Unsurprisingly, the Telegraph’s Oliver Gill is not up-to-date on things Scottish.
Scotrail is a franchise. Franchising allows a private operator to provide rail services on the Scottish rail network on behalf of the Scottish Government.
In March 2022, the Scottish Government intends to bring the service within the public sector, run by an arm’s length company owned and controlled by the Scottish Government.
Even after March 2022, the First Minister and even less the SNP will have no part to play in pay settlements.
The Edinburgh Evening News / Scotsman, no friend of either, managed to report the same story with not one mention of them: https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/transport/scotrail-offer-staff-payrise-of-47-in-bid-to-stop-strikes-before-cop26-3415569?fbclid=IwAR13HhcjDS0Ew2uIBSyCSLTZteWnpvgmrNblcDPvfhQZ0LP5m7uW6Gmw4Ao
Oh yes, inflation-busting? 2.5% backdated to April this year and 2.2% in April 2022.
UK inflation up to August 2021 is 3% and is expected to rise in 2022: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/consumerpriceinflation/august2021
Finally, taxpayer funded settlements?
Richard Murphy, one of the founders of the UK’s Tax Justice Network and author of The Joy of Tax, explains that “taxpayers’ money” is the money left in our pockets after we have paid taxes that are legally due. Money payable through taxes is the government’s property.
https://theconversation.com/government-funds-are-not-taxpayer-money-media-and-politicians-should-stop-confusing-the-two-153195
Talking-up Scotland 
“ Lies, smears, omissions and commissions”!
These are the norms of the colonial “journalism” that is aimed at Scotland.
The despicable British nationalists who rule Scotland, have no “narrative” that can entice us to stay, so they “manage” the news in the same way as Pravda used to do.
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YET AGAIN AN ENGLISH PAPER WHO KNOW LITTLE OR NOTHING
OF THE SCOTTISH WAY OF LIFE
STICKING THEIR BIG BAZZOO INTO OUR AFFAIRS
STICK TO SORTING YOUR OWN COUNTRY OUT
WE ARE DOING ALL RIGHT.
CONSIDERING WESTMINSTER ARE WITHHOLDING MOST OF OUR MONIES
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How much do lying journalists make. A lot more than 2.5% pay rise. To peddle nonsense. Johnston the liar made £75,000 at the Spectator. Used to write for the Telegraph, until liar Murdoch gave him his jotters for lying. Non Dom tax evading criminals.
Johnston on another freebie. Goldsmith Estate. Supposed climate change supporter. Lecturing others. Tax evader using up the world’s resources, disproportionately. The total hypocrites. Flying everywhere. Renting out holiday homes for £thousands.
Dacre with a Scottish Estate. A Tory Brexit supporting horror. Milking Scotland, making a killing and trying to destroy it. Making £Millions from hydro power. The price of fuel and energy going up. So people cannot afford it. Scotland in surplus and nearer the source pays more for it.
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Telegraph Barclay brothers. Twins one of them died recently. Jan 2021. Lived on an tax evading island. Fell out about selling property cheap. Ended up in Court. Surveilling each other. Worth millions. Tory, Brexit supporting horrors. Gave funding to the Tories. Thatcher lovers. Spent last days at the Ritz. Telegraph up for sale? No one is buying it.
Complaining about a 2.5% workers increase. A bunch of hypocrites. Total load of nonsense.
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It is articles like this written with a smug, condescending, colonialist mindset that bring to mind words like ‘pettifogging’ and ‘cavilling’.
Mind you, it is not only Telegraph writers who are guilty of such many who declare themselves to be on the ‘left’ or ‘progressive’, or who support various worthy charities are often as guilty of the same sense of superiority.
I recall a colleague – probably ‘the teacher who does not want to be named’, beloved by BBC Scotland – who always had a complaint, and, no matter what solution we came up with for the few complaints that were actually valid, he would snort, “That’ll never work”, “It’s a waste of time”, “It’s too little, too late”, “That is worse than useless.” The complaint and sneer were ends in themselves.
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Chear up everyone hardly anyone buys the Telegraph in Scotland these days and those that do are never going to vote for Independence anyway so no worries. They can lie as much as they like but few are listening and most likely the tiny readership are used to lying.
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Little wonder the majority in England have a distorted view of Scotland and Scots when claptrap such as this is in circulation.
Yet although you picked up on the “taxpayer-funded” in the sub-text, the “likely to spark anger across the rest of the UK” seems more invitation than prediction, now who would want to stir up the natives in England with a diversion ?
Oliver Gill is the Chief City Correspondent for the Telegraph, so the origins of this bunkum doubtless are #10’s Spin Unit…
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It’s the usual subsidy junkie myth, with bells on. The myth that Scotland never raises a penny of it’s own, and just takes takes takes from the RUK tax payers who are being told they should be ‘angry’ at Scotland. Hmm, a wee bit of a sinister message going on there. A great distraction from THEIR dreadful Brexit, which Scotland is having to deal with as best they can.
Didn’t the SNP want to renationalise Scotland’s rail services (in as much as would be feasible after years of privatisation at the hands of the BritNats) way back, and the English government said, er no way, you just can’t we hold those cards, lol ha ha ha!
The Scottish government have had to manage the economy, industry, infrastructure and services in Scotland with one hand tied behind their backs, and the other hand held tight with a short leash, by the BritNats at Westminster. Scotland would be a total basket case right now, if the BritNats had been at the helm for a moment longer than they were in Scotland’s parliament, which doesn’t bear thinking about.
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Oliver Gill. Telegraph right wing business correspondent. Supporting Austerity and Brexit,
In another universe.
‘Rail bosses rush to cut thousands of jobs. To implement £2Billions of cuts.
The Tory spending £Billions on HS2. £160Billion++ wasted. Cutting and reneging on improved rail services in the North. The North/South divide. No levelling up. Levelling down. The cost of living going up. The standard of living going down,
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