The Scottish Renew Party has attracted broad appeal in the centre ground of politics, with disenfranchised party members from the Labour, LibDem and Conservative Party amongst others joining them. It has also stirred many agnostic voters to join, along with those who previously abstained from voting due to a resignation of the status quo not being changeable and just general apathy.

But their is something fresh and compelling, even slightly revolutionary about the honesty and integrity they exude. They are both in touch with their roots, but well aware that the road to the future comes from the past and the lessons that history have taught us should not be ignored.

Scottish Renew and Renew UK came into being in 2017, very much in the mould of the longer established Renew Europe Party, who have 97 MEPs in 22 EU members states. But in the UK, they had to get under way from a standing start, no established MSPs, MPs or councillors joining them from and administered by volunteers, something that to a large extent is still the case today, excepting some councillors in various parts of the UK.

It is fair to say that at first it was very much a ‘one trick pony’, created to highlight the devastation to our economy and mass self harm that Brexit would bring, something that is now only all to real, as Project Fear’ has become ‘Project Reality’. But this was soon to change and a broader of raft of policies followed.

 

 

The irony of our current legal system is that it does not have a written constitution and harkens back to 1215 and the Magna Carta, with differences here and there in Scotland of course. The fact that it has such a rich heritage does not make it suitable or fit for purpose in present times. Take the WHIP system, which is a bit of an anathema to Democracy itself, the ‘career’ aspect of an MP, not having qualifications for the ministry they are appointed to, and worst of all, parliamentary privilege.

Lies have not just become second nature to Boris Johnson and his cabinet, but are being blatantly used as ‘weapon of mass distraction’. And whilst politicians are exempt from much of the legal action that the rest of us must adhere to, they are getting away with it with impunity.

Clearly all of this must change and Scottish Renew and Renew UK have their sights firmly set on these obstacles to true democracy.

 

 

Scottish Renew have published the following policies for their Holyrood 2021 campaign:

Sustainability

Environment

  • A Commitment to rewilding Scotland, Land and Sea, including lost ecosystems as well as protection and integration to urban areas.
  • Work to Strengthen International Agreements to protect the environment of the North Sea (currently under OSPAR)
  • Push to reinforce SEPA’s powers to enforce pollution limits (Air, Water and Sound), ensuring the Polluter Pays principle is fully enacted
  • Planning reform to ensure greenbelt land remains protected and developments are made in appropriate and sympathetic manner.

Food, Farming and Agriculture

  • Establishment of small, local, community farms to bring food production back to the heart of society.
  • Moratorium on the expansion of open water salmon farms
  • Land reform to encourage small holding, benefitting local economies, decreasing food miles and increasing resilience
  • Outdoor classrooms to encourage the art of husbandry and put food back on the menu.

Compassion

Poverty & Inequality

  • Build on the recent Universal Basic Income Feasibility study to develop a pilot, working with all levels of government to overcome the existing barriers.
  • Introduce poverty Impact Assessments to sit along side Equality impact assessments, ensuring that the impact of any policy on those in deprivation or poverty is considered and mitigated before policies are enacted.
  • As there is no one cause of poverty, ensure that policies are brought into effect to deal further at a national level with, with food and heating poverty, mitigate cost of transportation and ensure access to realistically affordable accommodation as well as economic development and pay regulation.

Health

  • Push for a national Care Service, to ensure reform and investment is provided to the Scottish Care Sector
  • Ensure the adequate resourcing for the National Health Service Scotland which remains free at point of use.
  • Fund NHS Scotland to develop properly supported and resourced self-help groups for mental health conditions within communities.
  • Ensure the NICE guidelines for joined up care in adults with Cerebral Palsy are adapted by SIGN Scotland, adopted and rolled out across NHS Scotland.

Opportunity

Education

  • Ensure Teachers are empowered to explore the full potential of the freedom and flexibility of approach offered by the Curriculum for Excellence and review mandatory classroom testing.
  • Promote all forms of learning, including technical and vocational courses as equally positive, address funding gaps for colleges and ensure funding for modern apprenticeships is maintained
  • Empower the Children’s and Young Peoples Commissioner to investigate complaints about policy and decision-making and issue enforceable recommendations, thereby stopping children and young people from having to seek legal assistance and relying on an overstretched judiciary
  • Require that the delayed rollout of the Early years expansion will be completed by start of August Term, allowing parents of nursery age children to be confident they will receive the 1140 hours of care previously promised.

Economy

  • Develop Microbudget film studio’s (5-6) across Scotland as part of wider Performing Arts Centre’s of Excellence and linking into a co-investment partnership with local Colleges/Universities and Culture Agencies to develop film makers and film related people of the future.
  • The Internet has now moved from being an additional tool to a core part of our national infrastructure. As such, we now need to develop community based internet access – particularly in poorer areas where take up is lower due to cost and skill levels – and engage in alternative tech projects (Sat/Lorawan) to widen reach of superfast capability.
  • Move beyond Carbon Neutral to Carbon negative to ensure our economy remains sustainable. Develop the concept of natural capital in the wider public conversations to ensure the environment retains its place in our economy.
  • Our society is supported by the voluntary sector, in turn we need to support the voluntary sector to ensure it is able to thrive, alternative funding methods to help cover core funding, micro generation schemes and community asset trusts.

Europe

  • Market Access: Renew Scotland believes that while the UK has left the EU, there is both scope for a new agreement for Scottish Market Access (based on arrangements in place for other areas) and an imperative for this given the strength of the Scottish remain vote.
  • International cooperation was and remains a key part of the benefits created by the wider European Community. Renew Scotland wants Scotland to retain as many of these cooperative links as possible and will work with other parties and organisations to maintain links to bodies like the ECHR, Erasmus, ESA etc.
  • Renew Scotland believes that while we have left the EU, the Brexit referendum was flawed. Renew Scotland will therefore continue to push for a re-join option to be put before the Scottish people.

Transparency

Accountability

  • Renew Scotland advocates a change to the Electoral system in Scotland. First Past the Post is an outdated barely democratic system only used in Europe by the UK and Belarus, while the Regional List elects parties not representative individuals. We would suggest a transferrable vote system similar to that used in local elections would be more representative, and other options should be investigated.
  • Renew Scotland supports a new Referendum on Scottish Independence, given the clear changes in the landscape following the Brexit decision. However we see the need to learn from the mistakes in the Brexit referendum, we want a two step process, a first referendum giving a Scottish Government approval to begin negotiations, then after 2 years once a draft agreement has been reached a confirmatory referendum to ensure the people have the final say on Scotland’s Future. This reduces the scope for misunderstanding and accusations of lies and exaggeration on both sides.

Integrity

  • Develop a mechanism to extend the ability of constituents to recall Elected officials to all levels in Scotland.
  • Introduce a strengthened Code of Conduct ensuring that anyone convicted of serious crimes are barred from standing for office, and anyone in post must stand down on conviction, regardless of sentence. Strengthen the Ministerial Code to require anyone found in breach to stand down from the role.
  • Renew requires all of its own candidates be Disclosure checked, the only party to make this public declaration of transparency for parliamentary candidates.
  • Register of Interests for elected officials at all levels, publicly available and detailing outside roles and appointments if any.

Social

Transport

  • Rural Links, Improving access for rural communities to the rest of Scotland, Rest and Be Thankful Dualling the A96 etc. Good, sustainable public transport and logistics can only be achieved when the transport links are solid.
  • Review National Public Transport Strategy, to provide affordable, sustainable transport accessible to all. Aiming to develop public attitudes towards public transport, not adapt strategy to suit.
  • Carbon offsetting as standard for high emission transport (e.g. ferries, air travel)
  • Support feasibility studies into Northern Isles road tunnels, which may help limit maritime emissions.

Legal

  • Reform legal aid criteria to allow wider support for individuals across the legal landscape and to ensure that the Resilience Fund for Legal Aid practitioners is made fit for purpose, so that those in need of Legal Aid have lawyers to call upon.

Housing

  • Develop a national Building Regulator to ensure the high standards of sustainable materials, methods and energy consumption in public building works.
  • Develop programmes of Social Housing Projects to provide an alternative to private renting for those who can’t afford ‘Affordable’ Housing.
  • Halt the demolition program being carried out across Scottish Housing and replace these with an upgrade program to update all Housing with sustainable technology, all abandoned buildings to be registered with the Local Authority to ensure that buildings standing empty can fulfil their potential.

 

Joint Scottish Renew Party Leaders Bruce Henderson and Heather Astbury

Renew Scotland is working with Volt Scotland in this election and is fielding candidates on the regional lists as follows:

Glasgow – Ben Meechan, Andrea Kozlowski of Volt Scotland, standing for Renew Scotland.

West of Scotland – Peter Morton.

North-east Scotland – Colin McFadyen.

Mid Scotland and Fife – Bruce Henderson, Stefan Diesing of Volt Scotland, standing for Renew Scotland.

Lothian – Heather Astbury, Anna Freemantle-Zee.