SCOTTISH LABOUR MANIFESTO

FOR A FAIRER ECONOMY

BOTH VOTES LABOUR

SCOTTISH LABOUR MANIFESTO FOR A PROGRESSIVE ECONOMY

MANIFESTO FOR A FAIRER ECONOMY

For the first time, a Scottish Parliament election is dominated by debate about what we will do with the
powers we have and the new powers that are now on the statute books. Not the politics of what we cant
do - but the possibilities of what we can.
It is with these new powers that Labours historic mission to create a fair economy can be realised and
we can break from the conveyor belt of austerity, cuts and job losses.
Labour stands for a fairer economy.
We will ask the richest to pay their fair share, to invest in the future and protect our NHS and public
services.

Fighting austerity and creating

prosperity
Under the SNP our local authorities have seen
their budgets cut by over 1.4 billion since 2011,
resulting in the loss of countless services and
thousands upon thousands of jobs. Faced with the
choice between using the powers of the Scottish
Parliament to invest in the future of our economy
or carrying on with the cuts to public services,
Labour will use the powers to stop the cuts.

Delivering jobs for the future

We have higher ambitions for a growing economy
where everyone can work. So our manifesto
doesnt just commit Labour to full employment, it
commits us to good employment.

Our plan

Our plan

Labour is the only party committed to

an anti-austerity pledge to the people
of Scotland. That means that a Labour
Government will increase spending on
our public services in real terms and stop
the cuts to schools and other vital public
services.
To do this we will use the tax powers of
the Parliament to make sure the richest in
society pay their fair share with a 50p top
rate of tax on earnings over 150,000.
Our pledge to increase spending on public
services in real terms underpins every
promise made in our manifesto. The failure
of other parties to match this pledge
undermines every promise in their manifesto
it simply isnt credible to promise more
while accepting billions of pounds of extra
austerity.

We will create Skills Scotland, in partnership

with unions and employers and co-chaired
by a nominee of the STUC. This will bring
together employment services and skills
services, including new powers over the
Work Programme. It will give anyone out
of work the help they need to move into a
job and give everyone in work the help they
need to move up.
We will drive forward a Scottish Industrial
Strategy to coordinate Government efforts to
secure a future for our traditional industries
and manufacturing. Our strategy will also
support the investment and skills to develop
new industries and emerging markets.
We will secure the future of the Scottish
Agricultural Wages Board which is vitally
important to protect workers wage levels
and conditions, and maintain strong health
and safety practices across the farming and
horticultural sectors.

We will reform local authority funding

to scrap the unfair council tax, devolve
additional revenue raising powers and
champion a debt amnesty on pre-devolution
debt to the Public Works Loans board which
cost equivalent to 10p of every pound raised.

SCOTTISH LABOUR MANIFESTO FOR A FAIRER ECONOMY

A fairer economy
A generation ago Scottish Labour and the Trade
Union movement campaigned for a Scottish
Parliament. With the new powers that the
Parliament has we stand ready to deliver real
change and create an economy that is fair for
everyone.

Services free from

privatisation
Our public services are crucial to create thriving,
healthy communities. They provide the services
we all rely on and are a source of meaningful
employment for many. Scottish Labour will
protect our public services from privatisation and
bring vital services, like trains and CalMac, back
into public ownership.

Our plan
No economy can be fair without fair
representation of workers rights. A
Scottish Labour Government will not
comply with the abhorrent Trade
Union Bill. Instead we will recognise
the positive role Trades Unions play
by ensuring all public boards have
union representation.

Our plan

Scottish Labour will use the powers

of the Parliament for progressive
procurement - meaning no public
contracts to blacklisters, tax dodgers
or companies not paying a living
wage.

We want CalMac to remain in public

hands. These lifeline services are
too important to privatise. We will
immediately halt the unnecessary
tender of the lifeline Clyde and
Hebrides services and take our case
to the EU to keep CalMac in the
public sector.

We will create a Living Wage

Commission to make progress
towards Scotland becoming a Living
Wage Nation.
Labour will lead the way on collective
bargaining in using the levers of
government where we can influence
better wages, for example in the care
sector.

Scottish Labour will protect our

NHS from privatisation we are
opposed to the Transatlantic Trade
and Investment Partnership (TTIP)
and the threat that it poses to public
services such as our NHS.

We want all bus services to be run

for the benefit of communities, not
simply the private profit of a few
wealthy individuals. We will regulate
Scotlands buses for democratic
control and municipal ownership as
happens in the Lothians.

SCOTTISH LABOUR MANIFESTO FOR A FAIRER ECONOMY

Business
Labour values businesses and we will work
strategically with them to create wealth for
Scotland. Labour is committed to ensuring
that the power of government helps, rather
than constrains, good business. Our plan for
business is built on four core ideas:

Increased productivity
Better connectivity
Simplicity
Certainty

At the heart of this is investment. We commit

ourselves to invest in skills and infrastructure
over the long term, to develop and reinforce
local economies, and to reform our approach
to supporting economic growth so we are
better resourced and structured to shape the
market for the benefit of all, not just the few.
We will develop and boost the role of the
Scottish Investment Bank strengthening its
capital to support new thinking and invest in
Scottish industry, business, and the green and
high-tech industries of the future.
Productivity in Scotland lags behind the
UK and the UK lags behind the best in
Europe. Tackling the productivity gap
needs investment in education and skills,
investment in production, business practice
and investment in science, research and
collaboration. A Scottish Labour Government
will set the framework for a significant
advance in productivity.

extension to locally important social enterprises

and community organisations such as small
local and regional newspapers, and worker
co-operatives. We will monitor the effectiveness
of the scheme to ensure it provides good value
for taxpayers money. We will invest in Cooperative Development Scotland.
The internet and new technology are making
business more efficient, providing access to
new markets and improving collaboration. But
with connection rates at 75%, Scotland lags
behind the rest of the UK.
We will make the provision of superfast
broadband, in islands and rural areas as well
as towns and cities, a national infrastructure
priority. We will invest 500 million over the
lifetime of the next Parliament. We will establish
ultrafast broadband zones for digital and
creative industries with speeds of 1GB/s. As a
result, no business in Scotland will go without
access to a 10MB/s broadband connection.
We will introduce a Digital Services Bill, making
us a world leader in e-government, simplifying
the relationship between government and
business and boosting Scottish IT businesses.
In a digital era, Scots have high standards
for the service they receive. Dealing with the
Government should be no exception. A Labour
Government will ensure higher standards and a
better client experience for Scots and Scottish
business when they interact with government.
We will also guarantee quality and timeliness in
the delivery of services.

We will undertake a thorough review of nondomestic rates to make the system more
transparent, predictable and streamlined,
including mandatory revaluation every three
years.
We will preserve the exemption for small
businesses and explore the case for

SCOTTISH LABOUR MANIFESTO FOR A FAIRER ECONOMY

Printed & Promoted by Brian Roy, Scottish General Secretary, Scottish Labour Party, 290 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4RE

SCOTTISH LABOUR MANIFESTO FOR A PROGRESSIVE ECONOMY