Labour push for Holyrood to control Scots finance future

The group known as the “Red Paper collective”, whose members include leading Scottish Labour frontbencher Neil Findlay, is understood to back the devolution of powers to allow MSPs to increase the minimum wage, put up taxes for top earners and halt privatisations.

Former Labour First Minister Henry McLeish, who favours full financial powers for the Scottish Parliament, praised the intervention as “timely and important” ahead of the official launch of the campaign at the Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC) in Inverness today.

The campaign is being launched as a Labour and trade-union backed alternative to the high-profile campaign for devolving most tax powers to Scotland – known as devo-plus, which is heavily financed by big business.

A pamphlet entitled “Scotland‘s future: Power for Scotland’s People – a labour movement view” is being published by the group.

Labour MSP Findlay, a shadow minister for learning and skills, said that key demands of the campaign will include powers to challenge privatisations influenced by the European Union and the Tory-led UK coalition government.

He said: “So far the debate over future powers for the Scottish Parliament has been about the referendum – what will be the question, votes for 16-year-old’s etc.

“These are important but the debate has to move on to the type of society we want to create. If more powers are going to be devolved they have to be powers that deliver social justice, attack inequality and poverty and redistribute wealth.

“If we replace one group of right-wing policy makers and bankers in London for another group of right-wing policy makers and bankers in Edinburgh, what will we have achieved for working people? We hope that this pamphlet contributes to the bigger debate that we all need to have.”