The English NHS is on the way to being ruined and effectively privatised. English universities are going to price many prospective students out of further education, because people quite rightly aren't going to want to leave university with debts equivalent to a small mortgage (let's remember that people already leave university with substantial debts in the form of student loans and overdrafts). However, I find it very difficult to feel any sympathy, for one simple reason: you get what you vote for.
Everyone knew before the 2010 election that the Tory party exists purely to service the interests of the rich, and bends down to take whatever big corporations want to thrust in its direction. It's what it has always stood for, and there is absolutely no reason why that should ever change. The Tory party is populated with people who supported the Tory party and decided they wanted to help impose those ideas onto the population. People who believe that public services can be better delivered by private companies seeking a profit for shareholders support the Tories. Therefore, it's fairly obvious that the Tory party should be obsessed with trying to privatise everything. England voted in vast numbers for the Tory party, because the English electorate were stupid enough to fall for the bizarre idea that the Tory party had changed. I'm sorry England, but you're getting what you deserved.
Unfortunately, England's choice has impacted on Scotland. We may be protected from their changes to NHS and university funding, but we still feel the brunt of their cuts due to our block grant (aka our pocket money) being severely reduced, and not being allowed to raise funds how we wish to raise them. Fortunately, we have a government of our own who place the welfare of the Scottish people above all else, and who are more concerned with small businesses than big corporations (evidence: action on small business rates vs the proposed large retailer levy - opposed by all three London parties).
Nothing I'm saying here is new. We all know parties never change, and yet people still fall for their lies when they say they have changed. Parties should be judged on their actions, not on their words. Bob Monkhouse once said "when people find out I'm a comedian they ask me to tell them a joke. When I meet a politician, I don't say, 'tell me a lie'!" Before people go crossing the box next to their usual candidates in May, they should step back and think about their party's record over the past four years, and the parliaments before that.
Labour: opposed the council tax freeze FOUR times; allowed council tax to rise by 60% during their tenure in power; introduced tuition fees; saddled the country with millions of pounds of PFI debt that will be there for decades (including using PFI to build the Skye bridge, and then ending up having to spend even more money bringing it back under public ownership); opposed minimum alcohol pricing in Scotland despite supporting it in England because they were worried about supermarkets making too much profit, and then opposed the large retailer levy that would have, erm, decreased the profits for large retailers; opposed budgets that delivered measures they asked for; forced through the Edinburgh trams, which no one actually wanted (I've yet to speak to an Edinburgher who ever supported them) and which were not at all needed; refused to back a referendum on Scotland's future, despite setting one up for Wales and offering an AV referendum in the UK in a bid to remain in power.
Lib Dems: claimed to have abolished tuition fees in Scotland when really they were just postponed until graduation; supported the idea of local income tax until the SNP proposed it; opposed the large retailer levy, presumably completely unconnected to the fact that their party donors include supermarkets that would have been affected by it; refused to go into coalition with the SNP in Holyrood because of their principled stance on a referendum on independece, but not holding the same principled stance on long-held beliefs like free university education and proportional representation (so at least we know that keeping the union intact is the Lib Dems' only deal-breaker); forced through the Edinburgh trams; refused to back a referendum on Scotland's future, despite supposedly being in favour of increasing the powers of devolution, and also forcing a referendum on AV, which isn't even a voting system they had ever declared any interest in introducing beforehand.
Tories: privatise everything in sight (and will do so to Scottish Water if they get the chance, despite water being absolutely key to Scotland's economic future); opposed the large retailer levy, because of their absolute devotion to large corporations; forced through the Edinburgh trams; currently implementing tuition fees in England and wish to do so in Scotland; currently trying to privatise the NHS in England; refused to back a referendum on Scotland's future, despite giving the UK a referendum on a token change to the voting system.
SNP: froze council tax for four years; genuinely abolished tuition fees, rather than just renaming them the "graduate endowment fee"; abolished bridge tolls on Tay and Forth Road bridges, thus removing what was essentially a tax on people who lived in Fife but worked in Dundee and Edinburgh; oversaw the lowest crime figures in 32 years; abolished prescription charges; tried to halt the Edinburgh trams, but were stopped from doing so; tried to introduce a fairer local tax system, but were stopped from doing so; tried to introduce minimum alcohol pricing to help fight Scotland's alcohol problem, but were stopped from doing so; supported the smoking ban in the last parliament because it was best for Scotland, rather than playing petty opposition politics; wanted to introduce a referendum on Scottish independence and increased devolution powers, but was stopped from even trying to do so.
When you look at the histories of these parties, it's blatantly obvious who people should vote for. Labour have spent four years conducting themselves like sulking children, refusing to join in. The policies they tell us they back are completely at odds with their history in power, which gives them absolutely no credibility whatsoever. The Lib Dems have a history of lies, whether it's pretending to have abolished tuition fees, pretending to be in favour of increasing devolved powers (we all know the Scotland Bill is a set up), or pretending to stand for anything other than selling out voters for power (let's just remember that this is the SECOND time the Lib Dems have gone back on tuition fees promises, the first being in 1999). The Tories just cannot be trusted to be in charge of public services, and will only ever serve narrow corporate interests. The SNP have voted for what was best for Scotland while in opposition, and have tried to enact policies that are best for Scotland while in government, although often being blocked by the self-interest of other parties. They're not perfect, but at least they've been true to themselves - namely, the party of Scotland and the Scottish people. That alone makes them more worthy of people's votes than the others.
When casting your vote on 5th May, just remember that political parties don't change. Look into the past, and you'll see the future.
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