The political pigeons have been fluttering wildly at the start of the election season. Some are roosting on their past records, others fancy themselves as racing pigeons preparing to be first back at the Doocot on 7 May.
There’s certainly been a flurry of activity this week – the Scottish Budget on Tuesday, big announcements on wind farms and free ports on Wednesday and flying visits by big Westminster birds on Thursday.
Sir Keir Starmer was in Scotland to champion the cause of renewable energy. The Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch came to rubbish the SNP budget but ended up being questioned on her decision to sack her former government colleague, Robert Jenrick, for “plotting to defect” to Reform. It turned out of course that Jenrick had indeed defected to Reform.
Nigel Farage had to rush back to London from Fife where he was naming the first leader of the party in Scotland. He is Lord Offord, a former Tory minister better known as Malcolm Offord from Greenock, a merchant banker who in 2013 founded a private equity company with the unlikely name of Badenock and Co. Not even Claudia Winkerman could make it up.
They all had a lot to say about the SNP budget, most of it uncomplimentary. What they didn’t seem to realise was that the Scottish government’s budget of £68bn is largely determined by their own MPs at Westminster. The Scottish finance secretary Shona Robison can only make minor adjustments round the edges. And this she did by raising the thresholds of tax for the lowest earners and introducing a “mansion tax” for people living in homes worth more than £1m. Neither will make a great deal of difference – £40 a year on average for lower earners and £16m a year in extra tax revenue for local councils.
So the budget changes were largely symbolic but they reflect the SNP’s ambitions. There’s a 1.8 per cent real increase in the NHS budget. There’s an increase in the Scottish Child Payment to £40 a week for children under the age of one year. There’s funding for breakfast clubs in primary schools. There’s a ten per cent increase in the funds for vocational colleges, 5 per cent for universities. And a £200m renewed commitment to duelling the A9 road to the Highlands by 2035.
Of course the budget has not pleased everyone. Local councils, the police and fire services say their allocations will mean cuts to services. There’s been a £1bn cut to spending on infrastructure and £500m worth of “efficiency savings” which may mean up to 10,000 public sector jobs going. But as Shona Robison says, she has to balance the books, there can be no resort to borrowing, unlike for the UK Treasury.
The SNP can now go into the election campaign with a narrative which says: we are running the Scottish government as effectively as we can, within the devolution rules. We have tried to support the NHS, schools and colleges, tackled child poverty and made sure the wealthy pay their fair share by freezing tax thresholds at the higher levels but reducing tax for anyone earning less than £33,000 a year. And if the SNP get more than 65 MSPs, there will be the prospect of a referendum on independence.
The opposition parties have not yet given us their alternative stories. The Labour Party will not be opposing the SNP budget and they will be trying to put the best gloss on the Starmer government’s shaky start. The Conservatives and Reform will be promising tax cuts and cuts to the welfare budget but, so far, they’ve given no details. The Liberal Democrats and the Greens will be relying on the regional voting lists to sweep up people’s second choices.
Sir Keir’s sortie north of the border was to “launch” the Berwick Bank wind farm, set to be the largest in the world when its 307 turbines are in operation. It’s being built by SSE Renewables and will stand 24 miles off the south east coast of Scotland at St Abbs Head. It will produce 4.1GW of electricity, enough to power six million homes. It’s one of a dozen wind farms which have been given a government guaranteed price for its electricity, allowing investment to proceed.
Not everyone is in favour. Wildlife groups say it will be a danger to the seabird colonies at St Abbs Head. But I can’t help thinking the gannets, kittiwakes, razorbills and fulmars will soon learn to live with the great white wings, just as most of us humans do – though we have a vested interest.
Another venture in the search for economic growth was the joint announcement by the UK and Scottish governments of £25m for the “free-port” being established around the Firth of Forth. It will give tax-breaks to firms setting up there and the hope is it will attract up to £7.9bn of private investment and create 16,000 jobs. It sounds too good to be true and again not everyone is in favour. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned that there’s a danger free-ports will just divert jobs from elsewhere.
But getting away from politics and the pursuit of economic growth, this week sees the start of Celtic Connections, the two-week festival of folk music which has lit up the winter gloom in Glasgow for over 30 years. Among this year’s 300 performers will be Emmylou Harris, Skerryvore and the ocean-rowing Maclean Brothers.
I expect the pigeons in George Square will learn to live with the 100,000 people expected.
Celtic Connections light ups winter and welcomes the world
Glasgow bursts into life today welcoming the world to the biggest traditional winter music festival on the planet – as Celtic Connections kicks off 18 days of music, culture and celebration.
Delivered by Glasgow Life, in partnership with Innis & Gunn, the 33rd edition of the festival brings together a huge international programme spanning global roots, contemporary folk and orchestral collaboration.
A string of more than 300 shows starring some of the biggest stars in trad, world and roots music – a alongside budget-friendly events, workshops, sessions, ceilidh, book launches and more – is on offer available across the month.
An estimated 110,000 people are expected to attend more than 300 events across 25 venues, featuring over 1,200 performers from Europe, the Americas and Africa.
Performers from the Celtic Connections programme visited the charming Old Fruitmarket as the stage was transformed into a cosy, inviting living room to mark the start of the festival.
Reflecting the event’s reputation for lighting up Glasgow and warming the winter nights, contemporary folk musicians, including Scottish smallpipes player Fionnlagh Mac A’Phiocair, harp and fiddle duo Rebecca Hill and Charlie Stewart and award-winning young trad outfit Dàna, are pictured on stage at The Old Fruitmarket
