A good article written by a Conservative! Are we the baddies? by Max Wind-Cowie ‘Hans... are we the baddies?’ So asks David Mitchell of Robert Webb in a sketch in which it begins to dawn on two Nazis that they may, in fact, be on the wrong side. It’s the little clues that perturb Mitchell, and the skull and crossbones emblem on his uniform that eventually proves to him that yes they are, in fact, ‘the baddies’. And that’s the thing. If the side you’re on looks and sounds like they might be ‘the baddies’ it’s probably time for a little reflection. Grangemouth should be a prompt for Tories to take a long-hard look at ourselves and to realise that, in the eyes of many of the public, we’ve got a massive skull and crossbones emblazoned on our foreheads. A little history. Grangemouth is a huge petrochemical plant and oil refinery in Firth of Forth. It employs 1370 people, is one of only seven such plants left in the UK and produces a whopping 70 per cent of the fuel sold in Scotland’s filling stations. It’s important to the livelihoods of the families who depend, directly and indirectly, on it and vital to our energy security. And last week Ineos – the Swiss private company that owns the plant – decided to shut it down. Their excuse for their lock-out was proposed strike action by trade unionists who rejected a new pay and benefits deal (and were concerned about the dismissal of the senior trade unionist on site) had scuppered any chance of making Grangemouth profitable. Cue many - particularly on the Right - rushing to Twitter and the blogosphere to condemn the ‘irresponsible’ union wreckers who had put thousands of jobs at risk. This isnt Number 10s fault - they have, in fact, studiously avoided blaming Unite. But too many activists and writers have allowed their hatred of the unions to cloud their judgment. They should have spent a little time reading Robert Halfons great Demos report on trade unions. Well it’s clearly true that Unite could have handled their negotiations better. And it’s probably the case that the behaviour of aforementioned senior trade union reps was less than elegant. But it’s also true – and transparent – that Ineos have been waiting for an excuse (any excuse) to make their staff accept reduced terms, conditions and pay. It is tantamount to a kind of blackmail. And what is more, whose side you take in a dispute like this is important not simply because of facts but because of narrative too. At our conference, we in the Conservative Party stood beneath banners pledging our support to hard-working families and extolled the virtues of those who strive to support themselves. That, right there, is a truly conservative value. But on Grangemouth – where thousands of hard-working families are in peril – we seem reluctant to take up the fight. Far easier to bash the unions than to ask tough questions of the billionaire plutocrat who’s squeezing the life out of a vital piece of UK infrastructure. Far more fun to bang on, yet again, about Falkirk than to say – as patriotic Brits – that this country will not be blackmailed by oligarchs. We all agree that Grangemouth is of key strategic importance, yet we impotently blame its workers for its arbitrary closure. Whose side are we on? That’s the question. Not whether there is political capital to be made in kicking a union whilst it’s down. I for one would rather like us to recognise that wearing the uniform of the plutocrat’s pals isn’t a good look. In fact, for lots of people, it makes us look a bit like the baddies.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 09:17:58 +0000
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