In the build up to the UK General Election on the 4th of July, fios has spoken to a number of candidates for the Western Isles and discussed five key topics with them — Renewable Energy; Peats and Peatland; Transport; Affordable Housing and International Politics.
Connecting to the Wave of Change with Torcuil Crichton was published in fios 658 and can be read in full here.
Connecting to the Wave of Change with Torcuil Crichton
by Netty Sopata fios 658
The Scottish Labour Party, has not fared well in Scotland over the past decade, to put it mildly. But this is not, as promised, an opinion piece within which the how, and why and when are analysed. Its intention is to underline the key issues the Western Isles are facing and how the new, and very proactive, Labour Candidate – Torcuil Crichton – plans to navigate through them, should he be elected to do so on the 4th of July.
In early June, Torcuil called into the fios office, and we discussed a number of these issues, but we also established a little more about his background and how it felt moving from working as a Political Journalist to Political Candidate – “It’s a bit disconcerting, as a political journalist you try to score in an interview, as a politician you’re the goalie. It’s a bit like being a left-handed person learning to be right-handed, but I love it.” That became evident as the interview progressed. Having arrived with a punctual declaration of having half-an-hour to talk, the discussions led to an insight and drive that became apparent across a range of topics and stretched beyond the hour. So did the understanding that navigation only requires a map if you are unsure of the lay of the land and having worked as a Political Editor in Westminster for the Daily Record (for over ten years), Torcuil pointed out, “I won’t need a map for Westminster.”
The first topic we talked through revolved around renewable energy, a local issue, with national and international connotations that we have recently covered in detail in fios. “There is a renewable revolution taking place, not everyone is aware of this, but it is…. There is massive potential, with huge opportunities, but communities need to be put first…. For this to work all the dominoes have to be lined up – technical and political.” These dominoes and the sequence within which they need to be aligned are not insignificant in scale, neither was the determination with which Torcuil spoke, nor the insight into the industry. If Labour gets into power in July, one of their key objectives is to establish ‘GB Energy’. This will be a publicly-owned company generating clean energy through renewable resources (sun, wind and wave) ultimately leading to the UK being energy independent and reducing energy tariffs. If this happens, Torcuil pointed out, there needs to be a strong voice representing the communities of the Western Isles, speaking to the UK Government, “I would use every muscle to lobby the Energy Minister to ensure GB Energy has a Community Energy Unit….There has to be a balance between the green revolution and communities.” If communities are not benefiting from the revolution, he continued, or profit from development is seen to be flowing past their door, then the process will be like pulling teeth and the dominoes will not align. The purpose of reducing dependency on fossil fuel consumption is apparent to all – and it will by no means, Torcuil pointed out, be an overnight transition, but, when it does happen “there needs to be an industry and employment to move on to.”
Of course, another form of energy that we are very much aware of, that has been in the headlines recently, and can be seen from many of the doorsteps in the Western Isles, is that of peat. There are two areas I was keen to explore in relation to this –- the potential for peat to be used as part of the carbon – offsetting system (where carbon rights to peatland could be sold to companies to offset their pollution against) and the practice of peat cutting for personal use by crofters. Admittedly, Torcuil explained, he was not an expert on carbon – offsetting, nor was he convinced about such a process that resembles “dutch tulip fever for landlords” [1] However, what he was very clear on, was that crofters’ rights to cut peats was one of “the last connections to the land that we have” and would ensure that it carries on to support the reality of living in island communities.
This leads us nicely on to how such communitie, across the Western Isles can develop in a sustainable way alongside other industries. Tourism provides income for many but has also increased the value of houses and crofts beyond the means of families living and working in the islands. Torcuil’s engagement with the provision of social housing projects can be viewed on his social media platforms and he was keen to highlight that “providing social housing is key to depopulation.” However, for this to be addressed effectively, organisations need to move away from their “institutional silos” from within which they all defend their budgets and agendas – the levels of inter-institutional cooperation and communication need to be addressed. As does, he continued, the Crofting Commission, this “has had its day. It is a dysfunctional institution that does not work and is too distant.” The alternative he went on to present, links to the Crofting Inquiry Report by Mark Shucksmith (2008) within which recommendations were made to establish Crofting Federations for each county, thus providing power and governance for communities to deal with key issues affecting their sustainability such as, for example, absentee crofters.
The other area of institutional effectiveness discussed focused on transport – and to be more precise the ferries. Removing the triangular system of management and pass the parcel of blame is key in resolving the issues surrounding the ferries. As is a detailed strategy, which regular readers of fios will be aware of: “In the short term, find ferries or catamarans to fill the gaps in the CalMac fleet and compensate island business for losses from timetable penalties already imposed on CalMac. In the medium term ‘sack the board’, replace three-tier CalMac, CMal, Transport Scotland “Bermuda Triangle” of bureaucracy with a unified single CalMac with management running ferries from the islands to the mainland and with island representation on the board. In the long term –- a ferry building programme which follows the Type 26 frigate factory model. For example, a template for 8-10 ferries which could be built in Scottish yards.” fios 644 (December 2023). In response to being asked how the UK Government can influence these areas Torcuil responded: “The travelling public don’t care who is speaking on their behalf. As long as someone is.”
All of these issues, especially in relation to depopulation and the ageing demographic, are, Torcuil elaborated, affecting the Western Islands right now, and will come to the forefront across the rest of the UK and Europe, “the lights are on on the dashboard” and they need to be addressed. “We have the tools, the experience and an identifiable culture and heritage with the resilience it takes to live here and to do this…. We just have to invest with hope and confidence in ourselves and use these tools.”
Leading on from hope, and the perspective that change is not only coming but coming for the better, I wanted to know what he would say to voters who are apathetic towards politics and the political system as a whole? “Voting gives you a voice and you get what you vote for. After seventeen years of the SNP and fourteen years of the Tories power has been centralised and cynicism has become the norm…But politics can change lives. We need jobs, homes and hope…There is a wave of change coming and we need to connect to that wave.” Presenting the details of how that wave of change could happen for Labour in Westminster on the 4th of July is beyond the scope of this article[2], but the theory is that for a Labour Government to come into power they would need a swing vote larger than the one that took place in 1997, and every five seats won by Scottish Labour will reduce that swing vote by one point. But, as Torcuil pointed out, “that means nothing until it happens. But, if it happens, the islands need to be in the front row.”
The Western Isles, Scotland and the UK do not, of course, sit in a world of their own. International politics have, as we are all too aware, a huge impact on our day-to-day lives. There were three main topics I asked Torcuil about in relation to this –- Ukraine, Gaza and of course Donald Trump[3]. In relation to Gaza – “I have not met anyone who doesn’t want peace. But it takes more than that. Warmongers need to be replaced by peacemongers –- and that means Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas, and we have to push for that to happen.”
In relation to Ukraine, “well, I think we all know that Ukraine is our front line. Ukraine is fighting for Europe, and we should back them.” And finally, in relation to Donald Trump –
“I am glad our election is now. If we elect a Labour Government that turns away from populism, then that sends a signal…. an Atlantic beacon to America – a stable democratic signal.”
Beacons and warning lights can all be effective methods of communication – if people can understand what they mean and have an incentive to make a decision based on that understanding. There is, according to Torcuil, a “chime for change” being expressed by people on the street. What that change will be is up to each and every one of us to decide on the 4th of July.
[1] In the mid-17th Century, Dutch tulip bulbs reached extraordinarily high prices over a period of five years until the market crashed. Speculation on these prices is thought to have been one of the first recorded investment bubbles.
[2] If you have not already done so, fios would highly recommend listening to The Rest is Politics podcast with Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell for balanced debate and insight into the General Election.
[3] In 2017 Torcuil presented the programme: BBC ALBA – Mathair a’ Chinn Suidhe – Trump’s Mother
This series of interviews have been coordinated as part of The Scottish beacon’s Citizen’s Agenda Project: The Scottish Beacon — Community Empowerment