Heaven Help Us
The Scotsman reports today on a hare brained idea from Labour party Leader - Iain Gray.
If Labour wins the Scottish Parliament elections in May - Gray says he will create a powerful new cabinet body to advise on economic policy - with up to 12 handpicked members including various union leaders.
Now I don't have any problem with governments seeking independent advice - from independent minded people - from all walks of life.
But there's nothing independent about our present lot of union leaders - they're all in the Scottish Labour party already - and have been for many years, in the majority of cases anyway.
Most have little, if any, experience of work outside the trade union movement - so what they would bring to the party is anyone's guess.
The next government could certainly do with some new ideas and fresh thinking - but heaven help us if the best the Labour party can do - is to serve up another batch of Labour supporting union bosses.
What difference will that make?
If Labour wins the Scottish Parliament elections in May - Gray says he will create a powerful new cabinet body to advise on economic policy - with up to 12 handpicked members including various union leaders.
Now I don't have any problem with governments seeking independent advice - from independent minded people - from all walks of life.
But there's nothing independent about our present lot of union leaders - they're all in the Scottish Labour party already - and have been for many years, in the majority of cases anyway.
Most have little, if any, experience of work outside the trade union movement - so what they would bring to the party is anyone's guess.
The next government could certainly do with some new ideas and fresh thinking - but heaven help us if the best the Labour party can do - is to serve up another batch of Labour supporting union bosses.
What difference will that make?
