South of Scotland, List, not really elected by anyone, not really Ayr MSP, Sharon Dowey is almost on the books at the Daily Record doing an impersonation of BBC Scotland’s Unhealthy Correspondent, Lisa Summers.
Here is some of her recent work:
Dowey is notably absent today as Public Health Scotland tell us that University Hospital Ayr saw 67.4% of admissions to A&E in 4 hours, up from 59.7% in the previous week and 55.4% in the week before that.
The people of Ayr deserve to know the facts. Why won’t the Daily Record and the Scottish Cons tell them?
Talking-up Scotland 
From elsewhere – “Sharon as a girl’s name is of Hebrew origin meaning “a fertile plain”. In the Bible, Sharon refers to flat land at the foot of Mount Carmel.”
Mount Carmel refused to comment on the fertility of Sharon’s plain or brain, neither her husband nor three children were available for comment, nor were follow up questions from the BBC’s medicated correspondent Lazy Winters entertained.
Dowey’s dyslexia was blamed for an earlier impromptu meeting with Louie and Huey, whilst Louie was attempting to stoke division over asbestos through a clenched upper palate with weakened glue, and Huey was attempting to hide from his latest “let’s stitch up the SNP” gaffe meeting “Stupid boy” coming the other way…
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What has her three weans got to do with anything?
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Or Mount Carmel, Lazy Summers or her husband come to that.
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The Daily Record is known popularly as ‘The Daily Ranger” for a reason beyond its affinity for Rangers FC. Many of the supporters of the club are British nationalists and royalists and a substantial section of the support dubs itself The Union Bears. And, despite many of its supporters being working class, the ‘union’ is not a trade union, but the glorious Protestant Union foreshadowed by the ascendancy to the throne of William, Prince of Orange.
Despite its alleged support for Labour, as a neighbour of mine who was NUJ Father of Chapel there, support for Labour was largely a marketing position and not support for socialism or significant redistribution of wealth and power. And, in any case a significant section of Labour support in Scotland is socially conservative and considers itself anti nationalist British. The Mirror Group of papers, of which The Ranger is part also includes the Daily Express, one of the most rabidly right wing, royalist, imperialist publications.
So, a Tory MSP being regularly quoted, unchallenged, attacking the Scottish Government is entirely consistent with the paper’s marketing position.
The paper’s political editor has been adopted as a Labour candidate – for Westminster, of course; Holyrood is a parish council in his mind.
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On 4 April 2023, in a statement responding to the latest Emergency Department performance figures for Scotland (for February 2023), the Vice President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Scotland, said:
“We congratulate the First Minister for Scotland, Humza Yousaf MSP, on his appointment to his new role, and we welcome Michael Matheson MSP to the role of Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care. …..”
“We urge the new Cabinet Secretary TO BUILD ON THE CONSTRUCTIVE ENGAGEMENT OF HIS PREDECESSOR .” (my emphasis)
One organisation that is critical of all UK governments over A&E resourcing seems to be hoping for some ‘continuity’ of practice by the SNP in government!
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And while on the subject of matters worth the SNP in government continuing, this from the STUC comment on 15 February 2023 received – as far as I can tell – zero media coverage:
Commenting on the resignation of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer stated (with my emphasis):
“Throughout her leadership, the First Minister has SHOWN A CONSISTENTLY HIGH LEVEL OF RESPECT FOR THE ROLE OF TRADE UNIONS IN SCOTLAND and has been committed to working with us to establish Scotland as a Fair Work nation.
“Whilst we haven’t always agreed, THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT THAT WE DEEPLY VALUED OUR WORKING RELATIONSHIP, WORKING COLLABORATIVELY ON BEHALF OF SCOTLAND’S WORKERS. THIS has, in no small part, been indicative of HER LEADERSHIP AND PERSONAL COMMITMENT TO RESPECTING THE FUNCTION AND POSITION OF THE STUC AND SCOTLAND’S TRADE UNION MOVEMENT. This will, undoubtedly, be a legacy of her time as First Minister and we look forward to CONTINUING that collaborative work with the Scottish Government.
Source https://stuc.org.uk/media-centre/news/1680/stuc-comment-first-minister-resignation
I expect Mr Yousaf to be of a mind to ensure just such continuity!
This from the STUC should not be forgotten when next competing for votes with the Labour Party!
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On the topic of the media not sure if there are any ‘disaffected’ SNP MSP’s out there who visit this site but if so please keep your GOBS SHUT. With media talk of the Party apparently in ‘meltdown, in its death throes’ or at best split down the middle we have a few in the Party who seem almost destined to contribute to that outcome.
Yesterday it was Blackford on the BBC calling for Party unity (which I didn’t know we aren’t) but it just gave the BBC on a quiet news day the opportunity to re-run their news piece on the Murrells and yet again today we have Michelle Thomson in their double act doing the same. It seems to me all Politicians must suffer from some form of identity syndrome that they have an overwhelming urge to open their mouths at the most inappropriate times?
DO THEY NOT KNOW THE MEDIA WILL DISTORT OR EXPLOIT EVERYTHING THEY SAY. VERY INFURIATING.
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You would think Lesson One. control what is said to an abusive media
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OT John but related to your earlier Feargal Sharkey piece via the Grauniad, found this https://youtu.be/F9XKiaA9qNI interview on Politics Joe which I recommend watching – He makes the same references to “this country”, but it’s obvious he means England (however irritating), and the south of England in particular.
Although I was well aware many of England’s waters were in a bad way, when Sharkey started reeling off the numbers, even I was shocked.
His perspectives were refreshingly forthright but damning of England’s politics and London chicanery in keeping “costs” down.
Yet it was the second half of the interview when he talked of drinking water in the south east of England when memories came back to haunt –
– London and the south are now officially projected to run out of water in 20 years.
By 2050, they will require 30% more water, viz 4 billion litres of water per day, not a drop of which is available.
And yet – Pipe leakage is ca 20%, water consumption per capita is the highest in Europe, despite which the majority of ‘customers’ pay a fixed sum per month no matter how much they consume.
Ca 40 years ago we were discussing desalination plants as the only solution for England’s then water problems, and bear in mind this was before global warming and energy crises became major concerns.
– Only one Desal was ever built at Beckton over two years, and began production in 2010, that’s 13 years ago – Not only does it run at twice the energy demand of a traditional water treatment plant, it is theoretically capable of supplying 150 million litres per day when operational, which is usually 40% of it’s lifetime.
In short England and London in particular are in deep doo-doo in more ways than one – Over the next 20-30 years they’re going to have to build 50 more Becktons to get to that missing 4 billion litres per day, but where’s the power coming from for them?
Be thankful for SG’s alternative energy strategy, keeping Scottish Water and SEPA in public hands, and keeping the destructive Tories as far away from controlling things in Scotland as we possibly can….
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