How could Labour tackle inequality in an independent Scotland?

Labour has worked to reject a central claim of the pro-independence campaign, that an independent Scotland would be a fairer and more equal country.

Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont has insisted that Alex Salmond doesn’t care enough about social justice to reduce inequality, and Gordon Brown has predicted that SNP policy to lower corporation tax will start a race to the bottom on wages.

Despite growing support for independence in working class communities, Labour’s argument seems to resonate. Writing for LabourList, Douglas Alexander cited evidence that “twice as many people think inequality would be worse under independence than better – and that number has risen since last year too.”

But there is a problem with Scottish Labour’s argument: it assumes the SNP will consistently win the elections in an independent Scotland.

This pessimistic assumption is part of an oppositional mindset that has characterised Scottish Labour since the SNP won the elections in 2007.

If there is a Yes vote, Scottish Labour will have to get out of this mindset, and win the 2016 Scottish elections.

As a former member of Labour’s media team suggested this weekend, the party would have an opportunity following a Yes vote to better articulate the values that underlie the Scottish Labour party and the labour movement.

Johann Lamont made this commitment in March, saying it’s time to “reaffirm the common purpose which unites those of us across the Labour movement, and paint a vision of a better fairer Scotland. These would still be our ambitions for Scotland if the country was to vote for independence.”

So if Scottish Labour were to set out its agenda for an independent Scotland, what would it look like?

At Scottish TUC Congress Johann Lamont said an independent currency would be the only ‘logical’ option for an independent Scotland. At Spring Conference, Scottish Labour announced plans to raise taxes on the richest. In the Scottish Parliament in May, Labour backbenchers pushed to extend the living wage across the economy, and in July demanded investment in cash-starved colleges and further education.

These various commitments could be at the heart of the Labour manifesto for the 2016 elections in an independent Scotland, underpinning wider ambitions for equality and income security, jobs and education – along the following lines:

Independent Currency

To tackle inequality, Scotland will need its own monetary policy so that interest and inflation rates help support the interests of the many, and the cost of living is kept in line with family incomes. Labour will ensure the costs of transition to an independent currency would be borne by those who can most afford them.

Fairer Taxes

The SNP talk about an oil bonus, but the real short-term bonus for an independent Scotland will be a tax on the wealth of the richest and a crackdown on tax evasion. Fair taxation is the key to a more equitable society, allowing us to provide world-class public services and reinvest in college and vocational courses that value and maximise the talents of all.

Better Wages

Wages have been frozen or falling for a long time. Labour will push recovery from the bottom up. We’ll raise the minimum wage above inflation, expand the living wage, and support companies, councils and public services to afford a general pay rise across the private and public sectors.

The SNP, if elected in an independent Scotland, would not embrace these realistic but radical policies. The challenge of reducing inequality will fall to Scottish Labour. On the basis of these economic principles, an independent Scottish Labour party could expose the weak ambitions of social nationalism, and offer a fairer Scotland that works for working people.