Big ideas are needed to maintain public interest in the General Election campaign, says TERRY MURDEN who offers a list of suggestions
General Election campaigns are always too long, often mind-numbingly long. Few begin before an election has been called. This one will run for at least six months because Rishi Sunak has said only that it will take place in the second half of the year. It threatens to be with us for the entirety of 2024. Gird your loins. It will be more like an endurance test.
Not only will it be a lengthy and stamina-sapping experience, each party will promise the biggest spending on public services, the most ambitious plan for economic growth, more investment in the industries of the future, and pledge to be the most efficient and voter-friendly by cutting the cost of living.
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, and the SNP’s leader Humza Yousaf, have already launched their general election campaigns, though neither will be candidates at Westminster. They do, of course, represent and support those who are standing in Scotland for a seat in the Commons, but Holyrood politics will be drawn inevitably and erroneously into the debate.
On the specifics of their campaign launches, Mr Sarwar delivered a speech that made 34 references to change. Apart from Labour offering to strengthen workers’ rights, he said nothing much about how things would change.
There is talk of creating GB Energy based in Aberdeen and he says it will be a generator. Really? Let’s hear more about this and how it will work. Mr Sarwar may not want to declare the party’s full hand too soon, but vague promises that things can only get better (heard that one before?) will convince no one.
It is expecting too much to believe the SNP will acknowledge the impact that external events have had on inflation and interest rates, and therefore the cost of living, when it is easier simply to blame the Tories in Westminster.
The SNP’s main purpose is to label both the Conservatives and Labour as disinterested in the wellbeing of Scottish people and to be following policies that not only discriminate against Scotland but are ruinous of the dastardly UK as a whole.
It claims to have the solutions to growth and the cost of living that have eluded even large economies such as Germany. It will continue to say that, through independence, it can take Scotland back into the EU, even though such a move would create new tensions with the rest of the UK, a much more significant trading partner, that would outweigh any benefits of rejoining the bloc.
The Conservatives are faced with defending a parliamentary term that includes the rare distinction of suffering two prime ministerial resignations. In Boris Johnson’s case there was his wrongful behaviour during the Covid lockdowns, while Liz Truss betrayed the party’s long-standing claim to be responsible with public finances. Mr Sunak will be relying on an economic recovery, and on geo-politics having a minimal impact on the UK.
Former Brexit and UKIP leader Nigel Farage is tipped to make a comeback. Look out for other outcomes if the ‘small boats’ crisis worsens. Don’t discount the disruptive interventions of Alex Salmond and his Alba Party which claims to be more committed to independence than the SNP and could split the nationalist vote.
So what might light up the election? What policies could the politicians promise that would see real change?
Here’s our General Election Manifesto
New ideas for financing the NHS
Let’s accept that private investment is required for our under-resourced and increasingly stretched health service. We already pay for optometry, foot care, osteopathy and a host of other services. Dentistry is sliding inexorably into the private health sector. The drugs and medical equipment supplied to the NHS come from private companies. If people are able and willing to pay for a pair of glasses or treatment for back pain, why not for a surgeon to fix a broken leg?
We must build in protection for those who do not have the means to pay for services, but we cannot continue passing an ever-higher bill on to the taxpayer.
We need an honest debate about the future financing of the NHS which means listening to those who would be prepared to pay for more services and the companies that would be willing to help provide them.
Develop an industrial policy
The UK has been woefully backward in having government policy at the centre of industrial development. One result of this has been the failure to successfully transition from one economic model to the next. It happened in the 1980s with the widespread pit closures and the collapse of manufacturing that devastated communities who were given no alternatives. There is a risk that the same will happen with the modernisation of the steel industry. In the US there is huge support for the hydrogen sector which is now replacing traditional methods of steelmaking.
Thankfully, the growth of the renewables sector will ease the transition from oil and gas, though there are questions over the degree of government support.
Reform the honours system
The Post Office scandal has highlighted the need re-design the discredited honours system. It is too obviously handing out gongs to those with the right connections rather than the right credentials. The honours bestowed are archaic and belong to an era long gone. It’s time to ditch the garters with the empire and install a more modern system based correctly on merit.
Reform the House of Lords
Those calling for the abolition of the House of Lords should be careful what they wish for. Given the corruption and incompetence that has existed in elected chambers there is no guarantee that an elected second chamber in London would be any better than one full of those with friends in the right places or with inheritance claims.
A better solution would be a second chamber made up of those who have earned the right to be a member by virtue of their contribution to society. It could be a business leader, a charity worker, a teacher, scientist. Membership should have a time limit. Why not link a new honours system with a right to membership of this second chamber?
Create an English Parliament
Devolution for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should have also meant devolution for England in order to create a more equitable distribution of power. Instead, the UK parliament at Westminster too often acts like an English parliament and is one source of the constant friction between Westminster and Edinburgh.
Reform of the devolution settlement has been mentioned by Labour, without much detail. It requires radical surgery, turning the Commons into a proper UK parliament responsible for non-devolved issues, and a new English legislature. Following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU it would be ironic if its members were known as MEPs.
Invest in projects with real value
Billions have been wasted on white elephants such as the HS2 rail project and weigh on the taxpayer for decades. I argued from the start that HS2 would be out of date by the time it is built (a Caledonian Canal for our times) and would result in only marginal benefits at enormous cost. In the meantime, working from home and the advance of technology have largely eliminated the need for faster rail travel or even extra capacity. Those landowners who have had their property compulsorily purchased should be recompensed quickly and in full. Don’t let this become a Post office style scandal.
Investment in transport infrastructure should be diverted from vanity projects to ensuring the network across the UK is fit for purpose.
Create a National Wealth Fund
Many nations such as Norway, France, China and Kuwait have used their oil and gas revenues to create enormous Sovereign Wealth Funds. It is too late for the UK to do this, but there has been talk of launching something similar around other assets owned by the government.
These include those managed by UK Government Investments, which owns shares in 24 companies ranging from Network Rail and the Royal Mint. It generates billions in income which could be distributed to taxpayers or used to improve public services.
Reform public inquiries
Cut down on long and expensive public inquiries which only line the pockets of lawyers. Inquiries into issues such as the Edinburgh trams, Covid, and others are ridiculously long and by the time they report they have lost their impact, and their recommendations are not always adopted. In the case of the tram, lessons had been learned and the extension built on time and on budget before the inquiry into the first line published its report. There has to be a more efficient way forward.
Equality before the law
A billionaire caught speeding will pay the same fixed penalty as an unemployed teenager driving to his first job interview. Those appealing their convictions or penalties have more chance of getting a hearing and of success if they have the means to hire top lawyers. This means the law is not equally accessible but favours those who can afford it. As a result many people are denied justice.
In the interests of fairness and equality the English and Scottish legal systems need to replace fixed penalties with a percentage of income or wealth.
More investment in animal welfare and wild habitat
Elections tend to be geared towards satisfying the base instincts of voters: how much they earn, the taxes they pay, and whether they will be able to afford a holiday. In an era when the younger generation in particular is said to be concerned about wellbeing, the climate and nature, let’s make a determined effort to tackle issues that are left largely to charities.
Let’s stop, or limit, trading with countries that encourage poaching, the use of animal parts for medicinal purposes and the destruction of habitats.
Fast food chains encourage us to eat more chickens which need animal feed supplied from farms that were once rain forest. If we want to save the planet we have to change our diet and demand changes by the companies that feed us.
It needs a focused international response that does not rely on charity to provide financial support. If billions can be found to build an unnecessary railway line, then money can be found to save endangered species and wild habitat.
Terry Murden held senior positions at The Sunday Times, The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and The Northern Echo and is now editor of Daily Business
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