BBC consultation: tell them to include Scottish Greens

 

Once again the BBC has relegated the Scottish Greens to receive inferior coverage in the elections. You can sign a petition, or respond to the BBC's consultation. My response to the consultation is below.

1. Are the proposed Guidelines and Appendices relevant and appropriate for these elections? Please explain why.

I am dismayed to see that the appendix classifies the Scottish Green Party as a 'smaller' party, meaning that it will not be given parity with the SNP, Labour, Conservatives, and Liberal Democrats in the debates. Arguably, the Scottish Green Party is today far more popular than the Liberal Democrats. Scottish Greens saw a surge in membership after the September 2014 independence referendum, quadrupling the number of party members. Opinion polls consistently show Patrick Harvie, leader of the Scottish Greens, as the most popular leader of an opposition party in Scotland. Many in Scotland believe that the BBC is not in touch with local political conditions, and that it is is biased toward a unionist agenda. Treating the Scottish Greens on a par with the SNP, Labour, Conservatives, and Liberal Democrats is essential if the BBC is to demonstrate impartiality and fairness.

One may also raise the question as to whether UKIP deserves parity in coverage. In Scotland, their case is far less clearcut than that for the Greens. So far as I am aware, UKIP has not seen a surge in membership (a search on 'UKIP Scottish membership surge' only brings up stories about how UK-wide Green membership outstripped UKIP in January 2015), and the leaders of UKIP do not approach Patrick Harvie in popularity within Scotland.

The political situation in Scotland differs greatly from England, and it is vital that BBC regulations for Scotland reflect the unique nature of politics north of the border.

Yours, -- P

People's Climate March, Edinburgh

It's now or never for the planet. Details from www.stopclimatechaos.org/march.

Saturday 28th November 2015, gather at 12 noon on The Meadows, Edinburgh

Join the worldwide movement marching for a better future.  Over the weekend of 28th and 29th November, people across the world will march for climate action: from Melbourne to Tokyo and from Mumbai to Buenos Aires. 
In the build up to the UN climate change negotiations in Paris, we are standing up for people affected by rising global temperatures and demanding that world leaders agree an ambitious deal.  
Recent tragic events in Paris mean that planned climate marches there have been cancelled.  So it's more important than ever that people across the world take to the streets in their own countries to call for climate action.  Join us in Edinburgh for Scotland's Climate March!
A low carbon society will create green jobs, improve our transport and food systems and protect our land, air and water.  Scotland needs to show its colours in Paris and beyond with strong action on climate change.
Wear your brightest colours as Scotland marches on this weekend of global action.

What to expect at Scotland's Climate March

11:00 Pre-march activities: join a church service, banner-making workshop, recycled instrument workshop or music workshop see below for more information
12:00 Gather at The Meadows (near Middle-Meadow Walk)
12:30 March sets off: heading down Forrest Road, across George IV Bridge and then down the Mound
Once the march arrives at the Ross Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens (West) the rally will kick off.  The rally will be compered by actor and comedian, Hardeep Singh Kohli, and feature live music from Colonel Mustard & the Dijon 5 and Jo Mango and a great lineup of speakers, including young people, politicians, a crofter, a Filipino climate activist and more.
15:00 Rally ends

(Photo from People's Climate March, Edinburgh, September 2014.)

To prepare, have a look at Naomi Klein's This Changes Everything, a fantastic primer on the issues, the challenges, the failures and successes to date, and the way forward.

Save our Universities!

An independent Scotland is in danger of losing one of its major assets in the time between now and independence---the excellence of its universities is under threat. Below is an open letter to my MSPs. Support and suggestions for how to carry this forward as a campaign are solicited.

Dear Gavin Brown, Sarah Boyack, Alison Johnstone, Kezia Dugdale, Cameron Buchanan and Neil Findlay,

I write to ask your help to preserve a secure future for Scottish Universities.

Academics for all UK universities, including those in Scotland, have faced falling wages and falling pensions over many years.  "The real
wages of academics have fallen by 13% since 2008, one of the largest
sustained wage cuts any profession has suffered since the Second World
War." So wrote Will Hutton in the Guardian, October 2013 [1].

In 2011, Universities UK imposed vastly reduced pensions on new
hires. Old hires who pay into the pension fund for forty years receive
a pension of one-half their final salary; new hires who do the same
receive a pension of one-half their average salary. Basing pensions on
average rather than final salary may be sensible, but to do so with no
adjustment in multiplier suggests employers are using this as an
excuse to slip in a large cut; it means new hires receive about 2/3
the benefits received by old hires. All staff also suffered other cuts
to pensions: additional caps and less good adjustment for inflation.
At the time, it was predicted that within a few years old hires would
be moved to the inferior scheme for new hires, and that is what has
now come to pass. [2]

Universities UK argue that the reductions are necessary to avoid a
deficit, but their claim has been widely criticised. Notably, a group
of prominent statisticians point out Universities UK inflated the
deficit by assuming a buoyant economy when predicting future salaries
but assuming a recession when predicting investment returns. [3]

A strong university system is one of the jewels in the crown of the
UK, and particularly for Scotland.  That excellence is a huge driver
of innovation and growth. If Scotland reduces its investment in
universities, it won't be long before we feel that loss throughout the
economy. [4,5]

Scotland has a University system second to none, and to keep it strong
we need pay and pensions that attract and retain the best minds
throughout the world.  We must have a system that is fair to both: old
hires must retain attractive conditions; new hires must have the bad
deal imposed on them in 2011 rolled back. Speaking as an old hire, I'd
settle for a cut in pension if it meant bringing new hires onto
the same level: we must keep the system strong for the future.

An obvious point to aim for is parity with the TPS scheme used at
post-92 institutions; fall below that and we will see old universities
lose their best staff to post-92 institutions, a nonsensical position.

The UCU is currently in negotiation with UUK, but there is unlikely
to be a good outcome without political support.

I write to ask you, as my representative in the Scottish parliament,
will you direct the Scottish Funding Council to make fair treatment
for academics in Scottish Universities, both new hires and old, a top
priority?

Thank you for your consideration. Yours,

-- Philip Wadler
Professor of Theoretical Computer Science
School of Informatics
University of Edinburgh