Remember me
When I was appointed Scottish Liberal Democrat spokesperson for finance and economy, I was honoured but I also knew it came with the serious responsibility of leading our Scottish Budget negotiations. I don’t mind saying, that was pretty daunting.
The process began in November and since then, up until midnight before the day I announced that we had done a deal at First Minister’s Questions, I’d been working flat out. There have been late nights, early mornings, lots of meetings, roundtables, calls, letters, and emails.
I come from a business background, so it wasn’t all new to me. I’ve negotiated multi-million-pound deals before and I always try to be robust but open and respectful.
Finance Secretary Shona Robison and John Swinney eventually agreed to give the Liberal Democrats what they were looking for in the Scottish Budget, says Jamie Greene (Picture: Mike Boyd) | PAProper political opposition
I didn’t expect to get everything and every penny I asked for, but unlike Labour and the Tories, I wasn’t prepared to walk away or give up on the chance to secure more money for our priorities. Proper political opposition is about more than petitions and angry speeches, it means staring ministers in the eye and driving a hard bargain.
We started with a blank whiteboard in my office and whittled down what we’d like to see and who we wanted to use our influence to help. Young entrepreneurs, hospices, social care workers, colleges, hospitality businesses, island communities, and people waiting for ADHD and autism assessments were all on that list.
I took our initial asks to Finance Secretary Shona Robison and her officials. The initial draft Budget was positive. We secured £70 million for colleges, an initial £6m for hospice care, £2.5m for young entrepreneurs, and over £7m for islands investment. It was clear there was a deal to be done but I was also clear that if they wanted Scottish Liberal Democrat support for the Budget, I needed to see more.
We needed more on business rates relief to help pubs, restaurants, and hotels as well as more for social care and our amazing hospices. Our conversations were positive and friendly, but the government was never in any doubt that I would walk away if I didn’t see enough progress.
Not just playing politics
By midnight on Wednesday, it still wasn’t a done deal. In fact, it wasn’t squared away until First Minister’s Questions on Thursday when John Swinney confirmed that his government would give us what we asked for. I responded: we have a deal. For me, personally, this was huge.
When I sat as a Conservative, I remember getting agitated at Budget time because I was convinced that we should negotiate, only to be told that this kind of sensible action would not be tolerated. There was politics to be played and that was what mattered. A cheap press release mattered more than hard cash for communities.
I’m now in a party that let me secure over £300m extra for our top priorities. I call that getting stuff done. That’s £300m more than the Tories and Labour, both of whom might as well have sat making paper aeroplanes with their speeches for all they achieved.
People watching will have seen what we are all about. We’re not in the business of cheap political point-scoring; we get things done, guided by compassion and pragmatism. This Budget proves why that kind of politics matters more than ever.
Jamie Green is Scottish Liberal Democrat spokesperson for finance and economy