The SNP cannot continue to talk Left and Act Right

This week saw the stage 2 reading of the Procurement Reform Bill at the Scottish Parliament.

Scotland spends  billions on public sector procurement each year, from everything to buying stationary to the administration of IT systems. It is a huge source of public spending, and indeed a huge income stream for private business.

The Bill therefore, presents a chance to change the way we do business in Scotland, for the better.

I believe the most effective way to do so is through the promotion of the Living Wage in public sector contracts, as a performance related cause. I have submitted an amendment to the Bill saying as such and hope it gains cross party support to pass.

The Living Wage is a policy which in principle unites Scotland’s constitutional divide – Scottish Labour and the Scottish Greens support it, and on paper the Scottish National Party do as well. Unfortunately, this week, SNP MSPs voted against my amendment to include the Living Wage in the bill.

Lifting a worker’s earnings from the minimum wage to the living wage represents an annual increase of over £2000 a year. This is a drop in the ocean compared to the £10 billion a year we actually spend on procurement, but for families up and down Scotland facing mounting childcare costs, rising energy bills and feeling the temptation to use pay-day lenders, it can, and will, make a huge difference.

It’s good for business too. It reduces staff turnover and the administrative costs associated with it, improves productivity and attracts better staff through reputational gain. Barclay’s has paid the London Living Wage since 2007, and in cleaning services, they keep 92% of their workers against 35% across the industry.

The wider community benefits through lower benefit cost, less stress on the NHS and cash into the local economy.

It will help tackle the gender pay gap and boost the earnings of young people , as 64% of the 400,000 on less than the Living Wage in Scotland are women, and 36% are under 24.

So why is it not in the Bill already? Why did the SNP vote against it? The Scottish Government say it will be included in statutory guidelines. The problem with that is there is nothing to stop employers looking at and then ignoring those guidelines.

The SNP has in recent years developed a habit of talking left and acting right. They claim Scotland can be a progressive beacon when their headline policy achievement has been a regressive council tax freeze which benefits the more affluent than those in our society who depend on public services which our councils now struggle to provide.

Last week, Alex Salmond refused to match Ed Miliband’s pledge to restate the 50p tax rate.

The White Paper on independence only made 2 serious fiscal promises – the reduction and eventual abolition of Air Passenger Duty and the reduction of corporation tax. The former was estimated by the Scottish Government themselves as being a £385 million tax cut to big business. A cut described by Joseph Stiglitz, one of the SNP’s 2 favourite economists, as a “gift to multinationals” which would “increase inequality” in our communities.

So it begs the question, if we can use public money to deliver a near £400 million tax cut for the biggest multinationals operating in Scotland, why can’t we use it to deliver an extra £2000 for working people?

James Kelly is MSP for Rutherglen and Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities