SNP – take a stronger position on TTIP!

On the same day that hundreds of us took to the streets across Scotland to build our huge petition to scrap this dodgy trade deal, the SNP responded by declaring that our NHS must be taken out of TTIP.

Calling for our health service to be protected is great – but it’s not the only thing under threat if TTIP comes to Scotland. There’s also the dodgy clause that would allow big companies to sue our government in secret courts if any law dented their profits.

With a bit more pressure, we could get the SNP to oppose TTIP’s secret courts for big business. Please can you take a couple of minutes to email your local SNP candidate now?

38 Degrees members in Scotland are throwing all we’ve got at TTIP, because we know it’s a huge threat to our democracy. Big corporations already have too much power. Giving them the right to sue our government in secret courts would make it even worse!

With just a few weeks to go until the election, the SNP’s candidates are keen to prove they understand the issues that we all care about. So let’s make sure they know: if they want our votes, they need to take a proper stand against TTIP. Click here to email your local SNP candidate now.

Where do parties in Scotland currently stand on TTIP?

We know the SNP has been changing their position on TTIP.  It’s certainly different to 2013, when Nicola Sturgeon described the deal as ‘especially good news’ (Salmond repeated the statement in this speech).  In November last year, after over 20,000 signed a petition, the new First Minister tweeted about her ‘reservations’ about companies being able to sue the Scottish government (the part of the deal know as the ‘ISDS’ clause).

Last month, the Labour party (and their European MEP group) pushed through a motion opposing ISDS outright – again a result of huge public pressure and 27,000 signatures from 38 Degrees members.

The Scottish Parliament report into TTIP actually recommends that ISDS is scrapped: companies should not be given special rights to sue the government for loss of profit.  It also questions the whether the whole deal is wrong – are the economic benefits behind it true? Studies have found that rather than a ‘rising tide’ of increased GDP, such a deal would cost huge numbers of jobs, and lower living standards for ordinary people.

The SNP say they’re waiting for more details before they take a decision on TTIP – but the CETA trade agreement with Canada, publicly available to read, is considered a ‘model’ for TTIP.

At the moment, the Green party is in full opposition to TTIP.  The SNP has moved in the right direction, but promises of a proper position ‘in 2016’ and commitments to the NHS are just not enough.

With so many new candidates standing across Scotland in this unpredictable election, its important that they all hear from us.  Every candidate should know exactly what the dangers of TTIP are, and why 38 Degrees members feel so strongly about it.

If you have a couple of minutes, you can email your local MP candidates in Scotland and ask them to oppose this dangerous corporate power-grab.  Just click the link and enter your postcode.