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We take 26% of the Syrian refugees. We give all new mothers a baby box. We don’t charge for higher learning or for prescriptions. We have the highest organ donor rate in the UK. We have the best NHS. We are first to remove period poverty. We provide free care for our elderly. Even our tooth fairies are more generous. Are even our business people more principled?
I know this is a difficult one. I’m not saying that we’re all more collectivist, communitarian and responsible than all the folk south of the border. Clearly, we’re not [See the Labour Party revival there] but are our business people more principled on average than those in the, especially, deep south of the UK? I don’t have survey results for England so there’s no possibility to make any stronger assertions. I leave it as a thought, only that. Here’s an extract from the SSE survey reported in Insider magazine yesterday:
‘A survey by SSE Business Energy of more than 200 business leaders found overwhelming backing for firms being more environmentally responsible, paying their full amount of tax and paying staff the Living Wage. Bottom of Form. .
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
Trading responsibly with consideration for the environment, suppliers and staff could be the key to unlocking future growth for Scottish businesses, a new survey has suggested.’
Now, I know what some of you are thinking (Fred the Shred?). Don’t be cynical. You’ll stick like that.
http://www.insider.co.uk/news/nine-out-10-scottish-business-11253035
Talking-up Scotland 
Philip Green types?—The Scottish Coal Co (Scottish Resource Group), left huge ecological damage ( £150 millions worth) across the old mining areas of Scotland. They also failed to pay up their proper contribution into the industrywide mineworkers pension, leading to the pension protection people and a lower pension.
Long term Company Director? Step up one BRIAN WILSON, Labour aristocrat, media whine-a-lot, Brit Nat agitator and all round money grubber.
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Ok Got me
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But still not quite a Phillip Green?
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Hi John – Hi Gavin.
Would be nice to think Scotland has a more Scandinavian-type business class – Maybe we do? – I don’t have sufficient knowledge/evidence to have an opinion worth a damn. I noticed this morning that Glasgow Airport was choosing to join in the Scottish Govt backed project to encourage availability of free/affordable period care products – so that is good news for sure (and indicative of some kind of awareness of business social responsibility).
One element of the political class who certainly aren’t being communitarian or acting in a civilised manner are Col. Davidson’s shock-troop Tory cooncilors. Did you notice that the Fife Tory cooncilor who was very recently removed from the GTCS due to her appalling social media behaviours has just been made the Tory rep on the Fife Council Standards and Audit Committee? (see below):
Ms Leslie, who was required to resign from her post when she was elected councillor for Burntisland, Kinghorn and Western Kirkcaldy in May, has been banned from teaching following an investigation by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) – although she herself said she wished to be struck off from the register after deciding not to take the issue to a hearing.
The 41-year-old from Dalgety Bay was formally appointed to the standards and audit committee with the minimum of fuss at Fife House in Glenrothes yesterday, replacing Dunfermline Central councillor Alan Craig.
Councillor David Alexander, Fife Council co-leader and SNP group leader, said the appointment was a matter for the Conservative group.
But he concluded: “They need to reflect on their members’ conduct and also on the statement by their leader along the lines that a lot of them might think these things but she actually said it.
“If that reflects the feeling among Conservatives in Fife I would question if any of them should serve on a standards committee.
“Hopefully, some of them may distance themselves from the comments made.”
One lives in hope that the ever increasing examples of this type of reprehensible behaviour by the Col’s BritNat fanatics will encourage Scottish business and industry (traditionally major financial backers of the Tory BritNats) think twice before giving any further financial backing to these nutters (to prevent their business concern being linked with the weirder elements of pond-life which populate the north british tories these days.
(PS – the growing number of north british Tory behaviour lapses would not be being brought to public view were it not for the development of an ever more sophisticated alternative media here in Scotland – John’s blog being an important element of that). Bit by bit things improve.
Coffee swallowed down – bye all, Ludo
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The Tory cooncillors and MSPs and MPs are a nasty bunch altogether.
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Hi John – The north brit tories seem to have some pretty objectionable types in very high viz positions – I noticed yesterday that the hugely wealthy landowner (and construction company owner) MSP for West Aberdeenshire has got himself into trouble for a 2nd offence of raising questions in Scottish Parlt without making explicit his personal financial interests in the matters. (His name is Alexander Burnett). Don’t know what it is with BritNats and their seeming inability to differentiate between the public interest and their private financial interest. Curious creatures it has to be said.
I noticed this interesting development today in the construction industry – It does indicate that the Scottish based companies have a strong regard for providing solid and reputable training for employees compared to what the ‘British’ companies are proposing. I hope you agree it is worth my expanding on here?
The story has another interesting element. It suggests the increasing focus on the ‘Scottish’ viewpoint is making its presence strongly felt in this important sector. The ‘political’ focus derived from the establishment of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Govt (especially a Scottish focussed SNP Scottish Govt) is giving many other Scottish based organisations the confidence to say ‘No – hang on a minute – this doesn’t suit our requirements here in Scotland’ type of thing.
My strong suspicion is that – even just a few years ago – bodies such as those in the story below would just have agreed to pay up their levies – keep quiet about the inadequacies of the service they were receiving – and wait for their OBE – That is no longer the case. I believe that is a very significant development:
Members of the Scottish Building Federation (SBF) and the Scottish Decorators’ Federation (SDF) have both voted overwhelmingly to reject the Construction Industry Training Board’s (CITB) proposals to continue to raise the construction industry training levy.
Since its establishment in 1964, CITB has consulted industry every three years on future arrangements for the Construction Levy. Across the UK, a total of 14 organisations are prescribed to respond to this consultation process based on a consensus of their members’ views. SBF and SDF are two of only three wholly Scottish membership bodies to feature on this list of prescribed organisations.
More than two thirds of SBF members responding to the SBF consultation voted against CITB’s proposition whilst 89% of responding SDF members also rejected CITB’s offering.
SBF and SDF members pay a significant share of construction levy contributions in Scotland and this decisive vote substantially undermines the legitimacy of the current arrangements.
However, 94% of respondents to a supplementary question about the general management of the levy said they would be more inclined to support a continuation of the current levy and grant system if action were taken to make the governance and operation of CITB more accountable to Scottish levy payers.
Scottish Building Federation managing director, Vaughan Hart, has described the vote as demonstrating a general loss of confidence amongst Scottish building industry employers in CITB’s management of the levy, training and apprenticeships – rather than a rejection of the levy and grant system itself.
Vaughan Hart said: “As officially recognised consensus federations, SBF and SDF are required to consult their respective memberships on proposed changes to the Construction Levy on a tri-annual basis. In past years, Scottish employers have consistently voted in support of any such proposals. However, on this occasion, SBF members voted by a factor of two to one to reject CITB’s proposals with feedback from levy payers in Scotland suggesting that industry employers feel increasingly marginalised and overlooked. Time and again, levy payers cited the recent CITB imposed deregulation and dilution of Scotland’s proud craft apprenticeships as a symptom of the systematic failure and lack of transparency in CITB’s current governance and operational arrangements.”
Ian Rogers, chief executive of the Scottish Decorators’ Federation, said: “This overwhelming vote against consensus shows the level of dissatisfaction with CITB in Scotland. The way they have conducted themselves recently over qualifications and standards and their treatment of the Scottish Registration bodies has left many levy payers appalled. In the past, CITB were seen as a force for good and an ally to our industry. As a result of cost cutting and refusing to listen and act on the wishes of the Scottish industry, they now find themselves in this regrettable position.
“There is a short window of opportunity for CITB to retrieve the situation which I would urge them to grasp. They need to be more open and accountable, to be more transparent and to offer Scotland a more devolved Scottish CITB.”
Earlier this week, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) announced its qualified support for the CITB but called on the training body to better recognise Scotland’s “high-quality” construction apprenticeships.
Vaughan Hart added: “SBF’s consultation demonstrates that there remains an underlying level of support for the levy and grant system with over 90% of respondents indicating that they would be more inclined to support CITB if proposals were introduced to allow for a meaningful level of control and decision making to reside in Scotland. If confidence in the levy and grant system is to be fully restored in Scotland, Scottish employers are looking for far-reaching reforms to CITB’s governance and operations to make it properly accountable to Scottish levy payers. I would urge CITB not to ignore such a clearly expressed view from the Scottish construction sector as the current arrangements are evidently unsustainable.”
I bet you anything this sort of ‘Scottish focus’ crystallising among the Scottish business community is something that gives our Britnat fanatics real nightmares.
Couldn’t happen to nicer folk – cheers, Ludo
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Thanks Ludo. Very useful information.
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Hi John – your comments re. the tory BritNat cooncilors was very perspicacious – I see from beeb Jockland website that one of the 2 disgraced tory councilors from Stirling Council has ‘refused’ to apologise at a full council meeting and is now sitting as an Independent. Curious really, given that Col. Davidson had already told us that he had made a full apology when she announced they were being welcomed back into the tory fold following their short suspension. Yet another sign of things starting to unravel once more amongst the north british tory troops?
Ludo
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Their short boom has busted
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And ‘perspicacious’! What a pulchritudinous word!
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I’m off for my dictionary. Thanks to all, always an education.
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