23/04/07
Trade Union Secretary to stand in Free Scotland Party regional list
Derek Turner, Assistant Secretary of the Prison Officers Association with responsibility for Scotland, has resigned from the Labour Party describing them as dishonest and adopting morally repugnant policies to stand on the Free Scotland Party Mid Scotland and Fife regional list in the Scottish Parliament elections.
He said, "I started to grow increasingly disillusioned with Labour because I believe that politicians should be honest in what they say and should only promise what they can deliver, Labour in recent years have fallen well short of that."
"In my professional life as Assistant Secretary of the Prison Officers Association with Labour policies mimicking the Tories and overt privatisation of the Scottish Prison Services this has led to further disillusionment. The Prison Services were not allowed to put in a tender when Reliance Escort were awarded their contract for the delivery of prisoners while the new prison at Addiewell in West Lothian went straight to the private sector."
"In 1994, in opposition, Tony Blair said that they would bring privatised prisons back into the public sector as private prisons for profit were morally repugnant. Since Labour came to power the number of private prisons has actually increased!"
"The invasion of Iraq and then when the Westminster parliament voted in favour of an updated Trident but with the majority of Scottish MPs voting against I had to question my membership of the Labour party. I believe the majority of Scots are against siting Trident in Scotland, current or updated."
"With EU directives encroaching on many aspects of Scottish life, look at the Post Office situation for instance, I felt that the Free Scotland Party stance of withdrawal from the EU and UK was the party for me."
"The EU is not democratic, there is a talking shop EU parliament but the real power lies with the Council of Ministers not one of whom is elected, they are all appointees! 80% of Edinburgh or Westminster legislation is rubber stamping of EU regulations, our democratic parliaments are told what to do by an unelected cabal."
"A final reason for wanting out of the EU is corruption. For the 12th year in a row EU accounts have not been passed by auditors, would you be a member of a social club on that basis?"