Gordon Picks a Fight

One of the features of campaigning all day in an election contest is that it is hard to keep up with the news. So it was interesting to be told on the doorstep today by one voter that Gordon Brown has apparently given a frosty response to being questioned as to whether or not he can work with Alex Salmond as First Minister. This was then confirmed in discussion with my election agent who said that our Chancellor had indeed been less than forthcoming with reassurances that he will work with my party leader should he become the next First Minister.

The irony here is that whilst the Labour Party spout a lot of nonsense about an SNP led government causing all sorts of havoc and seeking fights with Westminster, Alex Salmond has made it quite clear that he will work with a Brown premiership to further Scotland's interests. It is the Labour Party leadership, and the most likely future Prime Minister of the UK that is threatening obstruction and is seeking a fight with a SNP led Scottish Executive.

This macho posturing from Brown is of course a lot of nonsense. He will have to work with Alex Salmond, and he will have to like it, or (more likely) lump it!

Meanwhile, the campaigning goes on. A few photos are attached from the campaign trail.

The Early Days of a Better Nation?

Today was a good one. Some more campaigning in the Sun was made all the better by reading the Sunday Herald before heading off in the morning. Their editorial was reserved for an endorsement of the SNP for the election (which can be seen at http://www.sundayherald.com/election2007/election2007/display.var.1362928.0.0.php). This lifted my spirits immediately as it is not every day that the SNP gets an endorsement from a national newspaper.



This indicates the tremendous success of the SNP campaign, exemplified by the fact that practically every newspaper today carried stories of huge swings towards the SNP from Labour in the most recent opinion polls. The work of course goes on in the final days of this election campaign to ensure that these polls come to pass. Then we will hopefully be able to bring into being the words used by the Sunday Herald at the beginning of their article, borrowed from Alasdair Gray, "work as if you live in the early days of a better nation".

International Press Descends on Cumbernauld and Kilsyth

In between visits and campaigning today, I had quite a bit of dealing with the press. First up was the Guardian newspaper up from London who wanted to interview me in relation to the campaign and to see how things are on the ground in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth. It is quite clear that despite the London media usually not bothering with what happens north of Watford that they are alert to the fact that this Scottish Parliament election is rather interesting, hence the Guardian's visit today. I await their article with interest.

Then in the afternoon I was interviewed by a national radio station in Portugal. The guy interviewing me had clearly done his research on the issues being discussed on Scotland and we had quite an interesting interview. I think he might have struggled with my West of Scotland accent, but his English was certainly a lot better than my Portuguese!

And then whilst en route to Kilsyth I was informed via text message that a piece on Cumbernauld and Kilsyth (which I was interviewed for last week) was broadcast on tonight's Scotland Today programme. You can view this (and other broadcasts on other constituencies) at the Scotland Today website at http://www.stv.tv/content/Politics_NEW/index.html

Campaigning in the Sun

Today was spent canvassing voters across the constituency and enjoying the good weather (makes a nice change from the rain). Once again we were receiving a great response from those we spoke to, with many people confirming that they will be voting SNP on 3rd May. I spent the morning sunning myself with Councillor Neil MacCallum (pictured with myself) in the Seafar area where we spoke to a few folk. One woman was particularly angry at the way Cumbernauld has been run down since the town was incorporated into the North Lanarkshire area under Labour control from Motherwell. She was worried about her kids growing up in the area with a lack of amenities. We could inform her that we shared those concerns and she left us with a promise to vote for us but equally to "hound" us if elected to make sure that we get things done for the area. We were able to respond that we were quite happy with that bargain!

Then in the evening I visited a few households in Kilsyth with our local council candidate David Key. I was struck by just how aware of the issues featured in this election campaign that most people we spoke to were. It is clear that this election has captured the public imagination in ways that previous campaigns have not done.

21st Anniversary of Chernobyl Accident

I started this morning's campaigning by swinging by George Square in Glasgow to pay a visit to the vigil for the 21st anniversary of the Chernobyl accident organised by Jim Gillies, a Cumbernauld resident. Jim is a quite phenomenal person.

He has organised a lot of fundraising for the children affected by the Chernobyl accident travelling over to Ukraine quite regularly - often by coach for the whole journey across Europe - to deliver the funds he has raised or vital equipment for local hospitals. His truly remarkable efforts are rightly to be praised.

Also, his efforts to ensure we don't forget about the Chernobyl accident is itself a great effort. We must not forget this event, which serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of nuclear power.

SNP Rising Star

Today I had the pleasure of attending my third hustings of the campaign. I know I said previously that there were only two for me to attend, but I got a wee message sent to me a couple of days ago to say that there would be another for me to go to.

However, there is a twist. This particular hustings meeting involved my attendance as part of the audience rather than the panel as they were being held at St Maurice's High School as part of their mock election campaign. So the SNP candidate today was Matthew Hewitt (pictured with myself and Councillor Liz Irvine) and not Jamie Hepburn.

I am glad to say that Matthew aquitted himself very well against his fellow candidates, all of whom were good performers on the day. Their election is being held tomorrow so best of luck to Matthew who has all the makings of a top rate SNP representative of the future.

They're Fitba Crazy, Politics Mad

The news was today awash with stories that several leading Scottish football figures have banded together to appear in an advert backing the union. These guys are entitled to their opinion, but the content of their message needs to be called into question.

The advert apparently begins, "When Scotland calls, we answer." Very noble, however it seems in this instance that it is far more likely the Labour Party has been calling. What will their answer be when Scotland calls for independence I wonder?

The advert goes on to say, "We are proud that Scotland has always stood on its own two feet, but we also believe that Scotland stands taller because we are part of the United Kingdom." Scotland has always stood on its own two feet has it? I would have thought our country standing on its own two feet would have involved engaging directly with the world community rather than relying on a government based 400 miles furth of our borders to do our talking for us.

The following anodyne statement within the advert is my favourite bit. "The United Kingdom is a country Scotland helped build." And what of it? Does this mean that we are to be stuck in it forever more?

And the advert finishes off by saying, "We urge every patriotic Scot to help maintain Scotland's place in the United Kingdom which has served Scotland well."

Served Scotland well has it? Go tell that to the one in four children in poverty, or the one in five pensioners living in poverty. Or explain to me why it is that Scotland is the only developed country on this planet which has discovered oil and in the interim period seen its people get relatively poorer. Why is it that economic growth in our country lags way behind similarly sized European nations.

I won't lose too much sleep over this intervention. It all smacks as a little bit desperate to me.

Our Delusional First Minister

You may recall that I previously posted on the blog about Tony Blair begging the people of Scotland not to "give him a kicking" by voting SNP. Now we have Jack McConnell on Radio Four repeating his master's message.

How convenient for Jack to try and obscure the fact that the election is to form the next Scottish Executive which HE has been in charge of since 2001. What exactly does Tony Blair have to do with this. It is he who will get an electoral "kicking" on 3rd May, and deservedly so. The campaign of the Labour Party in this election has been one of the most unremittingly negative going.

Meanwhile we took the positive message of the SNP to the streets of Kilsyth and Cumbernauld, as well as finding time to pop by the Tesco at Craigmarloch (pictured) where we found a great and warm response from the members of the public we spoke to there. And I didn't have to suggest they kick anyone at any time!

The Second and Last Hustings

Tonight saw the second and last hustings for the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth constituency after the first set yesterday. Unlike last night the hustings tonight (held in Cumbernauld College) was exclusively for the Scottish Parliament candidates, with the four of us contesting the constituency joined by a representative from the SSP, Solidarity and the Scottish Christian Party.

The event tonight was well attended and many issues of local importance were brought up.

One issue that was raised was the ongoing problems at Cumbernauld Town Centre. Since the Tories allowed this facility to be privatised there have been problems there. Essentially the people of Cumbernauld don't really have a proper town centre, but a decrepit 1960s shopping centre. Have you ever heard of a town centre that is locked at night so that people can't access it? That is the reality that people in Cumbernauld have to face. The town centre does not do justice for a town the size of Cumbernauld. It should be the very civic heart of the town, but at the moment it is far from achieving that purpose.

One lady at the hustings who is involved with a local credit union highlighted the huge problem that local bodies such as that have in getting premises at the town centre, reinforcing the fact that the town doesn't really have a town centre to speak of. My Labour opponent and incumbent MSP Cathie Craigie has recently announced that she intends to establish a trust for the town centre.

How convenient that she makes this announcement on the eve of an election in which she feels under pressure. She has been an MSP for eight years and it has taken her this length of time to act on the issue. We have been surveying local people - as I have mentioned previously on this blog - and fully 96% of people who responded told us that they are concerned by the state of the town centre. If successful on 3rd May I give an assurance to them that I won't wait eight years to act on the town centre, but will get working on the matter within the first eight DAYS of being elected.

Other matters of importance raised were the loss of 400 jobs at the Inland Revenue in Cumbernauld, something to which I am totally opposed. Gordon Brown has made big play of cutting "civil service" jobs. He clearly is lulling people into the idea that Sir Humphrey down in Whitehall is for his jotters when in actual fact it is front line workers, many of whom are on short term contracts with little job security and low pay that face the chop.

We also had the chance to discuss Cumbernauld House's future. This important building has a long history and was most recently used by the D.H. Morris Group which has recently gone under. Many local people now believe that this should be used as a community facility and I agree with them. It was suggested that this could be brought into community ownership with a purchase organised by the Cumbernauld community. That is one solution and if it emerges as the most obvious way to create a community facility out of Cumbernauld House then I will support it, but we can look at other methods too.

The future of the A&E at Monklands was also brought up. I was delighted to be able to point to the fact that the SNP has given a cast iron guarantee - and it is in our manifesto if you want to look - that if we form the administration after the election then we will reverse the dangerous decision to close the A&E at Monklands.

All in all, I have to confess I enjoyed tonight's event. My only disappointment is that we have only had two hustings during the entire campaign.

Alex Salmond visits Kilsyth

Another busy day today. Spent the early part of the afternoon knocking doors in Abronhill with my colleague Councillor Liz Irvine. It was heartening to hear from people that they had received our election address and most seemed to respond well to the issues we had raised in it. I met many people who are going to vote SNP on 3rd May, some for the very first time. Increasingly people are coming to realise that the way to make change happen at this election is by supporting the SNP and that was quite clear from many conversations I had today.

Then it was over to Kilsyth where SNP leader Alex Salmond was paying a visit. We got the chance to meet with a number of folk on Kilsyth Main Street. Again, it is clear that not only are people coming over to our campaign locally, but that the campaign to make Alex Salmond First Minister of Scotland has really captured the public imagination. Most people we spoke to were telling us that they intend to vote SNP at the election.

And this evening we had the first election hustings of this campaign at Cumbernauld Primary. It was a combined hustings for the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth Scottish Parliament campaign and the Cumbernauld North ward for North Lanarkshire Council, so there was a massed rank of about 16 candidates including myself and my SNP colleagues Alan O'Brien and Norman Robinson.

The chairman of tonight's event started off by making that old gag that at one stage he thought he would have to introduce the audience to the panel, but in the end there was a pretty good turnout. That there were so many candidates meant not a lot of time to talk for each individual, but we got through some interesting topics, many of which we have been speaking about already in this campaign. It was a good warm up for tomorrow night's second (and last) hustings of the campaign at Cumbernauld College.

Democrazy

The Electoral Reform Society (ERS) is running a campaign to encourage young people to use their vote at the upcoming election. As part of this they have made a video which is being hosted at the "You Tube" website.

A few weeks ago myself and Aileen Campbell, the SNP candidate for Clydesdale, were cornered by the ERS whilst in Edinburgh and persuaded to be filmed for this video. Have a wee look at it yourself at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eybm6aqWGQk and catch the fleeting appearance of myself and Ms Campbell.

Labour Lose Unison Support

I am a staunch supporter of the principle of trade unionism and always have been. I think that it is fundamentally important that workers have the maximum protection in the workplace and that our unions have played a hugely important part in securing many of the basic laws that protect employees which we take for granted today.

However, I have always had qualms with the way in which many of the trade unions in Scotland have given blind loyalty to the Labour Party. The manner in which they have continued to pay homage to Labour, not to mention swell the coffers of the Labour Party, even whilst they have governed against their interests and policies. Labour have pursued the Private Finance Initiative almost religiously despite trade union concerns. Labour has done little to reverse the privatising tendencies of their Tory predecessors (take air traffic control as an example). And the UK continues to have the longest working hours and least public holidays of Western Europe.

Therefore, the persistence of the unions in supporting Labour has been annoying to say the least.

It was therefore hugely heartening to hear that Scotland's biggest union Unison abstained on a vote at the general council of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) on whether or not to back Labour in this election. I have always reckoned that Unison was perhaps the most loyal of all the trade unions to the Labour Party. Therefore their failure to back Labour in today's vote is a huge indication of the level of disaffection that exists amongst many trade unionists with the current direction of the country.

I should point out that the downside is that if Unison had voted against the backing of Labour then the STUC would not have given its support, as despite their abstention the vote went through by a majority of one. Still it is a step in the right direction and one which I imagine that many grass roots members of Unison will welcome.

MoD Ready to Enact SNP Policy

An interesting article appeared in the Scotland on Sunday today. It indicates the influence the SNP can exert even before we have seen the result of the upcoming election.

It appears that the Ministry of Defence has scoped out alternative sites - all furth of Scotland's borders - to locate the nuclear fleet presently anchored at the Faslane base on the Clyde. And the main reason for this appears to be the mere prospect of an SNP victory on 3rd May.

Thus we have the British government preparing to respond to a central demand of the SNP - the withdrawal of nuclear weapons from Scotland - already. This policy is hugely popular with the Scottish people. Indeed in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, some 75.5% of those who responded to the survey we distributed across the area stated they opposed the Labour government's renewal of nuclear weapons.

It also tells us how serious the prospect of an SNP victory is on 3rd May. Even the British government recognises this.

To have a read of the Scotland on Sunday story take a look at http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=577262007

Our Delusional Prime Minister

Scotland was "honoured" to have Tony Blair visit yesterday. Apparently he is calling on the Scottish people to resist the urge to give him a kick on the way out the door by voting SNP on 3rd May.

What a great conceit of himself this guy must have. Doesn't he realise that this election is about something much more important than him? Our country's future is at stake here. In Scotland today we have one in four children in poverty; one in five pensioners in poverty; low economic growth; unemployment around three times the reported levels; a government about to spend £100billion on nuclear weapons the people don't want; over 50,000 people classed as homeless; and young Scottish men and women engaged in a war in Iraq that we didn't need or want. This is the backdrop to the current election.

We are debating the way forward to improve Scotland, yet Tony Blair (with willing assistance from his ego) has somehow managed to delude himself that this campaign is all about him. This is just another reason why his party are flying so low in the opinion polls just over two weeks from polling day.

A Programme for Real Scottish Government

Today saw the launch of the SNP manifesto for the election. I didn't make the event held to launch it at Napier University this morning as I was busy campaigning in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth today, but all accounts I have heard of it indicate that it went very well.

The event has garnered much interest, and even the BBC's network news was reporting on it tonight. This indicates the depth of interest in the SNP and the Scottish Parliament election, although Nick Robinson (the BBC political editor) still managed to get the blood boiling with his throw away comment that there doesn't seem to be much appetite for independence. I presume he hasn't spoken to as many people as we have in this campaign and I have to disagree with that point of view. Independence is increasingly supported by people I have spoken to over the last few months.

Anyway, I digress. The manifesto has now been launched and contains all the proposals that can make a real difference in Scotland. It has been quite aptly styled a programme for real Scottish government. Our commitments include proposals to put more police on the streets; the creation of a fairer type of local taxation in the form of a local income tax; the dumping of student debt; fairer rates for small businesses; and of course, a referendum on independence.

Take a look at the manifesto for yourself at http://paddington.snp.org/jthomas/manifesto/

Poll of Polls Shows SNP Lead

The company Weber Shandwick have set up a website called Scotland Votes (http://www.scotlandvotes.com/) for the election. They have compiled what they are calling the "poll of polls" by averaging the support for each party in the last six published opinion polls. The figures indicate that the SNP has a five point lead in constituency voting intentions and a six point lead in regional voting intentions. All this translates into good reading for those of us campaigning for an SNP victory on 3rd May.


As I have said before though, to read too much into the opinion polls could allow complacency to set into our campaign. So the work goes on as before. I came home shattered tonight after distributing our election leaflet across the Seafar and Ravenswood area of Cumbernauld and tomorrow I plan to be as shattered again.

Labour's Council Tax Damp Squib

I am watching Cathy Jamieson on telly as I type. I find the hypocrisy of the Labour Party quite astonishing. They consistently attack the SNP for being light on detail yet have announced an entirely vacuous policy this very day.

Earlier in the day they announced their radical (sarcasm doesn't necessarily come through on typed format, so for avoidance of doubt that was it) proposal for local taxation. They have announced that they will create two new bandings for council tax in their manifesto launched today.

What Cathy couldn't say when pressed, is at what value of property will people (a) pay less on the new bottom band or (b) pay more on the new top band. This absence of detail is quite startling. As they always say, the devil is in the detail.

Clearly the Labour Party are reacting to the fact that the SNP has got off to a much quicker start in the debate on local taxation and are trying to be seen to act on this area. They have ridiculed the SNP local income tax policy despite the fact that it is transparent and fair. We desire fairness in taxation and taxing people on what they can afford to pay (i.e. their income) is clearly fairer than taxing them on something much vaguer, that being the supposed value of the property in which they reside.

The total and utter lack of detail in the Labour policy on council tax, as well as the fact that it fundamentally fails to make local taxation fairer (it is impossible to make the council tax fairer, thus the Labour Party will never square that particular circle) will surely find this announcement falling on deaf ears. This policy is neither fair or innovative. It is rather a damp squib.

It's Time to Win Back Our Schools and Hospitals

The SNP has long called for the replacement of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scheme used by the Labour government to fund public projects. Our argument was lent some additional weight by the recent publication of a report undertaken by the respected Allyson Pollock of Edinburgh University that appeared in the Public Money and Management Journal. Professor Pollock states in the study that government claims that PFI delivers projects more quickly and more efficiently than other methods of borrowing are "either non-existent or false" and that comparisons are "rigged in favour of PFI and that Treasury policy is not evidence based". Government claims that PFI represents best value for money are therefore utter baloney.

This is particularly pertinent for people in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, whose local authority and local health board are big on PFI. North Lanarkshire's schools modernisation project cost £280.7 million. Meantime the cost to the taxpayer of NHS Lanarkshire's projects to build the Hairmyres and Wishaw General hospitals will be almost £1,200 million over the coming years, despite these two schemes only costing around £260million to build. This means that Cumbernauld and Kilsyth residents, in common with those across Scotland, are paying through the nose for PFI to line the pockets of private businesses.

Polling data compiled for the BBC also indicates that the number one priority for the electorate in the Scottish Parliament election is building and running schools and hospitals through public bodies. The public are wakening up to the PFI con. People wouldn't accept it if they paid up a mortgage and didn't own their house at the end of it, yet we are meant to accept this type of arrangement for our schools and hospitals.

The SNP plans to introduce a not for profit trust to finance future projects. This means that millions of pounds of taxpayers money will no longer find its way into private hands and will be much better value for money. This also chimes with the message people are sending out to pollsters, and that is that our schools and hospitals should be built and run through public bodies. The SNP will respond to that concern and deliver just that.

Alex Salmond Visits Cumbernauld

Attendance at a reception for a friend's wedding meant that I was unable to get posting on the blog until today, but yesterday was hugely busy.

In the morning my wife Julie and I joined Councillor Neil MacCallum to visit the Beild Sheltered Housing complex in the Seafar area of Cumbernauld. This is a wonderful facility and my second time there. I managed to visit it along with Nicola Sturgeon when I was candidate for the area in the 2005 general election and was impressed then. I was impressed by the place again.

The staff there seem utterly dedicated to the residents who were amongst the friendliest people I have met in while. They were interested to hear about the campaign and I was interested to hear from them. One couple recalled that I had visited before and even remembered what school I had attended! So I was amongst old friends.

Sadly not all of Scotland's pensioners live in such circumstances as those at the Beild complex. It is a national disgrace that one in five of pensioners lives in poverty at this time. You can tell a lot about a society by the way in which it treats its older citizens, so this statistic makes for sad reading. That is why it's time for the SNP policy of a non means-tested Citizens Pension of £120 per week linked to earnings and to cast the means-tested pension credit, which far too many poorer pensioners fail to claim, to the dustbin of history along with pittance pensions under the Tories and then Labour.

After the visit to the Beild complex the three of us set off to Cumbernauld Village to meet up with Councillor Liz Irvine at the Senior Citizens Lunch Club at the Roadside Hall. We were fed and watered by this fantastic organisation which is run by the members for the members themselves. The food was top quality but I was left disappointed by failing to win a prize in their raffle, although Neil won some Jaffa Cakes and Julie managed to win a can of mushroom soup.

We then dashed off to Cumbernauld Town Centre where over twenty SNP activists were able to engage with the public and distribute literature with balloons and flags for the kids. A really good atmosphere was topped off by the visit of Alex Salmond who was able to meet with many members of the Cumbernauld public. I was struck by just how many wanted to shake his hand and pledge support to the SNP.

We then visited a local small business, Hopscotch, a children's clothes store. There Alex was able to meet with the owner, Frances, and explain the benefits of the SNP "Small Business Bonus" scheme which will see the ending of rates in their entirety for the 120,000 smallest businesses in Scotland, with reduced rates for many thousands more. This policy will ensure that small businesses are better able to keep afloat, something which is absolutely vital given that small to medium enterprises are by far and away the major employer of private sector workers in Scotland. It will also mean a better range of shops and services for people in their local communities.

This is particularly pertinent in the case of Cumbernauld Town Centre which has suffered particularly poorly with many empty lets there at present.

Then to round off the day Alex was interviewed by the local newspaper. So if you live in the area look out for the report of this interview in next week's editions of the Cumbernauld News and Kilsyth Chronicle.

I have a reader!

Whilst out campaigning in the Craigmarloch area of Cumbernauld tonight I received confirmation of the fact that I have at least one reader of my blog. One resident informed me - without prompting - that he had been reading my musings on the world.

This highlights the benefits of this site. It allows me to communicate in another way with people in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth. It is heartening to know at least one person out there is reading.

Thirty Days to Go!

Unbelievably we have now a mere thirty days until the Scottish Parliament election. I was selected by the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth SNP members to be their candidate well over a year ago, but it somehow seems much more recent than that, yet here we are, little more than a month until "D-Day".

This election is perhaps the most important in the history of our country. The 1st May will see the tercentenary of the enactment of the Act of Union which extinguished the burning flame of Scottish independence. Two days after that anniversary we will have the third election to our devolved Scottish Parliament.

The campaign to decide the make up of that body has seen a tremendous amount of effort expended by the Labour government in convincing the Scottish people that they are singularly incapable of self government. They have continued the old unionist myths of Scotland being an economic basket case that cannot afford independence, whilst simultaneously claiming that they have performed wonders stewarding over the Scottish economy. Try squaring that circle!

The fact of the matter is that our country is just like any other. We are entirely capable of governing ourselves and looking out for our own affairs. It is true that with independence we may from time to time stumble. But at least it shall be on a path of our own choosing.

This election can be the one where we start to make real lasting changes for Scotland. We can have a change of government, with a First Minister in Alex Salmond who is ambitious for Scotland and who will stand up for Scotland, and we can demand a chance to decide our own constitutional future and to go for independence.

We will make that decision collectively as a nation in thirty days time. In the interim period I shall be doing my level best to see that we vote for change and to move our country forward.

Two Campaigns for the Price of One

Yesterday was busy. We started off in the morning in Kilsyth town centre where myself and the SNP council candidate for the area David Key went to meet many of the local small business owners and managers to discuss some of the issues affecting their business and to explain the SNP policies that are designed to help them.

Specifically we were able to tell them the SNP plans for business rates which would see all small businesses with a rateable value of £8,000 or less having rates abolished in their entirety (which would mean that 120,000 businesses across Scotland would no longer have rates to pay) whilst those with a value of between £8,000 and £10,000 would qualify for rates relief of 50% and those between £10,000 and £15,000 would get relief of 25%. That is significantly more generous than the present system which, for example, sees businesses with a rateable value of £8,000 to £11,500 qualify for a mere 5% rates relief.

The business owners we spoke to were able to say how welcome our proposals are. They would ensure that their businesses have a greater chance of success, are in a better position to consider expansion, and ensure that staff are kept in employment. This is not to mention the possibility of allowing for a greater breadth of shops and services for people in their communities. That is why the SNP backs small business.

Then in the afternoon it was off to Cumbernauld Town Centre where we were able to campaign for the SNP policy of establishing a local income tax in place of the inequitous council tax system. This scheme would set local taxation at the very reasonable level of 3p in the pound on existing income tax bands and would mean that 90% of people in Scotland would pay less in local taxation. This will be welcome news to hard pressed council tax payers who have been hammered by constant rises in the level of council tax, seeing it increase on average by 60% since Labour came to power.

Most people we spoke to were delighted at the prospect of an end to council tax and the creation of a fairer system based on ability to pay. They know that council tax hits hardest those who can least afford it, like pensioners and the low paid. Under the SNP that will change and people will see a link between what they can afford to pay and what they are asked to pay.

Now all we need to do is win the election and make sure that we can bring in a fair system for Scotland's small businesses and Scotland's tax payers.