How TTIP threatens to trade away Scotland’s democratic powers – and how we’re determined to stop it

Date: 5 November 2015

Opposition to TTIP in Scotland is growing, almost daily it seems.  Local groups opposing TTIP are springing up across the country.  At the last count there were groups in Aberdeen, St Andrews, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Orkney and the Highlands.  But by the time you read this, there may well be more.  And this spring, a broad-based, nation-wide ‘Scotland Against TTIP’ coalition was set up to work in tandem with local activists.  At its launch, the coalition was made up of seven trade union bodies, environment and food organisations, and social justice and anti-austerity campaigners.  The coalition has grown over the last few months and now has fourteen members, as more and more people realise that Scotland’s democratic powers could be traded away if TTIP is passed.

 

Working together works

Working together has to be the key to beating this toxic trade deal (and others like it).  So while we, as a member of the Scotland Against TTIP coalition, were able to get an anti-TTIP motion put down in the UK parliament, local activists then injected the campaign with their energy and lobbied their own Members of Parliament (MPs) to sign up to it; with the result that all 56 Scottish National Party (SNP) MPs and the one and only Scottish Labour MP have all supported the motion.  The coalition is now following that up with fringe meetings at party conferences and pressure on the manifesto writers preparing for the Scottish Parliament elections next May.  The local TTIP activists will likely then get to work on getting the candidates in that election to sign a pledge vowing to oppose TTIP if they get elected.

And across Scotland, local authorities are starting to declare themselves TTIP-free zones.  Glasgow, Edinburgh, West Dunbartonshire and Midlothian councils have all passed motions against TTIP.  And more councils in Scotland are likely to go the same way – with anti-TTIP motions being tabled in Dundee and Fife and awaiting debate.

Putting pressure on the politicians

So between us we’re increasing the pressure on politicians, ensuring that they hear about the opposition to TTIP at every turn.  And we’re starting to see this working.  Only last weekend, the Scottish Labour Party passed a motion stating its opposition to TTIP in its entirety.  Up until then it had only been the Scottish Green Party here who had voiced outright opposition to the trade agreement. 

The SNP has gradually become more concerned about TTIP as time has gone on and they say that they wouldn’t currently vote for TTIP as it stands, but stop short of saying that they’d never vote for it. Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon recently wrote to Prime Minister David Cameron calling on him to ensure that the National Health Service is fully exempted from TTIP and if that is not the case then for the UK government to use its veto at the European Council to prevent TTIP progressing. This is a welcome move from the Scottish Government, but we’re not holding our breath on a positive reply coming back from Westminster!

The huge efforts of local campaigners and organisations alike are making a difference.  Tens of thousands of ordinary Scots have learned about TTIP in the last year – and with a population politically energised by the independence referendum, many have been concerned enough by what they’ve heard to take action. 

How TTIP threatens Scottish life

It’s clear that TTIP threatens Scottish democracy. From the NHS and the provision of education, to the protection of Scotland’s environment and public health, TTIP could mean transnational corporations have more and more power over Scottish life.  There seems little point in Scotland winning more powers from Westminster only to let TTIP take them away and hand them to big business.

Under TTIP, US oil and gas companies might, for example, use the corporate courts to sue the Scottish government if it changed the current moratorium on fracking to a ban, or if it set tighter regulations on climate change emissions.  Or waste companies might use it if the Scottish government passed new legislation on waste reduction.  Or big tobacco might use it if further smoking bans or tighter tobacco control regulations were brought in.

And of course there is the much discussed risk to Scotland’s treasured public services, such as the NHS and Scottish Water.  Where there is privatisation in any part of Scotland’s public services, then TTIP could mean contracts being opened up to US companies. 

The UK government, in its support for TTIP, is negotiating away Scotland’s power to protect its natural heritage, its public services, the health of its people and more.  But as we are increasingly seeing, the people of Scotland are not ready to stand by and let them do it.

This blog was first posted on the website of the European Greens