Every cloud has a silver lining, so although my neighbourhood isn't exactly what you'd call salubrious, on the other hand the political class seems to turn its nose up at it, so one doesn't get them chapping on one's door during election campaigns.
Of course, we do get those mailshots which are sent to the named individual and can also use that person's name for the salutation, thus the intention is presumably to portray the impression of 'personal attention', to use a phrase more usually associated with commercial service providers. On the other hand, these mailshots use my address as per the electoral register rather than my normal postal address, which sort of detracts from the individuality of it all.
Onywey, one such missive arrived at the weekend, on this occasion from Labour's Richard McCready, who is currently a cooncilor in Dundee and is the party's candidate in the Dundee City West constituency for May's Holyrood election, with the contest presumably a straight fight between the good Mr McCready and the SNP's Joe FitzPatrick.
So what's Mr McCready's pitch? Slightly bizarrely, methinks, he's leading on Labour's "living wage" pledge for a minimum of £7.15 an hour in the public sector, as shown in the graphic. Which will no doubt appeal to the (presumably) minority of public sector workers earning less than that, but hardly seems likely to inspire the masses. Ah, but it's only first in the public sector, and then he/Labour will "fight for it across Scotland".
Braw. But who will he/they be fighting? Not the Scottish Government, presumably, because that'll equally presumably be Labour - at least from Mr McCready's perspective - and in any case he's perhaps alluding to the national minimum wage, which is a reserved power for Westminster. So Labour will be fighting the coalition Government, which would be a bit rich given that the NMW was within the party's remit until less than a year ago, and there was never any indication of setting such a rate. And, of course, leading on a reserved matter for a Holyrood election seems a strange course of action, to say the least. On the other hand, his accompanying letter merely says that: "We will campaign for every sector in Scotland, including private companies, to pay a Living Wage." Which is about as convincing as saying he'll ask bankers to "be nice" and give up their bonuses.
In essence, therefore, Mr McCready is punting a wage rise for a minority of public sector workers, and while no doubt this minority is deserving of a rise perhaps voters more generally will view this as the usual Labour preoccupation with their public sector/union cronies rather than the public per se. What about those on the NMW in the private sector who do not enjoy the job security afforded by the likes of Dundee City Council, for example?
Well that's unfortunately how I view the issue - and indeed feel more shafted by the likes of Mr McCready and Mr FitzPatrick than mollycoddled - so my vote will be going elsewhere, assuming I even bother voting at all.
Of course, no doubt the candidates will view the likes of myself as a lost cause anyway, so my opinion - and that of thousands of like-minded others in the constituency - is of no relevance.
However, even if his pledge does seem superficially appealing to the electorate, surely it won't stand up to even the merest whiff of scrutiny?
Of course, we do get those mailshots which are sent to the named individual and can also use that person's name for the salutation, thus the intention is presumably to portray the impression of 'personal attention', to use a phrase more usually associated with commercial service providers. On the other hand, these mailshots use my address as per the electoral register rather than my normal postal address, which sort of detracts from the individuality of it all.
Onywey, one such missive arrived at the weekend, on this occasion from Labour's Richard McCready, who is currently a cooncilor in Dundee and is the party's candidate in the Dundee City West constituency for May's Holyrood election, with the contest presumably a straight fight between the good Mr McCready and the SNP's Joe FitzPatrick.
So what's Mr McCready's pitch? Slightly bizarrely, methinks, he's leading on Labour's "living wage" pledge for a minimum of £7.15 an hour in the public sector, as shown in the graphic. Which will no doubt appeal to the (presumably) minority of public sector workers earning less than that, but hardly seems likely to inspire the masses. Ah, but it's only first in the public sector, and then he/Labour will "fight for it across Scotland".
Braw. But who will he/they be fighting? Not the Scottish Government, presumably, because that'll equally presumably be Labour - at least from Mr McCready's perspective - and in any case he's perhaps alluding to the national minimum wage, which is a reserved power for Westminster. So Labour will be fighting the coalition Government, which would be a bit rich given that the NMW was within the party's remit until less than a year ago, and there was never any indication of setting such a rate. And, of course, leading on a reserved matter for a Holyrood election seems a strange course of action, to say the least. On the other hand, his accompanying letter merely says that: "We will campaign for every sector in Scotland, including private companies, to pay a Living Wage." Which is about as convincing as saying he'll ask bankers to "be nice" and give up their bonuses.
In essence, therefore, Mr McCready is punting a wage rise for a minority of public sector workers, and while no doubt this minority is deserving of a rise perhaps voters more generally will view this as the usual Labour preoccupation with their public sector/union cronies rather than the public per se. What about those on the NMW in the private sector who do not enjoy the job security afforded by the likes of Dundee City Council, for example?
Well that's unfortunately how I view the issue - and indeed feel more shafted by the likes of Mr McCready and Mr FitzPatrick than mollycoddled - so my vote will be going elsewhere, assuming I even bother voting at all.
Of course, no doubt the candidates will view the likes of myself as a lost cause anyway, so my opinion - and that of thousands of like-minded others in the constituency - is of no relevance.
However, even if his pledge does seem superficially appealing to the electorate, surely it won't stand up to even the merest whiff of scrutiny?
2 comments:
Purcell unilaterally gave his lowest paid workers the 'Glasgow living wage' back in 2009... when he was Labour's 'next big thing'...
Hope they're not using Purcell as too much of a role model then, Jim ;0)
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