Friday, April 15, 2011

Scottish Election 2011: Iain Gray denies 'Stalinist' jobs plan

Iain Gray has denied accusations that he plans a “Stalinist-style” jobs recovery programme, driven and funded by the state, if elected as First Minister next month.
Mr Gray attacked Alex Salmond for suggesting that the Scottish Labour leader wanted to generate economic recovery “by diktat”.

But he came under renewed attack from the Scottish Conservatives last night who accused Mr Gray of wanting to create “Stalinist-style five-year-plans”.

The First Minister used a Holyrood leaders’ debate in front of small business leaders to claim that Labour did not understand how the Scottish economy worked and added that recovery could not be directed from Holyrood.

Yesterday the Scottish Labour leader defended his plans to end youth unemployment in the next parliament by offering an apprenticeship to every young person who wants one, and creating a total of 250,000 jobs. While on the campaign trail in Edinburgh with Alistair Darling, the former chancellor, he denied that Labour’s manifesto was state-centric, and claimed it was a document that private enterprise had welcomed.

“Of course it’s the case that it is businesses that’ll create the jobs in our plan, as in any jobs plan,” he said. “Labour is the only party that’s bringing forward a plan to createjobs. It [the manifesto] is responding to what people want. We are going to guarantee young people an apprenticeship and we are already talking to the private sector about how to do that, and what role they can play in it.”

Mr Salmond told an audience on Tuesday night: “Governments don’t create jobs by diktat – you don’t set a figure for jobs and say ‘we’re going to create these jobs’. They [governments] identify the sectors and the marketplaces which will allow businesses to generate these jobs.”

Although he did not mention his rival by name, the comments were directed at the centrepiece of Labour’s manifesto, a promise to create 250,000 jobs.

Mr Gray has claimed that the positions can be created from growing the renewable energy industry and a new £40 million Scottish Futures Jobs Fund.

Labour’s Plus One scheme is intended to create 32,000 jobs by giving financial help to small businesses to take on extra staff. The total also includes 120,000 apprenticeships to be created by 2015 at a cost of £25 million.

Mr Darling MP, attending a Tesco store in the Edinburgh Western constituency with Mr Gray and Labour’s candidate for the seat Lesley Hinds, said: “Iain Gray is a very sensible, middle-of-the-road Labour party member, as I am.”

David McLetchie, the Scottish Tory campaign director and candidate for Edinburgh Pentlands, suggested that Labour’s plans were “Stalinist”.

He said: “Iain Gray has the grim and steely look of a man used to drawing up failed five-year-plans for tractor production but in truth he is just Old Labour with a child-like faith in the ability of Government to command, direct and micro-manage the economy despite all the evidence to the contrary.”
A spokesman for the SNP said: “Governments can’t create jobs just by saying it, you have to put in place the growth strategy to deliver the jobs. That is exactly what the SNP government has done, and that is why there are 25,000 more people in employment in Scotland now than there were a year ago, and over 130,000 more Scots in jobs than when Iain Gray was Enterprise Minister in 2002.”

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