IndyGal

One day, blogger invited me to change the design of this blog. Foolishly I did it! Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any way of returning to the old design. So, instead I've moved to here. I am currently one of the SNP's seven candidates for the European Elections in June 2009 and the blog will follow our campaign across Scotland. And of course there will be the usual mix of the personal with the political. I hope you will enjoy reading it and thanks to everyone who's read this blog for the past year and a bit!

Anne

Indygal here. I've been catching up with the news back home and I was angered although not at all surprised to hear about the stushie the possibility of the SNP getting into power caused amongst the unionists last year. Ming Campbell's autobiography apparently reveals secret talks with Gordon Brown last year about forming a third Labour-Lib Dem coalition "to stop the SNP".

Latest revelations are that GB (in a desperate attempt to cling on to GB) ordered the Scottish Labour Party to support a Tory First Minister if necessary - so long as they "kept the SNP out".

I wonder why. Did they really think the SNP would be that bad at government? Proved them wrong if that's the case. Don't think it is though - think it's the opposite. They obviously thought (knew) the SNP would make such a good job of it that people would wake up and smell the coffee and realise that there is no reason in the world for Scotland not to make its own decisions.

They must be horrified right now at the good deal we're getting from the SNP government. Scotland doing well? We can't have that! Stop it now before they give them a referendum - what if the people of Scotland exercise free will, put their brains in gear and actually vote for NORMALITY?!

And that is what's wrong with these power crazed British politicians in the Unionist parties across the UK - they don't actually believe in democracy, they believe that they are right but worst of all, they will do anything to deny the people of Scotland the right to decide in a referendum. The idea that Labour would support the Tories in government is abhorrent. All credit to Jack McConnell for refusing but shame on Gordon Brown - he has lost the plot!

Indypal One here. I know it’s hardly an original thought but Labour have really lost it haven’t they?  They are floating in the most peculiar way.

The latest spat over the SNP’s proposals for local taxation is a case in point.  In case you haven’t read about it yet the UK Work and Pensions Minister has said that, if the Scottish Parliament legislates for a system of local taxation based on ability to pay,  Westminster will claw back the £400 million that is paid annually in council tax benefit.

Why?  Because according to him "If they are promoting a system that is income-related and based on the ability to pay, then there is no need for a benefit on top of that. They can't have it both ways.’

Well actually we can. And do.

Council tax may be based on the value of property but council tax benefit is income-based.  There is no logic in saying that an income-based benefit can be bolted on to a tax system based on property values but cannot be bolted onto an income-based tax.

It doesn’t actually matter whether local taxation is in the form of rates, the poll tax or the council tax. Through all these permutations, relief continued to be paid to councils to compensate for those whose incomes did not pass the threshold which made them liable to pay. So what is different about moving from council tax to a local income tax?   Nothing – except it is the SNP proposing it.

I am pretty sure however, reading this Scotlandon Sunday article, that James Purnell does not understand the proposals.  He appears to think that the SNP is asking for extra money to deliver local tax reform.  They are not.  The proposal is simply to spend existing money in a different way.  So when Purnell says that the SNP is asking for extra money which would not go to the rest of the country he is just plain wrong.  The SNP is not asking for any more or less than we have now.

After all it is our own money we are talking about.  It should be up to us, not Westminster , to decide how we want to spend our own money.

But what gets me is how on earth the Labour Party could think that threatening to withhold this money will win back any of the political ground that was lost last year?   It is more likely to have the opposite effect.   Not that I am complaining – it’s all to the SNP’s advantage. 

I am settling in nicely to Sri Lanka now but I still want to know what's going on at home. So, first thing on Monday mornings I like to have a quick peek at the Scottish news. Today I was delighted to see that one of my family has been honoured for his commitment to mountaineering. Hamish MacInnes, the inventor of the MacInnes Stretcher and some say of modern climbing, is the first ever recipient of the Scottish Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture. He is also my Granny Purdie's cousin and although I have never met him, he was talked about a lot - she was obviously very proud of him. His love of Scottish hills and mountains seems to have rubbed off on most of the family - there are many climbers among us. And although I can't claim to have done much in the way of hill walking in recent years (haven't done much of anything except work and politics!), it's one of the things I'll definitely be making time for on my return.