Any excuse to to use that image of former Lib Dem leader, perhaps their greatest leader, Willie Rennie trying to help out farmers?
Anyhow, in Insider today:
The Scottish Government has launched a loan scheme for crofters and farmers.
A total of £337 million is available to those in agriculture, which could see each given up to £133,638.
Letters will be sent to eligible crofters and farmers this week and the first payments will be made in September.
Rural Affairs Secretary, Mairi Gougeon, said: “Our absolute priority is ensuring farmers and crofters receive their payments and this scheme will ensure that farmers can access this support at the earliest ever point.
“There are a number of challenges arising from Brexit including around food supplies. We are continuing to support our farmers and crofters so that we we can maintain domestic food security and help secure local supply chains.
“Farmers and crofters have worked incredibly hard to keep us all supplied throughout the challenges brought by Brexit and the Covid pandemic and it is essential that they have the cash flow they need to continue operating.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scottish-government-launches-loan-scheme-24801515
This will be a good thing then?
BBC Scotland’s website has it, way down on the business page.
Good Morning Scotland? Anyone strong enough to listen?
Talking-up Scotland / Scottish media fact checking is like shooting fish in a barrel 
Even one of the columnists in the Observer (who is a great admirer of The Bodger, because of his handling of 2008) has been observing how servile BBC interviewers are when dealing with Government ministers, rarely pursuing any points in any great depth or even challenging assertions.
Channel 4 had a different tack, if any opposition politician makes a criticism of any aspect of Government policy, the Channel 4 interviewers attack that party on some aspect of its policy, so that the actual substantive point at issue is by-passed.
Of course, people like Jon Snow, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Cathy Newman, were all privately educated, so they know the drill.
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Rare for me to disagree with you, but don’t think you’re being fair to Jon Snow or to Krishnan Guru Murthy. I’m admittedly a fan of Channel 4 News – possibly because the alternatives are so dire – and don’t think presenters come across as big fans of Conservative Government.
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I am probably influenced in my opinions of Ch4 News by their approaches to interviews with SNP politicians, which is invariably hostile, with frequent interruptions, bluster and sneer. They were also, along with almost all other news programmes invariably hostile and aggressive towards Jeremy Corbyn.
There is not a right wing group in Europe or USA that Matt Frei has not devoted extensive coverage to. I have yet to see him produce a programme, say, about the socialist party in Texas, or about LGBTI+ activists in Poland or Hungary. Although he does not express any sympathy, nor, indeed, opposition to the views of these groups, their messages are presented by activists in these right wing parties. With no left-wing groups being given time, their message and critiques are not presented.
I think the best presenter and interviewer they had was the late Peter Sissons, and he was a Tory, but was rigorous in his journalistic standards.
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Now, I’d agree with you about media approaches to Jeremy Corbyn which in the main set out to destroy him using any angle of attack they could dream up. Also, yes I’ve seen some hostile interviews with SNP politicians but I’ve also seen some where they were given a fair hearing and I remember Jon Snow coming across as genuinely interested during the 2014 campaign, though again that might just have been in comparison with the frothing-at-the-mouth approach of most journalists.
Matt Frei seems more interest in turning himself into a personality than in reporting the ‘news’.
Fatima Manji and Jackie Long allow folk to speak though Cathy Newman can be a cheeky besom.
Krishnan Guru Murthy put Anas Sarwar in his place before the May election when he told him during a debate he could sit out the discussion on independence. Bet the Labour leader had never been spoken to like that before!
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The Observer columnist is an unrepentant and proud Keynesian. He is always worth a read.
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Brexit has forced a complete change in the way that food will be sourced and delivered to market,now and in the future.
We are going to be far more reliant on locally produced food than has been the case lately.
Perhaps not a bad thing for climate change and local economies.
We must protect our small farmers and fishermen if we are to survive and that will have to be through continued subsidies.
My only concern is that if that process is left to the discretion of England’s Tory government,only those who make donations to the Tory party will benefit.
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Sounds like a good news story for the industry. I wonder when (if?) it will appear on the Scottish Farmer magazines website and replace some of the ageing articles based around Tory politicians’ comments that seem to dominate its news/’Political Field’ section?
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Probable a good thing on balance but still …
“a loan scheme … which could see each given up to £133,638”
If it’s a loan how can it be ‘given’, since it will leave the crofters in debt to the SG?
???
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I’m inclined to look for the glass half full.
As I think the source article acknowledges, a big challenge facing the target beneficiaries of this loan scheme is cashflow: indeed is it not cashflow which often kills off many businesses? Access to a timely loan may then be very welcome. What I don’t know about the SG scheme are the precise lending criteria; the term for repayment; the interest rate to be charged; the likely approach to requests for payment holidays or extensions of payment period; the likely action upon default. However, if these conditions are ‘better’ than commercial loans – if such are even available – then it will be an even better thing ‘on balance’.
Of course the businesses if in distress would prefer a grant – wouldn’t most/all firms, and in all sectors? But staying with the cup half full theme, see also this:
Scottish Government website 16 July, 2021: ‘Grants to improve housing or build new homes in some of Scotland’s most remote and marginal communities have been awarded to 13 crofters. The Croft House Grants scheme aims to retain and attract people to rural and remote communities with the latest round of funding awarding grants worth £433,072.
‘Since the scheme was launched in 2007, more than £22.5 million has been awarded to 1,047 families and individuals in rural and island communities.’
I had no knowledge of this!
Then this from the Scottish Government website, 17 June 2021: ‘Businesses and community groups located across Scotland’s inhabited islands are now able to apply for grants of up to £150,000 through the new Island Communities Fund (ICF) for projects focussed on supporting sustainable island economies and the journey towards net zero.
‘The fund is backed by £2 million of Scottish Government funding, which comes from the £9.5 million committed to the Islands Programme for 2021-22.’
Again I had no knowledge of this!
And finally, from the Insider website, 3 August 2021: ‘The Scottish Government has launched a consultation into a proposed Islands Bond scheme to help tackle depopulation of the Highlands and Islands. The proposed outline of the Islands Bond will be a £5m fund across the lifetime of the parliament, with the bonds issued to support people buying, building or renovating homes, or starting businesses.
‘The scheme will offer up to 100 bonds of up to £50,000 to young people and families to stay in, or move to, islands currently threatened by depopulation – a commitment of the 2021 SNP manifesto. The Scottish Government intends to launch the Islands Bond in 2022. The 12-week consultation will run until 24 October.’
Once again, this had passed me by. All of which tends to make me pause before reaching too readily for that half full glass!
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Good stuff there indeed! Gu dearbh fhéin! 🙂
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Trying to make up for CAP payments, EU grants, loans and investments. A 450million market. Joint lower Defence costs will be difficult. The EU cost Scotland nothing and brought benefits.
The Tories illegal Brexit Ref. It will come back to haunt them. The Brexit catastrophe further down the line. Already higher prices, a shortage of goods, a lack of essential workers. The economy tanking. The Tory unionists will not survive. Support going down every day. Rating -30. Polling negative %. Any support evaporating . They used migration they had caused to lie. Lie, after lie, after lie. Liars always get found out.
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All excellent as long as not one penny goes to sheep production in the form of Lib Dem voters
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