Jobs, not protests

The campaign in Scotland has picked up a little speed over this last week in the media. The pace of visits, hustings and campaigning has also been higher. So I was disappointed to hear on the radio – and on the doorsteps – towards the end of the week some voters say that they still don’t know what the elections are all about.

“Tell me in 10 words why I should vote Labour”, I was challenged on the street in Stockbridge yesterday afternoon. “It is time to vote for jobs, not protest votes” I replied.

Unlike the SNP and the Tories, I believe that government should not just sit on its hands. Active government intervention and spending in the face of the downturn can stimulate the economy and protect jobs.

UK-wide, the Labour government has announced £1 billion of new money to create 150,000 jobs for 18-24 years olds in long-term unemployment. Around £95 million will be available in Scotland to provide 15,000 jobs and training. On a visit to Dundee this week with Iain Gray, David Martin and Catherine Stihler, we met staff and clients at one of the key organisations trying to get people back into work on Tayside.

But the SNP government in Edinburgh is making the situation worse. Industry tells us that the failure of the SNP’s Scottish Futures Trust has cost up to 20,000 construction jobs in Scotland. That is the cost of Salmond’s broken promise to match the Labour school and hospital building programme “brick for brick”. And another 15,000 are at risk.

While the SNP cut back on adult apprenticeships by 80%, Labour in the Scottish Parliament forced the Scottish Government to find the resources for 7,800 new apprenticeships next year.

So where will the new jobs come from? The Party of European Socialists has put a European strategy for smart green growth and jobs at the heart of the European election campaign. Our pledge is to help create 10 million new jobs by 2020, with 2 million in the renewables sector alone. A strong Labour presence in the European Parliament will allow us to work together with socialists and social democrats across Europe to deliver this pledge.

While the nationalists and greens talk a good game on the Green New Deal, they will never be more than a small voice on the wings of the European Parliament.

Meanwhile, Labour is taking real action to create 400,000 new jobs across the UK as part of the transition to a low-carbon economy. Around 40,000 of these will be in Scotland … but this could be more given our natural environment and resources.

The UK Environment Transitional Fund and a Low Carbon Investment Fund, coupled with new investment in electric cars and new low-carbon energy, carbon capture and storage, and on-shore and off-shore wind will all contribute to this total over the next 10 years.

And there is a further benefit. Unlike the 700 job losses which were announced by Hewlett-Packard in Erskine this week, jobs in the green economy are more naturally rooted in the local economy and are less likely to be “delocalised”.

Forget protest voting on 4th June . Vote for positive action and hope instead.