By Professor John Robertson
Thanks to AR for alerting me to this.
Johann Lamont, who in the run-up to the 2014 referendum infamously said ‘We’re not genetically programmed in Scotland to make political decisions’, is in the Scotsman today clearly thinking Scots are not up to reading research on the economy.
She argues – ‘Why universal offers such as free bus travel and tuition may not be in the public’s interest.’
That’s just wrong. It’s not a matter of opinion. The research is in. It’s unambiguous and it comes from Johann’s Glasgow, where she went to school and university before teaching there. Here are the findings from The Case for Universalism: An assessment of the evidence on the effectiveness and efficiency of the universal welfare state, Jimmie Reid Foundation, 2014:
At first, I though Johann might have grown up admiring Jimmie Reid.
Checking back, I can see why she might not have been so fond of his foundation as they argued in 2012:
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
More is spent on NHS and administration if people are starving and cold.
Thatcher care in the community. Prison.
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“Genetically-challenged”
Meanwhile I find both her and also her party very challenging .
So much so I cannot ever vote for them, as a party, in any elections.
I mean who but a Labour politician in Scotland (as in one from a Pro UK party) would make such a ludicrous (and very much what is a self own) statement in saying “We’re not genetically programmed in Scotland to make political decisions’”
Which then begs the Q :
‘So how would you and your party hope to make political decisions in Scotland as politicians who might be , if elected, a future Scottish government ?’
It seems in 2014 there was many a straw clutched by the BT side to try and con people in Scotland into making the wrong (political) decision in conning them, as voters, into voting NO.
It was also , in 2014, mainly engineered as a con, as lies and also as propaganda by the Labour party .
However in the 2024 UK GE, some Scots chose to not see it as politically challenging for them , as voters, to once again be able to feel comfortable in putting an ‘X’ next to a Labour politician’s name and party in that UK GE.
It’s a tad ironic then that she, Lamont, may be partially correct in what she said .
That is when we saw that in the 2024 UK GE some Scots did indeed prove that they , as Scots, may indeed be “Genetically-challenged” in them making the wrong “political decision”.
As why else would they , as some Scots, decide to trust and believe Ms Lamont’s Labour UK party once again in them , as voters in Scotland, voting for 37 Labour MP’s to supposedly represent them at WM in the UK parliament.
(I do also know that in the 2024 UK GE that in Scotland it was not only Scots who voted for Labour but that other nationalities who live here also voted for them in Scotland , but some Scots , did indeed both ‘lend’ Labour their vote or ‘give’ Labour their vote in that election).
Mind you, although she, Lamont , may in this instance be partially correct.
It still does not give her the right to vocalise such a disgraceful observation against those whom she and her party hope to represent politically as a future Scottish government.
(Yet that is as a statement and an observation exactly what we, Scotland, always get from all pro UK political parties who work against Scotland and so fail to work on behalf of Scotland – as their political and constitutional allegiance is elsewhere – as in they work for and on behalf of the UK aka England.)
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YET AGAIN THE THIEVING LOONS ARE TALKING GARBAGE
HOW DO SOME SCOTS VOTE FOR THEM
ARE THE LOONS AS WELL
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Yes indeed her ‘not genetically progammed’ was obviously a projection on her part, of herself and her own incompetency. Disgraceful grifter.
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Complete rehash of the crap we had to endure in the run up to indyref. Surprised at how desperate Labour must be to resurrect la mummet with this nonsense. Scotland can afford to double pensions and much else but you can see the reverse psychology at play when they threaten free bus passes and tuition, free prescriptions next.
Scotland passed its first common weal law, along with McAlpin’s law ( jury trial )in the 11th century, thankfully Labour weren’t around then.
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Golfnut
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DIDN’T HER HUSBAND, THE INTELLECTUAL GIANT, ARCHIE GRAHAM, END UP WITH A £100,000 PA “JOB” WITH ONE OF LABOUR’S A.L.E.Os. THEY CAN CERTAINLY MAKE THE GENETICALLY CORRECT DECISION TO ENRICH THEMSELVES.
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Some of us also remember the days of means testing when those who cd ‘massage’ their stated income came away with benefits denied to those on PAYE.
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As a follow up to my above comment yesterday at 11.11am.
I wonder whether Johann Lamont is at the stage of concluding that Keir Starmer is “not genetically programmed” to make political decisions” as the new PM.
Yesterday it was reported that Labour are considering raising tuition fees to what may be £10,500 per year for English Universities.
In 2020 Keir Starmer promised to support scrapping fees – during his Labour leadership campaign- but he later abandoned this pledge.
(Indeed all of the pledges he, Starmer, made in 2020 in his bid to be the new Labour leader after Jeremy Corbyn have all now fallen by the wayside as in they were “abandoned” also).
Which makes one wonder why then some voters in Scotland decided to vote Labour in the 2024 UK GE- perhaps they did that as the media in Scotland failed to emphasise how he, Starmer, is not ‘a man of his word’ plus they were far too busy focusing only on #SNPBAD in the run up to the UK GE).
On the 9 December 2019 the now Deputy PM Angela Rayner tweeted this:
“It’s been nine years since the Lib Dems betrayed students over tuition fees, don’t let them fool you again. Labour will be different. We have pledged to abolish tuition fees. We mean it, I will be honoured to deliver this pledge in government”
That was when Labour was led by Jeremy Corbyn so has she now also , like Starmer, “abandoned” her former position on that !
Indeed in the HOC she went further and stated “And we will scrap tuition fees and bring back maintenance grants. Free education for all throughout your life. That is the prospect that [the Tories] would have us believe is so terrifying”.
(Someone tweeted today in response to that statement by her when she was in the Labour Shadow cabinet “Turns out not just the Tories”).
Labour peer Peter Mandelson, who ‘bats for the rich’, had called for tuition fees to be raised in England. That’s the same Peter Mandelson who , in the 2009 Expenses scandal, was reported that the “timing of his second home allowance claim, dating from 2004″ where he ” billed the taxpayer for almost £3,000 of work on his constituency home in Hartlepool less than a week after announcing his decision to stand down as an MP.” was, to say the least, questionable.
There are also other ‘controversies’ linked to him, Mandelson, which one can research online.
But hey, increasing tuition fees , well that won’t hurt the rich so that suits Labour’s Baron Mandelson , but for those working class boys and girls whose parents work and so they are not on any benefits (but they are far from being wealthy) , well they must then either decide to pay for the fees themselves (How ?) or let their kids take out student loans, so then they, as the less wealthy within England, are the ones who will feel the full impact of this increase and be left with debt.
(Not a great start to life post University is it ? As in having accumulated so much debt prior to starting a career).
Or they , young people in England whose parents are not wealthy, may just have to miss out on this opportunity to go to University if they are indeed academically gifted.
(Know thy place is , it seems, also supported by Sir Keir Starmer’s new Toryfied Labour party).
Currently this is the position within the UK on Tuition Fees.
England – £9,250
Wales – £9,250
NI – £4,750 (and £9,250 for other UK students)
Scotland – Free for the majority of Scottish students and £9,250 for other UK students.
The reason parties like Labour demonise free tuition fees in Scotland is because they, and also their media too, need to convince voters in Scotland that somehow this is not actually a positive for Scottish students or indeed the Scottish tax payer.
So yet again they, Labour like others, demand that Scotland should follow (mainly England) other UK Nations and start to impose tuition fees.
(Then of course we also hear and read some media state that it is the rest of the UK (they mean England) who subsidises free tuition fees in Scotland and also the many other benefits that we in Scotland get via our Scottish government).
They, pro UK parties and their media, just refuse to acknowledge or praise any policy in Scotland that is distinctive from the rest of the UK (mainly England) and so considered to be a benefit for some (or for the many) within Scotland.
That, it appears , is apparently a big NO NO hence why we never see that promoted as a positive (one of many) for people in Scotland.
So since Labour have come to power in July 2024:
Tuition fees now being reported as possibly going to rise in England.
Energy prices to rise all over the UK
The rich will not suffer under Labour where, so far, they have not applied a ‘Wealth tax’ upon the rich who live in the UK and Labour will also not cap Banker’s bonuses.
There has also been various donor’s questionable donations and the freebies scandals.
The Tory two child cap is to be retained and the Universal winter fuel payment has now been cut for Pensioners .
7 Labour MP’s lost the Labour whip as they did not vote with the party in a vote in HOC in a vote to maintain the Tories two child cap policy under the new Labour UK government.
Now Labour MP Rosie Duffield has resigned from the party citing what she sees as “Sir Keir Starmer’s team cares “more about greed and power than making a difference”
Then another (newly elected) Scottish Labour MP says Sir Keir Starmer has “abandoned the Grangemouth workforce”- but so that he , that Labour MP, does not lose the whip he has also accused John Swinney of doing the same (as with any Labour politician there is ‘no show without the UK’s political punch(bag) aka the SNP).
So this then explains why Labour (and their media) failed to expand upon in their, Labour’s, GE campaign as to exactly what “Change” really meant for the UK public under a new Labour UK government. (which seems to be ‘Nowt’ apart from being even worse now than under the Tories).
That’s because ‘nothing has changed’ (for the better ) since Labour took over from the Tories and in fact it seems it will actually be much much worse with Labour in charge. Who knew ? Well we did on here as did others who are also fully aware of what Labour, as a political party, represent for Scotland especially !
Perhaps it’s time some others in Scotland began to finally open their eyes and ears to who Labour truly are and what they truly represent.
Which is.
#NoChangeWithLabour (their promises and pledges are not worth the paper they are written on – 2014 all over again but this time the rest of the UK also gets to see Labour for who and what they truly are).
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