By Liz S
STV News reports:
“Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch is adamant that, despite Andy Burnham’s defence of the United Kingdom earlier this week, Labour is not serious about keeping the Union intact“
“keeping the Union intact” ?
What Union would that be ?
STV also mentioned that “Burnham has long been criticised for snubbing Scotland – after excluding it on his August summer ‘listening’ tour” .
Mind you when do we ever see Kemi Badenoch, current Tory HQ leader, make a conscious effort to come up regularly to Scotland to reaffirm her supposed support for Scotland within the UK State, other than when it is a time that is prior to some election happening.
Badenoch also said to STV that “We need oil and gas, we need nuclear, we need renewables, we need to get serious. And right now, we have a lot of very silly people who are running energy policy, not just nationally with Labour but with the SNP.”
So they , the rest of the UK State, needs what is largely , via capacity and potential, our Scottish resources and also Badenoch incorrectly attributes the SNP as also being part of a group of “silly people who are running energy policy” (when Energy is a Reserved power held by the UK government).
#FakeNews
Badenoch also stated that “They (Labour) may have changed leader, but the party is still the same old Labour party. All they care about is welfare”
Well funnily enough that could also be said of the Tories (exempting the Welfare part obvioulsy).
As they too have “changed leaders” (plural) far too many times (Badenoch is the fifth one since 2014) .
Also they too are the “same old Tory party” and “all they care about” as Tories is that the rich keep getting richer while the poor need to just try to “live within their meagre means” (meagre due to Thatcher and also the austerity policies introduced by the Cameron/ Clegg coalition UK government).
Badenoch refers to the SNP as “Separatists” , a term that is meant to be negative, yet any sane and fair minded person would look at her , her party and her UK and think , no bloody wonder some within Scotland want their country to be separate from the UK State.
The UK State is a S***hole and the UK political parties are promoting hate and divisive S***, yet somehow for them the SNP are to be labelled as being the baddies of UK politics !
So who are those who are to be considered as being the supposed ‘Force for good’ within UK politics ? (Not meaning Alistair McConnachie’s rogue outfit).
Certainly not Badenoch or her Tory party that’s for sure, or indeed any of the other pro UK political parties either.
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Mrs Badenough probably think her name alone ensures her acceptance by the Scottish nation. Shall I tell her or will you?
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It appears that her married name, according to what I hear on the telly/radio, is actually ‘Baydenock’ that well known North British place somewhere up there ‘where we are’, near to an area known as ‘Spey Valley’.
Has anyone here visited ‘Baydenock and Spey Valley’ recently? Me neither.
J & J
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I had a book called ‘The Wolf of Badenoch’, gave it to a charity shop then saw it in the window for £30! Argh! Anyway, look up the title..interesting.
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We want a divorce not separation with a fair division of assets. England can then go their own way without interfering with ours.
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“We want a divorce not separation”
Exactly, though once we get a divorce we will be separated.
After all in 2014 someone compared Scotland to being:
“The (abused) spouse who looked like walking out, but decided to give things one last go”
( I added the word “abused” as the person who wrote it originally missed that crucial word out).
So some in Scotland did decide to “give it one last go” and lo and behold it has not worked out.
Some who voted NO may have been swayed thanks to a NO campaign that had a donation of one million pounds given to it , as we now live in a world where Billionaires try to influence or rather try to “buy” democracy through their massive campaign donations.
But she, the author of that quote, who wrote that in 2014 will not be taken to task for saying that in 2014 , that is Scotland giving it “one last go” (with the UK State).
That is she will not be getting the same abuse for saying that in the same way that the “once in a generation” quote has been abused and over quoted by those who seek to reframe how democracy works. (as being always in their favour only).
Though apparently democracy for some within the UK State works differently – as in some may get to change their minds and so then have another referendum upon the EU at some point in the future.-
But it seems the powers that be within the UK State are still insisting that when it comes to democracy well it is #NotForYouScotland.
Liz S
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I wonder what her Nigerian relatives would think about her post colonial attitude towards Scotland ?? Indeed does Kemi Badenoch think Nigeria should return post haste to the fold of British imperialism as it is too wee too poor and too stupid to run its own affairs ?
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@ macanaddoo66
Indeed.
Liz S
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Now for the other joker Andy Burnham.
He posted this on ‘X’ today
“Over the past 40 years, we’ve given up control of our necessities, outsourced our essentials and privatised the basics. Water, transport, housing. And of course, energy”.
Well the word “We’ve” in that sentence, for some of the “necessities” that he mentions in his post , does not pertain to Scotland but they do pertain to England. So then who is he really preaching to ?
“Now the public are paying the price. We haven’t invested in the infrastructure we need. Conflict overseas has pushed up energy costs and it’s hurting our businesses and families”
“Now the public are paying the price” ?
Well some of the public, in Scotland, are paying a higher price than others, in England, for in Scotland electricity has higher standing charges being applied to us compared to those in England“
Also Water is not privatised in Scotland but it is privatised in England, and as to Transport, well if he is speaking about Transport as in Rail travel then in Scotland ours is now under public ownership while in England it is still under private franchises.
“That’s why we need to take back greater control of our energy system. This week, I announced Great British Grid, which will speed up connections and push down bills”
He is announcing he is “taking back control” of our energy system but will this be less or more beneficial for Scotland compared to England and whose bills, via Nation, will actually be “pushed down” ?
“We’re also giving mayors, local leaders and communities a stronger role. With funding for People’s Power projects, communities will be able to build solar panels on libraries and town halls, hydro schemes in rivers or publicly owned windfarms on local land”.
Scotland does not have Mayors and in Scotland there is already a highly established community energy framework , so the projects that Burnham notes for communities that will have “funding for People’s Power projects” will the bulk of that funding from the UK government be mostly allocated elsewhere within the UK ?
“But it’s not just energy we need stronger public control over. It’s also water, housing, transport and care. So we’re repealing the ban on public ownership of water companies. We’re building more council homes than this country has seen since the end of World War Two”
Again Water is in public ownership in Scotland, housing is a devolved issue, Rail is also in public ownership in Scotland and our Scottish Social Care sector is one that provides free personal care for eligible adults, where as England currently uses a means-tested system based on personal income and savings, so who is Burnham reaching out to in his post on ‘X‘ ?
“We’re reforming the leasehold system so families aren’t squeezed for every penny. And we’re opening up home ownership for first time buyers who can’t rely on the bank of mum and dad”
Again Scotland, unlike England does not use a residential leasehold system for flats or houses. Also the Scottish government have already introduced a scheme for first time buyers called “The First Homes Fund” for young people here “who can’t rely on the bank of mum and dad” so who within the UK is this announcement for ?
“This week I also announced my determination to introduce a National Care Service, to put people above profit and to give pensioners peace of mind”
Recently this site, TUS, showed a headline via an article by the FT writing about “What can Burnham learn from Scotland’s Social Care System” ?
Where the article’s argument was that “Scotland’s free personal care model is the closest working version of what Andy Burnham is proposing”.
TUS noted that “Scotland already does part of what Burnham’s ‘National’ Social Care system was offering . As in “Free personal care has existed since 2002 for over-65s and, since 2019, for all adults assessed as needing it”.
So again who was Burnham reaching out to in his post on ‘X’ when he mentions “National” in respect to Social Care, well clearly (yet again) he does not mean it , as a new Care service, is for Scotland.
“Together, we’ll rewire the country from top to bottom so that it works for all people in all places. That is the only way to put Britain back on the right path. It’s the only way to put power back in people’s hands. And it’s the only way we will bring hope again”
So now he mentions “Britain” which I assume now includes Scotland. Yet his conference speech and now this post by him is clearly not for Scotland’s consumption or benefit but pretty much mostly for England’s .
This is where Burnham should definitely be regarded as a continuity Starmer when it comes to Scotland, as like Stramer, Burnham also forgets, or does not care or know , that most of the things he wants to “Change” as the UK PM on a “National” level, have either already been changed within Scotland or are just not applicable to Scotland.
It is of course this perpetual contempt and indifference shown by a succession of UK PM’s that is then partly responsible for Scottish independence , so they as UK PM’s, and also other members of the British establishment, are really all the authors of the UK State’s demise.
It , the UK for Scotland, cannot end fast enough.
Liz S
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Labour, Tories and (remind me) Lib Dem’s need to FROut of Scotland.
The (silly silly) SNP and the people who’ve voted them in for decades will take it from here!
and we’ll do just fine thanks.
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This was such a thorough and spot-on breakdown of the blindspots in Westminster rhetoric! It’s astonishing how often political figures roll out ‘national’ announcements about water, rail, or care without realizing Scotland has had those public frameworks in place for years. Liz S’s analysis of Andy Burnham’s post laid out that disconnect so clearly. I also completely agreed with macanaddoo66’s point regarding the patronizing ‘too wee, too poor’ attitude that still gets recycled in these debates. Another excellent, eye-opening read on TUS!
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Saw this post written yesterday by the account Oliver @oliver48.bsky.social , which might interest the anti Welfare Benefit warrior Kemi Badenoch .
Badenoch’s main focus , as Tory HQ leader, is in trying to win the votes of some of those voters who are very much (wilfully) less informed on truth and reality and so then are also some of those voters who are very much the bigoted citizens of her beloved England:
“The real two-tier justice no party wants to abolish … there are more benefit inspectors chasing claimants stealing a pittance than HMRC tax inspectors chasing super-rich fraudsters & tax dodgers living a life of luxury on their criminal loot worth £millions“.
Then I also saw another post online written by the London based Blue Sky account holder David Osland , that might also interest the anti Welfare Benefit warrior Kemi Badenoch:
“Prisons are overcrowded because we are locking up tens of thousands of people with drug problems, mental health issues and low educational attainment. Meanwhile, Michelle Mone, Post Office bosses, billionaire tax dodgers and those responsible for Grenfell Tower walk free“.
So when is Badenoch going to attack these injustices ?
Badenoch, Farage, Lowe and the gutter press all love to target the vulnerable and the needy , while avoiding targeting those others whose vast wealth protects them from suffering the same consequences as those who lack wealth, power and influence.
The political influence that these individuals and corporations have upon UK politics is all due to the fact that they donate large sums of money to politicians , who then , as politicians, begin to act and also speak in the interests of those who have donated (these very large amounts of money) to them as individual politicians and also to their respective political party.
So then they as politicians seek to protect these wealthy individuals and corporations from paying higher tax and they, as politicians, also then begin to promote ideas and policies that will (only) benefit their various donors business interests and individual interests.
That’s the system that is broken in their UK State and it is thanks to politicians like Badenoch and others using (abusing) the innocents , the vulnerable and the needy within the UK State as the proverbial scapegoats who are blamed for all of the wrongs and ills that exist within the UK State and it’s politics.
Of course the other problem within the UK State is that there are far too many ‘ordinary’ people being taken in by these despicable politicians (rogues) , media (rogues) and also by the wealthy (rogues).
Ordinary people who have been brainwashed into believing the insane rhetoric that somehow “the lefty woke have adopted the ‘Politics of Envy'” , when in actual fact it is the ‘Politics of Greed’ that the right wing politicians, the right wing media moguls and also the very wealthy (political donors) are all promoting .
So then they get to hoard all of the wealth for themselves .
So yes , the UK State is broken, but we all know who has bloody broken it and we also know who has helped them to do it.
Liz S
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The Sunday Herald:
“Independence, Net Zero and a snap election -Davidson rejoins the fray”.
The Sunday Herald interviewing Baroness Davidson.
“rejoins the fray” ?
Davidson is a part of the SKY News podcast “Electoral dysfunction’ team , together with SKY News political editor Beth Rigbsy and Labour Peer Harriet Harman .
So then she, Davidson, has never ‘left the political fray’.
As she has been ‘carping from the sidelines‘ in being given a weekly platform by SKY News to opine upon all politics within the UK State.
She is also ‘still in the fray‘ as a Tory Peer within the HOL’s.
So what then is her supposed crucial opinion that the anti SNP Sunday Herald needs to promote ?
Well one opinion is that apparently, according to her as a TORY PEER, “the SNP hasn’t done the work to justify a second independence Referendum” .
Meanwhile what has she, Baroness Davidson, and other British Nationalists done to to “justify” ,as in convince, Scotland to still remain within her rogue UK State ?
(Other than lying constantly pre and post 2014).
That is she who abandoned Scottish politics in her accepting a peerage from a PM (Boris Johnson) whom she stated was “unfit for office” and whom she also declared was treating the country “like fools”.
She also claimed that the SNP “has not come close to making a viable case for Scottish independence” .
Really ?
So what is the viable case for the so called Union ?
As Scotland is still waiting to hear that , as all we ,within Scotland have experienced as still being a part of the UK State, is instability, a high turnover of UK PM’s, rising food and energy prices, stagnant wages, the promotion and rise of hate, bigotry and racism, the vulnerable and needy being targeted and also a Brexit that Scotland, via all Scottish regions, did not vote for – and that list is not an exhaustive one.
Also who is she , as an unelected Tory Peer, to assume that she can then dictate to an elected FM and also to the Scottish people, as to whether the case for Scottish independence is viable or not, that decision is not hers to either make or decide, as that is a decision that the sovereign people of Scotland will get to decide upon and so then make.
Also if she is so adamant that a viable case for independence has not been made, then why are so many different parties (Tory & Labour) as different UK governments unwilling to put that to the test ?
Davidson , a UK media construct ,where they as a UK media laughingly promote her as being “popular in Scotland” , though TBF they as a UK media perhaps forgot to note in which Universe that was happening within, that is, is it within the real Universe or the alternate one (BTW it would be the same alternate Universe where much of the UK media inhabit aka a different reality).
So are we in Scotland to also now be subjected to a succession of Baroness Davidson’s interventions into our Scottish politics, in the same way that we have also had to suffer a succession of Gordon Brown’s interventions into our Scottish politics ?
Where we will now see the UK media constantly rolling out these two political dinosaurs on behalf of their disunited kingdom, just to try to interfere and so then opine upon our Scottish politics , that as Scottish politics, is no longer their business , as they both abandoned and also betrayed Scotland a long time ago, in them both supporting and also being a part of a dominant English political system based at WM.
Who cares what Ruth ‘the Tory peer’ Davidson thinks ?
More media and political propaganda that means absolutely nothing and so then contributes nothing (of substance) to what is a serious debate that is still being badly abused by dishonest UK politics and dishonest UK Journalism.
Liz S
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Since I’m on a roll (actually I am on a seat Ha Ha) I may as well continue.
If there was any doubt that Chris Bryant was unfit for the role of Labour’s SOS for NI then his speech to conference confirmed that to be true.
In the midst of what is currently a very volatile and sensitive ongoing situation within NI just now , thanks to the cult of the Orange Order wanting to make an unnecessary, checks notes, ‘march’ down a Catholic street , the British NI SOS, Chris Bryant, thought that including this below in his speech , was both an appropriate and timely thing to do !
“To the 300,000 and more men and women who served in Northern Ireland in our armed forces in Operation Banner – thank you for your service”.
“To the often terrified eighteen and nineteen-year-olds who turned up during the Troubles desperate to hold their nerve and to keep the peace – thank you for your service”
“To the police officers who never knew whether they would return home at the end of the day”.
“To the prison officers and the firefighters”
“Thank you for your service”
“To the doctors and nurses who staunched the blood, bound the wounds, and healed their patients, regardless of their background”.
“To those who witnessed violence up close. The children who saw their parents killed. The clergy and undertakers who led the funerals. The social workers who found homes for those who’d lost parents. And the council staff who literally gathered up the body parts in plastic bags”
“Thank you for your service”.
All of this received much applause from the Labour member audience and also from the Labour politicians as well.
Of course he, Bryant, missed out mentioning a very sad and traumatic incident that occurred “during the troubles” within NI that is referred to as Bloody Sunday.
Where British Army paratroopers shot and killed 13 unarmed civil rights demonstrators and wounded 14 others (with another dying later) during a march in Derry, Northern Ireland on January 30 ,1972.
“Soldiers opened fire on the crowd in the Bogside area. Many victims were shot while fleeing or attempting to help the wounded and the poignant and iconic picture from that incident was that of a Catholic priest waving a blood-stained white handkerchief as a makeshift flag while helping to carry a dying 17-year-old protester“.
Now that obviously , as a example, was not worthy of a “Thank you for your service” to the British Army from Chris Bryant in his Labour conference speech, was it ?
Or indeed was it to be seen , by him, as being worth mentioning in his conference speech as a horrific and shameful act, where the British Army should not be thanked but should instead be condemned.
(BTW that is the same “Derry” that people like Bryant and Protestants refer to as being “Londonderry” just to try to emphasise and so promote it’s supposed ‘ties to the UK’).
Chris Bryant is just another British Nationalist politician going through the motions as the SOS for NI , as do all of the other appointed SOS puppets also do so, as those who are also appointed as SOS for Scotland and for Wales by and on behalf of their UK government masters.
Liz S
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Another total idiot. Wants to be like Thatcher?
Thatcher took the equivalent of £Billions out of Scotland. Lied and kept it secret under the Official Secrets Act. Left Scotland in poverty. One of her ministers resigned. The others were sworn to secrecy. Younger etc.
Thatcher had unemployment in Scotland 15%. NI 20% The Troubles cost £Billions. The only place unemployment was under 10% was London S/E. Thatcher used the Oil revenues to pay for unemployment. Built Canary Wharf and Tilbury Docks. 26 miles of container port. Ports around lost out.
Inflation was 15% and interest rates were 17%. Thatcher cut Bank leverage from 25% collateral. Gave the money to the Bankers. Sold the BS books owned by the members to the Banks. Caused the banking crash. Brown deregulations added to it.
Scotland is in surplus in fuel and energy. Renewables because of SNP policy. Now Badenoch wants to steal from Scotland again. Nuclear decommissioning costs £13Billion a year. It is unaffordable. Nuclear plants are years late and over budget.The energy companies would charge Scotland less. Westminster will not let them. No parity.
The Tories are finished in Scotland. Along with the rest of them. People support the SNP massively and Independence.
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