Communist Party statement on forthcoming referendum on Scottish independence
May 23, 2014
By Tommy Morrison, Scottish Secretary, Communist Party of Britain
The Scottish Independence referendum takes place in sixteen weeks [September 2014] . Currently the polls are very close. If there is a Yes vote, Scotland will separate in less than two years time, March 2016. At this point Scottish MPs will leave Westminster. And if a Labour Government is elected in 2015, it is likely to fall: only one of the 59 Scottish MPs is currently a Tory. Forty-four are Labour.
Communists in Scotland do not support independence on these terms. Since the 1930s the demand of Communists has been for progressive federalism, a demand also backed in the 1970s by the STUC and Scottish labour movement.
What does ‘progressive’ mean? It is federalism that is not simply a constitutional fix but one which facilitates the struggle for progressive social change across the nations of Britain – which enables a social redistribution of wealth and power.
Under progressive federalism the federal government at British level would control overall economic policy and be constitutionally required to redistribute income geographically in proportion to social need. Parliaments in Scotland, Wales and, if supported locally, in the regions of England, would have power to own, to take utilities into public control, to intervene industrially to sustain employment and to increase the power of working people over the resources of their country.
This was the vision of the Scottish Assembly of 1972: for a ‘workers parliament’ – one whose actions would help lift struggle elsewhere, to unite not divide.
The ‘independence’ offered by the SNP government’s White Paper is very different and, Communists argue, a trap for working people. It will weaken and not strengthen their position against that of big business and the banks.
The ‘independence’ offered by the SNP government’s White Paper is very different and, Communists argue, a trap for working people. It will weaken and not strengthen their position against that of big business and the banks.
The White Paper’s recipe for economic growth is to lower corporation tax. It seeks to offer stability for Scotland’s massive financial sector by remaining in the Sterling area and to guarantee the rights of external big business, which owns over 80 per cent of Scottish manufacturing industry, by seeking membership of the European Union (EU).
Without a central bank or its own currency, Scotland’s budget would still be set by Westminster – and a Westminster run by Tories. Austerity would continue. And it would be policed by the EU.
Without a central bank or its own currency, Scotland’s budget would still be set by Westminster – and a Westminster run by Tories. Austerity would continue. And it would be policed by the EU.
The EU’s 2012 Stability Treaty, which Scotland would have to incorporate into its written constitution, specifies that annual deficits must not exceed 0.5 per cent and, if long-term borrowing or national debt exceeds 60 per cent of GDP, it must be brought down by 5 per cent a year. Scotland’s debt is currently calculated as at least 85 per cent of GDP.
Hence SNP independence would make austerity cuts even worse. As for public ownership or ‘state aid’ for industry, forget it. It’s not allowed under EU rules.
Hence SNP independence would make austerity cuts even worse. As for public ownership or ‘state aid’ for industry, forget it. It’s not allowed under EU rules.
Surprisingly, some sections of the Left have committed themselves to the Yes campaign: the Scottish Socialist Party, the Socialist Workers Party, Solidarity, the International Socialist Group, the Socialist Party in Scotland and even some in the Labour Party are now part of the Radical Independence Coalition.
Read more at <<http://www.scottishcommunists.org.uk/scottish-referendum-2014/blog>>
