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The National
13 hours ago
- Politics
- The National
New Red Book reveals how distant Labour have become
Its cover is a photograph of the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders (UCS) 'work-in' of 1971-1972, led by Jimmy Reid. Five thousand copies of the book were printed by its publisher, Edinburgh University Students' Publications Board. Contributions were wide and varied from the likes of Jim Sillars, Robin Cook and Tom Nairn and 25 others – including no women. To say that Brown edited The Red Paper is a misnomer because he pretty much accepted all the contributions in their states of first draft. But when all is said and done, The Red Paper was the public political highpoint of post-war 'Scottish socialism', defined as social democracy through a form of labourism, meaning unions would deliver what they called 'socialism' through the parliamentary road – and not revolutionary road – and via the Labour Party. It was a time when, to mix metaphors, Brown was Red. READ MORE: 'Joy, celebration and warmth' of Palestinian art to be showcased at Edinburgh Fringe Such was the emphasis on socialism as social democracy in Scotland, it almost seemed to offer a version of 'socialism in one country'. And, though seldom read because of the tiny type, it was a book that 'lit up the murky Scottish political scene like a lightning-flash' according to Neal Ascherson in The Observer in 2000. This indicates the book had a profound psychological and political but not intellectual or practical impact. Brown introduced the chapters by saying: 'Scottish socialists cannot support a strategy for independence which postpones the meeting of urgent social and economic needs until the day after independence. But neither can they give unconditional support to maintaining the integrity of the United Kingdom – and all that that entails – without any guarantee of radical social change.' So, the argument was constitutional change via devolution could lead to social justice. For Labour in 1975, this was heretical because the Unionist Labour left was mesmerised by the party's pledge in its 1974 General Election manifestos to 'bring about a fundamental and irreversible shift in the balance of power and wealth in favour of working people and their families'. And Brown's perspective was not the 'devolution will kill nationalism stone dead' argument of right-wing Labour MP and Scottish Secretary George Robertson, 20 years later in 1995. At the time, Brown was more reflective and reasoned. With the SNP Westminster breakthrough in the October 1974 General Election with 11 seats, he did not regard nationalism as a cancer that needed to be cut out as many of his fellow Labour members did. He wrote: 'What this Red Paper seeks to do is to transcend that false and sterile antithesis which has been manufactured between the nationalism of the SNP and the anti-nationalism of the Unionist parties.' But, nonetheless, the attainment of social justice of the Blair-Brown 1997-2010 Labour governments and the Labour-LibDem coalition Scottish governments of 1999-2007 was not much in evidence. It certainly was not advanced by the Brown-initiated cross-party pledge of 'The Vow' promising further devolution on September 16 ,2014. Indeed, Brown not only junked his beliefs of using the state to ameliorate the outcomes of the market but then advocated using the state to make the market more efficient. Long gone were any ideas of workers' self-management and public ownership, including the oil industry. One of the organisers of a University of Aberdeen conference to assess The Red Paper in 2000 commented: 'It is surprising how many people have forgotten about it, including, perhaps, Gordon Brown himself. Unlike many of the other contributors to the Red Paper, he seems reluctant to recall the time when he advocated public ownership and community democracy.' Not everybody gave up on the ideas of this type of Scottish socialism, though. Within Scottish Labour, the Campaign for Socialism group was established in 1994 to fight against the removal of Clause IV on public ownership by Blair and Brown from Labour's constitution. The group has counted a handful of MPs in Scotland and MSPs among its members. READ MORE: Owen Jones: The UK media has ignored this hugely revealing scandal in Israel More significantly, those around the group worked with others on the left to produce a new version of The Red Paper on Scotland in 2005 for the 30th anniversary. This same formula was used by The Red Paper Collective to produce a further edition the year before the referendum in 2014 called Class, Nation And Socialism: The Red Paper On Scotland 2014. The Red Paper Collective was established in 2012. Now in 2025, we have a fourth iteration produced by it called Keep Left: Red Paper On Scotland 2025. Every Red Paper after the first has been more readable than the last. But the tide has gone out for its ideas: not in terms of their credibility or coherence but in terms of their traction inside Scottish Labour. This is the story of Thatcherism creating the creature that is 'New' Labour, in which Brown was a leading light. When asked in 2002 what her greatest achievement was, Thatcher replied: 'Tony Blair and New Labour. We forced our opponents to change their minds.' North and south of the Border, we are still living with that legacy. Professor Gregor Gall is a research associate at the University of Glasgow and editor of A New Scotland: Building An Equal, Fair And Sustainable Society (Pluto Press, 2022)
The Herald Scotland
07-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
SNP should leverage 'brand Britain' to attract more migrant workers
The idea that Scotland, while still part of the UK, could independently manage its own immigration system is not a serious one. Implementing such a policy would create chaos at our borders, severely undermine national security and counter-terrorism efforts, and inflict significant economic damage. Yet, beyond highlighting the SNP's reckless proposals, there is an urgent and important question that Scotland must address: how can we attract skilled individuals and become a more appealing destination for those who will genuinely enhance our economy and society? Scotland faces distinct demographic challenges. Our population is ageing faster than the rest of the UK: by 2045, nearly a quarter of Scots will be 65 or older. Read more This demographic shift brings severe workforce shortages in critical sectors. Skilled incomers, whether from elsewhere in the UK or overseas, are essential. They fill critical gaps, drive innovation, modernise our economy, and, crucially, tend to be younger and more likely to have families, funding our pensions, maintaining our hospitals, and keeping our schools viable. Yet currently, Scotland is not proving attractive enough. Even during recent years of soaring UK net migration, surpassing 600,000 in 2022/23, figures widely acknowledged as unsustainable, Scotland's inflow remained disproportionately low. We sit approximately one-third below what would be expected given our population share. Though the Labour government is now implementing a more controlled and selective immigration policy, Scotland's underperformance is likely to continue unless genuine policy changes are made. The SNP could learn why talented individuals choose other parts of the UK. Rather than obsessively emphasising differences, they should leverage 'brand Britain'—the stability, cultural openness, renowned universities, and global reputation that attract international talent. They should reconsider policies that make Scotland less attractive, such as imposing the highest income taxes in the UK, an obvious deterrent for skilled professionals considering a move north. Scotland urgently requires increased investment in affordable housing, especially around economic hubs such as Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Enhancing infrastructure – particularly transport connectivity and world-class broadband – would further boost Scotland's attractiveness to potential incomers. Joani Reid is a granddaughter of the Scottish trade unionist and SNP supporter Jimmy Reid (Image: Gordon Terris) Above all, the SNP should refocus education policy away from discredited, ideologically driven curriculum changes and towards raising standards and attainment. London's successful state education model, based on rigorous standards and accountability, has attracted skilled professionals and young families. There is no shame in Scotland striving for similar educational excellence. Scottish universities, historically world-leading, urgently need renewed investment to restore their global competitiveness and appeal to international talent. Yet these practical solutions, all within his control, seem anathema to John Swinney and his colleagues. Instead, the SNP proposes a solution that would likely devastate Scotland's economy: a separate immigration system that would trigger inevitable border controls at Gretna, Berwick, and every airport, alongside huge new bureaucratic burdens for businesses. Partitioning Britain in this way is economically damaging, irrational, and socially divisive. The SNP argues that the Common Travel Area with Ireland demonstrates the feasibility of separate border controls. Yet, conveniently, they ignore the fact that air and ferry travel within the CTA already requires identity or passport checks. Additional Scottish border controls could destabilise the CTA, potentially jeopardising the fragile peace in Northern Ireland. The Scottish Government would like to make visa entry into Scotland easier than elsewhere in the UK – perhaps even reintroducing visa-free entry for EU citizens. While superficially appealing to Brexit opponents, this would inevitably lead to stringent border controls at the Scottish-English border. Without these checks, businesses could exploit looser Scottish rules, establishing headquarters in Scotland and employing EU nationals who then work unchecked across the rest of the UK, significantly undermining immigration controls. It's also right to acknowledge that immigration has real challenges, particularly if poorly planned or uncontrolled. Concentrating large numbers of new arrivals in lower-skilled, lower-paid sectors like social care and tourism can destabilise communities, increase competition for already limited housing, and place immense pressure on public services stretched to breaking point. Read more Far from the SNP's simplistic portrayal of immigration as entirely positive, successive governments have grappled with these complexities. The SNP's comforting myth that race hate is exclusively an English problem would quickly unravel under such pressures. Perhaps the SNP does not care about these practical realities, given their overriding goal of breaking up the UK. But for most Scots, passport checks to visit family, friends, or workplaces in London, Newcastle, or Manchester would be entirely unacceptable. The reality is that the SNP's immigration proposal is not a serious legislative attempt. They published the bill only days ago without public consultation, clearly aware it is impractical, unworkable, and economically harmful. It is a political stunt designed to revive their struggling independence campaign. But Scots have moved beyond empty political gestures. With Trump in office and Putin in Ukraine, the era of slogan politics must now end. Voters are increasingly demanding substance, credible solutions, and genuine leadership. With the rise of Reform, even populist nationalism faces increased competition. But the SNP has yet to realise the world has fundamentally changed. Joani Reid is a Scottish Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Kilbride and Strathaven since July 2024. Reid is a granddaughter of the Scottish trade unionist Jimmy Reid
