The Impact of North Sea Oil THE RISE of the plant economy from the carly 1960 was cut across by the discovery of oil in the North Sea. With projected investment of £10,000 million by 1980, the ail attracted some of the largest and mOst predatory companies in the world — the so-called oil majors'. The sheer scale of their operations dwarfed anything previously seen in Scotland.
BP could raise privately in one loan, for one oil field, the sum of 1400 million, when the projected Scottish Assembly will have a total budget for all departments of about E2000 million. Scotish industry was well used to being marginalised by foreign competition, but oil gave this process a massive boost. British industry was only able to win around 25 per cent of the orders for the rapidly expanding market in boats, production and exploration platforms, pipe laying and other supply industries. The puny scale of British (and even more, Scottish) industry compared to its foreign rivals had never been cleaner.
It is no exaggeration to say that the British state, once all-powerful, was now totally at the mercy of the commercial whims of the oil companies. Allocation of oil sectors was by Government discretion' not auction. A taxation system was evolved which even the Publie Accounts Committee of the Commons had to point out was a "major commercial misjudgement" The Rise of the Scottish National Party THESE SPLITS inside the ruling class, and the emer gence of some sections of capiral in Scotland prepared to give serious attention 10 the plans be the nationalists, was a vital factor in transforming the SNP into a conberent political force. The confidentia plan of its Finance Committee leaked to the press envisaged 'an industrial structure closer to that of Switzerland than Detrolt". The absence of any shipyards or heavy engineering in Switzerland could not be lest on any trade unionist reading the report! No longer a party of cranks and romantics, the SNP had elbowed as way into the inner circles of big capital in Scotland.
Despite these important links between capital and the SNP, it woulit be a profound mistake to reduce the rise in support for some form of self-government to some deal cooked up in the boardrooms of Edinburgh's Charlotte Square. The sweeping victories of the SNP al Hamilton and the local elections in 1968 pre dase the so-called oil boom and the SP' slogan The discovery of oil gave the bationalists a massive boost, but its main importance does not be inside the ruling class. Much more importanly, it gave credibility to the idea of independence, and transformed the sir in the cyes of the scoenso middie class- HE TEL of a Scandinavian-type social democracy, cushioned from Britain's decline by Scotish oil, was carefully cultivated by the SNP leaders. The 1974 elections were the cleatest proof of the success of this oriencation, with the NP gaining directly from the previously Tory-voting petry bourgeoisie. its party leadership af Boy Scout Icaders, small businessmen, and sons c the Manse' personify its solid middle class base. [15| But no political parly can win the support of over a third of the clectorale, gaining sears in areas so socially distinct is the rural Moray and bain and Glasgow Goran, purely on the basis of gimmicks and catchy election slogans. The speed and abruptness of the growth of Lie SNP, now the fastest growing party in Western Europe, has led some Scottish socialists to set scolland as a bok in the chaid of 'nea naisonalisms stretching from Corsica lo Buzkadi (Basque couctry), from Brittany to Wales. [16] But such an antony nices more an a gees.
This is at its cleares in any comparison with the that region presented a peticion to the Spanish Interior Miniser. I1 demanded local control of the police lo demonstrators, permission to fly the chen-bartned and systematic frand and collusion was exposed ac Public Enquiries. (10.
Again it was the working class who paid the price for econamic "policy". Some 40,000 workers are now Bay, the mushrooming service firms of Aberdeen or the Spanish migram labour on the rigs themselves are cry from the collective strength of the Lanarkshire ison foundries or the Clyde engineering industry. Rarely unionised, with few of the social costs on a genuac conne Only one sector of Scottish capital has managed to pick up more than a few crumbs from this. The same Scottish banking system which pioneered the firs overdraft system and once formed the most advanced branch banking system in the world was quick t smell moncy. All three Scottish clearing houses hav extensive investments in equipment leasing and in hire purchase transactions. The Bank of Scotland has gone further with it stake in the International Energy Bank and its investments in the Piper oil fields But it was the investment trusts which made the biggest splash. With combined assets of some £2,000 million they had traditionally been linked to the old British pattera of -White Dominion" investments (for change, for it has been these investment trusts which have been giving backing to a variety of oil related investment companies (parts of Ranger Of group), supply and service companies (North Sea Assets, Scottish Offshore Investments), exploration companies (Pict Petroleum, Caber Oil), and new merchant VIVE Basque fing, official acceptance of the leacbing of Basque history in schools and transfer of narionalist political prisoners nearer home.
Even with the limitation and caution of Inese demands from part of the Spanish scate apparatus itself (they did not include amnesty or election of an Assembly) they illuminate quite well the 'socialist dynamic of the national question in Spain. The most timid and conservative expression on the Spanish ogulvalent of devolution har to address itself directly to a confrontation with the Spanish state; the essence of the narional question, that of political democrucy.
is written in the blood of workers on the streets of Vitoria or Pamplona.
In Frasce, without thirty years of dietatorship behind it the centralism of the Fifth Republic still means the offial diserimination against the Brecon langunge, the illegalicy of hiving the Brecon The withbut an eccompanying ricoloer and the familiarity of seeing carefully chasea non-Bret CRS riot police an demnastiallons or in occupations. hanks (Baces. Noble Grossart, James Finlay).
The development if a Scottish tinance sector as an autononous force in its own right has been discussed at considerable lengilt. [12) This sector shows a dynancism and political aggression conspicsous by its absence in the rost of British capital. Cerlailly same sections of this finance sector are ar least attracted by some of the idens of the Scottish National Party. The plummets on the foreign exchange marker and the all time loes of the stock market tura the sympatheric attentions of the most astute financiers toward the variety of projects for a Spattish pound, an independen Central Bank in Scotland and an autonomous credit sysrem.
Despite the attractions of these propositions, the contest of the disastrous economic decline of Brilish imperialist, together with one of the best organised labour movements in the world, means that the political situation is too fraught wilt dangers and uncertainty for much unanimity to emerge amongst Scottish capital. An example of this was the recent reaction of the three clearing house banks to the SP's latest revised finance proposals. The SN's policy was of such a fundamental political and emotional nature' [13) that the banks declined to make any comment.
But cerain elements in Scottish capital do at least appear to have reached a firm political conclusion. On the one hand there is the newly formed Scotland is British campaign, which draws support from the Scottish CBI, the Scottish Chamber of Commerce, and leading industrialists Like Lord Toodbill (Ferrantis) and Viscount Weir (Weir Enginsering). Devolution to these gentlemen is at best irrelevant, ar worst a dangerous experiment which could sabotage the "regional policy lifeline betscen Westminster and the Scortish economy discussed above. On the other hand there is the open and well publicised support of some merchant bankers for the SNP. with directors of Seaforth Maritime Investment and Dalscot Merchant Bank both containing SNP members on their boards.
But as the three Scottish banks put it, the question is "fundamentally political' and it is on this political criterion that the ruling class is split. For much of British big business, at least as expressed in their own" organs like The Times and the codonist, necessity of devolution has reluctantly been accepted, if only because of the real and visihle pressure of the Scottish masses. 14] Their problem is to ride the tiger, and to ahove all prevent the worst pessible aption — the foriation of un uncontrollahle executive of the Edinburgh Assembly. For this reason they fand the bulk of Scottish capital are not either for or against the Assembly, but preoccupied by such questions as whether the Assembly should have control over the Scottish UCS workers voting on the work in. Inset: Margo Macdonald who took Govan off Labour in 1973 There s no colice discuiton or polici oppression aimed or the Scottish mation. Scottish history is nor banned in schools, the St Andrea's Cross Ibes quite peacefully over Scotland, and English cops are not needed for industrint or political trouble spots.
The corresponding constitutionalisms of the nationalist movement bas therefore quite definite material Toots.
There is no façus for a national revolt, no discrimina cion to match against, no flag to defiantly and illegally fly.
This absence of auy focus for national political oppression produces a very distinct and, as first sight, strange form of "mationalison" in Seodand For che atomisarion and passivity of the nationalist Toros in recent sears reflecied the fact char the ballor box was the only torm that the mavement could take Self-acrivity, mass mobilisations and collective organisation on the scale of Catalonia or even Quebec poula fint no apportunity lo arise.
The same distines leatures mark the SNPa party Development Agency Van TUTUTE Scotlish banking syscen, Borh of which they are vehements against. For the same reason, proportional repres estation is now enthusiastically ombraced by many British and Scottish industrialists, in the hope of blocking any "extremis" governeneut, he it nationalist GOING FOR A SONG Auctioning blocks of the North Sea to the Dil Companies.
or socialist.
it will be overly political arricodes which will guide the changing views of capital, in Scotland. Britain and internationally, towards the Assembly and its execurive. Can it guarantee access to the EBC and North America, can it guarantee political stability and can it roar out the "labour inflexibilicy" inherent in Scotland's strongly organised lahour movemen? The political uncertainly surrounding these questions means thar for the next peried capital wiil continue lo hedge is bois, with public splits and continuing riveted to British' parliamentary rules, containing au the worsi bourgeois clectoral cretinism. In the same way it explains the absence of any loem of nacionalist culture; Scotland must be onique in baving no minss folk fescivals, no literary revivals to parallel irs nationalist growth.
This strange foris of nationalism is also rellectod in the absence of any historical self-organisation so draw upon. [17] Even in the 1930s, with the combiation of both functioning institutions of cational life (Church sport, law exc) and the stark reality of cronic and abrupt regional decline, the nationalises had zero impact on Scotish life In fact it was at the height of Scorland's cessonic collapse in 1951 that the Scottish TUC were to finally Serison their position of horse rule.
To underscend why it is today and not farty years ago that an Assembly is being sec up, it is necersary to look mon cower at che spent secure prone among the mass of the Scolish people themsehes.
Bourgeois Democracy and Devolution THE BRITISH STATE Is unique in Europe, its stability virtually unchallenged by military invasion, coup d'état, or peasant insurrection for over two centuries. The material roots of this stability lay in world role of investment and plunder by centh century expansion, but despite the fact that terial underpinnings are all but undermined, fence of bourgeois democracy has left an mprint on the consciousness of the British in European countries which have seen bourgeois democracy confronted by coup d'etats, civil wars and pre-revolutionary situations (France, Spain, Italy), the dynamism and tenacity of reformism and its Union of the Left, Democratic Rupture, PistE (Union of the Left, Democratic Rupture, Compromise) is an eloquent warning against the naive Idea that such deep seated illusions among working cople can be challenged purely by propaganda ir lavour of soviet democracy, Je is only by linking such propaganda to the real agent of social change, 10 the direct experience of the working people themselv es, that such illions can be broken. But chis direct experience can only originare at their present level of consciousness, not at some arbitrary point which socialists would prefer. As Lenin put it:
"You are duty bound to call their democratic time you must soberly follow the actual state of class consciousness and preparedness of the entire class tnot only of its commonist vanguard) and of all the people (not only their advanced elemenrs)." [18)
What is the actual state of class today in Scotlaod, and what does the demand for an Assembly represent? No 'sober" analysis can conclude that a wave of reactionary nationalism is sweeping the country. To our knowledge, the only struggle involving nationalist demands has been in the steel industry. but even there the SP has been kept at arm's length by the local shop stewards. More importamiy, the campaign to stop the political levy to the Labour Party initiared by the nationalists has heen a dismal failure. Nowliere has this demand for an elected Assembly translared itself into an attack on ibe organised strenath of the labour movement.
A sober aonlysis leads us very different conclusions, Decades of urtan deprivation, of unemNoyment und of political and financial corruption of the Labour Party has built up a dam of frustration among the Scottish working class. Far reasons Ironically, it was the previous "success" durability of Westminster which has produced the model in Edinhurgh which in the future undermine the Mother of Parliaments, It is this demand for the renovalion of bourgeois democracy as the content of Scortish nationalism which gives SP is classical petty bourgeois vagueness ambiguity on every issue. The SNP tries to appear as uscful a vehicle for the aspirations of a farmer in Perthshire as it does for an engineer in Clydebank.
In this situation it is not enough to be in favour of self-determination for Scotland -a nerative righl hy definition. For every socialist in Scotland must mare soming to say about what sort of future Scotland has a 'right' to determine.
In Scotland today it is necessary to link up with this profound desire for change, no matter how confused and ambiguous its expression. This was certainly the method used by Trotsky in his Action Programme for France' written in 1934. [19] In a programme whosc central points included dishanding of the police, mosopuly of foreign trade, and workers control, he argues emphatically for an extension of bourgeois democracy, for the seting up of a single Assembly. elected by universal suffrage, with deputies revocable the only measure that would lead the masses forward instead of pushing them backwards. A more generous democracy would facilitate the struggle for workers Ta turn your back on bourgeois democracy is to turn your back on the actual consciousness of the masses, a stupidity from the point of view of Lenin ar Trotsky, Bur at the same time their entire lives were trade unions, the political parties, the educational and sports clubs, the co-operatives, ele. The proletariar within the formal Bmits of bourgeois democracy, but it can only do so by caking the road of revolution. This has been proved by both theory and experience. And these bulwarks of workers democracy within the bourgools state are absolutely essential for taking the revolutionary road? (21] The Assembly in Edinburgh will of course be a representative body of bourgeois power, complete with a separation between legislative and executive. and the built in divorce between the masses and effective political power, Even without Westminster's vetoes it is no more likely to organise the working class in an active and effective control of society than Westminster has been. Any illusions on that score are precisely what Lenin called "prejudions. But the question will be posed; how B it possible to bol "otilise" and Might this new Assembly and the considerable enthusiasm the working population have in is?
The new Assembly on Calton Hill is more than mini-Westminster, or a maxi-sized City Chambers. It appears to the mass of the population as a radical step away from the decay of Westminster or the corruption of Glasgow's Cry Counci. As lons as the mass of the population remain committed to bourgeois democracy, it is inevitable that their demands for change will be articulated titough the forum of the Assembly.
Every vulgar democrat will he fighting tooth and nail to casure that the masses relate to the Assembly through the passivily and atomisation of the ballot. Socialists have esactly the opposite aim. Our alon is to encourage and promote the masses to relate to the Assembly, using their own self-organisation, their own collective weight, their political organisations, and through this to encourage che maximum distrust in practice of constitutionalisto and electoralism.
Proletarian democracy cannot be proclaimed ar artificially created. Ies shell, its nucleus" (to use Trots Advertisement ky's words) exist today inside bourgeois democracy but exteniling or developing these "nucler" can only be the work of the masses themselves, learning from their own expecience of the necessary conflict between the tw ditterent toems of nolitich Tule. Normall bourgeois society operates to ensure that this does no happen. Either working class democracy is sbunted into the form of "industrial disputes", or is both polici cally and physically paralysed by the higher law of the The setting up of the Assembly provides an opportunity to break that practice In supporting the setting up of an Assembly. it is possible to urge that the constitutional legalism of Westminster's votes should be swept aside and legisla tion introduced which will introduce punitive taxation on private capital in Scotland, It will be possible to demand that the Assembly's executive sabotage the spending curs or wages policy of Westminster, and that workers should be brought out onto the streets, as they did during the US struggle, to defend that policy:
The cornerstone of this fignt will be a consistent struggle within the labour movement for an Assembly which will assume the powers to Implement a socialist active strengtb of organised working people in trade unions, tenants committees, local action committees or political parties against the rescrictions and legal boundaries of the Asseisbly and the conservatism of the reformists who sit there. demanding that they bast themselves on this active strength.
It is an lonbility to underscand this relation between proletarian and bourgeois derbocracy which has caused much of the crisis of the European extreme left. Confronted with the dynanisen and resilience of bourgeois democracy, organisations like Lotta Concinua or Avanguardia Operaia in Haly vacillate berween the ultra-leftism of "sovietism" and opportu nism of tail-coding class pollaburation.
----- pull-quotes -----
employed directly or indirectly in the oil industry, hut the lonely construction sites of Loch Kishorn or Nigs
arising from permanent employment (schools, bous- ing and other facilities). the maltinationals can cash in
example, Argentinian ranching, Pennsylvanian steel). [11) Again it was oil which provided the incentive for
UFFS SHOP
JOINT STEWARDS COMMITTEE
spent fighting for a higher foem of democracy, that of To the Electors of
Socialist HIL KEY-NOTE: