Tag: Politics

TUC: How Labour can govern for working people

The trade union movement will work with Keir Starmer to deliver change

What an extraordinary moment in British politics (writes TUC General Secretary PAUL NOWAK). Labour back in power with a near-record majority. The Conservatives brutally ejected from office. A dozen cabinet members gone. A red wave in Scotland at the SNP’s expense. But while it’s easy to get carried away by the seismic nature of this election – we cannot afford to be distracted. We have a country to fix.

When I congratulated Keir Starmer this morning my message to him was clear. The trade union movement stands ready to work with the new government to repair and rebuild Britain – and to deliver the change working people desperately need. After 14 years of wretched Tory rule and chaos, I am not blind to the size of the task this incoming government faces.

The Conservatives have left behind a trail of destruction for all to see. Stagnant growth and wages. Rising in-work poverty. Broken public services. The charge sheet goes on and on. But despite all of the damage wrought, I am optimistic. After nearly a decade and a half in opposition, Labour can finally begin transforming the country – an urgent and necessary challenge that must be grasped with both hands. So where should we start?

First and foremost, we need to get our economy growing again. Unions and business have been crying out for years for a proper industrial strategy. The Green Prosperity Plan starts us on the road to economic recovery. And it will be a breath of fresh air to work with ministers who are actually serious about protecting and creating good jobs, and boosting skills and productivity.

But securing growth alone is not enough – we also need better living standards. Labour needs to act urgently to make work pay. We currently have over four million people who are trapped in jobs that offer little or no financial security. This is a national disgrace.

The UK’s long experiment with a low-wage, low-rights economy has been terrible for productivity and workers alike. Labour’s New Deal for Working People – delivered in full – will help end the Tories’ race to the bottom on employment standards.

A race to the bottom that has allowed good employers to be undercut by the bad, and scandals like the illegal sacking of 800 seafarers at P&O Ferries go unpunished. Labour’s plans will be a genuine gamechanger. Employment rights from day one. A ban on zero-hours contracts. An end to fire and rehire. New rights for unions to access the workplace. And the scrapping of anti-union legislation.

These are all part of a comprehensive new package of rights that will be good for workers, good for businesses and good for the UK economy. Inevitably there will be some siren voices in the business community who will seek to delay and water down this legislation. But it is vital Labour stays the course and ignores the doomsayers.

All the tired arguments that have been made against improved rights and protections at work echo those used against the minimum wage – now widely acknowledged to be one of the great policy successes of the last 25 years.

The naysayers were wrong then and they are wrong now. It is also vital that immediate work begins on repairing our crumbling public realm. At the heart of the pressures on our schools, hospitals, prisons and social care system is a huge workforce crisis. Across the NHS and social care alone there are nearly 300,000 staffing vacancies and in education the number of teaching vacancies has more than doubled in the past three years.

With morale at rock bottom – after more than a decade of Tory vandalism and neglect – Labour has the chance to signal a new direction of travel. We’ve already seen really encouraging commitments on scrapping tax breaks for private schools to fund new teachers in the state sector, and on closing non-dom loopholes to help bring down waiting lists. It’s no secret though that I want the party to go further and that we explore all funding options for rebuilding our public services.

The TUC has previously called for a national conversation on taxing wealth and I remain convinced that policies like equalising Capital Gains Tax with the taxes paid on earnings could bring in much-needed revenues. People voted in this election because they wanted real change – and Reform’s populist insurgence is a timely warning of what happens when governments fail to act.

And this question of delivery is the crux of the matter. After 14 years of national decline the country has finally got the Labour government it desperately needs. I know how ambitious Keir Starmer and his team are to improve working people’s lives, and the trade union movement wants to work with them.

Of course there will be moments of tension. That comes with being a critical friend. Our job is to speak up for working people and our members and to make sure their voices are heard at the heart of government – even when the message is difficult.

But the prospect of national renewal is real. Decent jobs, strong public services, a brighter, fairer future for all our children. The work will be hard and it starts today – but together we can realise a better future.  

Ian Murray ‘determined to reset the relationship between the UK and Scottish Governments’

‘My absolute priority in the role will be to deliver the change and renewal that Scotland needs‘

Secretary of State for Scotland Ian Murray said: “It is a real privilege to have been asked to serve in Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s first Cabinet as Secretary of State for Scotland.  My absolute priority in the role will be to deliver the change and renewal that Scotland needs – to drive economic growth, create jobs and reduce poverty.

“As we rebuild our country, I look forward to Scotland standing foursquare with the other UK nations. I will make sure that the Scotland Office is a strong voice for Scotland within the UK Government. 

“New funding will help tackle poverty in Scotland by creating jobs and unlocking opportunities across the country, especially in our most deprived communities.

“The Scotland Office will lead on promoting ‘Brand Scotland’ around the globe. Selling our world class produce, products and services to the world. 

“I am also determined to reset the relationship between the UK and Scottish Governments. Focusing on co-operation and joint working will mean we can deliver better results for people in Scotland.”

Streeting: The NHS is broken

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care delivers a statement setting out his mission for saving the NHS

When we said during the election campaign, that the NHS was going through the biggest crisis in its history, we meant it.

When we said that patients are being failed on a daily basis, it wasn’t political rhetoric, but the daily reality faced by millions.

Previous governments have not been willing to admit these simple facts. But in order to cure an illness, you must first diagnose it.

This government will be honest about the challenges facing our country, and serious about tackling them.

From today, the policy of this department is that the NHS is broken.

That is the experience of patients who are not receiving the care they deserve, and of the staff working in the NHS who can see that – despite giving their best – this is not good enough.

When I was diagnosed with kidney cancer, the NHS saved my life.

Today, I can begin to repay that debt, by saving our NHS.

I have just spoken over the phone with the BMA junior doctors committee, and I can announce that talks to end their industrial action will begin next week.

We promised during the campaign that we would begin negotiations as a matter of urgency, and that is what we are doing.

This government has received a mandate from millions of voters for change and reform of the NHS, so it can be there for us when we need it once again. It will take time – we never pretended that the NHS could be fixed overnight.

And it will take a team effort. It will be the mission of my department, every member of this government, and the 1.4 million people who work in the NHS, to turn our health service around.

We have done this before. When we were last in office, we worked hand in hand with NHS staff to deliver the shortest waits and highest patient satisfaction in history. We did it before, and together, we will do it again.

That work starts today.

‘I Am Sorry’: Rishi Sunak’s final speech as Prime Minister: 5 July 2024

Rishi Sunak gave his final speech as Prime Minister on the steps of Downing Street

Good morning, I will shortly be seeing His Majesty the King to offer my resignation as Prime Minister.

To the country, I would like to say, first and foremost, I am sorry.

I have given this job my all. But you have sent a clear signal that the government of the United Kingdom must change …and yours is the only judgement that matters. 

I have heard your anger, your disappointment; and I take responsibility for this loss. 

To all the Conservative candidates and campaigners who worked tirelessly but without success …I am sorry that we could not deliver what your efforts deserved. 

It pains me to think how many good colleagues…who contributed so much to their communities and our country…will now no longer sit in the House of Commons. 

I thank them for their hard work, and their service. 

Following this result, I will step down as party leader… not immediately, but once the formal arrangements for selecting my successor are in place. 

It is important that after 14 years in government the Conservative Party rebuilds…but also that it takes up its crucial role in Opposition professionally and effectively.

When I first stood here as your Prime Minister, I told you the most important task I had was to return stability to our economy.

Inflation is back to target, mortgage rates are falling, and growth has returned.  We have enhanced our standing in the world, rebuilding relations with allies… leading global efforts to support Ukraine… and becoming the home of the new generation of transformative technologies. 

And our United Kingdom is stronger too: with the Windsor Framework, devolution restored in Northern Ireland, and our Union strengthened.

I’m proud of those achievements. 

I believe this country is safer, stronger, and more secure than it was 20 months ago.

And it is more prosperous, fairer, and resilient than it was in 2010.

Whilst he has been my political opponent, Sir Keir Starmer will shortly become our Prime Minister. In this job, his successes will be all our successes, and I wish him and his family well.

Whatever our disagreements in this campaign, he is a decent, public-spirited man, who I respect.

He and his family deserve the very best of our understanding, as they make the huge transition to their new lives behind this door …and as he grapples with this most demanding of jobs in an increasingly unstable world.

I would like to thank my colleagues, my Cabinet, the Civil Service – especially here in Downing Street…the team at Chequers, my staff, CCHQ…but most of all I would like to express my gratitude to my wife Akshata and our beautiful daughters.

I can never thank them enough for the sacrifices they have made so that I might serve our country. 

One of the most remarkable things about Britain is just how unremarkable it is that two generations after my grandparents came here with little, I could become Prime Minister…and that I could watch my two young daughters light Diwali candles on the steps in Downing Street.

We must hold true to that idea of who we are… that vision of kindness, decency, and tolerance that has always been the British way.

This is a difficult day, at the end of a number of difficult days. But I leave this job honoured to have been your Prime Minister. 

This is the best country in the world and that is thanks entirely to you, the British people … the true source of all our achievements, our strengths, and our greatness.

Thank you.

Fraser of Allander Institute: Why Labour’s ‘borrowing to invest’ rule is no game-changer

On 19 March of this year, the Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the 36th Mais Lecture at Bayes Business School in London (writes Fraser of Allander Institute’s João Sousa).

This was an opportunity for Labour to set out their stall on economic policy, and Rachel Reeves used it as a chance to outline her proposed fiscal rules.

In doing so, she said: “[O]ur fiscal rules differ from the government’s. Their borrowing rule, which targets the overall deficit rather than the current deficit, creates a clear incentive to cut investment that will have long-run benefits for short-term gains.

“I reject that approach, and that is why our borrowing rule targets day-to-day spending. We will prioritise investment within a framework that would get debt falling as a share of GDP over the medium term.”

Source: Labour transcript of the Mais Lecture

The borrowing rule currently in place that Rachel Reeves refers to is the supplementary target, which is defined in the Charter for Budget Responsibility, and which says that public sector net borrowing (PSNB) must be below 3% of GDP in the final year of the forecast period that the OBR projects. This is five years into the future, and so the current end is 2028-29 – but whenever the next forecast is, it will roll over to 2029-30.

Labour’s proposal means that will no longer use this rule and will instead make sure that it keeps the current budget in surplus in 2029-30, while maintaining the fiscal mandate – the rule that debt should be falling as a share of GDP in the final year of the forecast. This seems like it would be a clear dividing line in terms of macroeconomic policy.

The current forecasts for net borrowing and the current budget

The current budget deficit is simply defined as net borrowing excluding net investment. So in a formal sense, Rachel Reeves is right – her proposed rule does not formally limit investment. Though neither does the current one: it is perfectly possible for the government to meet the 3% borrowing rule with more or less investment.

Net borrowing is forecast by the OBR to be below 3% in every year of the forecast, and falling in every year. By 2028-29 – the year in which the rule was assessed in March – net borrowing was forecast to be 1.2%, and a full £43 billion lower than it would have had to be for the 3% threshold to be breached.

Chart 1: PSNB forecast and comparison with the borrowing rule

Chart showing PSNB below 3% by the end of the forecast period

Source: OBR, FAI analysis

This ‘headroom’ appears very large in recent memory, and larger than the headroom any Chancellor left themselves since George Osborne in the 2014 Autumn Statement, and if that were the only constraint, it would mean there was significant room to increase spending borrowing without breaching that rule.

This ‘headroom’ against the 3% borrowing rule is also substantially larger than the one against Rachel Reeves’ favoured rule. But note that the current budget is already forecast to be in surplus by 2028-29 to the tune of £14 billion. This means that the current Government’s plans already meet Rachel Reeves’ rule, and this is likely to remain the case whatever happens. It’s not a particularly demanding rule to meet, mind: the UK ran a current budget surplus in 2018-19 and very small deficits in many other years of the 21st century.

Chart 2: Current budget deficit and comparison with the Labour-proposed current budget rule

Chart showing current budget in surplus by the end of the forecast period

Source: OBR, FAI analysis

In fact, on their own, meeting the two is pretty manageable. If these were the only rules, the Government could borrow an additional £30 billion a year for capital spending and still meet both rules – with a historically low cushion, but not dissimilar to Jeremy Hunt’s in the last few events.

The difficulty is in getting debt falling

The reason why the Government is constrained much more than it would appear in the first place is that debt is barely on a falling path in the final year of the forecast. The underlying debt stock only has to rise by just under £9 billion for it to no longer fall – which is a minuscule difference, and also a historically very low level of cushion against economic shocks and forecast uncertainty.

As the chart below illustrates, it’s the debt rule rule that bites in any of the scenarios with additional capital investment – and therefore that is the real constraint on how much additional investment comes from this rule, not the current 3% rule or a hypothetical current budget rule. Changing from the borrowing rule to the ‘borrow-to-invest’ rule does nothing to change the fiscal space available to the Government so long as it remains committed to getting debt on a falling path by the end of the forecast.

Chart 3: Headroom against current and proposed fiscal rules in the OBR’s central forecast and for different scenarios of additional capital spending

Chart showing that the biggest constraint is low headroom against PSND ex BoE/GDP falling

Source: OBR, FAI analysis

Of course, it wouldn’t be the first time we saw a government play about with the timing and profile of capital spending to ensure that it increases earlier in the forecast, making it easier for indicators to be hit at the end. And it’s certainly something that we will be keeping an eye out for – not least because that’s the sort of tricks that seem to work in the short run, but actually are incredibly detrimental to the stability that Rachel Reeves claims she wants to instil.

Reading between the lines – could Labour be trying to wrest some fiscal room for manoeuvre?

It’s worth circling back to Rachel Reeves’ statement about the fiscal rules, both in what it says and what it doesn’t say.

It’s obvious what the current budget rule will be, which is for it to be in surplus. It’s less immediately clear that the debt metric used will be PSND ex BoE – the current metric chosen by Jeremy Hunt.

The choice of PSND ex BoE – or ‘underlying’ debt, as it’s often called by the Treasury – means that it creates an artificial barrier within the public sector in the National Accounts. For a large part of the 2010s, during expansions in quantitative easing, this benefitted the Treasury – it was much easier to get ‘underlying’ debt down by excluding the effects of the Bank’s policy.

Chart 4: PSND and PSND ex BoE as a share of GDP

Chart showing net debt including and excluding BoE. PSND ex BoE falls fast in the mid-2010s, but is now rising much more sharply

Source: ONS

But that is no longer the case. With higher interest rate losses accumulating with quantitative tightening and the Treasury indemnifying the Bank for those losses through capital transfers, ‘underlying’ debt is now rising much faster than PSND.

PSND looks through these artificial intra-public sector boundaries, ignoring whether the Bank or the Treasury holds these liabilities – both are ultimately arms of the government, and therefore what matters is whether they reside in the public or private sector.

The situation regarding headroom against getting PSND falling as a share of GDP in the final year of the forecast is much healthier. As the chart below shows, an additional £20 billion in capital spending per year would see the PSND/GDP being met with roughly the same headroom that the ‘underlying’ debt rule is met currently.

Chart 5: Headroom against current/proposed fiscal rules and PSND falling in the OBR’s central forecast and for different scenarios of additional capital spending

Chart showing there would be larger headroom against PSND/GDP falling than PSND ex BoE/GDP falling

Source: OBR, FAI analysis

Was Rachel Reeves leaving herself some room for this by not mentioned underlying debt anywhere in the Mais Lecture?

Yes, it’s a slightly different metric, but one that arguably is a better indicator of the state of the public finances – and a Chancellor would have no better time to institute this than at the start of a new Parliament with a change in the political weather.

Dissolution (Dis)honours

A final insult from the outgoing Tories – and Starmer’s Labour plays the game

AWARDS FOR ‘POLITICAL AND PUBLIC SERVICE’ … REALLY?

‘The King has been graciously pleased to signify His intention of conferring the following Honours’:

Damehood of the Order of the British Empire 

The Rt Hon Thérèse Coffey PC – Formerly Deputy Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. For political and public service. 

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath 

The Rt Hon Oliver Dowden CBE PC – Deputy Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office. Formerly Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and Chairman of the Conservative Party. For political and public service. 

The Rt Hon Julian Smith CBE PC – Formerly Government Chief Whip and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. For political and public service.  

The Rt Hon Robert Ben Wallace PC – Formerly Secretary of State for Defence. For Political and public service.  

Knighthood of the Order of the British Empire

The Rt Hon Alister Jack DL – Formerly Secretary of State for Scotland. For political and public service.

All individuals nominated for honours have gone through probity checks by the Cabinet Office.

Dissolution Peerages 2024

The King has been graciously pleased to signify His intention of conferring Peerages of the United Kingdom for Life upon the undermentioned:

Nominations from the Leader of the Conservative Party

  1. The Rt Hon Sir Graham Brady PC – Lately Member of Parliament for Altrincham and Sale West, and Chairman of the 1922 Committee.
  2. The Rt Hon Chris Grayling PC – Lately Member of Parliament for Epsom and Ewell, and former Secretary of State for Transport, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice and Leader of the House of Commons.
  3. The Rt Hon Dame Eleanor Laing DBE PC – Lately Member of Parliament for Epping Forest, lately Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons.
  4. Craig Mackinley JP – Lately Member of Parliament for South Thanet.
  5. The Rt Hon Theresa May PC – Lately Member of Parliament for Maidenhead, former Prime Minister and Home Secretary.
  6. The Rt Hon Sir Alok Sharma KCMG PC – Lately Member of Parliament for Reading West and former Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Secretary of State for International Development and President for COP26.
  7. Liam Booth-Smith – Lately No10 Downing Street Chief of Staff.

Nominations from the Leader of the Labour Party

  1. The Rt Hon Dame Margaret Beckett GBE PC – Former Foreign Secretary and former Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.
  2. John Cryer – Lately Member of Parliament for Leyton and Wanstead.
  3. The Rt Hon Harriet Harman KC PC – Lately Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham, and formerly Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.
  4. The Rt Hon Dame Margaret Hodge DBE PC – Lately Member of Parliament for Barking and former Minister of State for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
  5. The Rt Hon Kevan Jones PC – Lately Member of Parliament for North Durham and former Minister for Veterans at the Ministry of Defence.
  6. Barbara Keeley – Lately Member of Parliament for Worsley and Eccles South and formerly Shadow Minister for Music and Tourism.
  7. The Rt Hon John Spellar PC – Lately Member of Parliament for Warley and formerly Comptroller of the Household in the Whips’ Office.
  8. The Rt Hon Dame Rosie Winterton DBE PC – Lately Member of Parliament for Doncaster Central and former Deputy Speakers in the House of Commons.

Nominations from the Liberal Democrat Party

  1. Caroline Pidgeon MBE – Lately Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the London Assembly.

Nominations from the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)

  1. Thomas Elliott MLA – Member of the Legislative Assembly for Fermanagh and South Tyrone and former leader of the Ulster Unionist Party.

Nominations for Crossbench Peerages

  1. Minette Batters – Former President of the National Farmers’ Union of England and Wales.
  2. Dr Hilary Cass OBE FRCN FRCGP – Former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

All individuals nominated for peerages have gone through vetting checks, and the Chair of the House of Lords Appointments Commission has confirmed to the Prime Minister that all individuals are supported by the Commission.

Edinburgh wakes up to three new MPs

LABOUR WINS THREE SEATS FROM SNP IN THE CAPITAL

The UK Parliamentary General Election results for Edinburgh’s five constituencies were announced at the Royal Highland Centre this morning (Friday 5 July).

The Members of Parliament for each constituency are:

Edinburgh East & Musselburgh: Chris Murray, Scottish Labour Party (majority 3,715) – LAB GAIN

Outgoing MP Tommy Sheppard said: “Thank you to everyone who supported me at this election and I’d like to congratulate Chris Murray and wish him well.

“It’s been the privilege of my life to represent East Edinburgh and I will continue to play a part in building a future as an independent Scotland.

UK_Parliamentary_Election_2024_East_MusselburghDownload

Edinburgh North & Leith: Tracy Gilbert, Scottish Labour Party (majority 7,268) – LAB GAIN

Outgoing MP Deirdre Brock said: “Thank you to everyone who supported me and all the wonderful people I met over the last nine years representing the best constituency in the country.

“I wish its new MP well in her new role.”

UK_Parliamentary_Election_2024_North_LeithDownload

Edinburgh South: Ian Murray, Scottish Labour Party (majority 17,251) – LAB HOLD

UK_Parliamentary_Election_2024_SouthDownload

Edinburgh South West: Scott Arthur, Scottish Labour Party (majority 6,217) – LAB GAIN

UK_Parliamentary_Election_2024_South_WestDownload

Edinburgh West: Christine Anne Jardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats (majority 16,470)

UK_Parliamentary_Election_2024_WestDownload

The results were announced by the Returning Officer for Edinburgh, Paul Lawrence, who said: ’d like to sincerely thank our fantastic colleagues in the Elections team and across the Council for their hard work, dedication, and diligence in what has been a challenging election to deliver under tight timescales.

“This is truly public service at its very best and one of the most important duties that we’re bound to carry out. I’d also like to thank Police Scotland, the candidates, agents, and media for working alongside us to conduct proceedings properly and efficiently. 

“Our new MPs have my best wishes and I’m sure they will all be great representatives of our city and its people. 

“Finally, I’d like to thank our residents for making their voices heard and taking the time to cast their votes.”

In what was a historic night for Labour, Scottish leader Anas Sarwar said:

In a dreadful night for nationalists, Edinburgh finds itself with NO SNP MPs. Deirdre Brock, Joanna Cherry and Tommy Sheppard all lost their seats in the Labour landslide.

The party lost FORTY seats across the country – including all of their seats in Edinburgh and Glasgow -and has been reduced to just nine seats across Scotland.

SNP leader John Swinney acknowledged: “I am sorry for the valued colleagues who have lost their seats. We need to learn from this setback, listen to the public and pick ourselves back up.

“We have to do that because we want to do the best for Scotland.”

The sentiment was echoed by local SNP North and Leith MSP Ben Macpherson, who said on X (Twitter): “A difficult night for @theSNP. I’m particularly sad for my two excellent local colleagues @DeidreBrock & @TommySheppard, & their brilliant teams.

“Thank you to them & all of our great @snpenl activists.

“We will learn, reflect & respond. For me the work continues later. #Persevere.”

The SNP has just two years until the next Scottish Parliament elections.

Exit poll predicts Labour landslide

AN exit poll by IPSOS for BBC/ITV News/Sky News is predicting a Labour landslide.

Labour has enjoyed an average twenty percentage point for a long, long, time and it seems the widely predicted Tory party collapse has indeed come to pass.

Simply put, the country is pig sick of the Tories, and they have voted accordingly.

The Exit Poll predicts:

LABOUR 410

Conservative 131

Lib Dems 61

Reform Party 13

SNP 10

Plaid Cymru 4

Green 2

Others 19

Early indications are that it’s looking like a bruising night for the SNP who are facing a raft of losses, but a brighter one for the Lib Dems – it seems Ed Davey’s jolly japes during an otherwise dull general election campaign have paid dividends.

IT’s worth repeating that this is only a poll, and that no results have yet been declared.

Even at this stage though, with the Tories facing slaughter, you wonder how many potential Conservative leadership contenders will lose their seats tonight – and who will be left to replace Rishi Sunak who will surely resign before the weekend is out.

Committee concerns over elements of Police Bill

The Criminal Justice Committee has backed the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill at Stage 1. However, they have concerns over whether the reforms will sufficiently improve the experience of officers and members of the public when it comes to dealing with police complaints.

In the Committee’s Stage 1 report they say the introduction of a statutory Code of ethics and a duty of candour send a clear message about the culture of Police Scotland and the behaviours that are expected of police officers and staff.

However, concerns are raised that these two proposals could be largely symbolic and not fundamentally improve the culture within policing and public confidence in its ability to deal effectively with police complaints.

Concerns are also raised that the Bill, in its current form, will have little impact on the length of time taken to consider and conclude police complaints. The Committee say this is a vital issue and one which the Bill leaves unresolved.

The Committee say they heard evidence of unacceptable behaviours and practices within Police Scotland and have questioned the robustness of the oversight mechanisms in place, including that of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), and of whether the culture within police is changing.

Several provisions in the Bill are welcomed by the Committee, which they say will improve the accountability of police officers. This includes proposals that would enable gross misconduct proceedings for officers to commence or continue to a conclusion, regardless of whether an officer retires or resigns.

Changes that would allow the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) to consider allegations of gross misconduct that come to light over 12 months after an officer has left the force are also welcomed by the Committee. They recommend the SPA monitor this process to ensure that these cases are being dealt with timeously.

The Committee has welcomed increased powers for the PIRC and greater transparency around its work. They recommend that the SPA and Police Scotland should be under a duty to comply with the PIRC’s recommendations and that the PIRC publishes the responses to its recommendations, unless there are exceptional circumstances for not doing so.

 The introduction of barred and advisory lists for police officers, to ensure that those who are found guilty of gross misconduct cannot gain employment in another police force in Great Britain, are also supported by the Committee.

As the report was published, Criminal Justice Committee Convener, Audrey Nicoll MSP, said: “Our Committee is backing the general principles of this Bill as we believe the police complaints system must improve, both for those making a complaint and those who are the subject of a complaint.

“There are measures in the Bill which we support and believe will improve the robustness, accountability and transparency of the police complaints system. These include the commencement or conclusion of misconduct proceedings regardless of whether a person leaves the police service, and the introduction of Scottish advisory and barred lists.

“We also welcome greater powers for the PIRC and increased transparency around their investigations.

“However, we are unsure whether the provisions in the Bill will sufficiently improve the experience of officers and members of the public of the complaints system.

The Convener added: “We have concerns that the Bill has no impact on the length of time taken to consider and conclude police complaints, which is a key issue for those involved. Questions also remain about the robustness of the oversight mechanisms in place within policing and whether the culture within policing is changing for the better.

“We recognise that the vast majority of police officers and staff are dedicated, honest and do an incredibly difficult job in challenging circumstances.

“Our Committee believes an effective, fair, and transparent complaints system is essential to help strengthen public confidence in policing in Scotland and although we back the general principles of this Bill, we believe it could go further to achieving this.”

‘A voice to shape Scotland, a voice above all for the future’

‘THERE SHALL BE A SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT’

YESTERDAY marked the 25th Anniversary of the Scottish Parliament, which took up it’s legal powers on 1st July 1999.

The Parliament was opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Scotland’s First Minister Donald Dewar replied to the Queen’s address with a speech thanking her for the Mace, the parliament’s symbol of authority.

FIRST MINISTER DONAL DEWAR’s SPEECH IN FULL:

“Your Majesty, on behalf of the people of Scotland I thank you for the gift of the Mace.

It is a symbol of the great democratic traditions from which we draw our inspiration and our strength.

At its head are inscribed the opening words of our founding statute: “There shall be a Scottish Parliament”.

Through long years, many long years in the case of many of us, those words were first a hope, then a belief, then a promise. Now they are a reality.

This is indeed a moment anchored in our history. Today we can reach back to the long haul to win this parliament, to the struggles of those who brought democracy to Scotland, to that other parliament dissolved in controversy over 300 years ago.

Today we can look forward to the time when this moment will be seen as a turning point – the day when democracy was renewed in Scotland when we revitalised our place in this, our United Kingdom.

This is about more than our politics and our laws. This is about who we are, how we carry ourselves.

And in the quiet moments of today – if there are any – we might hear some echoes from the past: the shout of the welder in the din of the great Clyde shipyards, the speak of the Mearns rooted in the land, the discourse of the enlightenment when Edinburgh and Glasgow were indeed a light held to the intellectual life of Europe, the wild cry of the great pipes and back to the distant noise of battles in the days of Bruce and Wallace.

The past is part of us, part of every one of us and we respect it. But today there is a new voice in the land, the voice of a democratic parliament, a voice to shape Scotland, a voice above all for the future.

Walter Scott wrote that only a man with soul so dead could have no sense, no feel for his native land.

For me – and I think in this I speak at least for any Scot today – this is a proud moment, a new stage in a journey begun long ago and which has no end. This is a proud day for all of us.

A Scottish Parliament, not an end but a means to greater ends and these too are part of our Mace. Woven into the symbolic thistles are these four words – wisdom, justice, compassion, integrity.

Burns would have understood that. We’ve just heard beautifully sung one of his most enduring works, and at the heart of that song is a very Scottish conviction that honesty and simple dignity are priceless virtues not imparted by rank or birth or privilege but part of the soul.

Burns believed that sense of worth ultimately prevail, he believed that was the core of politics and that without it our profession is inevitably impoverished.

Wisdom, justice, compassion, integrity – timeless values, honourable aspirations for this new forum of democracy born on the cusp of a new century.

We are fallible – we all know that. We will make mistakes but I hope and I believe we will never lose sight of what brought us here – the striving to do right by the people of Scotland, to respect their priorities, to better their lot and to contribute to the common weal.

I look forward to the days ahead and I know there will be many of them. This chamber will sound with debate, argument and passion, when men and women from all over Scotland will meet to work together for a future built on the first principles of social justice.

But today we pause and reflect.

It is a rare privilege in an old nation to open a new parliament. Today is and must be a celebration of the principles, the traditions, the democratic imperatives which have brought us to this point and which will sustain us in the future.

Your Majesty, we are proud that you are here today to hansel this parliament and here with us as we dedicate ourselves to the work that lies ahead.

Your Majesty, our thanks.”