Help Talking-up Scotland keep going
Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going
Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421
By Liz S
Jackie Baillie posted this on X on 20 August (based on a BBC article that had a headline “John Swinney defends £45,000 business-class flights to World Cup”).
“Such luxury in a cost-of-living crisis is not the lived experience of most Scots. Perhaps the FM should have considered the expectations of taxpayers before spending our money. It’s not the first time the SNP have been cavalier with the company card”.
Meanwhile I am sure that the same Jackie Baillie was not so ‘concerned’ at these stories:
“Sir Keir Starmer spent £60,130 of taxpayer money on a private government jet trip to watch the Lionesses win the Women’s Euros final in 2025”.
And then there was also this :
“Government data showed earlier travel to the men’s Euro 2024 final in Berlin cost more than £41,000 in flights alone” (also there was Lisa Nandy, the UK culture Secretary and Prince William aka the Prince of Wales, as they too both only favour England so then they too only support their own national side, which is England).
So Sir Keir Starmer used the official government plane to go off on this jolly to support both the English Men’s and the English women’s national football teams , as in the only ones that he , as the former UK PM, always only wanted to support and so then only did support , that is the Lions and the Lionesses.
You only to had to read Starmer’s too many posts on ‘X’ that were both encouraging and also congratulating only the Men and Women’s English football teams to know where Starmer’s true allegiance was, that is as far as UK national football teams were concerned.
Indeed Scotland’s men’s national football team never got any encouragement by the so called UK PM, Keir Starmer , during their time in the 2026 World cup tournament, not even a post by him on ‘X’ commiserating with them when they were sadly eliminated from the competition.
However he, Starmer, did state was that he would “very much encourage Scotland fans to get behind and support England in their World Cup semi-final clash against Argentina”.
So now back to the hypocrisy of the BBC and Jackie Baillie re the FM going to see Scotland in the 2026 World cup , where The National newspaper had a front page headline that highlighted this double standard by the BBC , their front page headline stated this:
“BBC quizzed over lack of reporting into ex PM’s Euro trip”.
So according to Dame Jackie Baillie the FM of Scotland has no right to support Scotland in a major football tournament if tax payers money is used , as apparently what ? –
He, the FM of Scotland, should use his own money to support the country that he is FM of in him travelling to any sporting world tournament that Scotland are competing in ?
BTW didn’t Andy Burnham use the government plane when he flew from London to Glasgow for the opening of the Commonwealth games in Glasgow , I will concede that was in his role as the UK PM.
However Burnham also used it to then fly from Glasgow to Manchester – at the taxpayer’s expense .
It was estimated that “Andy Burnham’s 38-minute private jet flight from Glasgow to Manchester cost taxpayers around £3,000” – also what about the environmental impact ?
This particular visit from Glasgow to Manchester was reported to be his first ‘official’ day at No 10 in the North, so then nothing so urgent that needed such an expense for the tax payers ?
However it seems there is always less condemnation via Dame Jackie Baillie whenever any Labour UK PM uses tax payers money for their convenience, as it is then a case of costs and environment be damned.
Where it is always assumed that the position of UK PM then ‘allows’ or rather ‘expects’ the use of tax payers money to be spent to enable and so then support what they as UK PM’s want to do?
More hypocrisy and double standards in what is clearly an unequal UK State.
(Unequal for all nations outwith England, with the main exception always being the leading political role within England that is the UK PM ).
Liz S
Help Talking-up Scotland keep going
Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going
Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421
Discover more from Scotland's First and biggest Rebuttal Service -Talking-up Scotland
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I’m trying to imagine what Jackie Baillie’s reaction would have been if John Swinney HADN’T gone to support the national team.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Would she have said anything…?
LikeLike
John Swinney uses Scottish taxpayers money. To add support to Scotland abroad and the well appreciated abroad Tartan Army bringing £Billions into Scotland. Spend £Millions to get £Billions. The Tartan Army spectacle see and appreciated worldwide. A great advert for Scotland. Bringing in tourists and and products and exports going out. Swinney airflight cheap at the price. FM going first class. First class country. Not FM going on 3rd class trip. Bit embarrassing. Or FM going on 3rd class trip.
Starmer, Burnham, P. William England fans going on UK taxpayers money. Scotland being stung twice as usual. All Millionaires being subsided £Millions in secret Black donations. Defrauding public money every chance they get. P. William, England fan billionaire. They can more than ‘afford’ to pay their own fares, expenses and everything else. Ripping £Billions off the public purse. With poor, bad decisions. They have lost £Billions in the UK. Brexit, Covid. Every scandal imaginable.
John Swinney and the Scottish Gov have worked tirelessly to make Scotland more equal, fair and cohesive. Brought growth. They deserve a well earned trip. Helping to promote Scotland to their US, Canada cousins. 20% of the population descendants. Forced out by Westminster’s fraud Union Settlement 1707. The Clearances and higher unemployment. Scotland not being treated equally as per the terms of the Treaty of Union. Still no difference. Devolution better. Independence even better. Scotland’s own sporting teams. Tennis, golf, football, swimming, athletics, cycling etc. Scotland tops the league tables in their own results. Westminster funds England sports to a much higher amount. Unfair pro rata
No parity. Even through Scotland has better average results.
Tennis, football, athletics etc under funded in Scotland by Westminster. Judy Murray managed to get more equal funding for tennis. Two Murray world champion. Same swimming, cycling. Scottish athletics have to train in better Westminster funded facilities in the South. Or lose out. Ditto football, rugby.
LikeLike
Damn Jackie Baillie LIVES to criticise the SNP ! If they didn’t exist her life would be so empty .
Imagine her waking up and NOT hearing BBCScotlandshire twisting facts to attack the SNP ? What would she do with her day ? There are only so many Greggs sausage rolls one can digest before having to face the emptiness of a world without an SNP issue to misreport , to criticise , to vent one’s faux anger on …
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is not just Starmer’s travel expenses to football games that the taxpayer has had to pay. Parliament has been on holiday for a number of weeks and only came back from its holidays this week.
The first day back Starmer announced he was standing down as an MP. He drew his pay for the holiday period knowing he was going to resign presumably. We paid him to be on holiday. Nice one KS and so in keeping with the sort of man you are
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed.
Starmer was also noted as having done yet another U-turn as he had previously stated that he would “stay on as an MP until the next UK general election, which is not due until 2029”.
How fitting that even at the end of his time as a UK Labour politician he still manages to break a former pledge that he made !
I guess he can now do even more for Israel’s Netanyahu government as he stated he wants to “focus on a role in international affairs“.
When will he get his peerage ?
As Labour, like the Tories, just love rewarding failure, just look at Anas Sarwar and ask yourself why he got a peerage ?
(Mind you the same Q re Anas Sarwar could also be asked in respect to Baroness Ruth Davidson – the supposed ‘popular in Scotland politician’ as dictated by the media here and elsewhere when she became what was clearly nowt more than a ‘media construct’).
Liz S
LikeLiked by 1 person