By Professor John Robertson OBA
Thanks again to AR for alerting me to this.
Self-described ‘Scot’, born in England, Glasgow graduate, Conservative, benefits scrounger-hunter and former editor of the Spectator, Fraser Nelson is in the Herald today to tell us:
We are not getting any nearer to solving poverty that is blight on Glasgow
Child poverty in Glasgow is currently 33.5%. Shameful, I know, but on the way, Nelson missed the opportunity to visit and to lecture the people of the above local authorities identified by Action for Children or these local authorities, below, identified by The Health Foundation in July this year:
In the 20 local authorities with the highest child poverty, at least a third of children were living in poverty in 2022/23 (Pendle 43%, Oldham 42%, Birmingham and Leicester 41%, Blackburn with Darwen 40%, and Nottingham 40%). These areas also had some of the largest increases in child poverty between 2015/16 and 2022/23. For example, Nottingham had an increase of 16 percentage points, while there was a 14 point increase in Pendle, Oldham and Birmingham.
https://www.health.org.uk/evidence-hub/money-and-resources/poverty/map-of-child-poverty
Rather than wasting his time coming to Scotland at all, he might have visited one of these areas most blighted by 14 years of his party’s rule and unprotected by SNP policies to moderate them:
Footnote – Nelson was born in Truro, easily confused with Thurso.
Support Scots Independent, Scotland’s oldest pro-independence newspaper and host of the OBA (Oliver Brown Award) at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/shop/
The Oliver Brown Award for advancing the cause of Scotland’s self respect, previously awarded to Dr Philippa Whitford, Alex Salmond and Sean Connery: https://scotsindependent.scot/?page_id=116
About Oliver Brown, the first Scottish National Party candidate to save his deposit in a Parliamentary election: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Brown_(Scottish_activi
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Unique accent,as contorted as his politics..
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I think the idea of believing that someone like Fraser Nelson cares about those in poverty , while his main focus, priority and efforts have all been to see a party, like the Tory party, be elected as the UK government.
The same Tory party as a UK government , who via their ‘austerity measures’ as a UK government, was reported to have resulted in 190,000 excess deaths in the UK , which included many “deaths of despair”.
I mean how much credibility does The Herald assume they have in promoting this tosh ?
Fraser Nelson the class warrior Ha Ha.
“We are not getting any nearer to solving poverty that is blight on Glasgow“
Really so why focus just on Glasgow ?
Is it because currently Glasgow has a SNP council and the SNP are the current Scottish government, in other words this is yet another Tory , aided by a ‘newspaper’, who as a ‘newspaper, state that they are supposedly not aligned to any political party, yet most of their attacks as a newspaper are against only one political party, which is the SNP, as are Tory Fraser Nelson’s attacks also when he speaks of Scotland.
Is this The Herald and Fraser Nelson then making the argument against the UK and the reserved policies of the UK governments , their powers and their financial control as a UK government , which has then resulted in Scotland suffering not prospering while within that UK controlled by a UK government.
Seems so to me.
Didn’t both The Herald and Fraser Nelson argue in 2014 that we Scotland would be Better Together with the rest of the UK ?
Let’s be honest if it were not FOR the SNP constantly mitigating cruel UK government policies that have caused more poverty here and elsewhere in their UK, and those same cruel UK government policies resulted in an increased necessity for Food banks throughout the UK, then but FOR the SNP, Scotland would have been in a far dire situation as a part of the UK.
The Joseph Roundtree Foundation published a report on 2024 hat stated:
“Child poverty rates in Scotland (24%) remain much lower than those in England (31%) and Wales (28%) and are similar (if slightly higher) than in Northern Ireland (22%). This is likely to be due, at least in part, to the Scottish Child Payment. This highlights the effect benefits can have in reducing poverty”.
So perhaps we can fund an excursion for Fraser Nelson to venture into those areas within the UK, as in England being the highest, who are really suffering more from “the blight of poverty” as those nations recorded as having the highest poverty rates within the UK, are England at the top and then followed by Wales, neither of which the SNP have any involvement with.
It seems this is yet another weak and pathetic attempt by both The Herald & Fraser Nelson to try to stop the SNP winning in 2026, and one also hopes it will surely be a failed attempt by both of them.
I mean come on , surely anyone reading that Fraser Nelson is promoting that he seeks a solution to poverty, is for anyone, a stretch of their imagination as a reality, as this is the same Fraser Nelson who tweeted in support of the top 1% earners within the UK as he tweeted this in the past:
“The best-paid 1% now contribute 28% of income tax collected: a record high. Never have the lower-paid 50% been asked for a smaller share of income tax (~10%). Hounding the wealthy makes everyone poorer. The “existing economic system” is redistributing more wealth than ever”.
(This was in response to a Jeremy Corbyn 2018 tweet where he, Corbyn, stated that “the super rich are on borrowed time” as the “existing economic system” he said “tries to divide us”).
Well that particular chestnut from Fraser nelson has been well and truly cracked or rather smashed , as so called ‘trickle down economics” , is flawed and wrong as an applied theory by those who promote it, like Tory fan Fraser Nelson, who promote this guff to help the rich more than those in poverty.
(So in Fraser Nelson tweeting that response to Jeremy Corbyn’s tweet then he, Nelson, is obviously supporting the wealthy within the UK at the expense of the poorest within the UK).
Nelson is a fraud who champions the rich over those who are the poorest in his UK.
(Poor because of his UK and the various cruel and wrong UK governments who also demonise the poor to help celebrate those who are rich (and help them, the rich, both keep and increase their wealth).
FFS what next ?
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I don’t get the love that some indy supporters have for Ch4, it might not be as consistent as the bbc or itv, but it’s equally as bad when it does deign to think about us.
Fraserburgh Nelson discussing poverty FFS, the chances disnae hae a clue what poverty is like.
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There does appear to be a concerted effort by Tories to distance themselves from the damage they have done, so no surprise whatever this intellectual snob gets to promote his view Glasgow is uniquely burdened by child poverty in the Herod despite ample available evidence it is not the case…
I was listening earlier to this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErPIO3B2p0I where Max latched onto Rory Stewart’s recognition of potential causes, but my own response to each of Rory’s horrifying observations on the UK’s dilemma was “Thatcher”…
Rory would never be so honest as to sacrifice the Tory sacred cow of Thatcher in public, nor blame the neo-liberal economics championed by her (and forming his own economic framing) as cause for the UK’s current malaise, despite that being precisely the point where a continuing economic boom went all to shit in the UK – He might be tempted to drop Johnson right in it for his abysmal governance which exacerbated both the UK’s Covid response and the energy crisis, but the sacred cow must remain sacred.
And have guess which sacred cow Labour worship…
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Rory Stewart the former Tory MP who was more than happy to support Tory Austerity policies imposed by a Tory and Lib Dem coalition when he was still a Tory MP, but a Tory Brexit , well that appeared to be, for him as a Tory , one step too far.
(Typical Tory whose priorities are more selfish than selfless and so cares more about what negatively impacts him than what impacts others, like say Tory austerity measures, that impacted thousands of poorer people, as in those poorer people to whom the various Tory UK governments never care to serve or help).
Same Rory the Tory who now is more than comfortable to co-host a podcast called “The rest is Politics” with ex Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell , which is also similar to Tory Baroness Ruth Davidson co-hosting a SKY News podcast called ‘Electoral Dysfunction” together with SKY News political editor , Beth Rigby, and also formerly with Labour MP Jess Phillips, who has now been replaced by a former Labour MP, and now one who is also a Baroness (also for the Labour party) , Baroness Harriet Harman.
Yep the political (and media too) stitch up between the Labour party and the Tory party proving that there really is more that unites them than divides them as political parties, especially when it comes to politics in Scotland.
One wonders then why people would ever think that the SNP, via the combined efforts of the media and opposition parties , would be given either a fair hearing or an equal representation on any media or political stage.
There is no equal representation on UK political programmes that is ever willing to represent both sides of the constitutional debate equally , where we often find those who support the UK on any panel are always far greater in numbers than those who oppose the UK as a continued state , as in one that still includes Scotland.
It is no coincidence that the UK media obliges the Pro UK political parties in referring to us who support independence as being “Separatists” while having no similar dismissive label with which to refer to themselves and their support for their continued UK state.
All of these political podcasts by a combined Labour and Tory participant is one that ensures the message for the UK is the one that always dominates, while our message on Scottish independence is supressed and so as a valid message is then to be considered as one that lacks legitimacy.
Aye Bob, they all worship Thatcher while forgetting that to many of us, she was regarded as the one who helped many more see where the rot really was within their UK, as in within UK politics , with an ‘out of touch and very much distant WM’ based in London, so at least she did something good(ish).
(I wonder whether those in Scotland who elected 37 Labour MP’s in the recent GE then agreed with Labour leader Keir Starmer about Thatcher, when he said that “Thatcher effected meaningful change in (his) Britain” thus trying to win over Tory voters and so ensuring that the “sacred cow must remain sacred” with the emphasis being only on one word in that quote by you Ha Ha).
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People on benefits can be helped by getting what they need and deserve. 1 in 20 people are neurodiverse and on the spectrum. They can suffer from anxiety and worry and need support.
The cost of administration is nearly as much as the benefits because of means testing. Giving proper amounts would cut administration costs and people would be better off. Unemployment is low. People need help and support to get into employment. Support and consideration. Especially those on the spectrum.
Westminster supports illegal war, causing mass migration. Wasting £Billions. Tax evasion losing £Billion. Brexit losing £Billions. Leaving children and the elderly in poverty. Trident and redundant weaponry putting Scotland in danger. Dumped secretly without authority or consent. A total waste of time and monies, that could be better spent. Brexit losing £Billions an absolute disgrace.
Fraser Nelson an arch right wing Tory with no compassion supports all these wasteful policies but denies those who need it benefit and support. It is more costly not to support the vunerable than to give support.
The views of people like Fraser Nelson cause child poverty and poverty for the vulnerable. A complete and utter total disgrace. Everything in the world has been invented by neurodiverse people and those on the spectrum.
The Scottish Gov is doing much more to support. The old, the sick and the vulnerable. Those who need support. Aprenticeships to get the young and neurodiverse into work. Student support, nursery support. Kinship payments, no bedroom tax, building affordable houses, social care. Westminster just wastes. Scotland’s resources and revenues. Tries to keep it secret under the Official Secrets Act. Fraud and corruption. Plain to see just look at the accounts. A corrupt and damaging Westminster Gov causing death and destruction.
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A decent media would’ve reported thus;
Frazer Nelson comes to Glasgow to hone his lecturing skills, before returning South to deliver his Poverty Lectures to begin a tour of the poverty blighted areas of Pendle, Leicester, Birmingham, England.
Wishing he was 9 years older to qualify for free bus travel in Scotland.
If he doesn’t tour, why no?
Ach, these idle thoughts of equality do me no good.
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The headline gives the game away. Fraser Nelson’s interest is in cutting the benefits bill, not solving any of the problems that give rise to this phenomenon.
The source of this problem goes much deeper than Thatcher. She was just the most cut-throat in executing the shared intention across the UK political class, which is to do everything possible to support London as a global financial centre.
The fact that the associated policies made the UK’s historic manufacturing sectors non-competitive was something the rest of the UK just had to live with. The resulting entrenched poverty and regional disparity across the UK and the over-development of London and the South East will not be solved by Nelson’s victim blaming poverty porn. He knows this, but is happy to pocket the fee.
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