Scottish Labour Party Conference

One of the occupational hazards of politics is the charge – “that we are all the same”. It’s the ultimate put-down.

But of course it is economic policy debate that explodes that muddled myth.

You do not even need to look as far as Michael Howard’s promise to abolish the New Deal to prove the point. Take our own David McLetchie, a man more devoted to protecting the privileges of Scotland’s lawyers than reviving the fortunes of the Scottish Tory party. Legal eagle David knows a lost cause when he sees it. So in seven years in Holyrood David McLetchie’s top priority – the thing the Tory leader most wanted to change about Scotland – was to rescue the reputation of Scotland’s lawyers through a private members bill to keep the complaints procedure in house and under wraps – the icy blasts of competition are only for the rest of us.

And where David leads the rest follow – so this week – at the very start of Fair trade fortnight- the leader of Edinburgh’s Tories calls for a boycott of all fair trade products.

Here we are confronting the great challenge of globalisation – and what do the Scottish Tories want to do, – protect vested interests and abolish the New Deal – boycott fair trade

In fairness to most Scots confronted with all that they concede – well, you are all the same – apart from the Tories.

And the SNP have spent years sneaking up behind Labour – getting just as close as they think they can get away with. Alex Salmond last September, returning in a blaze of glory promising to “touch the soul of Scotland”- But what did we get? A winter devoted to trawling the TV studios spouting sour sound bites.

And what is Alex Mark 2s recipe for economic success – a fish and chips strategy – first you batter on and on and on about fish — then fry up a few chips on the shoulder, fried of course in lashings of oil – and then douse it all in seriously sour vinegar. And for a fish and chips strategy Nicola Sturgeon – was always going to be the obvious choice.

Stale fish and oily chips – it’s pretty unappetising.

So Scotland’s floating voters are left with the likeable Liberals – Cuddly Charlie, Jolly Jim, Nice Nicol. Yet Cuddly, Jolly and Nice – could give a pantomime horse lessons in facing two ways at once.

So keen was Nice Nicol to curry favour with Crammond and Corstorphine, that he became Nicol nowhere-to-be-seen, nothing to say, not a sound to be heard — when it came to conquering congestion.

Nice Nicol, recklessly jeopardising Edinburgh’s capacity to compete with Milan and Munich – all in the name of a few votes in Morningside.

So that leaves only the SSP, those self styled socialists. Yet how many Scots when they voted for the SSP in 2003 believed they were voting to ban of sale of Coca cola in schools but legalise the sale of that other sort of ‘coke’, the snorting kind – along with all other hard drugs! Hardly the sort of free trade Scotland’s economy needs.

So there you have it – Tories boycotting Fair Trade, Nationalists obsessed with fish and chips on the shoulder, Liberals losing their nerve, again and the so called socialists fussing about fizzy drinks over saving young lives.

Politicians and their economic priorities, we are not all the same – and the Scots know it.

Ten years ago the Scots feared a new parliament would penalise working people – and yet a decade on more Scots are in work than ever before and hundreds of thousands of children and pensioners lifted out of poverty.

But sadly just getting on with the job of balancing the budget, promoting growth and improving skills does not attract the same headlines as sleaze, scandal or whatever salacious morsel is at hand — but ultimately does something far more important — it changes lives.

So in the coming weeks lets go out determined to destroy the myth that – in politics – “we are all the same” — It’s a myth that deserves to die – killed off by our record of change, conviction and compassion. Conference I commend the statement.