Graeme Downie

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow East (John Grady) on securing this important debate. Back in the mists of time, in 2007, a new economic strategy for Scotland was announced by a new kid on the block, a certain Mr John Swinney, a member of a Government that would rely on Conservative votes for its survival. Let us see how it went. In 2007 John Swinney promised a “wealthier and fairer” Scotland that would “enable businesses…to increase their wealth.” As has already been said, Scotland’s economy has performed far behind what we would have expected and hoped. Just this week we saw the latest NatWest regional tracker published, analysing economic activity across the UK, with Scotland languishing in eighth place out of the measured regions—not a good start. John Swinney said Scotland would be “smarter”, yet in 2017, when he was Education Secretary, the Scottish Government admitted that young adults “are more likely to experience low paid, precarious work, and cycling between this and unemployment”. Just this week the Scottish Funding Council said that the “reform of the post-school…landscape has not yet been implemented”. So much for smarter and better opportunities. It was said that Scotland would be “healthier”. As a former board member of NHS Fife, I could waste an entire speech explaining exactly how that has not been the case: £1.7 billion of NHS funding on agency staff, £1.3 billion on delayed discharge, and a chaotic, overreaching attempt to design a national care service. That makes it three down so far for the First Minister’s 2007 plan. It was said that Scotland would be “safer and stronger”, but we have had the shambolic implementation of Police Scotland and lower police numbers since 2008. The First Minister also said that Scotland would be “greener”. Is there any consolation at the end? Well, I guess we could give him partial credit here. The Scottish Government did become greener, albeit for only a short time, when a calamitous coalition with the Green party saw climate change targets abandoned and a disastrous attempt to implement an ill-considered and ultimately abandoned deposit return scheme. Before SNP colleagues begin drafting their press releases about more powers, I point them to the foreword to the 2007 document, which said that the strategy could be achieved “with the levers that we have”. Scotland deserves better, and that is what this Labour Government—who have been in power for only a little over 100 days, rather than the 17 years of the SNP—are already attempting to deliver. We have established a national wealth fund, launched the largest increase in workers’ rights, launched GB Energy, announced a record-breaking £1.5 billion of funding for clean energy, and issued an industrial strategy focused on growth sectors where we know Scotland can and should perform better in the future. That is what we should be aiming for.