rise
  4. Cut VAT on home improvements for a year
  5. a tax break for every small firm that takes on new workers

http://www.scottishlabour.org.uk/uploads/0863c540-a38d-a764-550b-02edf4dafa31.pdf

This is very explicitly presented as a Scottish plan. Although UK MP Margaret Curran was at the launch, it was launched by MSPs. Now I think it's great that these days deliverability is critical to good policy. Not being in Government makes deliverable policy difficult. However, as may be obvious there is a more fundamental problem with this plan. 4 of the 5 pledges are not in the gift of the Scottish Parliament. So even if Johann Lamont was FM she could not deliver 4 of the 5 unless there was also a Labour Government in Westminster. I dont care if you support independence or not but we should expect better. I could also point out how disappointing these proposals are anyway.

Dont worry I shall be back to have a go at the equally makey-upey-as-we-go-alongey SNP, but this is just depressing.
 
egb_hibs said:
Am I missing something Arthur - do they say anywhere what their plan is?!
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am i missing something right back? their plan is made up of the 5 points listed, which are further explained in the link? :dunno:
 
well point 1, the national jobs plan, doesn't seem much of a plan. they don't explain what they'll do beyond blithe assertions about creating 100k jobs. how are they gonna do that? more state non jobs?
 
egb_hibs said:
well point 1, the national jobs plan, doesn't seem much of a plan. they don't explain what they'll do beyond blithe assertions about creating 100k jobs. how are they gonna do that? more state non jobs?
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spot on, back of a fag packet stuff that is undeliverable and vague. The jobs follow the growth - i see next to nothing here that will stimulate growth other than the most tired and hackneyed supply side stuff about capital infrastructure projects. Where is the vision for renewables or biotech or try entrepreneurship? Beyond disappointing into scandalous. You would think that their hatred of the SNP would be more than just blind hatred, but based on a clear view of how they would do things better.
 
arthurduncan said:
spot on, back of a fag packet stuff that is undeliverable and vague. The jobs follow the growth - i see next to nothing here that will stimulate growth other than the most tired and hackneyed supply side stuff about capital infrastructure projects. Where is the vision for renewables or biotech or try entrepreneurship? Beyond disappointing into scandalous. You would think that their hatred of the SNP would be more than just blind hatred, but based on a clear view of how they would do things better.
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Labour are now irrelevant in Scotland, they desperately need someone with a vision but i think their in a tail spin just now from which there'll be little chance of recovery - the only reason they retain the support they do is habit and that'll be massively eroded in another generation or so. Problem is we (as a country) need them to up their game too - worrying when there's no effective opposition.
 
Free beer tomorrow :-)

It will be paid by a tax on beer glasses.
 
It's amazing the crap that gets passed off as political policy. That stuff is incredibly vague. They get away with it because of the pathetic state of modern journalism. Journalists need to start asking obvious questions like:

"what does that look like in practice?" and
"Tell me, In great detail, exactly how you ate going to do that?"
 
Just as a test it would be good if people could post positive actual Labour policies. We know what they don't want but what do they actually positively want?
 
arthurduncan said:
Just as a test it would be good if people could post positive actual Labour policies. We know what they don't want but what do they actually positively want?
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Can anyone give any positive [realistic] policies for any party when they've been in opposition?
 
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