Referendum reaction
They are not magicians. However, their Westminster paymaster have a few tricks up their sleeves. They will make some of that money vanish. “We had that mendaciously underhand
piece of flimflam spun from the ‘no’ camp in the last week of campaigning, to suddenly offer us all sorts of enhanced devolved powers – the so-called ‘pledge’ from the Prime Minister. That ‘pledge’ was, in fact, so vague that the Conservatives and Labour have completely different ideas of what was implied by it. “In reality it was a promise of nothing,
and the skittish electorate were no doubt taken in by its dupery. “If I am able to grasp any straws from
the fallout of the referendum, I would like to see a continued political pressure to deliver a devo-max settlement of some substance – by devolving all tax raising powers to Holyrood. We’d soon see who the subsidy junkies are. “It is a fact that will surprise most people
that more income tax is raised per capita in Scotland than in the UK as a whole. “I would go further still and allow
the Scottish Parliament to also collect corporation tax. Then you can stick your Barnett formula where the sun don’t shine, Mr Cameron.” Anas Sarwar, Scottish Labour Deputy
Leader, was a dental general practi- tioner before he became Member of Parliament for Glasgow Central in 2010. A key figure in ‘Better Together’, he was the campaign co-ordinator for the Labour Party campaign during the referendum. “I would say that among the highs of
that campaign was the fact that we had such an engaged electorate in Scotland. People were fully involved in the demo- cratic process and made their voice heard,” Anas said. “There was an indication, whether
people voted yes or no, of a real desire for change. And as someone who fundamen- tally looks for change in the way we are as a country I think it was good to see that strong message come through. There is an opportunity to say let’s come together and work together to create a better Scotland and a better United Kingdom. “In terms of lows, one thing that came
through is that although our country isn’t broken, it is clear that our political, social and economic model is and needs fixing. Similarly, communities and families were divided on the issue of the referendum and we must bring people back together. “Another low was the scaremongering
and lies regarding the NHS. There was an attempt in the last few weeks of the campaign to say that if you vote no there will be privatisation of the NHS. That
Anas Sarwar sees room for improvement in the NHS
At the Scottish Dental Show, figures on both yes and no camps discussed the motion ‘Scottish general dental practice will be better for patients and dentists in an independent Scotland’
Gerard Boyle wants to see continued political pressure to deliver devo-max
wasn’t true – our NHS is independent in Scotland and we must recognise it is not fit for purpose for the 21st century. It needs radical reform and the way we do that is by undertaking a fundamental review to make sure we take the profession, the workers and the patients forward together. “We should recognise that what’s
been happening in England has not impacted negatively on Scotland in terms of budget consequentials. We should also recognise that the Barnett consequentials have actually gone up for running the NHS, but the Scottish government has chosen not to match those with added investment in our NHS. Devolution
protects us from what’s happening down south, it doesn’t cause problems for us. “The pretence that our NHS is fine in
Scotland is not one I share. Over the last seven years we’ve had a failure to recognise the reality of what’s happening in our NHS. A government focused on a referendum saw sticking plaster politics applied rather than the changes needed to make the NHS fit for purpose for the 21st century. “That’s why we have proposed a
‘Beveridge 21’ review on building the NHS and maximising and guaranteeing its resource so that it stays out of private hands, provides the service needed by the people and integrates both healthcare and social care.”
Scottish Dental magazine 37
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