Murdo Fraser MSP: Consumers, not governments, should choose the energy mix

Murdo Fraser is Conservative MSP for Mid-Scotland & Fife and Convenor of the Scottish Parliament’s Economy, Energy & Tourism Committee. He writes in a personal capacity. Follow Murdo on Twitter.

Earlier this week saw the publication of the Energy Bill, and the suggestion that the household energy bills could rise by £200 a year to pay subsidies to new nuclear and renewable energy developments.  At a time of rising fuel poverty, these figures must give cause for concern.

In a purely free market, we would simply invest in the cheapest form of electricity generation, which at present is burning fossil fuels.  Even with the recent rises in wholesale gas prices, conventional generation is cheaper than nuclear, which in turn is substantially cheaper than renewables like wind power.  But we don’t have a free market.  Other factors, such as the need to reduce CO2 emissions, and the drive for security of supply, have to be factored in. And in relation to the latter we have recently become a net importer of gas, although that situation may well change with the discovery of large shale gas deposits.

So the Government’s approach is to offer subsidies, funded by increases to our electricity bills, to encourage the creation of new nuclear plants and wind farms.  We, whether or not we accept human activity contributes to climate change, and even if we detest inefficient, intermittent wind turbines ruining our landscape, have no say in the matter.

Murdo Fraser MSP: Policy must be based on principles which serve the interests of people throughout Scotland

Murdo Fraser MSP is Deputy Leader of the Conservatives in the Scottish Parliament and one of the candidates for the leadership of the party.

The overriding priority for our new party must be to show people in Scotland that we are on their side and will stand up for their interests. This will only happen if we give them a clear idea of what we stand for – a positive vision for Scotland’s future and persuade people that this is something that will make a real difference to their lives and those of their families, friends and local communities. That is why, in this leadership election, I have concentrated on setting out the broad aims and values from which we can then work with others, both inside and outside our party, to develop a clear and consistent set of policies in keeping with a modern, centre-right party.

This approach recognises that it is not our individual policies which are holding us back. To think that coming up with a few, potentially popular, policies will somehow turn our fortunes around is simply deluding ourselves. If only it were that easy!

In areas such as how to tackle crime, encourage enterprise and improve our schools, I think we are in tune with many people in Scotland and have potentially popular policies. But people are either not listening to us on these issues or, worse, support the idea until told it is a Conservative one. This shows that we have a much more fundamental problem based on negative perceptions of the party and the fact that few people in Scotland trust us to stand up for their interests.

Murdo Fraser MSP: ‘We are the true modernisers’

This election for leader of the Scottish Conservatives is an important opportunity.  An opportunity to debate how the centre-right can make progress in Scotland, as well as an opportunity for our members to decide in which direction we should go.  Above all though, this should be a debate about ideas and not personalities.

As we approach the hustings at the UK Conference, I want to explain why I disagree with my colleagues about the way ahead since all of them reject my idea for a new party.  I believe that theirs is a serious misdiagnosis of the problem which has potentially fatal consequences for the centre-right in Scotland and for the United Kingdom.

For a start, I do not think that my colleagues are taking sufficient account of the extent of the decline in the Scottish Conservative vote.  The fact is we are losing votes in Scotland hand over fist.

In 1997, when we lost all our MPs in Scotland, we polled twice as many votes as we did in the list vote at the recent Scottish Parliament elections.  Indeed, we have lost over 100,000 list votes since 1999.  And we still have just one MP at Westminster.

So the current party is failing as a vehicle for the promotion of the values which I, and many other people in Scotland, stand for.

But the really important question is why.  People in Scotland have given us the answer to this question loudly and clearly.  They simply do not trust us to put Scotland’s interests first.  So we have to decide whether we are prepared to listen to what people in Scotland are telling us or whether we just look for answers that reinforce our own prejudices.

There are many areas where I think we are in tune with people in Scotland and have potentially popular policies - for example, our stance on tackling crime, encouraging enterprise and giving parents a greater say in the education of their children.  But people are either not listening to us on these issues or, worse, support the idea until told it is a Conservative one.

Murdo Fraser MSP: A new, Scottish, centre-right party is the key to re-connecting with voters who are not listening at present

Murdo Fraser MSP is Deputy Leader of the Conservatives in the Scottish Parliament and one of the candidates for the leadership of the party.

In the current campaign for the leadership of my party, I have made it clear that I wish to transform the Scottish Conservatives into a new, stronger, centre-right party for Scotland.  Understandably though, people want to know what this new party will be like.  The answer is that it will resemble many of the centre-right parties that exist across Europe which share some important common features.

First, such parties are patriotic and the interests of their people are paramount.  Our new Scottish, centre-right party will be able to stand up for the interests of people in Scotland credibly and effectively.  The Scottish Conservative Party’s own polling before the recent Scottish Parliament election shows that we have a severe identity problem.  Only 6% of people in Scotland thought we put their interests first and 50% thought we put English interests first.  A new party, with a distinct Scottish identity and policies that are genuinely made in Scotland will demonstrate clearly to people in Scotland that we put their interests first. 

However, there is no contradiction between a clear Scottish identity and staunch support for remaining within the United Kingdom.  Our own experience as a distinct Scottish party before 1965 demonstrates this clearly, as does the Bavarian CSU’s relationship with the CDU in Germany.  The CSU is the Bavarian centre-right party and is a distinct entity.  However, it works with the centre-right party in the rest of Germany – the CDU – at the national level which poses no threat to the integrity of that country. 

Murdo Fraser MSP: Lord Forsyth is wrong about the Scotland Bill - We should welcome more accountability for how politicians raise the money they spend

Murdo Fraser MSP is Deputy Leader of the Conservatives in the Scottish Parliament and responds here to yesterday's article by Lord Forsyth of Drumlean.

The Scotland Bill, currently being steered through the House of Commons by Michael Moore MP and David Mundell MP, implements the proposals of the Calman Commission.  The tax changes in the Scotland Bill will devolve part of the basic rate of Income Tax, together with Stamp Duty, Land Tax and Landfill Taxes.  Taken together with the existing taxes which are devolved, namely non-domestic rates and Council Tax, the Scottish Parliament will in future control roughly 30% of the Scottish Government’s total Budget of around £30 billion.

The Bill provisions represent a major extension of the Scottish Parliament’s tax powers.  What the Scotland Bill will do is create, for the first time, a Scottish Parliament in which politicians can be held to account for how a sizeable proportion of the money that they spend is raised.  For the first time, politicians in Scotland will require to set an Income Tax rate to fund their spending plans, a rate which may or may not be in line with that which is payable south of the border.

In future, all Scottish political parties will have to set a real Budget, naming a total figure which will balance spending decisions against decisions on how much tax should be raised, and from whom.  And no longer will Holyrood politicians of any persuasion be able to indulge in the lazy London blame game. There will be new opportunities for those of us who believe in lower taxes to present our case.

Murdo Fraser MSP: Embracing devolution and moving it on is the way to faster progress and greater success for the Scottish Conservatives

Murdo Fraser is Deputy Leader of the Conservatives in the Scottish Parliament.

Wednesday's announcement from David Cameron that the Conservative Party supports increased taxation and borrowing powers for the Scottish Parliament, and that a Conservative Government will legislate in this area, represents a significant boost for the Scottish Tories.

The Party in Scotland has been making progress in recent years, and on the basis of the European Election results we would win 6 Westminster seats, including that of the Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy in East Renfrewshire. But we are hungry for faster progress and greater successes.

There is no doubt that in the past our electoral prospects were harmed by the accusation from our political opponents that we were 'anti-Scottish', arising from our opposition to devolution in the 1980s and 1990s. Since then, we have worked hard to play a constructive role in the Scottish Parliament that we opposed, and under the leadership of first David McLetchie and now Annabel Goldie have steadily rebuilt respect. Nevertheless, there was always a suspicion amongst some that our support for devolution was a grudging one. Yesterday's announcement shows that we have not just accepted devolution but that we are now determined to move it on.

Whatever the justification for our stance against the formation of the Scottish Parliament, it put us in opposition to mainstream Scottish public opinion on the constitution, and as a Party we are still paying the electoral price for that. Our new position that we will support increased taxation powers demonstrates that we have learned from that mistake and that we will not again set our faces against the legitimate aspirations of the Scottish people. What a contrast this is to the SNP who continue to dogmatically pursue their aim of independence despite public support levels for that policy now consistently below 30%.

Murdo Fraser MSP: Wendy Alexander's attempts to cover up her wrongdoing may be her undoing

Murdo Fraser MSP is Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservatives.

Today the Scottish Labour Party is in meltdown following a weekend of immensely damaging media headlines.  This all surrounds the Scottish Labour leader, Wendy Alexander MSP, and her acceptance of an illegal donation to her leadership campaign in the summer from a Jersey-based businessman.  Already one colleague of Wendy's - Glasgow MSP Charlie Gordon - has had to resign his position as Transport spokesman because of his role in matters, and there is speculation that others might follow.

The actual wrongdoing was in itself relatively minor.  The sum involved was £950, in political terms hardly substantial - and nowhere near the figures in the Abrahams affair.  However, it is the actions of Wendy Alexander's camp since the story broke which have become more newsworthy than the original misdemeanour. There have been denials and attempted cover-ups, and accusations flying around of dishonesty and deceit.

It all seems eerily reminiscent of the Henry McLeish affair.  The former First Minister was involved in a technical breach of Parliamentary rules over a sub-let of his constituency office.  The actual breach was relatively minor, but what forced his resignation in the end were the attempts to conceal information and the failure to answer questions.  Wendy Alexander seems to be in the same boat; poorly advised, her attempts to brush the issue under the carpet have simply made matters worse as journalists have dug up more and more information.

Wendy is saying she will tough things out and stay on as Labour leader.  The feeling is that she is under heavy pressure to continue from Gordon Brown.  If she resigns, then the Deputy Labour leader at Westminster, Harriet Harman, who in similar circumstances accepted a much larger donation, will be next in the firing line, and after that Gordon Brown himself.  Wendy is personally close to Brown and the two have undoubtedly kept in close contact.

The reality is that Wendy Alexander is now a lame duck leader.  She retains hardly a shred of credibility.  The only defence put up by her team is that she acted at all times 'with good intentions' i.e. did not mean to break the law.  But ignorance of the law is no defence.  Surely someone with her level of political experience cannot hope to get away with an excuse of not knowing the rules?

With a police investigation now almost inevitable, and a media pack baying for blood, it remains to be seen for how long Wendy and her team can hold the line. She is in for a torrid time over the next few days.  It is thought that if it were up to her, she would have done the decent thing and resigned by now, but loyalty to Gordon is keeping her in post as a 'human shield'.

All this just adds to Labour's woes in Scotland.  The party still has not come to terms with losing power in May, and has adapted very poorly to opposition.  If Wendy does resign, who is there to replace her?  There is such a paucity of talent on the Holyrood benches that there is even talk of a Westminster MP being parachuted in to fill the gap.

The SNP are loving all this, of course, but the Scottish Tories will be beneficiaries too.  It doesn't seem so long ago that we were the ones embroiled in internal difficulties, but these days are well behind us, and we can look forward to capitalising on Labour's tawdry mess.

Murdo Fraser MSP: We must not allow nationalists to drive England and Scotland apart

Murdo Fraser is the Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservatives but he writes here in a personal capacity.

I have read with interest, and some concern, recent comments on ConservativeHome on the subject of devolution and the financial settlement which Scotland, in particular, benefits from.  These comments are doubtless fuelled by stories in the London press about free prescription charges in Scotland (and Wales), smaller school class sizes, free student tuition and the like, which have raised the ire of various commentators.

Unfortunately, too much of the comment has been ill-informed.  The Scottish Government's grant from the Treasury is a fixed amount, and therefore any increased spending in any particular area such as prescription charges will require to be matched by consequent reductions elsewhere. It is quite legitimate to debate whether the total grant is too high, and whether existing funding mechanisms should be reformed, but the arguments should not be driven by extreme language based on a fundamental lack of understanding of the basic facts.

Murdo Fraser MSP: Conservatives are Scotland's practical party

The Scottish Tories launch their manifesto this morning.  In this Platform piece Murdo Fraser, the Scottish Conservative Spokesman on Enterprise & Lifelong Learning, puts the case for voting Tory on 3rd May.  Tomorrow William Graham AM will make the Conservative case to the voters of Wales.

Scottish Voters would be forgiven for thinking that this 3rd election to the Scottish Parliament is all about the Union between Scotland and England.  It is understandable, since the media have focussed almost entirely on the personal battle between Alex Salmond and Jack McConnell, and on their respective, and equally misleading, contributions to the debate over whether Scotland is a financially viable independent country.

It is unfortunate, because in Scotland the same debate has been going on for 30 years now, and most of us find it rather sterile.  On the one hand, we have the Labour Party belittling Scotland, telling us that Scotland and its people are good enough to be independent, aren't smart enough, don't have enough good ideas.  On the other hand, we have the SNP patronising Scotland, telling us that all the ills of Scotland are the fault of England, and if only we were independent everything would be fine.

It's important that people know there's more to this Election.  The constitutional issue should really be peripheral to what this election is really about - after all barely a quarter of Scots support independence.  This election is about issues.  It's about the first eight years of the Scottish Parliament not delivering for the people of Scotland.

That's why the Scottish Conservatives are focussing relentlessly on the issues that matter most to Scots.  Issues like promoting more affordable housing through local trusts, especially for our young people and their families trying to get their first foot on the ladder.  Issues like defeating drugs and cutting crime, through substantial investment in drugs rehabilitation programmes and putting more police on our streets.  And issues like standing up for families by promoting flexible childcare, and local healthcare.

We have a solid policy platform based on the 'bread and butter' issues that are the voters' real concerns.  And we are offering to lighten the tax burden on Scots.  We are pledging a 50% cut in the Council Tax for all pensioner households, and a substantial rates relief scheme for small businesses which will mean that more than 100,000 will pay no business rates at all.

We will start to tackle the lack of growth in the Scottish economy and the dominance of the public sector (currently more than 50% of GDP) by privatising Scottish Water as a mutual company, and driving through ambitious but realistic efficiency savings.  We will re-empower local government by ending ring-fencing of central funds, except for policing, and have laid out a truly localist agenda.

We are fighting this Election on the issues that matter.  This election is about delivery, not divorce.  And we are showing people that Scottish Conservatives are their voice in Parliament.