July 15.
I was present on behalf of the citizens of Glasgow at an emergency
debate forced upon the Government by the Labour Party on the question of
the privatisation of water and the gerrymandering involved at the base
of their local government reorganisation proposals (July 14).
I believe that if every Scots man and woman had witnessed these four
hours there would be no votes for the Tory Party ever again in Scotland.
There were throughout these four hours only six Tory MPs at the debate.
Mr Lang showed his utter contempt for the people of Scotland by making
a contribution which read like a skit from the Cambridge Footlights --
of which it will be remembered he was a student member. His performance
was juvenile and arrogant and consisted largely of cynical jokes at the
expense of the Scots.
However, he repeated twice that the aim of the Government measures was
to ''lift the veil of socialism from the people of Scotland''. A clear
admission of the Tories' aim to reorganise local government to suit Tory
electoral purposes.
He was clearly making two public admissions that he did not see local
government in Scotland as an expression of the will of the people of
Scotland, nor did he see councils as democratic institutions voted for
by the people of Scotland and representing their political will, nor as
protectors or providers of the services upon which so many in Scotland
depend.
Rather he saw local government in Scotland as a game which he and his
colleagues would play with in order to serve their narrow party
interests.
It was the most cynical performance I have ever seen. It convinced me
as nothing has before of the crass amorality of the Tory Party. It would
have made every Scot writhe with embarrassment at the clear
demonstration of our dominion status under a Tory Governor-General (the
Tory Secretary of State for Scotland).
The Labour MPs were present in full force, as were the other
Opposition parties. Many forceful contributions were made defending
Scotland's right to retain its water in public ownership and to decide
its own forms of local government, as indeed the English under a
commission are being enabled to do.
Much play was made about public consultation by the Government but it
was obvious from the derisive answers of the Tories that little heed had
been paid to the democratic expressions of the wishes of the people as
they were not seen by the Government to serve Tory Party purposes.
Despite the fact that only six Tories were present from 3pm to 7pm, at
7pm 315 Tories went through the lobbies, 309 of them voting in a debate
they had not graced with their presence.
So much for Tory attitudes to Scots. So much for democracy.
Councillor Pat Chalmers,
Secretary of the Labour Group,
Glasgow District Council.
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