:00:03. > :00:05.This week on the Politics Show. It promises to be one of the biggest
:00:05. > :00:10.strikes in British history but have both sides made avoidable
:00:10. > :00:13.disruption inevitable? We'll ask the TUC General Secretary why he's
:00:13. > :00:18.determined to press ahead with Wednesday's walkout over public
:00:18. > :00:21.sector pensions when talks seemed to be making progress. And Francis
:00:21. > :00:23.Maude, one of the ministers leading the negotiations, joins us to
:00:23. > :00:30.answer charges that his rhetoric has inflamed, rather than calmed,
:00:30. > :00:35.the dispute. And what about Labour? We'll ask Shadow Chief Secretary
:00:35. > :00:44.Rachel Reeves if her party will support the day of action. A yes or
:00:44. > :00:47.no answer will do. On the Politics Show Scotland, the impact of the
:00:47. > :00:51.public sector strikes here and what can realistically be achieved.
:00:51. > :00:54.Empty run down houses are in the government's sights.
:00:54. > :00:56.We are with the Hudson Bay boys who carved out new lives in the
:00:56. > :00:59.Canadian Arctic. And some Hollywood glamour as the
:00:59. > :01:09.superstar Alan Cumming talks about the relationship between Scottish
:01:09. > :01:09.
:01:09. > :29:42.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1713 seconds
:29:42. > :29:47.Our bigger supporters are members who pay through subscriptions and
:29:47. > :29:54.donations to Labour Party. The trade unions give us that money.
:29:54. > :29:59.That is the lead a that the members of trade unions pay. It is not
:29:59. > :30:03.quite an answer to that question. That is the decision, at to pay it
:30:03. > :30:06.in the political levy from the trade unions. I am proud of that
:30:06. > :30:13.relationship and the Labour Party was formed by the trade unions
:30:13. > :30:18.movement. That is part of our tradition. On the economy, at the
:30:18. > :30:23.wider UK economy, yd think it is that if the Government is making
:30:23. > :30:29.such a mess of this, that the public do not trust Labour on a
:30:29. > :30:34.tiger. Under hour watch, there was a recession and we have already
:30:34. > :30:38.said we should have done more in terms of banking regulation. 18
:30:38. > :30:47.months into this government, we're seeing the effects of their
:30:47. > :30:51.policies. They have cut public spending at such a rate and it is
:30:51. > :30:55.risking a double-dip recession here in the UK. You talk about the
:30:55. > :31:02.failure of banking regulations. Do you not also need to say, we spent
:31:02. > :31:06.too much? Up until 2008, the Conservatives were backing us.
:31:06. > :31:15.not asking about them, I am asking if you thought Labour spent too
:31:15. > :31:18.much? We reduced debt enough time in office up from 42-36%. During
:31:18. > :31:24.the financial crisis, we made the decision to bring forward spending,
:31:24. > :31:30.to cut taxes, and to try to a void at a global recession becoming a
:31:30. > :31:36.global depression. It stop unemployment going up to 2.5 per
:31:36. > :31:40.cent. They were the right decisions. You alternative plan, the five-
:31:40. > :31:50.point plan for jobs, involves more borrowing. You have not said the
:31:50. > :31:53.
:31:53. > :31:57.cost of it? Over all, my question is, what makes you think the
:31:57. > :32:04.markets will except more borrowing when they have not done so in Spain
:32:04. > :32:08.or Greece? That is a massive gamble. The reality is that the Government
:32:08. > :32:11.or borrowing at more than planned because of the cost of the failure
:32:11. > :32:15.of their economic policies. There are more people out of work so we
:32:15. > :32:19.are paying more on benefits and getting less in taxes. We are
:32:19. > :32:23.saying that with these targeted measures to get growth back on
:32:23. > :32:28.track, the economy will get moving and helpers reduce debt in a
:32:28. > :32:34.sustainable way. At the moment, we are borrowing more because the
:32:34. > :32:38.economic failures. Going back to the States, we were looking at the
:32:38. > :32:45.eccentricity of the straight vote which involves the strike having to
:32:45. > :32:50.take place within 20 days of the vote. Do you agree with that?
:32:50. > :32:53.Francis Maude said, the UN could do something definitely to keep that
:32:53. > :32:58.mandate available, but they have decided to take strike action on
:32:58. > :33:06.Wednesday because of the strength of feeling about this issue.
:33:06. > :33:10.think that the 15 minute idea with a constructive proposal? I don't,
:33:10. > :33:16.what I am saying it is that if he can keep the mandate by just taking
:33:16. > :33:23.small action, on this occasion, the unions feel so strongly that that
:33:23. > :33:26.is not on the table. Surely it may be a good idea because if the
:33:26. > :33:31.negotiations are close to agreement, they could do something like that?
:33:31. > :33:34.It does not sound like they are. The fact that they have not spoken
:33:34. > :33:39.since the beginning of the months suggests they are a long way off
:33:39. > :33:42.the deal. That is unfortunate because people who rely on public
:33:42. > :33:46.services will see huge disruptions that could be avoided if the
:33:46. > :33:50.Government was sitting down with people and the public sector. They
:33:50. > :33:57.could do that this week rather than going on the television and saying
:33:57. > :34:01.they might withdraw. You do seem to suggest in your answer, and I am
:34:01. > :34:05.interested in this, that some sort of minimum talking strike action,
:34:05. > :34:09.whether in the middle of the night with rail workers or whatever,
:34:09. > :34:17.would have been a way forward that would have allowed talks to
:34:17. > :34:22.continue? What Jacqui is saying it is is the 20 delimit appropriate?
:34:22. > :34:27.There are ways to keep that mandate going which fall short of post-
:34:27. > :34:31.fight actions but the unions have balloted on strike action and then
:34:31. > :34:37.going ahead because they feel they have not been listened to. Thank
:34:37. > :34:39.you very much. Good afternoon and welcome to the
:34:39. > :34:42.Politics Show Scotland. Coming up on today's programme. We'll have
:34:42. > :34:47.more on those strikes on Wednesday. We'll be asking the unions what
:34:48. > :34:50.they'll achieve, and asking businesses how damaging they'll be.
:34:50. > :34:55.Can run-down, empty homes like this help solve Scotland's housing
:34:55. > :34:58.shortage? The Housing Minister is here. In the 1960s and '70s, with
:34:58. > :35:02.few job opportunities in Scotland, a generation of young men left home
:35:02. > :35:12.to find work abroad. We'll meet the Hudson's Bay Boys,
:35:12. > :35:16.who built new lives in the Canadian Arctic. I don't care how desperate
:35:16. > :35:20.the times are. If you really want to work hard at something and have
:35:20. > :35:23.something in your mind, you can achieve that goal.
:35:23. > :35:26.Also we'll get details of new proposals for a law to give
:35:26. > :35:29.terminally ill people the right to chose when to die.
:35:29. > :35:37.And the international mega-star, Alan Cumming, gives us his take on
:35:37. > :35:43.Scottish culture. In America, politics is almost a hobby. It is
:35:43. > :35:49.once a very four years, everyone goes nuts for it. Here, it is part
:35:49. > :35:54.of our parlance. Part of how it we engage with each other. But first
:35:54. > :35:58.here's the lunchtime news with Andrew Kerr.
:35:58. > :36:01.Good afternoon. New legislation, which will allow a person to be
:36:01. > :36:03.tried twice for the same crime, will come into force from tomorrow.
:36:03. > :36:06.For centuries, suspects have been protected by the ancient principle
:36:06. > :36:08.of double jeopardy, but the law has been modernised to permit
:36:08. > :36:16.exceptions. The Justice Secretary Kenny Macaskill says the reforms
:36:16. > :36:21.bring the system into the 21st century. We preserve double
:36:21. > :36:24.jeopardy. It for not be routine and it will very much be the exception,
:36:24. > :36:29.but if new evidence comes to light that could not have been discovered
:36:29. > :36:39.before, because of new technology, I think it is important that
:36:39. > :36:39.
:36:39. > :36:42.justice is done. The company behind a fireworks
:36:42. > :36:44.display in Oban which lasted just 50 seconds is putting on another
:36:44. > :36:46.show tonight, free of charge. Edinburgh-based Pyro 1
:36:46. > :36:49.inadvertently created a spectacular internet sensation when its
:36:49. > :36:59.November display came to a swift end thanks to a technical glitch.
:36:59. > :37:00.
:37:00. > :37:07.Called Obang, this evening's homage After a stormy conditions last
:37:07. > :37:13.night, the wind will ease down today. Some of the showers will be
:37:13. > :37:17.heavy with one of two getting into Dumfries and Galloway, but much of
:37:17. > :37:25.southern and eastern Scotland will be dry. A cold or fail to today -
:37:25. > :37:28.eight or nine Celsius at best. That's the forecast. That's all for
:37:28. > :37:34.now, I'm back with our next update at 6:20 here on BBC One Scotland.
:37:34. > :37:39.Now I'll hand you back to Isabel Now I'll hand you back to Isabel
:37:39. > :37:42.As we've been hearing, Wednesday looks set to be the biggest day of
:37:42. > :37:45.industrial action since the 1970s. 30 unions across the UK are taking
:37:45. > :37:47.part in the action and the likely extent of the disruption is
:37:47. > :37:54.starting to become clear. Our Local Government Correspondent Jamie
:37:54. > :37:57.McIvor has the latest on how it will affect Scotland. This
:37:57. > :38:01.situation is still developing a but listening this strike is not called
:38:01. > :38:05.off, we already know what most schools will be closed and a lot of
:38:05. > :38:09.local services like libraries and sports centres could be hit.
:38:09. > :38:13.Councils say they will try to make sure the most vulnerable will not
:38:13. > :38:19.suffer. Hospitals will be open the door some appointments have been
:38:19. > :38:23.postponed. There will be some impact on transport. Airports will
:38:23. > :38:28.be open but action by passport staff could lead to big delays and
:38:28. > :38:35.disruption. In Glasgow, local transport will be badly hit as the
:38:35. > :38:40.Underground is shut. Some claim mistake could cost the UK economy
:38:40. > :38:44.�500 million. Others are rubbish this, saying loss will be quickly
:38:45. > :38:51.made up. The equivalent of an extra Bank Holiday already of Severe
:38:51. > :38:55.weather. What is the day of action about? Specifically, pensions. It
:38:55. > :38:59.is not about the wider concern of is not about the wider concern of
:38:59. > :39:04.unions or some walkers over cutbacks, salary freezes and job
:39:04. > :39:07.losses. It is hard to divorce the issues completely however. The
:39:07. > :39:12.Government wants to make changes to public sector pension schemes which
:39:12. > :39:17.mean people pay more towards their pensions and in some cases work
:39:17. > :39:25.longer. It says anyone due to retire within the next 10 years
:39:25. > :39:30.will still receive the same pension they would have got before. Here,
:39:30. > :39:36.some part of the public sector under the control of Holyrood. The
:39:36. > :39:39.Scottish government say they do not agree with the idea of replacing --
:39:39. > :39:44.increasing employee contributions but they do not have any choice at
:39:44. > :39:49.the moment. Wednesday will see the sort of co-ordinated industrial
:39:49. > :39:54.action not witnessed for a long time. The UK Government is adamant
:39:54. > :39:57.pensions need to be reformed. People are living for a long after
:39:57. > :40:03.they retire and Westminster insists money is tight with the need to cut
:40:03. > :40:05.money is tight with the need to cut Joining me now in the studio is
:40:05. > :40:08.General Secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress, Grahame
:40:08. > :40:15.Smith, and from Dundee, David Watt, Chief Executive of the Institute of
:40:15. > :40:18.Directors. Thank you for coming in. Given that negotiations are ongoing
:40:18. > :40:25.and senior union officials have insisted the Government has moved
:40:25. > :40:31.do that, as this irresponsible? Negotiations are not ongoing. The
:40:31. > :40:38.last time the Government spoke was all in its 2nd November. They have
:40:38. > :40:43.been carrying out a propaganda programme since. No talks at all?
:40:43. > :40:47.No talks between the government and trades unions directly. Talks with
:40:47. > :40:56.each individual scheme have happened but that goes on all the
:40:56. > :40:59.time. These negotiations have been frustrating -- been frustrated by
:40:59. > :41:06.it the fact the Government have not been clear on what its proposals
:41:06. > :41:12.are. That makes it difficult to reach agreement. Talks are not
:41:12. > :41:17.ongoing. Given the confusion, have the unions taking on the enormity
:41:17. > :41:23.of what they're doing and the way the general public are reacting?
:41:23. > :41:26.Let's be clear on that. You speak about the unions but it is a
:41:26. > :41:33.millions a public sector workers who have voted in ballots to take
:41:33. > :41:37.industrial action because they feel very strongly. They see a gross
:41:37. > :41:44.injustice in not only being asked to work longer and being told that
:41:44. > :41:48.the benefits when they retire or less, but having imposed on them
:41:48. > :41:54.attacks on the epee of 3.2 per cent which has been dressed up as a
:41:54. > :41:58.pensions contribution the but is not a pensions increase. It is a
:41:58. > :42:03.tax on their pay. What do you think will be the general reaction to
:42:03. > :42:08.this and the impact on business? They will not be a great deal of
:42:08. > :42:13.public support. Many are already in a situation that Graeme has
:42:13. > :42:19.outlined, we all understand the pension situation as it is
:42:19. > :42:24.understood -- happening to everybody. They forecast the laser
:42:24. > :42:28.12 hours for people coming into Heathrow, which is terrifying.
:42:28. > :42:35.Schools being closed causes all businesses significant problem so
:42:35. > :42:40.there is a real concern and a genuine cost to it. Whether this is
:42:40. > :42:46.�500 million I am not sure, but there will be disruption from
:42:46. > :42:52.travel, public holidays, and so obviously a significant cost to
:42:52. > :42:57.business. What do you think of the political tone and a lot this? Some
:42:57. > :43:02.commentators have said the unions have rushed into this too quickly.
:43:02. > :43:07.Others, Ed Miliband for example, says that Westminster seems to
:43:07. > :43:13.relish this confrontation. The Scottish government say they are
:43:13. > :43:17.not willing to implement the increasing contributions but were
:43:17. > :43:24.immediately told that money would come out of the block grant. What
:43:24. > :43:27.do you think of the tone of negotiations? Politicians all have
:43:27. > :43:34.to realise there is an inevitability about cutting public
:43:34. > :43:40.sector contributions -- pensions and increasing contributions. There
:43:40. > :43:47.are still none contributed fixed benefit pensions in existence. That
:43:47. > :43:52.is not sustainable and needs to be sorted out. The basic premise, of
:43:52. > :43:59.not enough money in the pension pot, is being increasingly challenged.
:43:59. > :44:03.You do not accept that? I know there are some pension pots in
:44:03. > :44:08.individual parts of the public sector which are self-funding, but
:44:08. > :44:18.that is not guaranteed. The bottom line is the tax payers take up that
:44:18. > :44:21.
:44:21. > :44:25.shortfall. I think there should have been longer negotiation.
:44:25. > :44:32.he is saying is not the case. There are no reasons this has to take
:44:32. > :44:38.place. Local-government schemes in Scotland are very successful and
:44:38. > :44:41.takes in �300 million more a year than it pays out. The NHS has a
:44:41. > :44:46.surplus, the teachers' scheme has taken in more since it started and
:44:46. > :44:54.it has paid out. Negotiations took place under the last game for
:44:54. > :45:03.government to deal with contribution increases. -- Labour
:45:03. > :45:06.government. But there are ceilings placed on what the taxpayer will
:45:06. > :45:10.contribute to public sector pensions so these issues have been
:45:10. > :45:16.dealt with. The real issue here is that the UK Government is imposing
:45:16. > :45:20.a tax on the pay of public sector workers of 3.2 per cent, not
:45:20. > :45:30.imposed on anyone else but the rest up as a pension increase. That is
:45:30. > :45:34.
:45:34. > :45:39.to tackle the deficit. Nothing There are 156,000 households on
:45:39. > :45:43.household waiting lists in Scotland. Meanwhile, 25,000 homes are lying
:45:43. > :45:48.empty. Could these properties be brought back into use to help solve
:45:48. > :45:53.the housing shortage? That is at the idea behind the Empty Homes
:45:53. > :45:57.Partnership led by Shelter Scotland, set up last year to help local
:45:57. > :46:02.authorities trace the owners of empty properties and turn them into
:46:02. > :46:06.affordable housing. In a few days' time, Scotland will hold its first
:46:06. > :46:11.Empty Homes Conference. But finding the owners of the homes is no easy
:46:11. > :46:16.task. 21-year-old Stacey is the only
:46:16. > :46:23.resident in this block of flats. She says it is dangerous and the
:46:23. > :46:30.conditions are making her ill. door and upstairs have all been
:46:30. > :46:39.broken into. It is a living nightmare. I have got asthma and
:46:39. > :46:43.hypertension. I'm constantly down at the hospital with it. It is
:46:43. > :46:50.causing my blood pressure to go higher. She rents privately and is
:46:50. > :46:53.desperate to move into better accommodation but is one of 500
:46:53. > :46:57.people on that the waiting list at her local housing association. Its
:46:57. > :47:01.director says that it is frustrating to have empty housing
:47:01. > :47:07.on the estate when people need homes. There are about 40
:47:07. > :47:11.properties lying empty, that is 40 families that could be rehomed. In
:47:11. > :47:18.terms of the wider picture, there is not a lot of house building
:47:18. > :47:21.going on because of the financial crisis. It makes more sense to find
:47:21. > :47:28.two properties lying vacant, renovate them and bring them back
:47:28. > :47:37.and give them to other people to give them houses. Kenny is working
:47:37. > :47:43.with Shelter Scotland's partnership. She is working with 22 of the 33
:47:43. > :47:46.local authorities in Scotland. work with local authorities and
:47:46. > :47:50.housing associations to give them good practice from elsewhere in the
:47:50. > :47:55.United Kingdom where they do good used bringing empty homes back into
:47:55. > :48:03.use. We have had less of this in Scotland in the past 10 years or so.
:48:03. > :48:08.It is about contacting the owners, and negotiating. It is estimated it
:48:08. > :48:18.costs between 6025 �1,000 to refurbish an empty home. The
:48:18. > :48:23.average cost of building is around �100,000. It is an attractive
:48:23. > :48:29.choice of four councils looking to provide affordable housing. But are
:48:29. > :48:33.they the homes people want? What it will do is provide a wider stock of
:48:33. > :48:38.housing available for letting and now that councils are obliged to
:48:38. > :48:45.sell off properties to occupiers, it will provide a more stable
:48:45. > :48:49.measure to the national housing stock, that houses are -- that
:48:49. > :48:57.housing associations and other landlords will have available.
:48:57. > :49:03.Developers cannot sell them and cannot get rid of them for a number
:49:03. > :49:08.of years, these houses tend not to be suited to bigger households, and
:49:09. > :49:18.they do not work well with a family of seven children. The progress is
:49:18. > :49:23.not always straightforward. years we have been trying on and
:49:23. > :49:29.off to find out who the owners are and to do something about this
:49:29. > :49:35.situation. The garden is open to the environment, it can be used for
:49:35. > :49:42.fly-tipping. I believe it has been set fire to at least once. Clearly,
:49:42. > :49:52.would you like to live next door to that? I do not blame anyone that is
:49:52. > :49:53.
:49:53. > :49:59.not happy with this situation. As I say, the time to get half it is now.
:49:59. > :50:05.But just how tough can councils in Scotland be? They do not have the
:50:05. > :50:08.same power as councils in England which can seize empty properties
:50:08. > :50:14.after six months. The Scottish government is consulting on whether
:50:14. > :50:17.to give new powers to raise council tax on empty properties. But will
:50:17. > :50:21.this be enough to persuade landlords to turn derelict
:50:21. > :50:26.properties into homes people want to live in?
:50:26. > :50:32.We have the housing minister Keith Brown. Good afternoon. You have
:50:32. > :50:36.looked at a number of ways of tackling this. The first one is to
:50:36. > :50:39.allow councils to charge an additional levy and reduce
:50:39. > :50:45.discounts on empty properties, that provides a real incentive to bring
:50:45. > :50:51.them back into in -- productive use. They can be unsightly and are not
:50:51. > :50:56.being used by families who could use them. So there is a 90%
:50:56. > :51:00.discount at the moment is there? could be 50%. There would be a levy
:51:00. > :51:07.which would double the council tax rate on those properties. It would
:51:07. > :51:13.not be in any body's interest to leave houses lying empty for a long
:51:13. > :51:18.period of time. We have an initiative in South Esher, trailing
:51:18. > :51:23.this out to see whether allowing people to take on the interest free
:51:23. > :51:28.loans to improve properties that require that, we would like to see
:51:28. > :51:34.that rolled out. That is almost like rewarding negligent property
:51:34. > :51:38.developers and property owners because they get money to do up
:51:38. > :51:42.their property and then there is no guarantee that they will sustain
:51:42. > :51:47.the quality of that building. idea is not to play to the self-
:51:47. > :51:53.interest of particular landlords but to say that some properties are
:51:53. > :51:57.in a very poor condition and that they are really struggling to get
:51:57. > :52:00.grants to upgrade the property. We want to help in that situation. The
:52:00. > :52:05.benefits of that other two were starting to get council tax back,
:52:05. > :52:08.you may get a sale on that, that could be used on the improvements
:52:09. > :52:15.for other properties. The end result will be instead of having
:52:15. > :52:18.empty properties you will have those available to rent or buy.
:52:18. > :52:23.Councils do have the ability and have a greater ability to borrow
:52:23. > :52:28.than the Scottish government does. Borrowing to produce economic
:52:28. > :52:33.assets, we think is right and proper. Borrowing to produce more
:52:33. > :52:38.jobs because you can get more repair and maintenance work through
:52:38. > :52:44.this, is again a proper to do in terms of economic uncertainty. If
:52:44. > :52:49.you create an economic asset, that is one legitimate use of borrowing.
:52:49. > :52:53.One way we can start to turn this around and improve growth is if for
:52:53. > :53:00.example the UK Government were to announce on Tuesday that they would
:53:00. > :53:07.reduce VAT on home improvement to 5%, as we have been calling on them
:53:07. > :53:11.to do. Empty housing has been targeted for about a year, nobody
:53:11. > :53:16.is clear on how many have been brought back into use. Would it not
:53:16. > :53:20.be a good idea to have a legal compulsion on this? We are
:53:20. > :53:24.consulting on some of these issues and getting an update by the
:53:24. > :53:29.conference you mentioned on Tuesday, we will get feedback from the
:53:29. > :53:34.different partners. Our feeling is that that would not work. We want
:53:34. > :53:41.to work with house-owners and local authorities. But you will consider
:53:41. > :53:45.the compulsory element? The UK Government very often copy what we
:53:45. > :53:48.have done in terms of housing, we keep an open mind but currently the
:53:48. > :53:53.one to work towards more collaboration.
:53:53. > :53:58.In the 1960s and 70s with fewer job opportunities in Scotland, a
:53:58. > :54:04.generation of young men left turn to find work abroad. Many of these
:54:04. > :54:11.men joined the Hudson's Bay Company. The stories of a group of Scotsmen
:54:11. > :54:18.who formed a new life in the Arctic is the subject of a new documentary,
:54:18. > :54:24.the Hudson's Bay Boys boys. They have been talking to Gilly
:54:24. > :54:29.Mathieson. These men are Hudson's Bay Boys,
:54:29. > :54:32.who as teenagers had few opportunities and gave up
:54:32. > :54:36.everything to make a new life in the Canadian Arctic. They were
:54:37. > :54:43.among thousands of Scots who for 300 years went to work for the
:54:43. > :54:50.Hudson space company. In 1976 there was no job for John Graham on the
:54:50. > :55:00.family farm and so he answered the call of the wild. I responded to an
:55:00. > :55:06.advertisement in the newspaper. It was 11am on September 17th and the
:55:06. > :55:10.temperature was minus two Celsius. The weather was a lot nicer than
:55:10. > :55:15.the win that I had left in Scotland a couple of days beforehand. There
:55:15. > :55:21.really was, at the age of 19, nothing really was a shock, you
:55:21. > :55:26.went there with eyes wide open. Really prepared for anything.
:55:26. > :55:33.Todd did not see a future for himself in Scotland, at the age of
:55:33. > :55:38.17, he also joined the Hudson's Bay Company, are waving in the western
:55:38. > :55:47.Arctic in the middle of winter. arrive here and it was very
:55:47. > :55:52.desolate. So it was a real shock, it takes your breath away. It's the
:55:52. > :55:59.Hudson's Bay Company was started in 1670 and began trading with the
:55:59. > :56:08.native people of the Canadian Arctic. They exchanged supplies for
:56:08. > :56:17.furs. But to the Inuit communities, as they were often much more. Jim
:56:17. > :56:24.Dayell became a Bay Boy, but was also part doctor, dentist and fed.
:56:24. > :56:32.We found clothing, food, or the needs of the community for a year.
:56:32. > :56:38.The medical work, the dental work, the midwifery, looking after dogs,
:56:38. > :56:45.giving them rabies shots, all the extra curricula. There was a vast
:56:45. > :56:52.amount really. By the end of the 20th century, Scots made up half of
:56:52. > :56:55.their workforce. But the seal trade crashed and the impact was
:56:55. > :57:01.catastrophic. Suicide rates have rocketed. It was the beginning of
:57:01. > :57:05.the end for the Bay Boy way of life. The hunters did not know what was
:57:05. > :57:10.going on with the anti-fur market here in Europe. The bottom line is
:57:10. > :57:15.that from being a thriving industry, it put those same folks on welfare
:57:15. > :57:20.overnight. It was so dramatic, it went from people living are
:57:20. > :57:25.reasonably well, it was a tough life, going trapping, that is a
:57:25. > :57:30.tough life, but it was a life they had lived all their lives, all of a
:57:30. > :57:35.sudden it collapsed. Separated by thousands of miles, many of the
:57:35. > :57:41.Scots has left the company but stayed in the Arctic to forge new
:57:41. > :57:51.careers, working alongside a the in the Ritz, it to build new
:57:51. > :57:51.
:57:51. > :57:55.communities. This morning has been really exciting. It feels good.
:57:55. > :58:00.back in Scotland ahead of the screening of a new documentary,
:58:00. > :58:04.what can the new generation of school leavers learn from the Bay
:58:04. > :58:09.Boys' experience? There was an inherent understanding that she
:58:09. > :58:16.cannot live off mum and dad. But if you smoke cigarettes, pay for them
:58:16. > :58:22.yourself. Get up and do it. I just thought it was part of life, then.
:58:22. > :58:25.You did not hang on, you step out. I do not care how desperate the
:58:25. > :58:32.Times are, if you want to work hard at something, you have got
:58:32. > :58:39.something in your mind, you are going to achieve that goal. I was
:58:39. > :58:44.estimated to work in aviation but I paid my dues, I paid my five years
:58:44. > :58:50.service to the Hudson's Bay Company, learnt good work habits, getting up
:58:50. > :58:55.early in the morning, being at work on time, putting in an honest day's
:58:55. > :59:01.work. If you work hard, opportunity will present itself to you as it
:59:01. > :59:05.did with me. The Scots have now stopped coming to the Arctic to
:59:05. > :59:11.work with the Hudson's Bay Company, but this generation show that with
:59:11. > :59:17.positive attitude and determination to succeed in tough economic times,
:59:17. > :59:22.opportunity can be created even in the most harsh conditions.
:59:22. > :59:32.You can see more on that story, the Hudson's Bay Boys in a documentary
:59:32. > :59:33.
:59:33. > :59:36.on Wednesday night at 9:00pm on BBC The independent MSP Margo MacDonald
:59:36. > :59:39.was re-elected to parliament on a commitment to have the right to
:59:39. > :59:43.choose when to die set up in law. Her End of Life Assistance bill was
:59:43. > :59:45.heavily defeated on a free vote. Ms Macdonald is now in a new
:59:45. > :59:47.consultation process arguing the key element, of giving legal
:59:47. > :59:50.protection to people who assist in suicides, has widespread public
:59:50. > :59:57.support. She joins us from Edinburgh and here with me in
:59:57. > :00:02.Glasgow is the medical ethics professor Sheila Maclean. Thank you
:00:02. > :00:10.both for coming in. Margo MacDonald, how will what you're bringing
:00:10. > :00:15.forward now differ from what was defeated before? I think we learned
:00:15. > :00:24.a great deal from the first time round the course. One of the things
:00:24. > :00:29.I am absolutely adamant about is that this is a rights issue. It is
:00:29. > :00:33.the writer of the individual to have determination over the last
:00:33. > :00:39.act of that person's life. They are as responsible for it as for all
:00:39. > :00:44.the other actions of their life. How would it work in practice?
:00:44. > :00:48.difference this time is that last time we thought it was best, for
:00:48. > :00:53.reasons I will explain if you wish, for it to be medical professionals
:00:53. > :00:59.who were asked for assistance by the small group of people who may
:00:59. > :01:03.well choose to end their life before nature does. This time, we
:01:03. > :01:08.have gone out to consultation and we have asked, should it not simply
:01:08. > :01:12.be medical professionals? Is it possible you could have a friend at
:01:12. > :01:20.the end of somebody who is trained or registered or licensed to help
:01:20. > :01:26.you. There would be no dubiety about it. It would be illegal for
:01:26. > :01:33.anyone to ask for help. Those are the big differences from last time.
:01:33. > :01:39.We are also playing with the idea - considering Seriously - of going to
:01:39. > :01:43.your doctor and thinking ahead. Thinking that I may reach the stage
:01:43. > :01:52.where life becomes intolerable, because I know I have a
:01:52. > :01:57.degenerative process of conditions. -- progressive. I may think I am
:01:57. > :02:02.lucky and see this out without dignity, and that is what people
:02:02. > :02:05.feel more than pain. The reason I thought about this and is because
:02:05. > :02:13.they will be a small number of people who wish to take advantage
:02:13. > :02:19.of this law. There will be perhaps a this sort of percentage of people
:02:19. > :02:25.willing to help them as we find another communities. Because we are
:02:25. > :02:28.a country with an uneven spread of population, it may be a better
:02:28. > :02:37.management tool if you had the same idea ahead of time so that if
:02:37. > :02:42.somebody does go to the doctor and say it is now intolerable. They
:02:42. > :02:47.have advanced directives and living wills. How far do the goal and
:02:47. > :02:50.could use structure safeguards along those lines? The interesting
:02:50. > :02:55.thing about advanced directives in Scotland is there not legislated
:02:55. > :03:00.for. Although the presumption is the ban statement would be followed
:03:00. > :03:03.that is not necessarily true. Encapsulating something similar in
:03:03. > :03:08.Scotland seems to be a step forward and has already been done in
:03:08. > :03:12.England and Wales. The difference with the advanced directive is that
:03:12. > :03:17.what you're suggesting is that once you become ill and are no longer
:03:17. > :03:22.competent to make that decision, they do not then it's not teach you
:03:22. > :03:26.for pneumonia or something. What Margo MacDonald is looking for is
:03:26. > :03:32.something more proactive, which would allow a positive decision in
:03:32. > :03:37.advance that you would at a certain point want to die. That would take
:03:37. > :03:41.the current notion of advanced directives a further set for words.
:03:41. > :03:46.Is that you impression that there is greater support from the public
:03:46. > :03:55.and we see in the political process? That evidence is probably
:03:55. > :04:02.anecdotal full stop of 1000 people that were interviewed in Scotland
:04:02. > :04:10.by a surveyor I carried out, they carried -- supported it two to one.
:04:10. > :04:12.This is not hard evidence but is as hard as you're likely to get. It is
:04:12. > :04:16.health professionals and politicians who appear to be
:04:16. > :04:20.reluctant along with they based organisations. We are running out
:04:20. > :04:26.of time but would you write in to any proposal the right for people
:04:26. > :04:29.to change their minds? Of course. It is the person who decides and
:04:29. > :04:35.only the person and we can all change our minds as often as we
:04:35. > :04:41.like. If that is respected it shows the law was walking. Up thank-you
:04:42. > :04:44.indeed. -- is working. The multi-award-winning
:04:44. > :04:46.international star of movies and theatre, Alan Cumming, has been in
:04:46. > :04:49.Glasgow this weekend discussing his distinctively Scottish performance
:04:49. > :04:53.style and theatre's particular role here. He's not used to bad reviews
:04:53. > :04:55.but he took a bit of a pasting from opposition parties for an election
:04:56. > :04:59.video supporting the SNP, although he isn't resident here and can't
:04:59. > :05:01.vote. The actor's response is that he is entitled to his opinion. He's
:05:02. > :05:04.a big supporter of the National Theatre of Scotland, and in
:05:04. > :05:10.yesterday's event he was examining the impact of our culture being
:05:10. > :05:12.seeped in variety, music hall and panto. In the Kings, with National
:05:12. > :05:21.Theatre director Vicky Featherstone, he said he was delighted to be
:05:21. > :05:27.involved. I want to be here. Nobody forced me
:05:27. > :05:33.and they have come because I feel that as an actor and a person I am
:05:33. > :05:39.very informed by my Scottishness and the tradition of performance in
:05:39. > :05:43.Scotland, which is very much open and connecting to the audience and
:05:43. > :05:52.has its roots in variety and pantomime. What is the difference?
:05:52. > :05:55.What are the elements of this its particular Scottish? A few things.
:05:55. > :06:02.There is an openness and an engagement with the audience, a
:06:02. > :06:09.lack of a fourth wall. You are letting the audience understand
:06:09. > :06:12.that you know they can see you and there is an archness to that
:06:12. > :06:17.because you're looking at performance and a different way.
:06:17. > :06:24.There is a thing about spectacle. We used songs and jokes are as a
:06:24. > :06:30.way of telling the story. The other thing that really fascinates me is
:06:30. > :06:33.that politics is not removed. It is all part of the same pot. We can
:06:33. > :06:38.engage in a political way through humour and songs and through a
:06:38. > :06:44.variety of means like that. Political theatre has grown out of
:06:44. > :06:48.that. Do you think there is something specific about the
:06:48. > :06:55.dynamic between politics and public life and theatre in Scotland that
:06:55. > :07:01.is specific to Scotland? I do. We talk about politics much more than
:07:01. > :07:06.the people in other countries do. In America, politics is almost a
:07:06. > :07:16.hobby. It is something that once every four villas and everybody
:07:16. > :07:19.
:07:19. > :07:25.goes nuts for it. Here, it is part of our parlance. -- four ears.
:07:25. > :07:31.is the role of the theatre in that engagement? What is interesting
:07:31. > :07:35.about that is that I feel that Scotland is a demotic country.
:07:35. > :07:40.There is no real sense of elitism here, so the theatre has to be
:07:40. > :07:45.relevant to the people of Scotland. Theatre here is not putting posh
:07:45. > :07:50.plays on posh stages that make people feel stupid. It is about
:07:50. > :07:53.ownership of the work. The theatre tradition in Scotland is a
:07:53. > :07:58.relatively young compared to other countries. What is exciting about
:07:58. > :08:07.that is that has come from a variety and stories that need to be
:08:07. > :08:12.told and communicated. Leading on from that, you don't Black Watch
:08:12. > :08:18.recently and did some work with veterans. You think theatre could
:08:18. > :08:23.have a practical role? We are a publicly-funded organisations and
:08:23. > :08:28.even if we wear it, people we work with believe Scott -- theatre
:08:28. > :08:34.should be relevant in contemporary life. If we're putting on classics,
:08:34. > :08:39.we still feel it is important to be told now, not as a museum piece.
:08:39. > :08:42.The only theatre in our lives and terms of understanding stories and
:08:42. > :08:49.oppositions in the world and asking big questions is a relevant, but it
:08:49. > :08:54.has to be entertaining. Political theatre can become a problem...
:08:54. > :08:59.a are you looking at me when you say problems? When I said
:08:59. > :09:08.entertaining! Banned political theatre became agitation for its
:09:08. > :09:14.own sake and it went into a slight slump because of that. With we're
:09:14. > :09:19.getting to now it is a really good new place. Do you think the
:09:19. > :09:26.cultural scene in Scotland is more vibrant than it has been?
:09:26. > :09:31.Absolutely. When I came back to do a play in 2007, I had not worked in
:09:31. > :09:37.Scotland for a long time. Since devolution, there has been a huge
:09:37. > :09:42.change in the way that not only Scotland is perceived, but how it
:09:42. > :09:48.project itself onto the world stage. There is a confidence and almost a
:09:48. > :09:56.thing that we cannot only blame everything on England any more.
:09:56. > :10:03.Coming back to work that time, it was palpable. It was very exciting.
:10:03. > :10:11.With this last election, I felt it was about re-engaging that kind of
:10:11. > :10:15.confidence and spirit. Can I add to that, but if you look at this
:10:15. > :10:20.situation in Scotland over the last year compared to the situation in
:10:20. > :10:22.England, there is no question that in Scotland the importance of
:10:22. > :10:32.culture and the confidence of culture is absolutely part of this
:10:32. > :10:35.nation being forward thinking. In England, the support for the arts
:10:36. > :10:42.and philosophically at financially has been decimated by the Tory
:10:42. > :10:48.government. Our colleagues in England look jealously at us now.
:10:48. > :10:55.Not only in England but other countries. Scotland has the grim
:10:55. > :11:03.reality of the financial situation but the support is extraordinary.
:11:03. > :11:07.The arts is prioritised in a really good way. Being here, it is
:11:07. > :11:11.sometimes hard to stand outside of it and see what the great thing is
:11:11. > :11:14.happening because it is happening and is normal. With the benefit of
:11:14. > :11:19.not living here, I have been able to do that and that is truly
:11:19. > :11:22.amazing. And so for some analysis on this week's stories and a look
:11:22. > :11:27.ahead to next, we have the Columnist and Theatre Critic, Joyce
:11:27. > :11:32.McMillan and from the Times, the journalist Lorraine Davidson. In
:11:32. > :11:39.terms of what is happening with the stakes, even if you support the
:11:39. > :11:43.objectives, is the strategy right? I do not think so but I am 100% in
:11:43. > :11:46.support. I despise the argument that because people on the private
:11:46. > :11:52.sector do not have good pensions, the public sector should be just as
:11:52. > :11:58.bad. In that sense, there are striking for all of us. They do not
:11:58. > :12:06.want to live up in the sort of place where sex are banned. --
:12:07. > :12:10.Stakes. Having said that, I would rather that instead of Stakes on
:12:10. > :12:20.Wednesday we were looking at a festival of public service where
:12:20. > :12:22.
:12:22. > :12:30.more imaginative things were been done. -- strikes. If the public is
:12:30. > :12:34.not 100% behind this, does it not been much traction? Are not of the
:12:34. > :12:43.public understand that there was a banking crisis caused by excess and
:12:43. > :12:46.the banking industry. People being made to pay the price are the
:12:46. > :12:52.people at the bottom end of the scale often with modest public
:12:52. > :12:58.sector pensions. The coalition government has been tried to speak
:12:58. > :13:06.in a very 1970s way about unions and the rights they have and gold-
:13:06. > :13:08.plated public sector pensions. Most in Scotland and we have more -- a
:13:08. > :13:18.much higher lead on a public sector work in Scotland, do not recognise
:13:18. > :13:22.
:13:22. > :13:27.this. Most do not recognise that kind of debate that is taking place.
:13:27. > :13:34.I think it is very foolish to use the word is responsible at all in
:13:34. > :13:40.relation to this. -- are responsible. We have seen more
:13:40. > :13:44.egregious examples of this. Most public sector workers are showing a
:13:44. > :13:53.high level of responsibility of the day in their life and a one-day
:13:53. > :13:58.strike! In using the word are responsible, Ed Miliband is playing
:13:58. > :14:05.the Tory tune and it is very foolish. He has not worked out what
:14:05. > :14:11.side he is on in this and his putting. The unions are trying to
:14:11. > :14:16.betray him as at the Winter of discontent and so Ed Miliband has
:14:16. > :14:22.stuck. Labour in Scotland have been more sensible and had decided what
:14:22. > :14:27.say they are on and are sticking with it. Ed Miliband is not going
:14:27. > :14:36.to take the credit for being tough. David Cameron is going to do that.
:14:36. > :14:42.Ed Miliband is left in the middle floundering about. Looking at the
:14:42. > :14:48.assisted suicide pill, would you have reservations? I do. I have
:14:48. > :14:52.immense sympathy and respect for Margo MacDonald. Everyone can
:14:52. > :14:58.understand her position. She has got a good political battle on Miss,
:14:58. > :15:02.but I do not think we live in a society which has the kind of
:15:02. > :15:07.respect for elderly people that you could be confident you were making
:15:07. > :15:14.those decisions to end their lives on a good basis. So many have made
:15:14. > :15:17.to feel a burden and badly cared for at home. We have seen horrific
:15:17. > :15:23.reports in England but also in Scotland about the way people are
:15:23. > :15:29.cared for. There are made to feel a burden and if you introduced a
:15:29. > :15:37.legal option, people would be volunteering in very large numbers.
:15:37. > :15:44.I do not think we should be going down that route. We should not give