THE UK economy is dying a slow and painful death. The symptoms of its demise can be seen everywhere.
I probably dedicated two whole articles to what’s going wrong, but the simple answer is that all economic decisions made by the Conservatives and those now being made by the Labour Government are driven by the same wrong view of the world, that there is no alternative to neoliberal economics. It is the intellectual deficit in decision making that sits at the heart of the decline of the western world.
It’s the wrong economy.
Believe in Scotland commissioned a poll last year of more than 2000 respondents and found that 48% (typical for the time) of Scottish voters supported independence. But we also asked: “If the Scottish Government put a Wellbeing Economic Approach at the heart of its plans for independence (a plan that recognised that quality of life, equality, fairness, sustainability, happiness, and health are all outcomes that should be given equal weight to GDP in economic planning and a Wellbeing Pension – how would you vote in a referendum?”
A total of 60% supported independence. That included 51% of people who voted Labour at the 2019 General Election, 29% of 2014 No Voters, 52% of people born in England, and 79% of EU citizens.
Despite the constant reinforcement of neoliberal capitalism in the media and from the mouths of politicians, voters instinctively know that the system is rotten to the core and the neoliberal economic model is failing. Actually, it has already failed and everyone knows it – a switch to a Wellbeing Economic Approach is the key to Scotland’s prosperity and its independence.
Yet, against this background, and not only knowing the data but having confirmed it themselves, the SNP removed the word “wellbeing” from the Economy Minister’s job title and made the independence minister position redundant. This was a fundamental mistake in an election year, sending a very clear message that the SNP were stepping away from the wellbeing economy message and de-emphasising independence.
That meant the SNP had no strong message on independence or the purpose of independence, no alternative economic strategy to differentiate them from Labour, no message for activists to evangelise and tell a clear story about the better nation that Scotland could be. As a result, the narrative of the 2024 General Election, “get rid of the Tories” – which the SNP even used for a large part of the campaign not realising (despite my explaining to the leadership in no uncertain terms, in face-to-face meetings) that in a UK General Election, where people are choosing between a Tory and Labour Government, “get rid of the Tories” just meant vote Labour. It was electoral suicide.
Wellbeing Economics is the answer.
Wellbeing is the idea at the heart of building back better, of creating a better nation, one that is based upon the values of the Scottish people, not the values and culture and the myth of neoliberal trickle-down economics.
The SNP definitely got that message. The Scottish Government were a leading force in the Wellbeing Government Alliance, trumpeted wellbeing as an economic approach, and were just starting to really understand the concept and how it might be applied within government policy frameworks. To that end, the Wellbeing and Sustainable Development (Scotland) Bill consultation exercise showed how wellbeing could be defined and measures adopted to blend it seamlessly into Scottish Government operations.
However the clear message is that they are putting the brakes on Wellbeing Economics and going back to a more conservative and traditional economic approach.
Why double down on the Wellbeing Economy?
It works everywhere that elements of the approach have been tried, and it’s the emerging economic narrative as people look for answers to the world’s current and emerging socioeconomic and environmental problems.
It’s really popular when you explain it to people and it would make independence really popular once you explain how we can’t have one without the other – and independence is about Scotland’s wellbeing.
It’s a counterpoint to Labour’s neoliberalism. Keir Starmer sold the soul of the Labour party’s past for a taste of corporate-sponsored power. In a Wellbeing Economy you start with the foundations of wellbeing in society and build an economy from society up, not with the needs of big corporations downwards.
The UK is failing and neoliberal thinking is closely tied to British nationalism, Brexit and political alienation that is moving England to the far-right – Reform is the danger, add their votes at the General Election to the Tories and Labour would have lost. Without an alternative economic approach the Scottish Government are offering more of the same, so people have a right to ask what’s the point of independence.
It makes sense, people instinctively know that you can’t have a strong economy without a strong society and you can’t have a strong society without a strong economy. Neoliberal capitalism prioritises economy over society and socialism prioritises society over economy – people are getting sick of politicians that can only see one part of the big picture that wellbeing economics paints. The SNP needs to convince the nation that they still have answers to delivering independence and for ending (not just mitigating) Scotland pain from the UK’s socioeconomic decline. Wellbeing Economics is the answer they are crying out for. The Scottish Government has had the answers for a couple of years now – they just need to make it someone’s job and get out of the way as they deliver.
Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp is the chief executive of Business for Scotland, the chief economist at the ‘Wellbeing Economics’ think tank Scotianomics, the founder of the Believe in Scotland campaign, and the author of Scotland the Brief. Click here to receive his newsletter direct to your inbox.
