:00:02. > :00:11.goes back decades, but as austerity bites, it looks a less and less
:00:11. > :00:14.funny. Tonight on Newsnight Scotland: Well
:00:14. > :00:17.over half of GP surgeries are affected by industrial action by
:00:17. > :00:21.doctors over their pension scheme. Are they right to strike over
:00:21. > :00:24.pensions most people can only dream about? And if the Scottish
:00:24. > :00:29.government is so sympathetic to their cause, why won't it pay to
:00:29. > :00:32.keep their pensions as they are? And a special report from
:00:32. > :00:34.California on what the First Minister has been up to. Has it
:00:34. > :00:38.been a trip about promoting Scotland or promoting brand Alex
:00:38. > :00:40.Salmond? Good evening. The doctors say
:00:40. > :00:43.they've been betrayed by proposals to increase their pension
:00:43. > :00:47.contributions and make them work until they are 68 before they can
:00:47. > :00:51.retire. The UK government says current pension deals simply aren't
:00:51. > :00:55.affordable. The Scottish government says it's against the strike but
:00:55. > :01:05.sympathetic to the doctors' case. Tonight, are we any nearer to a
:01:05. > :01:14.
:01:14. > :01:20.In waiting rooms across Scotland, empty seats tell the story. This
:01:20. > :01:25.surgery has around 7,500 people on its books. Industrial action meant
:01:25. > :01:29.today doctors dealt with nine patients. Normally we would have
:01:29. > :01:33.three surgeries running and the waiting room would be very busy. In
:01:33. > :01:39.addition we have an evening, late- night surgery and probably have a
:01:39. > :01:44.couple of people arriving after 6pm. But his waiting room would be false.
:01:44. > :01:48.The last time doctors down tools or was in 1975 when consultants and
:01:48. > :01:54.junior doctors took action over proposed changes to their contracts.
:01:54. > :02:00.On the walls, steps were taking standards of care for patients were
:02:00. > :02:04.maintained and A&E units worked normally. Almost 40 years on it is
:02:05. > :02:08.their proposed changes to pensions that has made them angry. This
:02:08. > :02:13.lacked the trappings of a traditional strike, instead just
:02:13. > :02:19.empty corridors as doctors turned up for work at GP practices, health
:02:19. > :02:24.centres and hospitals where they refuse to carry out routine duties,
:02:24. > :02:27.agreeing to see only emergency cases. Standing in for Alex Salmond
:02:27. > :02:36.at First Minister's Questions, the Health Secretary outlined the
:02:36. > :02:40.impact. I am advised approximately 3,200 out-patient appointments and
:02:40. > :02:45.around 450 in-patient and day cases have been cancelled. I should say
:02:45. > :02:50.patients have been advised and all appointments will be re schedule. I
:02:50. > :02:56.also understand approximately 60% of GP practices are affected to
:02:56. > :03:01.some extent. For Daniel, it means the hip replacement that was set to
:03:01. > :03:04.bring 2.5 years on crutches to an end, will have to wait. I don't
:03:04. > :03:09.think the doctors should be bringing patients into this. We
:03:09. > :03:14.have nothing to do with this. I cannot have too much sympathy when
:03:14. > :03:24.they have left me in this position waiting now... I don't know how
:03:24. > :03:26.
:03:26. > :03:34.long. At the heart of the issue is a plan by the UK Government to
:03:34. > :03:42.increase Dr's pension contributions, and raised their retirement age to
:03:42. > :03:50.68 and replace their final salary scheme with an average earnings. A
:03:50. > :03:55.doctor starting in 2015, will get a �68,000 a year pension. They get a
:03:55. > :04:00.much better pension than we get. It is about being fair. That is what
:04:00. > :04:04.we have said all along, we understand we get a good pension,
:04:04. > :04:08.we pay enough for it. What is unfair his people on the same
:04:08. > :04:13.income paying less than us. presents the Scottish Government -
:04:13. > :04:16.who don't support the strike, with a dilemma. Either impose pension
:04:16. > :04:21.reforms they don't agree with or make up the shortfall from
:04:21. > :04:27.Holyrood's budget. In public, it is an issue being danced around.
:04:27. > :04:31.deeply regret the note from the BMC material who say the action is
:04:31. > :04:35.being forced to force the UK Government back to the Nicosia 18
:04:35. > :04:40.table. The Scottish Government has never left the table and therefore,
:04:40. > :04:43.I consider the action not just unfortunate, but a necessary.
:04:43. > :04:48.Scottish Government have made it clear they are not supportive of
:04:48. > :04:57.what is happening in England. That is very gratifying to hear that.
:04:57. > :05:02.But we have not seen any action. What they're doing is dragging it
:05:02. > :05:06.out by talking, but not making any offers. For doctors, the success or
:05:06. > :05:11.otherwise of today's historic action will take time to judge,
:05:11. > :05:14.time which tomorrow will be filled with patience with a host of stored
:05:14. > :05:16.up complaints. I'm joined from Edinburgh by the
:05:16. > :05:19.leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Ruth Davidson and
:05:19. > :05:27.here is the SNP's Bob Dorris who is the Deputy Convenor of Holyrood's
:05:27. > :05:31.Health Committee. The doctors say the NHS pension scheme is in
:05:31. > :05:36.surplus to the tune of about �2 billion and will be double that by
:05:36. > :05:41.the end of the year. Why do they have to have their pensions cut?
:05:41. > :05:46.is about a sustainable future going forward. I am sure as somebody who
:05:46. > :05:51.works for the BBC would understand. A just because a pension pot is in
:05:51. > :05:55.surplus now, does not mean it will be in the future. You need to look
:05:55. > :06:01.at the gaping hole in the BBC pension to understand that. It is
:06:01. > :06:04.about health workers across the board. This not only allows the
:06:04. > :06:10.pension settlement to continue into the future and be properly funded,
:06:10. > :06:15.but helps people at the bottom end, people who won't be retiring on
:06:15. > :06:21.�68,000 a year. His that right? is a misrepresentation of the
:06:21. > :06:26.issues. In the case of the doctors, they did a deal for long-term
:06:26. > :06:30.affordability in 2008. What the UK Government have done with those
:06:30. > :06:33.talks have ripped them up completely. What they have said to
:06:33. > :06:39.the Scottish Government, unless you impose these other cuts in public
:06:39. > :06:45.sector wages, we will cut your budget to the tune of �8.4 million.
:06:45. > :06:51.There is a point, doctors did sign in good faith, up to a deal only
:06:51. > :06:56.four years ago in 2008. Normally successive governments, even of a
:06:56. > :07:02.different political complexion would accept labour contracts that
:07:02. > :07:07.have been signed up to. It is not unreasonable for the doctors to say,
:07:07. > :07:14.we signed this in good faith. It is not like it is 15 years later, it
:07:14. > :07:24.is only four years later. They could have said in 2008 when
:07:24. > :07:28.
:07:28. > :07:33.pensions were signed, we signed something a few years ago then.
:07:33. > :07:37.can understand their arguments for what you're saying. But there is
:07:37. > :07:43.almost a principle. If you sign up as a group of employees in good
:07:43. > :07:49.faith, to a deal that in four years your employer turns round and says,
:07:49. > :07:52.we don't take it seriously, we are ripping it up. It does not do much
:07:52. > :07:56.to encourage people to have trust in either the Government or
:07:56. > :08:01.politics generally? It is in his characterisation of what has
:08:01. > :08:08.happened. What the UK Government is looking to is a long-term funding
:08:08. > :08:12.solutions. They had 23 meetings between the BMA and the Department
:08:12. > :08:15.of Health. At least five of these have been with the Secretary of
:08:15. > :08:18.State for Health and the head of the BMA. There has been a lot of
:08:18. > :08:23.discussion and this is the best settlement the UK Government thinks
:08:23. > :08:29.it can come up with. It gives doctors a settlement where they
:08:29. > :08:34.receive more than 2.5 times their income other salary worker in their
:08:34. > :08:40.retirement. One of the questions I asked Nicola Sturgeon today, what
:08:40. > :08:45.is so unfair about a pension settlement of �68,000, more than
:08:45. > :08:50.2.5 times average salaries. She could not tell me. A group of
:08:50. > :08:56.employees, public sector employees, signed up to a pension and that a
:08:56. > :08:59.few years later it gets ripped up? There is a point of a principal in
:08:59. > :09:04.terms of affordability. MS Davidson cannot be saying things have
:09:04. > :09:11.changed so dramatically in four years. There has been a world
:09:11. > :09:14.financial crisis, the worst since the 1930s. In 2008, we weren't
:09:14. > :09:19.exactly awash with cash. It is about deficit-reduction and not
:09:20. > :09:26.about affordability of pensions. You think they're wrong to go back
:09:26. > :09:30.on this deal? I think it is reasonable to talk, and renegotiate,
:09:30. > :09:36.but it is also wrong to compel. I noticed the Scottish Government are
:09:36. > :09:41.still at the table. Wright is in the Scottish Government refusing to
:09:41. > :09:46.implement this? We would like to be able to implement it. The UK
:09:46. > :09:52.Government is holding a gun to the Scottish Government's her. They
:09:52. > :09:57.waltzed -- cut our budget a �0.4 million if we don't implement this.
:09:57. > :10:01.The British Government wants to do what Ruth Davidson wants to do. If
:10:01. > :10:05.you as the Scottish Government don't want to do that, it is a
:10:05. > :10:10.political choice. You can choose to find the money from somewhere to do
:10:10. > :10:14.this. Or you can say, no, it is not as important as other things we
:10:14. > :10:21.want to spend the money on. cannot find the money from
:10:21. > :10:26.elsewhere. You can. I am trying to explain. We decided to increase the
:10:26. > :10:31.Scottish NHS budget by �243 million. We could have decided not to
:10:31. > :10:36.increase it by that amount and not introduce these measures. We took
:10:36. > :10:41.the decision to protect front line services. When push comes to shove,
:10:41. > :10:45.you are on Ruth Davidson's side when it comes to pensions? It is
:10:45. > :10:49.complete nonsense. It is not nonsense, you could choose not to
:10:49. > :10:55.do it. You could get rid of no tuition
:10:55. > :11:01.fees. The point is, your Government, when it comes to things they may
:11:01. > :11:06.blame on London, it is a political choice you have made. You have
:11:06. > :11:10.chosen not to spend �100 million a year on this, in order to spend it
:11:10. > :11:15.on other things. It is perfectly reasonable, but you cannot pretend
:11:15. > :11:20.you are not making that choice. cannot talk about our own pension
:11:20. > :11:25.settlement without the UK Government docking our budget by
:11:25. > :11:31.�100 million a year. Can the Scottish Government not do this if
:11:31. > :11:35.they did not want to? Absolutely. The message bob is sending out is
:11:35. > :11:41.mixed. He was saying, of course we are continuing to talk Andrea
:11:41. > :11:45.Minguzzi aid. That is what the UK Government has been doing over a
:11:45. > :11:49.period of over several months. They have decided to do is the best deal
:11:49. > :11:55.they can come up with. But still gives doctors on retirement,
:11:55. > :11:59.�68,000 a year. If we did not ask for increased contribution to the
:11:59. > :12:06.pension scheme from doctors, it would come out of other health care
:12:06. > :12:10.workers. That is simply not true. We are running out of time. An
:12:10. > :12:15.obvious way and thing to do Rhys Davids and, which presumably you
:12:15. > :12:19.would be in favour of which was mooted by George Osborne, is to
:12:19. > :12:23.devolve bargaining on things like this to a national and regional
:12:24. > :12:30.level. So you would have Scottish bargaining on the health service.
:12:30. > :12:35.Would you be in favour of that? is an imposition from the
:12:35. > :12:45.Chancellor. We have grandstanding from the SNP to have a choice, but
:12:45. > :12:54.are choosing not to choose. We do like the idea of Scottish
:12:54. > :12:59.bargaining for the Scottish Health What you have seen across
:12:59. > :13:01.Scotland... Yes or no? Well, George Osborne has said that is his
:13:01. > :13:05.suggestion that should be considered and of course we are
:13:05. > :13:12.having to look at lots of different suggestions. He would love that
:13:12. > :13:19.idea presumably? No, the sooner pensions are the 4th to the
:13:19. > :13:23.Scottish parliament the better. -- are devolved to the Scottish
:13:23. > :13:27.parliament. Of course I would want collective bargaining but that is
:13:27. > :13:31.after discussions with trade unions. They are against it. Gordon, as I
:13:31. > :13:35.said, the Scottish government will negotiate with trade unions to
:13:35. > :13:39.reach settlements but what we've got just now is we cannot do that
:13:39. > :13:45.because of a gun held to well ahead by Ruth Davidson's party. If we do
:13:45. > :13:49.not choose to implement UK Tory cuts, they will dock the Scottish
:13:49. > :13:52.budget by �100 million. On the principle of whether you think the
:13:52. > :13:56.Scottish Health Service should Miguez EH Shepard plea from the UK
:13:57. > :14:01.health service, your position is what, yes or no? Let's negotiate at
:14:01. > :14:08.a Scottish level. The unions are against that. A let's talk to the
:14:08. > :14:15.unions. There is no such thing as local pay bargaining. At a Scottish
:14:15. > :14:19.level, we agree with the unions. in fact you and Ruth Davidson could
:14:19. > :14:23.end up agreeing with each other, at least on that. I suspect not,
:14:23. > :14:29.Gordon. Hobnobbing with Hollywood royalty
:14:29. > :14:33.at film premieres, that seems to be the lasting impression of an
:14:33. > :14:37.examines visit to California but he has managed to lobby for jobs and
:14:37. > :14:47.investment. How much of his trip Stateside has been about selling
:14:47. > :14:55.
:14:56. > :15:00.brand Scotland and how much has Introducing Alex Salmond, the
:15:00. > :15:05.latest hopeful to head to Hollywood in search of success. The first
:15:05. > :15:11.minister has been in the States to raise Scotland's profile. It didn't
:15:11. > :15:18.do his any harm either. Disney helped with a cartoon called Brave.
:15:18. > :15:22.It's very exciting. The crowds are wonderful. Beyond the glitz, what
:15:22. > :15:25.is the purpose of this four-day visit? This isn't a part of the
:15:26. > :15:29.world which does subtlety and luckily, Alex Salmond can be bland
:15:29. > :15:38.when he needs to be. That is what he is doing here in America. --
:15:38. > :15:43.blunt. He also once America's attention. This is a country and
:15:43. > :15:47.America, particular view of the West Coast, should -- way you
:15:47. > :15:56.should be right up front. There's no room for shrinking violence in
:15:56. > :16:00.California. Scotland has a fantastic amount to offer.
:16:00. > :16:04.potential gift, a cut in corporation tax to 20 % if Scotland
:16:04. > :16:09.becomes independent. Explain to people how we have a competitive
:16:09. > :16:16.offering in Scotland, how we focus on research and development, a
:16:16. > :16:20.brain power and intelligence are part of Scotland's offer. We have
:16:20. > :16:23.top universities and fantastic higher-education institutions. That
:16:23. > :16:27.is a powerful of all ready. It is not harmful to say before ambition
:16:27. > :16:33.to do even better and have an even better a competitive offer in the
:16:33. > :16:38.future. Certainly, with an edge on corporation tax it could mean more
:16:38. > :16:44.revenue and jobs this will stop in Silicon Valley, there was no
:16:44. > :16:50.announcement of 19 new jobs. What about independence? How is that
:16:50. > :16:53.message going down in the land of the free? Scotland has a huge
:16:53. > :16:57.profile and it is working incredibly well for us. There is
:16:57. > :17:02.worldwide interest in Scotland. The whole constitutional debate is what
:17:02. > :17:05.is giving us this profile. It is adding a tremendous amount to
:17:05. > :17:09.Scotland's pitch to say Scotland is a country which is going places,
:17:09. > :17:13.which has ambition and if you want to be in a country of ambition,
:17:13. > :17:19.make investments and come to Scotland. It is certainly working.
:17:19. > :17:22.Does this visit help you in the yes campaign? What helps us in the yes
:17:22. > :17:26.campaign is a demonstration that the Scottish government policies
:17:26. > :17:29.towards inward investment are working and also the fact that
:17:29. > :17:36.companies worldwide have huge confidence in Scotland's future. It
:17:36. > :17:43.also emphasises the argument that Scotland has a great advantage. All
:17:43. > :17:47.these things of big pluses for the Yes campaign. Those plans will not
:17:47. > :17:52.please other nationalists like the Greens and Scottish socialists. In
:17:52. > :17:55.California, they have their own tax problems. Not enough of it to pay
:17:55. > :17:59.the bills. In Sacramento, there was a meeting with the Governor. Jerry
:17:59. > :18:07.Brown is one of America's most experienced politicians. What did
:18:07. > :18:12.he make of Scotland's first minister? I don't understand
:18:12. > :18:16.Scottish parliament -- Scottish politics. He has the kind of energy
:18:17. > :18:22.which is needed to get through the hurly-burly of politics. Did you
:18:22. > :18:25.give him any advice? No, I'm not a great advice giver. I have to
:18:25. > :18:30.figure out my own path which is complicated enough, let alone
:18:30. > :18:35.trying to tell other people how they should be working. In San
:18:35. > :18:40.Francisco, Alex Salmond took his message to expats and business
:18:40. > :18:45.people. Most interest was in the constitutional question. Things
:18:45. > :18:49.like, what is Alex Salmond view on the monarchy moving forward in an
:18:49. > :18:53.independent Scotland? Things like that. Looking for questions on what
:18:53. > :18:57.is going to be the taxation policy in Scotland where it becomes
:18:57. > :19:00.independent? That type of thing. One of the biggest things that
:19:00. > :19:05.always concerned me was if Scotland was going to be independent, was
:19:05. > :19:09.there enough quality people at the top to lead it? I have to say I was
:19:09. > :19:13.very impressed. Brave sees a young woman set out to
:19:13. > :19:19.take control of her own destiny. A I want my freedom. But are you
:19:19. > :19:24.willing to pay the price for freedom will cost? How does it turn
:19:24. > :19:31.out? A careful what you wish for, my mother would say. What is the
:19:31. > :19:41.worst that can happen? I had better not spoil the story!
:19:41. > :19:41.
:19:41. > :20:31.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 49 seconds
:20:31. > :20:41.Tomorrow's front pages, a quick That is all from me. We will be
:20:41. > :20:45.
:20:45. > :20:50.back on Monday. Until then, for all Hello. More downpours to come over
:20:50. > :20:56.the next 24 hours, especially where it tonight of eastern Scotland. The
:20:56. > :21:00.gusty night. It stays very busty throughout the day on Friday. It
:21:00. > :21:04.stays very, very wet across north- western England. The Met Office
:21:04. > :21:08.have an amber warning in force. Downpours throughout much of the
:21:08. > :21:11.day. Further south, it is looking a lot brighter. There will be sunny
:21:11. > :21:15.spells but there will be a few showers. They will zip through
:21:15. > :21:18.quite quickly on a strong wind. That wind means that even if you
:21:18. > :21:22.get sunshine, it will not feel particularly warm. There will be
:21:22. > :21:26.drier spells across South Wales but in North Wales, persistent, at
:21:26. > :21:29.times heavy rain and for Northern Ireland and south-west Scotland, it
:21:29. > :21:33.looks very wet and that rain could build through the day and may be
:21:33. > :21:36.caused some problems. For eastern Scotland, it is very wet tonight.
:21:36. > :21:39.It will turn dry here through the course of Friday afternoon. But
:21:39. > :21:44.there is more rain to come, particularly over more than Britain
:21:44. > :21:51.during Saturday. Cloudy and outbreaks of such rain -- outbreaks
:21:51. > :21:54.of rain across the North. A little bit drier across the south and
:21:54. > :21:58.maybe even seeing some glimmers of sunshine across the south-east.
:21:58. > :22:02.Temperatures could reach 19 degrees. A cold weekend, especially in the
:22:02. > :22:06.breeze on Saturday. Outbreaks of rain across the North. Generally