WHY was the Calman Commission set up? Wendy Alexander, then Labour's leader, recognised Holyrood needed more powers to produce a set of cohesive policies to enhance Scotland's economic performance and create wealth.
So what other explanation could there be for the financial chess game that is Kenneth Calman's proposal? Big-ish beast politicians have pronounced the report a great deal for Scotland, but I'm still waiting to hear an equally eminent economist say th
at the proposed financial measures are just what we need to get the economy going.
Commentators have said the proposed, complicated, system for funding public services north of the border will make MSPs "more accountable" to the electorate because they will have the power to vary how much Scots pay in income tax. Whoopee! Parties will be fighting amongst themselves to charge more income tax, don't you think?
Basing this enhancement of the Scottish Parliament's powers on the fiscal equivalent of the dance of the seven veils is to miss the entire point of the exercise. MSPs need the powers necessary to implement economic policies customised to the needs of the Scottish economy, which is, by virtue of the size of the public sector and therefore the characteristics of training and employment, quite different from the English economy.
The taxes pivotal to this objective are corporation tax, land taxes, oil taxes and other industry-related taxes. So why didn't Calman go for them, rather than propose a knit one, purl one, knit two together pattern? You don't think it could have been that short of having the Scottish Parliament responsible for setting and collecting all taxes in Scotland – and then, if the Scots want to leave any sovereign functions with Westminster, paying an agreed sum for them into a common kitty – they couldn't think of anything else to preserve Westminster's overlordship?
To block the SNP, the Calman Commission appears willing to foist a much bigger bureaucracy on Holyrood. Just think of the millions of personal situations that will give rise to millions of appeals and complaints regarding income tax levied by two governments. Also, why should the Scottish Government be given only 50 per cent of income tax? Why not 75 per cent, or 100 per cent?
Instead of looking at the powers needed to bring about the change in Scotland wanted by the Scots, the Commission looked first at the UK and what would be needed to keep it intact and unreformed as regards the division of power between Westminster and Holyrood. Just as the Scotland Act has been overtaken by the reality of powerlessness over the Scottish economy, so Calman will be seen to be a well-intentioned report made redundant before its publication. Accountability is good, but what matters is the economy, stupid.
Cut to the chaseLONG-suffering readers will know that I've been telling everyone, anyone, who'll listen that whoever wins the next General Election will be forced to cut public spending because of the need to repay the billions of pounds borrowed by Alistair Darling. Proof of this popped up a couple of weeks ago when a World Bank economist reminded nobody in particular, but everyone with an interest, that countries – eg UK – that defaulted on the repayments of their loans would lose their triple-A credit rating.
Now, after a future, honest, Tory Finance Minister let the cat out of the bag, some MPs in every party are letting it be known that they agree. However, the politics of Fairyland still rule, with Labour trumpeting that only the nasty Tories will make cuts. Prime Minister Brown says Labour will invest instead of cutting. Absolute hokum.
I've suggested to Alex Salmond that people should be treated like adults, provided with the relevant information and the choices that flow from cuts in spending of 10 per cent, 8 per cent across the board or perhaps 12 per cent selectively, for example, and their opinions and priorities heard before decisions on public services are taken in their name. Town meetings like those held in America might be the way to go.
He didn't slap me round the chops with a wet kipper, so I could be on to something.
Rise above it, DeekA FEW weeks ago I was chatting to Derek Riordan about his rediscovered zest for football since he came back home to Easter Road. We discussed how easy it is for a young pup to get one, and how difficult for an old dog to shed a bad name. I assured him liberties taken with his name by journalists weren't meant to be taken seriously.
But a reporter did go over the score this week with a vindictive attack on Derek's character. So my advice is not to get mad, but to get even. He'll establish superiority over a grubby journalist by continuing to mature professionally and personally and to show the commitment noted recently by any fair-minded observer.
