Cat Boyd – Why Politicians Should Take A Workers Wage

Kicking off Cat Boyd’s weekly blog to coincide with her National column:

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  1. C E Ayr says:

    Interesting thought, certainly.
    Clearly this latest pay rise is absurd, voted for by smug idiots with a very false idea of their worth to society.
    Can’t see it ever has a chance of happening in Westminster, unless Holyrood sets an example, causing the UK-wide electorate to put pressure on.
    Perhaps a phased levelling down of, say, 5% per annum until parity is reached would ensure that that parity is significantly higher than today?

    1. Clare Galloway says:

      Great comment.

    2. Anton says:

      Well, no. Unfortunately you and Cat Boyd, are misinformed on this matter. Westminster MPs have not awarded themselves an increase in salary.

      Following the expenses scandal, Westminster salaries were taken out of the hands of MPs and are now determined by an independent tribunal, IPSA, the Independent Parliamentary Standards (the clue is in the name). So Westminster MPs haven’t “awarded” themselves anything. They have no say.

      This is different to the situation in Scotland, where MSP salaries are set by the SPCB, the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The members of the SPCB are all MSPs, so hardly “independent”, unlike Westminster.

      The broad rule of the SPCB is that MSPs get 87.5% of Westminster salaries. If MPs get more money, then so do MSPs. If the SPCB wishes, it can vary this rule. But it hasn’t.

      So, Kenny Smith, when you mention that Nicola Sturgeon and her cabinet gave this year’s pay rise to charity, let’s not forget that this was a rise which MSPs including Nicola Sturgeon awarded to themselves via the SPCB following Westminster’s lead. They need not have done so.

      None of this has much to do with the central argument of how much an MP or MSP should be paid. But at least we should be clear about how it all works

      1. bill fraser says:

        Just how independent is the tribunal?They still awarded a large increase not taking into account the pittance rewarded to the working class.When did you hear of awards of 10% to the real workforce?

        1. Anton says:

          I’m not sure whether you have MPs or MSPs in mind here. As I previously explained, the Scottish Government decided some time ago, as a general principle, to pay salary increases to MSPs in accordance with any rises in Westminster salaries.

          Thus, if Westminster MPs get a 10% rise, MSPs have already decided to award themselves the same increase. (In the event they could of course choose not to, but I’ve not seen that mentioned as a possibility.)

          So if you think a 10% rise is disproportionate, this is an issue you should be raising with your local MSP, not me. MSPs have the power to vary this amount, MPs don’t.

  2. Kenny Smith says:

    I think Cat is a brilliant speaker and I look forward to her weekly column in the National. I totally agree with the payrise that MPs awarded themselves is repugnant. I can’t guarantee that a government of an independent Scotland would be much better but this coupled with the actions and cover ups that we have learned about lately reinforces why I want away from Westminster as soon as. I know Nicola Sturgeon and her cabinet did give this years payrise to charity that at least is commendable. I heard the SNP 56 were going to do the same with their payrise but I have not heard if they have done it yet or not but I hope they do. I slightly disagree with putting our politicians on a workers wage. I think their wages should be closer to the average wage in the country but I also understand that if you want a medical expert or a lawyer in your government they may be hard to attract. Maybe the solution is no more than 5,10% of the average wage and any increase is linked to average workers payrises. It is definitely a debate that is wort having, it is a stressful job (well if its being done properly anyway) that can take up a lot of your life so you do have to be remunerated for it but Cat is spot on when she says its hard to appreciate the impact of your decisions if you are so far removed. The big thing for me is the total apathy and the collective shrug of the shoulders we shouldn’t be just accepting this.

  3. Mike Fenwick says:

    As I type Jason Baird and the yes registry are running about £4,000 short of their target.

    Know what I wish Cat? It’s not maybe as ambitious as you.

    But what I wish is that our 56 MPs and our 64 MSPs would each pay in the £33.00 each and make up that shortfall.

    £33.00 … too much to ask?

  4. Lincoln Powell says:

    Same old bitter angry politics of envy socialist rubbish – for bitter, self entitled losers.

    “public sector workers” are the first group up to be encouraged to put their hands out. They’ve not had a pay rise. Neither have many other people working in the private, or even the voluntary sectors. What’s so special about public sector workers?

    (‘Public sector’ worker here by the way – though I don’t have the sense of entitlement to my job that many others do. I’m involved in a particular field producing particular things, and at the moment the politicians elected democratically by citizens decree that what I do is generates benefits and should be funded. But I am not, never have been and never will consider myself ‘entitled’ to this job. And if i lost this job, I would go and get another, like I always have and always will).

    You want an MPs salary? Stand to be an MP – and get elected.

    “even the middle classes aren’t getting a pay rise”

    I’m (today – though that’s not my family’s background) middle class, and I’m not getting a pay rise. But I’m getting on with it, working hard, and creating our own bright future – for us and our family.

    “2/3 of children who live in povery live in families who work … what does that tell us?”

    That people shouldn’t have children if they aren’t prepared to look after them properly.

    “Whether they’re selling off the NHS to their friends in private companies”.

    Please point to the parts (or large chunks of … or the whole of?) the NHS which have been “sold off”.

    (Treatments via commercial providers amount to about 5% of all treatments, and that’s been steady for a while)

    But again – which parts have been “sold off” – ?

    I and my wife had a baby last year – I’m pretty sure the hospital she gave birth in was owned and operated by the state.

    “MPs are a drain on the public purse … they’re the real scroungers in our society”.

    What, all of them? Including the Scottish SNP ones?

    “That’s why they’re boosting their salaries to x3 the public sector average”.

    Are you saying they should be paid the public sector average? Oh right, here we go …

    “Who are these MPs actually standing up for?”

    Well, they should be standing up for their constituents, and if they aren’t then once over five years those consitutents can get rid of them and elect someone else.

    “We should be demanding better from democracy”.

    You mean like your Syriza friends in Greece? That’s going well.

    “I believe all politicians should take the average wage of workers”

    That’s because you are a lunatic. However; who on earth do you think is going to do the job of MP for cc £25,000 a year? Regardless of where they’ve come from or what their expectations are. Regardless of politics, anyone sensible would agree that being an MP, if you are doing it properly (i.e. satisfying your constituents, attending votes and debates as you should etc. etc.) then it’s a tough job with long and sometimes unsociable hours. Who would do that … who should be expected to do that, for about £25,000?

    And who the hell are you as an individual to seek to dicate to others how much they should be paid? Who do you think you are? (You’re a nobody).

    “Politicians need to experience the reality of their policies”. Why? Consider homelessness. The reasons people become and remain homeless are incredibly complex. Often it’s nothing to do with ‘government policies’. Should MPs live on the streets for a month a year?

    What nonsense is this you are babbling?

    “if they can’t raise the incomes of the people they represent, then why do they deserve a pay rise?”

    It should not be the role of the state to raise the incomes of people. (This has been tried – tax credits – with disastrous consequences. A message has been sent to employers that they can not just pay the market rate, or below market rate, but the least they can get away with. The government will top them up for you. (This was the Labour government that Scotland consistently voted for).

    “you can’t have real democracy without equality”

    Democracy is not dependent on equality. Though of course what you want is the destruction of liberty and the enforcement of Socialism – i.e. authoritarianism, as far removed from democracy as it gets.

    “how can it be credible to be an (SNP) ‘left wing’ politician and life a lifestyle that most … people can only dream of”.

    Wow, you think the SNP are a ‘left wing’ party? Put the Kool-Aid down …

    “Tell us what you think”

    I think you are a bitter, angry, hard left socialist fruitcake, and you are as mad as a Goldfish.

    You and the rest of the ranting lunatics of the “Radical Independence Campaign”.

    1. June Stewart says:

      How frighteningly angry a response. One cannot help but wonder why you are so vitriolic. I wish you peace nonetheless.

    2. Mike Fenwick says:

      Hey … leave the Goldfish out of this!!!!

      Scientists at St Andrews University in Scotland found minnows to be at least as intelligent as rats.

      Researcher Dr Mike Webster said at the time: ‘A lot of people have the image of a goldfish with a three-second memory – and that’s not the case at all.

      ‘There is a lot of evidence now that fish are no dumber than birds or many mammals – and in many cases they are just as intelligent.

      ‘Many fishes – such as minnows, sticklebacks, and guppies – are capable of the same intellectual feats as, for example, rats or mice.

      ‘They can learn their way around mazes, they can learn to recognise other fish, and they can remember which individuals are better competitors.’

      According to research at Plymouth University, goldfish have a memory span of up to three months – and can even tell the time.

      The fish were trained to nudge a lever to get food. When the lever was adjusted so it would only work during one hour each day, the goldfish adapted, learning only to press the lever around the right time.

      They even clustered around the lever as feeding hour approached, apparently remembering it was nearly lunchtime.

    3. Don bradley says:

      ” bitter, angry politics of envy ” ?
      Try seething, righteous, biblical outrage at the crew of rancid, predatory, swivel-eyed, right-wing extremist ideologue spivs who have deliberately reduced our nation, our society, into packs of crazed, diseased rats fighting to the death over the contents of a burst bin-bag !
      Envy doesn’t begin to enter into it !
      Food-banks ? FOOD-BANKS ? in my country ?
      RAGE ! RIGHTEOUS RAGE !

    4. Bill says:

      Your words are the words of a raving lunatic, but I will answer just one of your ravings.
      You said “It should not be the role of the state to raise the incomes of people.”
      Well it also should not be the work of the state to create a situation where wages, pensions, and benefits have remained stagnant for so long that the EU is now heavily criticising the UK for it being grossly inadequate, and threatening legal action to force the UK to bring these up into line with the rest of the EU.
      And also, it should not be the work of the state to rob the pension fund and create a situation where people have to be forced to work for longer because of it. The state in this country act like gangsters in looting the pension fund to fund wars like the Falklands and Iraq. Until they find a way to repay this theft then they themselves must share the austerity they caused to be necessary by this, and by causing the financial crisis due to their lack of regulation on the financial sector, and by constantly getting involved in wars around the world.
      The United Kingdoms must sort out our own problems before financing anything abroad and that includes foreign Aid.

    5. John Mason says:

      How damning tjat YOU should call OTHERS angry etc.
      Have you no mirrors in that house ??

  5. John says:

    Whilst I agree with your sentiment Cat, I strongly believe that our representative’s salaries should not be linked with the average wage, but the median wage. This would link to the middle person’s wage, the average is skewed by the small number of very high earners. If five earn £10,000 and one earns £250,000 the average is £50,000, but the median is still £10,000. Even use the median taxpayer, then the calculation doesn’t include the lowest paid.

    Then the only way for them to get a pay rise is to increase everyone’s pay, or increase the tax rate, rather than that of the top 10%, which seems to be happening now.

    It may seem picky, but this would make an enormous difference to your proposals, with an appropriate driver for anyone greedy in power.

  6. Alan Webster says:

    The real problem which to an extent was resolved in Scotland this year is the career politicians who serve a couple of terms milking their expenses then get a board position on the back of it. They care nothing for the folk who voted them in

  7. Frank says:

    There is something about Cat Boyd’s rhetoric which reminds me of a younger Tommy Sheridan, although she does sound a little contrived, almost as if she is ‘trying too hard’. Perhaps that type of anger and moral indignation plays well at a public meeting, but less so talking into a web camera in your living room?

    In regards to the substantive point about the ‘workers wage’, I remember the SSP used to advocate such a position. The problem with the policy was that better paid workers, firefighters, teachers, public sector managers, etc were often unable to stand as candidates as they would have to take significant pay cuts, and given the fact that people had mortgages, children to support it effectively was a policy of discrimination against anyone not characterised as an ‘average worker’. In reality though the SSP put their salaries back into the party to pay the wages of party workers, so it was more of a propaganda policy than anything of real substance. I’m also of the view that the policy weakened the SSP’s pool of talent when the eventually got MSPs elected.

  8. Bill says:

    Cat has written some insightful pieces but I’m afraid this just doesn’t cut it. its a lazy argument. Does Cat really think that reducing the MP salary to £25k would let Mr Cameron, Mr Osbourne or a number of other independently wealthy MPs feel the experience of the average worker ?

    In terms of this particular pay rise, I haven’t heard many MPs speaking “for” it. It’s an embarrassment to most.

    There’s plenty of things to beat up MP’s about but this isn’t one of them.

  9. arthur thomson says:

    Hi Cat. I enjoyed your video and hope I will see more videos of you and other articulate Scottish voices in the months ahead. The increased awareness of and participation in the political process in Scotland is simply brilliant. It is the key to better government to have an informed populace.

    Regarding the salaries of MP’s/SMP’s, I agree with the basic principle of your argument but I think it is too fundamentalist. Being a good MP/MSP isn’t so much a job as a way of life. It is a huge undertaking and must come at a considerable cost to the individual involved and their family. That needs to be taken into account in deciding on the level of remuneration. I think the present level is too high but I don’t think it unreasonable for a good MP to be on 50K. The 11% pay rise for MP’s is a disgrace at a time when cuts are being made to the incomes of the poor and the vulnerable. I would hope that all Scottish MP’s/MSP’s will be sharing the pain that is being experienced by many of their constituents at this time. Having made these points I think there are crap MP’s out there who shouldn’t be employed at all but by definition that is a decision for the electorate and that is where having an informed electorate comes in. At GE 2015 the electorate replaced 56 of them and that is a pretty good starting point.

    A couple of times you referred to equality in your video and I want to take you up on that point. The concept of equality is an unworkable and totally unnecessary piece of ideology. I say that as someone who equally abhors the notion of ‘equality of opportunity’ and other daft ideas that are unworkable.

    I am not going to get bogged down in the point but a much more tenable concept is that of ‘good enough’. All of our citizens should have the right to a good enough life, not equality. What we are seeing at this time but has been present since time began is a lack of civilised governance, resulting in large numbers of people not having a good enough life. We need to tackle that by a process of engaging our population in the political life of Scotland. It was one of the joys of the referendum to see Radical Independence, Women for Indy and many others encouraging political involvement and learning. But that learning should not take the form of ideological education. We don’t need to pontificate to people what is right and wrong, we just need to enable them to find their own voice and the confidence to exercise their democratic rights. It is that process that will enable change to create the ‘good enough’ Scotland that I would wish to see. Those who turfed out 56 MP’s because they were not doing their job can get involved in all aspects of Scottish political life and be the decision makers.

    I hope that you and others on the left can distance yourself from failed ideologies. The people no more need the ideologies of the ‘left’ on their back than they do the ideologies of the ‘right’.

    1. Lincoln Powell says:

      There’s a lot I agree with here, but:

      “I think the present level is too high but I don’t think it unreasonable for a good MP to be on 50K”

      I know a handful of people currently working in different disciplines, who come from different backgrounds who (putting the different politics to one side) I think would make ‘good MPs’. In terms of their attitude and approach, not just their ability. When I’ve asked them (as you do in those pub conversations etc.) ‘had you ever thought of being an MP / do you think you could / would etc.’ they all say a variation on ‘well, why would I?’ They have mortgages and families, and a lifestyle they have earned that they’re not just going to give up.

      Some of them earn a bit less or a bit more than £50k, but they wouldn’t swap that for the hassle of being an MP (and getting elected!), and other well, wouldn’t get out of bed for that, because their ability and talent already pays them a lot more than that.

      I think if you arbitrarily set the level at say £50k, you are not going to get the talent pool you want.

      Someone will now mention Mhairi Black. She’s not talented or able, she’s just a mouth, riding the zeitgeist with rhetoric. She’s a slightly educated Ned, and she won’t be able to maintain that position long term. I’m sure she’ll enjoy it all while it lasts though.

      “The concept of equality is an unworkable and totally unnecessary piece of ideology.”

      I agree. Try telling that to the thousands, millions of Kool-Aid swigging glazed eyed Moonies who believe “New Scotland” can be whatever each one of them wants it to be, all at once.

      1. Elaine Fraser says:

        Shame on you ,what a disgraceful , mean spirited attack on someone ( Mhairi Black ) you have never met .

        1. lincoln powell says:

          She’s a politician, and a politician with a dubious background, unpleasant views and appalling intentions (socialism).

          It comes with the job. She is fair game.

          The hero worship, cults of personality and unqualified adoration of your populist mouthpieces and Great Leaders up there is troubling even from a distance, and I believe will end very badly.

      2. JBS says:

        Well done, Corporatist Hell alias Lincoln Powell, of all the comments you have left on this site, your latest comments have to be the smuggest. They are positively suffocating in their smugness.

        Keep going, in your own way you are helping to further Scottish independence.

        1. lincoln powell says:

          I support scottish independence. I can’t wait to be rid of you.

      3. muttley79 says:

        Someone will now mention Mhairi Black. She’s not talented or able, she’s just a mouth, riding the zeitgeist with rhetoric. She’s a slightly educated Ned, and she won’t be able to maintain that position long term. I’m sure she’ll enjoy it all while it lasts though.

        Mhairi Black has a first class honours degree in politics. It says a lot about you that you are reduced to these feeble personal remarks.

  10. James Dow A voice from the diaspora says:

    To all of Scotland’s protagonist’s you would do well not to underestimate Scotland’s remarkable women, unique amongst the worlds sisterhood, and the equal of any man on any patch.

    1. lincoln powell says:

      More hubris, again.

      My wife came from a “working class” background, was a straight A student, and is now a hospital consultant.

      she’s English.

      what’s your point? That women by consequence of being born on A certain square foot of the world are superior to those elsewhere?

      Another supremacist nutter.

      1. JBS says:

        Genuine question, Corporatist Hell alias Lincoln Powell.

        Why are you obsessed with this website?

        1. lincoln powell says:

          Maybe I want to help the cause.

          1. JBS says:

            Caught.

            Again.

            It’s not just the writing style. You just can’t stop talking about Manchester and your hospital consultant wife, can you?

        2. It’s a good question. Although its always good to have dissent its boring to have abuse.

          1. lincoln powell says:

            Anything that isn’t a round of applause for the originator is considered “abuse”.

            Though of course a two minutes hate is absolutely fine.

            if you are not happy and want to avoid any inconvenient dissent or disruption of the separatist propaganda or narrative, you can always make this site members only.

          2. It’s your relentlessly abusive tone rather than your politics that’s the issue.

          3. John Page says:

            The abuse is so repetitious and stylised that it’s impact is diminishing. But what is cringe
            makingly awful is the regular parading over such a long period of this dysfunctional personality.
            Need to be superior
            Attention seeking
            Vicious cruelty
            Can you just imagine how utterly miserable your life would be if you felt compelled over months and months to spend ages correcting people (in this unpleasant fashion) about their views on whatever (is some poor soul on Transpotting.Blog getting the same?)
            Narcissistic Personality Disorder comes to mind.
            This is very similar to the behaviour of an erstwhile work colleague………sending work e mails during the night, horrid bullying of junior staff and incessant claims to unique expert status……….it drove him up the wall when people did not react other than to seek transfers…….

            John

          4. John Page says:

            Trains…..

  11. Kenny Smith says:

    Lincoln Powell your views I disagree with. There will always be people that earn more than others but bottom line we have seen the few at the top get richer by roughly the same amount us plebs have got poorer it is unsustainable, the trickle down policies of Thatcher and Blair have been found wanting to the point its undeniable its a trickle up effect. The working class and that includes you and others who class themselves as middle class because regardless of what you earn you work for it have seen their wages decrease while the bankers and the politicians that caused this mess who quite frankly should be doing time have came out of the whole recession, austerity doing rather nicely avoiding as much tax as possible. I would hazard a guess your not part of the union in whatever part of the public sector you work in because the attitude of we just have to take the length because the man said we had too is spineless. The right for you to enjoy paid holidays and other benefits you get from working had to be wrestled from their gold plated fingers for knobs like us to give it all away. I am not anti capitalist I want businesses to do well and run along side a healthy public sector paying people enough so they don’t have to rely on state handouts and the point Cat is making is that the likes of Iain Duncan Smith will never know what its like to be out of work and to struggle. People who are in work have to go hungry or cold in this country, that is a disgrace. People don’t expect cleaners to earn the same as directors but the sheer greed that encourages that gap to grow wider and wider is repugnant to most. I’m going to hazard a guess that you may be a Tory voter if so then I guess that is why you are frightened of a “NED” like Mhari Black. She speaks with more soul and compassion from her little finger that those Bullingdon arsewipes combined, party for the working man my arse. Mhari stands up against the destruction of the very fabric of our society and I’ll back that everyday of the week before the individual greed of the few.

  12. arthur thomson says:

    Anyone who stops to think for a moment can see that, for the individual, there are advantages to being an MP/MSP over and above the salary – and a number of disadvantages depending on what you do or don’t enjoy doing. These are positions that are attractive to some people and not others. For those who have a particular talent for the role there is the possibility of job satisfaction, career advancement and with it increased personal income. Anyone whose goal was simply to be super rich would no more become an MP than they would a Doctor and if money was their primary motivation they would likely be equally useless in either role. Best that they stick to their pursuit of wealth and leave it to others to take on the role of political representation and decision making.

    Reference has been made to what attributes Mhairi Black has/doesn’t have and what contribution she can make in the future. In the short time she has been an MP Mhairi has been inspirational to a large number of people. Inspiring people to set aside their differences and to come together in a spirit of conciliation and in support of the vulnerable in society is part and parcel of the role of an MP. She has not been alone in doing this but she has done it and done it articulately nonetheless. What Mhairi will achieve in the future remains to be seen. I and others should wish her success for the benefit of all. Democracy is based on the right of all people, regardless of social background to determine the way their society functions. It is critical therefore that those who represent the electorate are from all social backgrounds.

    As a supporter of Scottish independence, I daily read the comments on a wide range of pro-independence sites. On that basis I do not recognise the above caricature of pro-independence supporters. What I read are the comments of people whose aspiration is for a more inclusive, more egalitarian society and who think that would be achievable in an independent Scotland but not as part of the UK. I agree with that assessment and those aspirations. I believe that the achievement of a sustained improvement in the quality of life of most Scots can only be achieved through independence.

  13. Len says:

    I never trust anyone who loves their-self too much.

  14. dunderheid says:

    All this policy would do is leave parliament (be that Westminster or Holyrood) stuffed with independently wealthy MP’s and/or increase the risk of corruption

    But I’m sure it went down well in her Pol Sci tutorial….

    1. JBS says:

      Yah, boo, why do you have to spoil everything with a sneer, dunder? Don’t tell me you’ve run out of pink bunny hugs already. Well, here you are, have some more:

      https://www.zazzle.com/rlv/huggy_bunny_hug_me_sticker-r60d329e606254e14a9dd4010d11017a3_v9tsw_1024.jpg?rlvnet=1

    2. Kathleen says:

      I can see that in a country where wages are low and there’s also endemic corruption at all levels of public service, that paying MPs a bit less would not be enough to solve the problem.

      But here, it’s often the wealthy MPs who get involved in corruption, and (from memory), I think research on inequality showed that being richer creates a sense of entitlement to do what it takes to maintain and increase that inequality. It makes them more vulnerable to feeling it’s fine for them to cheat and lie for personal gain.

      1. Kathleen says:

        meant to say “all levels of public services and business”

  15. barakabe says:

    Thon Powell character displays every right wing moronic cliche in the book- why do these tory trolls come onto left wing sites? How would it be if we came onto right wing sites & started pontificating on Lukacsian dialectics or Habermasian communicative rationality?
    “Same old bitter angry politics…” the only person who seems angry here is you, you vulgar obnoxious cretin. All right wing politics is founded on ‘myth’. You demonstrate all the unprocessed myths uncritically- Myth one: all people who care for others are ‘socialists’. Myth two: all socialists are driven by envy of those with more than them( a very very old chestnut that one). Myth three: all those who have less than others are ‘losers’ ( whatever that means). Myth four: public sector workers are lazy, wasters, self-entitled etc compared to the private sector. Myth Five: all you have to do is work hard in life & everything will fall into place ( a kind of billiard ball view of human life)- if you do experience difficulty then its because you’re lazy. Myth six: inequality is natural & should not be ameliorated by the state. Myth seven: the state is BAD- the best government is a small government.
    There are others but it just gets boring going through them all.
    He calls others ‘fruitcakes’ etc & yet he’s still in denial about the NHS being privatized- was it a PFI your good doctor wife had her baby in Powell? I find it hard to believe you are young enough to have a child- I don’t know if its just me but you sound really old & bitter ( the image I have in my mind is a kind of dried out fossil of some now obsolete animal).
    ‘We should be demanding better from democracy’.
    “You mean like your Syriza friends in Greece? That’s going well”- you mean to say that we should NOT be demanding more from democracy? Good god what is wrong with you man?
    Kat says: “you can’t have real democracy without equality”
    You froth: “Democracy is not dependent on equality. Though of course what you want is the destruction of liberty and the enforcement of Socialism – i.e. authoritarianism, as far removed from democracy as it gets.” I can’t even begin to tackle how ill-informed & ignorant this comment, indeed every one you make, actually is. She doesn’t mean everyone should be forced to have the same amount. You know that as well as I do. That is just stupid. You’re being deliberately obtuse. What she means is that we need an equalization of opportunity more akin to something like Denmark- obviously those who become CEO’s in a big bank are going to make more money than a doctor, a lecturer or a politician, but that is a choice made by those who start off on equal footing. As Pierre Bourdieu has pointed out there is more than one type of capital, the lecturer for example may have superior cultural capital than the CEO.
    Right Wing conservatives are wrong when they say that inequality does not affect democracy- the wealthy through monopolization of the media are influencing democratic elections to a greater extent & democratically elected governments are often captive to big business. Why is it acceptable for private corporations to use their capital power to influence public discourse or even democratic outcomes? What is so wrong with socialism anyway? We had socialism when Labour was in power in the 40-50s & the 1970s. How is socialism incompatible with democracy? Why is it that all right wing nuts throw together social democracy, socialism, Marxism, communism etc all in one basket? Socialism is an incredibly complex and rich tradition of social analysis & political resistance.
    “I think you are a bitter, angry, hard left socialist fruitcake, and you are as mad as a Goldfish.
    You and the rest of the ranting lunatics of the ‘Radical Independence Campaign’.” Oh the irony! Why is it that fascists yell freedom the loudest? Why is it that angry people claim others are angry? Why do the envious see envy everywhere? You have serious problems with projection Powell- you may need clinical intervention of some kind. Your state of mind is not healthy & it’s certainly not healthy to parade it so liberally on these pages.
    ‘2/3 of children who live in poverty live in families who work … what does that tell us?’
    You said: “That people shouldn’t have children if they aren’t prepared to look after them properly.” Powell you have an authoritarian personality. You are a fascist, or at least a diluted version of a fascist ( like most right wing types). Go & spew your sanctimonious bourgeois homilies elsewhere: like the Telegraph or the Daily Mail, where it might be welcomed.

    1. C Rober says:

      Only thing you never did there was to bayonet the wounded soldier at the end.

  16. Kenny Smith says:

    Barakabe, hear hear brother!

  17. Fran says:

    You’re an inspiration Cat.

  18. Jim says:

    I was interested during the referendum, I’m now back to being apathetic after voting yes & SNP.
    I can’t see much happening except getting worse.
    Everyone wants the most they can get for themselves, that’s normal now & probably always has been/will be.
    MP’s have got to a position where they can be very well rewarded, by doing lots of immoral things – 10% pay rises are one of them.
    I wonder what other worse things they do to line their pockets, I hear Tony Blair is a multi millionaire. Gideon, David & their pals the same.
    I’m guessing Alex & Nicola will be along the same lines unfortunately, it’s human nature – especially for the ruling classes.

    1. C Rober says:

      You forgot the majority of every cabinet since Thatcher.

      Snp in power define laws for Scotland , housing , Nhs and so on.

      So far they resist PFI in Hospitals , maybe that’s because they are a party with a higher than normal contingency of lawyers.

      What kind of law reform have they did , well most of the “improvements” have seen lawyers incomes increase , ie double jeopardy repeal , yet complain that Trump and his continual appeals for his golf courses , that they helped create originally , have in no doubt lined the pockets of lawyers – more than they have benefited the people themselves.

      Housing , rather than to create more Social housing , they are pushing on with Affordable , and as I have said many times in other topics , the houses are not affordable at nearly 8x median wage. Just recently my local msp was in the local paper commenting on good supply in North Ayrshire of the Councils policy on AH , and SH housing tacked on , to hit demand at todays rate of building will take 117 years at the current level , excluding stock replacement on fuel poverty in those figures.

      Housing II , SNP say about community need and demand ,community protection from landowners , protection of the rural countryside and farmland , yet have railroaded through against multiple policies and mandates executive housing , where developers can offload the 25% AH portion to urban locales and build on grade one farmland. Who makes the most money there , lawyers , landowners and developers , all aided by an SNP council and of course those that set the legislation they conveniently ignore.

      The SNP what pockets are they in , well to me its housing and lawyers.

  19. anon says:

    Call me bonkers, but I’d say the idea of sending someone who “kind of” represents your views on every issue, on a horse, to london, in the hope that they will do your bidding, on a reduced wage packet isn’t radical.
    It’s a noisy distraction from real democratic change.

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