The Labour Whip Cracked -
The Children Of Scotland Got Whacked
(Click Here for pictures)

The Free School Meals Bill Debate, 20.06.02
Around 250 anti-poverty campaigners, including SSP supporters and actress/comedian/chat-show host Elaine C. Smith (pictured below),were in Edinburgh on 20th June 2002 to witness the travesty that is the Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition join forces with the Tories to defeat the Stage 1 reading of the Free School Meals (Scotland) Bill. Despite overwhelming support from all over Scotland (most polls recorded 70-80% of the population being in favour), the Scottish Parliament voted by 74 to 37 to spurn the opportunity to attack child poverty, stigma, poor free school meal take-up and bad diet.

The debate was opened by the Scottish Socialist Party's Tommy Sheridan who was proposing the Bill. In his speech he outlined the problems facing children from the lowest paid families in Scotland, but added that the Free School Meals Bill was not just about giving a meal to the poor. The Bill would, he said, put in place statutory nutritional standards for school meals, therefore improving the diets of all children.

Tommy also revealed that a leaked copy of a Labour MSPs' briefing dated September 2001 stated that Labour was opposed to free school meals - a statement made BEFORE ANY EXPERT EVIDENCE had been heard. New Labour - same old Tory anti-democratic practices.

The Bill was seconded by Mike Russell of the Scottish National Party who had, as a parliamentary group, supported the Bill. The content of Mr Russell's remarks gave supporters in the public gallery of the Scottish Parliament's debating chamber the distinct impression that the SNP's support for the Bill was merely lip-service, as he proceeded to criticise the wording of the Bill in a manner that was insulting to Mike Dailly of the Govan Law Centre who had drafted the Bill, as well as the staff of the Scottish Parliament whose job it is to prepare Bills and other legislation for presentation to the chamber.

The contributions from the Scottish Executive were the expected arguments of 'Less than 1% of the Scottish Parliament's annual budget is too high a price to pay to begin to tackle child poverty and take a huge burden off the NHS long term', 'It's paying for the rich as well as the poor', 'We need to TARGET resources', 'The Bill is being proposed by Tommy Sheridan, and we don't like him'; all arguments which the campaigners in the gallery could have debunked with their hands tied behind their backs, and their mouths taped up. Labour MSP John McAllion, a co-sponsor of the Bill along with Alex Neil of the SNP, summed up the debate superbly, despite the rudeness of many fellow Labour MSPs who talked loudly amongst themselves throughout. Mr McAllion answered AGAIN all the lame objections to universal free school meals, and urged his Labour Party colleagues to support the Bill.

The result of the vote, when it was announced, was met with loud cries of 'Shame' from the public gallery, the people knew they had just witnessed the demise of a piece of legislation which would have improved matters for the poor in Scotland. A demise (which will be short-lived) which was contrary to the wishes of the Scottish population, the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), Unison, The Scottish Trades Union Council (STUC), The British Medical Association (BMA), The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS - the biggest teaching union in Scotland), The Scottish Secondary School Teachers Association (SSTA), the Church of Scotland's Church and Nation Committee and a vast number of anti-poverty groups nationwide.

The reaction of the crowd in the public gallery, which led to the Parliament being suspended for only the second time in its short life, was described by some MSPs as anti-democratic, which is a bit rich given that they had just voted against a Bill, which united practically all of civic Scotland and most of the Scottish people asked, in support.

Tommy Sheridan vowed afterwards that the Bill would be placed before the Scottish Parliament again as soon after next year's election as possible, when hopefully there will be a number of additional Scottish Socialist Party MSPs to give it their support.