The first post in this series started with the 1973 report “Born to Fail?” and referred to Jules Feiffer’s little cartoon character’s comment that
I used to think I was poor. Then they told me I wasn't poor, I was needy. They told me it was self-defeating to think of myself as needy, I was deprived. Then they told me underprivileged was overused. I was disadvantaged. I still don't have a dime. But I have a great vocabulary.
The little guy’s vocabulary since has improved by leaps and bounds – with the language changing in 2000 to that of “social justice” and “social inclusion”. 1999 had seen the inauguration of a Scottish Parliament “dissolved in 1707 and reconvened” almost 3 centuries later with devolved powers in what was initially called “The Scottish Executive” and now known simply as the Scottish Government. Its parliament had learned lessons from the bear-baiting of Westminster and was designed to ensure, with a proportional electoral system, coalition governments
But, in the meantime, the rates of child poverty has at least doubled while the austerity programme of successive Conservative governments since 2010 have placed the Scottish government under considerable pressure. One article, just a decade into devolution, put it like this -
National state policy is one of the most significant factors that affects poverty; taxation, employment policy and social security – and these are, in the UK at least, highly centralised. But, as with the rest of Europe, the last two decades have witnessed a trend towards decentralisation and devolution in a number of social policy fields eg in student fees and the care of both children and the elderly
John Smith must bear some responsibility for the new linguistic trends with his Commission on Social Justice published in 1994. The new Scottish Executive wasted no time in producing Social Justice – a Scotland where everyone matters in its first year in office in 2000 – with introductory remarks from the 2 leaders of what had been designed, with its proportional electoral system, to be a Coalition system of government (Lib-Lab). What has followed is nothing less than a bewildering number of reports. In 2007, despite the best intentions of the designers, the SNP gained sufficient number of seats to be able to form a Minority government and has been in power for the past 12 years. But the issue of poverty and inequality continues to dog them.
It’s now more than 40 years since we issued Strathclyde Regions’ Social Strategy for the 80s. We might be forgiven for noticing a certain formulistic air in the rhetoric about the subject. There is a danger that people hear about it so often that they begin to belive that “the poor shall always be with us” and act accordingly. The amazing thing in 1982 when we published “SS for the 80s” is that we found no resistance to our message. People clearly felt so guilty, there was absolutely no push-back
Scottish reports on poverty and inequality since 2000
Title of Report |
Background and summary of argument |
Social Justice – a Scotland where everyone matters (Scottish Executive 2000) |
This was based on a wide consultation process led By Lord Sewell of the Scottish Office before the Scottish Parliament convened in 1999 |
Monitoring poverty and social exclusion in scotland (Joseph Rowntree Found 2002) |
Useful 130 page report |
Achieving our Potential – a framework to tackle poverty and inequality in Scotland (Sco Gov 2008) |
A 26-page report |
Taking forward the government economic strategy – a discussion paper on poverty, inequality and deprivation in Scotland (Sco Gov 2008) |
A 37-page report |
Health Inequalities in Scotland (NHS 2015) |
A merciful short report (8pp) |
A Social Justice strategy for Scotland (SCVO 2015) |
Part, presumably, of the consultation process about a Fairer Scotland |
Toward a Fairer Scotland – report of a consultation (2016?) A curious doc |
In October 2015, the Scottish Government launched a plan to bring about a fairer, more socially just country by 2030. Scotland faces a range of challenges related to poverty and inequality, and this plan set out 50 actions to tackle these issues. This is one example of what resulted |
Deliver a Fairer Scotland (2017) |
A rather fuller report from something called the Open Government Partnership |
A Route Map to a Fair, Independent Scotland – executive summary (Commission on Social Justice and Fairness SNP 2021) |
After more than a decade in power, The Scot Nats felt able to go their own way with this report. A more inclusive approach would have given the report greater legitimacy |
The Poverty-related Attainment Gap (The Poverty Alliance 2021) |
Scottish educationalists have come lately to this feast |
How to Survive the Winter; Gordon Brown (2022) |
An ex-Prime Minister of the UK (and editor of the 1975 “Red Paper on Scotland”) gives 36 pages of practical advice on survival - as a sign of how serious the cost of living has become |
Commentary
The Modern SNP – from protest to power; ed G Hassan (2009) chapter 10, p120 has left-wing Stephen Maxwell explain that poverty rated then only the 4th most important issue for Scotnats
NeoLiberal Scotland – class and society in a stateless Nation; Neil Davidson et al (2010) A leftwing Scottish sociologist lets rip on the subject
From Tartan Tories to Scottish social democrats? (2018) a short US thesis gives a useful overview of the left-wing 79 group’s role in the development of the Scotnats
Poverty Safari – understanding the anger of Britain’s Underclass Darren McGarvey (2017) A rare voice from the streets
McGarvey does not believe that either of the main political parties are able to deal with deprivation – he believes that an enormous effort is required, engaging the entire society, both left and right. This means that it is necessary to eschew leftist conceptions of class struggle and class war, in favour of a much more subtle and multifaceted approach. One that accepts that the poor can be their own worst enemies, as they strive to cope with the emotional, psychological, and economic distress of lives disfigured by neglect, addiction, and abuse. Poverty Safari is articulate about the way poor people are displaced – displaced by representations and plans designed for them and their blighted neighbourhoods – which take little or no account of how the people wrestling with the difficulties of deprivation might think about anything. The solutions so often come from the well-heeled whose very externality deprives them of real or comprehensive understanding of what needs to be done.
Previous posts in the series
https://nomadron.blogspot.com/2023/01/born-to-fail.html
https://nomadron.blogspot.com/2023/01/bliss-was-it-in-that-dawn-to-be-alive.html
https://nomadron.blogspot.com/2023/01/turning-crisis-into-opportunity.html
https://nomadron.blogspot.com/2023/01/the-ever-growing-irrelevance-of.html
https://nomadron.blogspot.com/2023/01/performance-v-results-as-measure-of.html
https://nomadron.blogspot.com/2023/01/strategy-whats-in-name.html
https://nomadron.blogspot.com/2023/01/a-statement-from-scottish-poverty.html
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