Mike Mackenzie on the Mid Argyll Pool situation

Mike Mackenzie, SNP candidate for the Westminster seat of Argyll & Bute at the upcoming General Election, has given us his thoughts on the issue of the local Council’s refusal to fund the Mid Argyll Pool equitably with other Argyll pools.

The situation leaves the pool threatened with closure despite the focused and capable efforts of the new Board, one of the best community Boards seen in Argyll.

We have had Mr Mackenzie’s response since 23rd December but felt that issues like this get a fairer hearing once the Christmas frenzy is over and people are starting to look outward again. We will progressively be directing attention again to this outstanding matter because the situation is inherently unfair, carries a democratic deficit and impacts upon the wide and significant heart of Argyll.

In our coverage of the matter we have referred generally to the ‘Mid Argyll Swimming Pool’. Rightly or wrongly, we have tended to avoid the name, ‘MACEL’ – the acronym for the Mid Argyll Community Enterprise Ltd – because insider shorthand is one of the diseases of communications today. Iit excludes much of its audience. However, Mr Mackenzie, correctly, distinguishes the Board (as MACEL) from the pool itself in what he has to say.

Mike Mackenzie on approaches to resolving the issue of funding for the Mid Argyll Pool

‘I understand that the 19th December march in Lochgilphead was a great success both as a community building exercise and as a demonstration of support for the Mid Argyll Pool. To the extent that it fulfilled both of these worthwhile objectives I was sorry I couldn’t attend.

‘Had I been able to attend I would have been advocating a more conciliatory approach towards the Council and the other bodies that could and should help the pool have a sound financial future.

‘Thanks to For Argyll’s comprehensive coverage of the event I was able to watch and listen to the speeches. I was saddened to hear the word ‘fight’ used by some of the speakers. Fighting is the option of last resort and I can only reflect on how much of our past and more recent history has been wasted fighting amongst ourselves. I have visited the pool twice in recent weeks, once in the company of my colleague, Jim Mather; and I have researched the issue sufficiently to know that we have by no means reached that last resort yet.

‘Whilst I do not question the supreme fighting prowess of the two Parliamentarians present on Saturday, I do question the wisdom of pitting themselves against the Council at this stage. It seems to me wiser to work with all parties and it seems also that this is likely to be the surer route to success.

‘Despite this, I must commend Dougie Philand not only for his principled stand but also as the best speaker and not least for his obvious sincerity. The decision whether to pursue this issue from within the Council administration or from without, must have been a difficult one and he has my respect for the judgement he made.

‘In order to broker a solution to any problem, it is first necessary to understand it and to understand the position of both sides.

‘I have spoken to swimming pool operators in Argyll and Bute and elsewhere, both public and private, to consultants, to members of the MACEL board, to Council officers and Councillors and, on a very wet Saturday a few weeks ago, to a good number of people in Lochgilphead.

‘I have shared such information and knowledge as I have gathered with colleagues.

‘Over the last year the new MACEL Board has done a terrific job in rescuing the pool and in assessing the situation and making a compelling case for financial help.

‘There are many organisations and individuals who can help them and some of these will be attending a meeting instigated by Jim Mather MSP in January. I have no fears at all that a credible and concrete rescue plan will emerge from this meeting and its aftermath.

‘The Council Administration has made great strides forward in the last two years and I have told them this. Some of the initiatives they have taken are both bold and inspired. Just one example is the CHORD project which will deliver great benefit especially in these recessionary times.

‘I have also said that there are areas where they still have much room for improvement. They are not as pro-active as they should be. The pool situation for example should never have advanced this far without intervention and help from the Council. The Council are after all in ‘partnership’ with MACEL.

‘Amongst these areas where improvement is required is that of communication, most notably with the public they serve. It may be for this reason that the Council’s position has not really been heard or understood.

‘I am not privy to the detail of Council policy and of the debate and discussion within their committees but I can make certain observations.

‘Like all Local Authorities the Council are bracing themselves for the most painful cuts in a generation. We all know why.

‘What we see in the problem of the Mid Argyll Pool is one of the earlier manifestations of a decade of difficulty which has been visited upon us by the UK Government’s mismanagement of the economy and poor regulation of our banks. According to the OECD we now have the highest public sector deficit of any developed country. The leaders of the UK opposition Parties are vying with each other to see who can be the most ‘responsible’ and promise the deepest public sector cuts. The current UK Government are trying to pretend they are not making cuts.

‘The Council has many pressures on its budget and a considerable list of good causes all deserving support. The Mid Argyll Pool may be the most deserving but they worry that if they give in too easily it will open the floodgates to similar demands across Argyll and Bute. They worry too, no doubt, about similar demonstrations starting all over Argyll & Bute as we face unpalatable cuts.

‘However, I remain optimistic. We have been implementing a quiet revolution is how we handle such situations. Jim Mather as our MSP has shown both the courage and integrity to rise above petty political posturing, to suggest a better way and the promise of a better future.

‘There are three aspects to Jim’s strategy and each is one I am pleased to support.

• The first is about a more collaborative approach to problem solving and working together. Fighting what usually prove to be long battles of attrition usually ends with no clear winners and much wasted time and resources.
• The second strand of the strategy is about public sector reform focussed on the common good so that we squeeze much more value out of every public sector pound we spend. We no longer have the luxury of ignoring this approach which will allow us to retain and improve public services and amenities.
• The third is to tackle the historic under-performance of both Scotland’s and Argyll and Bute’s economy. Scotland’s economic difficulties will require the devolution of further fiscal powers. Tackling Argyll and Bute’s poor economic performance, where the wealth created is only 75% of the average for Scotland, requires political leadership.  This is now the focus of our attention.

‘Taken together, these three stands of this positive strategy are already beginning to bear fruit. Even small percentage improvements in each of these areas will ameliorate a lot of the difficulties we may otherwise face in the coming decade.
Seen in this context, the Mid Argyll Pool crisis is a symptom of a deeper malaise, and one we can fight: but we must fight together for it is clear, that only with a more collaborative approach, will we continue to afford the services and amenities that we deserve.’

The bone of contention

While leaving this debate open to Mr Mackenzie and our audience, there is one matter we cannot, in terms of reason, leave here without challenge.

He says above: ‘What we see in the problem of the Mid Argyll Pool is one of the earlier manifestations of a decade of difficulty which has been visited upon us by the UK Government’s mismanagement of the economy and poor regulation of our banks’.

Sorry. That is centrally not the case. The inequitable funding of the Mid Argyll pool relates solely to a failure of fair procedure and political philosophy in the management and operation of the Council. Were this not the case, the other Argyll pools would be equally badly funded.

The issue here is one of fairness. A civil society is based on just that. The negative discrimination that has long been applied to the funding for the community-owned Mid Argyll Pool is not and never will be acceptable on the grounds of justice alone.

And, in our view, whatever the impact of the cuts to come, wrongs must first be put right. If they are not, the depth of wrong increases and this is already a major wrong.

We support unequivocally the campaign to save the Mid Argyll Pool – on the grounds of community health and safety at the very least. Our core concern, however, is to see transparent objectivity and a sense of fairness guide the actions of our Council at every point.

Every element of our politics has to walk away from its inherited fondness for patronage and preferment.

We need, profoundly, a new politics.

We will never, at any level, have a politics to which people can subscribe until we adopt fairness as the key criterion for action.