John Swinney wields the Tory axe against jobs and public services

Philip Stott reports

John Swinney’s budget for 2016 /17 has exploded the myth of an “anti-austerity” SNP-led Scottish government prepared to take on and confront Tory spending cuts.

The Scottish government budget for next year and announced today has underlined that there will no deviation from their long-standing policy of passing on Tory chancellor Osborne’s slash-and-burn onslaught. The result, unless this is fought, will be a jobs and services slaughter in Scotland over the next two to three years, beginning with the council setting budgets in February. 

A commitment to continue funding the 100% mitigation of the bedroom tax – the result of the pressure applied to the SNP through the anti-bedroom tax campaign – and other welfare measures are welcome. But they are diminished by the carnage that will be caused by the other cuts announced in the budget 

As predicted, the SNP’s acquiescence to Tory austerity will result in a £1 billion cuts programme in Scottish local government over the next two years. This coming year alone there will be a 6% reduction to the local government spending grant. If councils and other public sector bodies carry through these cuts, an estimated 40,000 jobs will be lost over the next four years in the public sector.

To rub salt into the wounds, the SNP website described the budget as “defending and shielding the vital public services that the people of Scotland depend on.” Nothing could be further from the truth.

Relentless

Swinney has demanded “relentless reform” in the public sector – a euphemism for cuts. He emphasised “shared council services, procurement and service overlap” in other words running vital services with less staff and fewer resources. And that is exactly what his budget has delivered.

There was an alternative. Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP have often referred to austerity as being a “political choice”. While that is true, the Scottish government’s decision to play pass-the-parcel with cuts means they too have made a political choice.

A choice to inflict deep and lasting pain and suffering on working-class communities across Scotland, rather than stand up and use their electoral mandate to refuse to implement Tory cuts. The sweeping election victory for the SNP in May on an anti-austerity platform gave them an unprecedented platform to defy the cuts juggernaut.

John Swinney claimed he only had “tough choices” in making yet another round of cuts. Yet the real choice was to defy the cuts and use the powers that both the Scottish government and local councils have to make Holyrood and local authorities – dominated by the SNP and Labour – a citadel of defiance to austerity.

As the letter to Swinney from the Glasgow council trade unions on the eve of the budget explained: “We oppose the passing on of Tory cuts and believe that the anti-austerity mandate which Scotland’s politicians have should be used to ensure no more cuts in council job and services.”

John Swinney’s announcement that there will be “floor to the level of cuts in Glasgow” means a minimum of £121 million in cuts over the next 24 months, and the threat of 3,000 further job cuts to the city.

In response Brian Smith, Glasgow Unison’s branch secretary, commented: “This is not anti-austerity – it’s the assassination of thousands of jobs and the decimation of many services our members and the wider workforce provide.”

It’s vital that the trade unions now urgently convene a conference to plan a national campaign against cuts. This should involve building mass protests and organising nationally coordinated strike action in local government and across the public sector unions. Demonstrations and community protests at all council budget-setting meetings in early 2016 to demand a no cuts strategy are also essential.

No cuts budgets

The trade unions in Glasgow and Dundee are calling for local authorities and the Scottish government to set legal no cuts budgets. They should use the powers they do have over borrowing, reserves etc to defy the cuts and then build a mass campaign to win back the more than £3 billion stolen from Scotland since 2010 by the Tories.

With the battle lines now drawn, trade unions, anti-austerity campaigns and local communities are now involved in the fight of our lives to defend local services and jobs. Local government in particular will become the epicentre for an almighty eruption of struggle against unprecedented cuts.

Central to this battle will be the demand that all councillors and MSPs must defy the cuts. This must include not just the SNP but also Labour representatives, whose new anti-austerity leadership under Jeremy Corbyn should come out clearly for a no cuts policy and instruct Labour councillors to vote against all cuts.

If this is not done, and in Glasgow the Labour council is drawing up plans for £120 million in cuts over the next two years, then it’s clear a political alternative to the cuts politicians is required.

TUSC

Socialist Party Scotland, alongside the RMT transport workers union in Scotland, leading public sector trade unionists and socialist organisations make up the Scottish Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC). TUSC’s central policy is 100% opposition to austerity through no cuts budgets. We demand that all MSPs and councillors back a no cuts policy and pledge to vote against all cuts.

Scottish TUSC will be standing candidates in the Scottish elections on this platform, alongside a wide range of anti-austerity and socialist policies. The Scottish TUSC conference is taking place on Saturday 23^rd January in Glasgow.

Socialist Party Scotland says:

• Councils and the Scottish Government should set no cuts budgets using a combination of reserves, under-spends, borrowing powers etc
• Build a mass campaign for a return of the billions stolen by the Tories involving trade unions, communities and elected politicians who are prepared to defy the cuts. This would allow for a full reversal of all the cuts since 2010,
• Immediate steps to renegotiate and buy-out the hugely expensive PFI/PPP contracts in Scotland – expected to save up to £12 billion in repayment costs
• Scrap the council tax – For an income-based alternative linked to ability to pay
• Trade unions to urgently convene a conference to plan a national campaign against cuts. Build mass protests and nationally coordinated strike action.
• For demonstrations and community protests at all council budget-setting meetings in early 2016 to demand a no cuts strategy.