Pre-devolution, it was relatively straightforward for the SNP to portray themselves strikingly differently to different pockets of the electorate: Tartan Tories in provincial Perth and the spiritual heirs of Red Clydeside in Govan.
With the advent of the Scottish Parliament, and the SNP as the main opposition party, things became marginally more complicated as the demanding electorate now expected them to have more than one policy. The SNP, generously, dealt with this by adopting two, entirely detached, policy platforms. Their approach to economic policy was to buy wholesale into the rightwing myth that lowering taxes would increase investment in public services. Meanwhile, in a land far, far away, the other face of their party was jumping on every populist bandwagon going, from free school meals for the hummus-favouring children of the middle classes, to opposition to the private finance initiative. Underneath all this lurked the SNP’s murky approach to equalities issues, with their acceptance of half-a-million pounds from strident homophobe Brian Souter to fund their election campaign, and their backing of the right of Catholic adoption agencies to turn away gay couples.
With the SNP now in government, how could this dichotomy be retained? As it turns out, it can’t, and increasingly it appears to be the rightwing impulses of their party that have the whip hand.
The SNP relied on the Tories to get their budget through parliament, the two headlines of which were a freeze in council tax and rates relief for small businesses, with the subsequent cuts in public services being decidedly underplayed.
When push came to shove, the SNP looked at their election commitment to cut business taxes and their pledge to match Labour’s school-building programme ‘brick for brick’, and suddenly those leaking portacabins were looking pretty cosy.
This trend has continued, with John Swinney, the Finance Secretary, suggesting that councils around the country should have the opportunity to lower business rates in their area in an attempt to attract businesses into their locality. Not only could this spark a bidding war, with neighbouring councils bidding against each other in a downward spiral that leads to an ever-reducing income to fund essential public services and invest in the infrastructure that is so vital to facilitate economic growth, it is also hugely instructive of what we should expect from the SNP.
Local authorities can put business rates down; they cannot put them up. The only lever being offered to councils is that of the bargain basement, ‘cut it and they will come’, approach to economic development. Councils are not being offered the freedom to levy businesses in order to develop their area’s physical and digital infrastructure, improve the health of the labour pool and address quality of life issues which many inward investors cite as major factors in determining their location.
This is also reflected at a national level, with the SNP’s refusal to adopt Labour’s proposals for skills academies an indication of their reluctance to invest in the Scottish population if it means a quick buck, or a cheap headline, can be made elsewhere.
So we have our answer. The SNP may continue to posture on their commitment to social justice, but the facts tell a different story. Scotland has a centre-right government, elected by stealth, but, with the scrutiny of Scottish Labour, they will not be allowed to act with impunity.