The
Scottish Committee of the People's Charter gave evidence to the Petitions Committee of the
Scottish Parliament on Tuesday 11th December.
Introducing
the Scottish Charter's demands to the Petitions Committee, People's Charter
Committee members Vince Mills and John
Foster told the Petition's Committee that The People's
Charter should be seen as a response to and a refutation of the politics of
austerity. They outlined the six key areas where the Scottish Parliament
could act to build a better life for the
vast majority of the Scottish people and they argued that the austerity mongers
by contrast give us recession, fewer jobs, poor services for the poor and decent services
only for the rich, greater inequality and continuous conflict.
Elaine
Smith MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston
supporting the Petition said:
"these are exactly the kind of demands that those who began the campaign
for a Scottish Parliament in the 1970s would have wanted the parliament to be
discussing. These demands are about advancing the interests of ordinary working
people. This is all the more important because the gains that working people
have made through the labour movement are now under severe attack. The People's
Charter is a blueprint for an alternative to the politics of austerity an
inequality."
The
Official Report of the above meeting is now available on the Parliament’s
website and can be accessed by following this link: Public Petitions Committee – 11 December 2012.
