Tuesday night saw the leaders of the main Scottish parties go head to head in the second debate of the Holyrood election campaign. Kezia Dugdale performed well, offering a strong and coherent electoral platform where Nicola Sturgeon stumbled over the inconsistencies and contradictions of Scottish National party policy.
The first question of the night focused on income tax, which drew the dividing lines for the rest of the evening. Sturgeon’s promises on healthcare and education rang hollow as she refused to commit to the tax reform necessary to fund them sufficiently and her denunciations of ‘Tory cuts’ lacked whatever legitimacy they once had. Despite a typically polished performance, Sturgeon appeared more vulnerable than usual. She struggled to establish the SNP’s platform in this election beyond coded nationalist sentiments and an ambiguous referendum pledge, and made little effort to compensate for the variability and incoherence of the party’s policy positions. She falters most when debating tax and defending her party’s record in government, both of which are inevitably going to act as key battlegrounds for this election. Under normal circumstances, these weaknesses would represent a serious problem for the party; however, it remains to be seen how these issues will translate electorally in a political context that continues to be characterised by political polarisation and nationalism.
Kezia, on the other hand, appeared confident, enjoying the benefits that a clear position and a salient narrative offer in debates. Scottish Labour’s proposed 1p tax increase and 50p top rate of tax provided clear water between them and the SNP, and acted as a strong foundation for her other policy pledges. She was effective in locating the proposed tax increases within their broader political and economic context, linking them to services throughout and framing them as a means of using Scotland’s powers to provide an alternative to Conservatism.
Additionally, Kezia posed strong challenges to the other party leaders. Notably, Ruth Davidson had an uncharacteristically clumsy exchange with Dugdale, refusing to clearly define her position on the bedroom tax and struggling with a question about the impact of austerity on single mothers. Throughout, she struggled to balance the need to rehabilitate the Conservative brand in Scotland with her need to distance herself from it.
Meanwhile, Patrick Harvie’s performance left much to be desired. He spoke enthusiastically and articulately about the need to reduce income inequality; an admirable priority, but one that is difficult to reconcile with the Scottish Green party’s bizarre recent decision to vote against the 1p increase in income tax. Overall, Harvie provided one of the weaker performances of the evening: he often appeared unusually rattled and after eight years as a key figure in Scottish politics the sheen is starting to wear off his purported outsider image.
A challenge regarding the Liberal Democrats’ time in government with the Conservatives was the only real point of note in an otherwise unremarkable debate for Willie Rennie.
Inevitably, this debate wound up discussing constitutional matters, ostensibly to the advantage of Sturgeon; yet this was not necessarily the case. While these are the issues that Sturgeon relies on to consolidate and mobilise her base, she appeared uncomfortable and evasive discussing her manifesto’s plans for a second referendum. Indeed, she appeared most animated by cheap political point scoring, as she and Davidson accused Kezia of being both too unionist and not unionist enough, respectively. While Kezia handled this well, calmly reasserting Scottish Labour’s opposition to a second referendum, the enduring political relevance of independence is problematic for Scottish Labour. Throughout the debate Kezia won the arguments on the economy, on taxes, on services: ensuring the electorate’s focus is on these issues is going to be key to Scottish Labour’s success in May.
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Photo: STV