In the 70's many people in Scotland worked in heavy engineering and manufacturing in large places of employment. During the 80's and 90's the type of employment changed, to things like financial services, huge increases in service sector etc. Jobs using different skills.
Call it what ever you want, it still happened. My point still remains, it needs to happen again and it needs someone with vision to make it happen. The current crop of holyrood leaders I feel are incapable of such vision.
I agree with your post. The Health Service is a good example of this, progress towards 18 weeks has been good because we have had a steady policy and two competent Health Ministers to deliver it.
Economic strategy is the key area, we need to get this right. Under our current adversarial system I can't see this happening. My point is that the SNP should be using the Independence proposal to push a system that will allow this to happen.
However the other side to your argument that 4 years is to short is a wee bit undermined by Westminster. We have had too very long governments that have both wasted opportunities to do good, although both have had their achievements could have done better has to go on both report cards.
However I remain convinced that a better standard of political debate is the starting point.
You will note form my posts I do not think that the SNP should provide a fully costed plan for improving Scotland. That would be crazy, I would not expect the incumbent Government to do this because there are so many variables it would make such a an exercise worthless.
My criticism is that I would however expect to see some thinking on what areas are to be targeted for renewal, what type of jobs in what sectors, how this will be organised and delivered. Basically what vision they have to deliver a new Scottish economy that is less dependant on the Public sector.
That I don't think is unreasonable. Such a vision should also tackle the forgotten areas, missed out in the 80's/90's. I find it unbelievable that we are expected to vote for independence without a shred of an idea what we will do after it happens.
The arguments for Independence would be much stronger if this vision existed and could demonstrate clearly what could not be done within the Union. We must remember that during the 80's /90's Scotland did transform its economy form a heavy engineering one towards a more knowledge based economy, quite successfully. As part of the union, without devolution. I am happy to agree that this last transformation was not without its problems, some groups were left behind, I am not saying it was not painful. However it did happen, and needs to happen again.
So the smokescreen of not having numbers is really just that, an excuse.
I agree with your post but you really only have half a post. The SNp in government have been so busy being labour lite that they have developed precious little original thinking.
Gedguy2 posted the latest SNP manifesto. it is typical of British politics, big on rhetoric short on any detail at all. We require to undertake an economic regeneration at least as big as that of the 80's/90's. We need a vision of how this is to be done, how we will obtain new sustainable jobs.
We also need to understand how this will be done for all of Scotland, including the areas passed by previously like Glasgow NE. That is a huge challenge, we need to understand why independence would make this task easier, but most of all how we are to start to tackle this.
This is the most fundamental problem we face and all we get is if we were independent it would all be better. How, where is the cunning plan? Does general Salmond have a cunning plan? If so share it with us please.
So it is easy to point what is wrong with the status quo, we can all see that already. But honestly anybody can do that, it is how we fix the problems that is missing, the clever part.
I agree with your post but you really only have half a post. The SNp in government have been so busy being labour lite that they have developed precious little original thinking.
Gedguy2 posted the latest SNP manifesto. it is typical of British politics, big on rhetoric short on any detail at all. We require to undertake an economic regeneration at least as big as that of the 80's/90's. We need a vision of how this is to be done, how we will obtain new sustainable jobs.
We also need to understand how this will be done for all of Scotland, including the areas passed by previously like Glasgow NE. That is a huge challenge, we need to understand why independence would make this task easier, but most of all how we are to start to tackle this.
This is the most fundamental problem we face and all we get is if we were independent it would all be better. How, where is the cunning plan? Does general Salmond have a cunning plan? If so share it with us please.
So it is easy to point what is wrong with the status quo, we can all see that already. But honestly anybody can do that, it is how we fix the problems that is missing, the clever part.