In the Herald today: Labour opens up biggest poll lead since 1997: Labour have opened up a 36 point lead in one opinion poll, as reaction to the Conservative crisis continues. When you look deeper for the Scottish sub-poll figures, ignored by the Herald, you find once more Scottish Labour trailing far behind the UK Labour figure of 56% at only 30%: https://redfieldandwiltonstrategies.com/latest-gb-voting-intention-16-october-2022/ This is not a one-off. In poll after poll, the Scottish Labour support, in the Scottish sup-polls of around 120, is averaging 26% having taken 6 to 8% off the Tory vote and perhaps 1 or 2% from the … Continue reading Scottish Labour trailing UK Labour by 26%

The Panelbase/Business for Scotland poll has already had a lot of publicity but some of the detail is fascinating and useful knowledge for the subsequent campaign. Based on 1 017 Scots from 16 years-up, with fieldwork on 5-7 October 2022, those likely to vote, when asked: If the Scottish Government put a Wellbeing approach at the heart of its economic plans for independence (a plan that recognised that quality of life, equality, fairness, sustainability, happiness, and health are all outcomes that should be given equal weight to economic growth), whilst committing to increase the state pension from £141.85 to £225.00 … Continue reading With a ‘Wellbeing’ approach, stunning 83% of younger women would vote for Scottish independence

So, the Hunt proposes to reverse almost all of Kwarteng’s budget. Given how much of it benefited the wealthy (or even the really wealthy), it’s hard to be critical. But not impossible. Some things to note. The planned cut in income tax to 19p is out, and indefinitely (though given there will have to be an election in the next year or two, is he just putting it in his hat to bring out later, Paul Daniels style?) The cut in dividend taxes is abolished – clearly that comes into the ‘wealthy’ category. The cuts to stamp duty will remain … Continue reading A jet plane does a hand-brake turn (with thanks to Faisal Islam)

There have been between 20 and 30 polls since the Labour surge began in late September. The small Scottish sub-polls within these have largely confirmed that there has been no Labour surge at the expense of the SNP but only redistribution among the Unionist parties with Scottish Labour averaging below 30%, the Tories at around 12% and the SNP stable around 45%. The above prediction that the SNP could fall to only 37 MPs at Westminster is an outlier. In terms of full polls, on 4 October, YouGov had Labour at 30% and Savanta ComRes had them at 26%. At … Continue reading Scottish Labour suffer electoral dysfunction

Small samples I know but far larger than a typical Reporting Scotland, Herald or Scotsman vox pops sample, typically, 2 to 5. NHS Patients: More than half experiencing no crisis at all and less than 1 in 5 reporting one? 2. NHS Staff Not quite a crisis with only 1 in 3 agreeing? 3. Care home relatives/friends Again not quite a crisis and these are folk who wouldn’t hold back if there was one. 4. Care home staff: Similar and they’d know. Continue reading Poll: More than half of patients see no sign of a crisis in NHS Scotland

From BBC Scotland today: The number of Covid infections in Scotland has fallen slightly in the last week despite a rise across the UK, according to new figures. Last week’s ONS Covid infection survey estimated that about one in 50 people had the virus on any day in the previous week. This was down from one in 45 two weeks earlier. But total infections in the UK have risen by 31%, the biggest percentage jump since June. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-63245575 Slightly? From 1 in 50 to 1 in 45, for 5.4 million Scots, is a 9.9% fall in one week, in a downward trend, … Continue reading Covid in Scotland: Infections fall steadily and down 10% in one week but BBC Scotland grudge it

In the Herald today: THE costs of fixing crumbling hospitals in Scotland’s NHS has soared by over £200m in the space of just five years leaving some of Scotland’s busiest hospitals in a ‘high-risk’ state, it can be revealed. Calls are being made for better funding of the service as the cost of fixing the NHS estate has risen by 25%  – despite an SNP government plan to drastically cut  https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/23050674.costs-fixing-crumbling-nhs-hospitals-scotland-soars-200m—despite-snp-plan-cut-backlog/ I know Martin Williams is probably not as dim as what follows is going to suggest. No, he is a liar in a tragic effort to keep a job in … Continue reading NHS Scotland maintenance costs only increase by inflation but Herald platforms Scottish Tory sums failure

The above group appeared on Question Time in May 2019. only weeks later, No 3 Jane Lax, joked about Nicola Sturgeon’s miscarriage on Twitter, asked “Is that when she dropped a book?” in response to another Twitter user’s claim that the first minister’s miscarriage was “fictional”. Mrs Lax, who was treasurer of the Moray Conservative Association, then posted three laughing emojis. Three days ago, QT returned to Scotland with a blatantly biased audience. In a country where around 50% support independence, Bruce managed to find eight unionists in a row to ask questions and only one in the audience nodded … Continue reading Question Time, laughing at a woman’s miscarriage and detestable Tories

By Alasdair Galloway A question was posed to me by Gerry Robertson following my “Mona Lott” piece (thanks Gerry for sparking this off) (https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2022/10/12/from-mona-lott/) asking “why has the price cap (if indeed this is a cap at all which seems doubtful) been set at £2500? Much has been reported about other as;pects of this disastrous ‘mini-budget’ but nothing I have seen in the media that this ‘cap’ will almost certainly benefit those disproportionately who live in larger properties (ie the richest in society) and whose normal energy bills would very likely be much higher. Anyone?” The price cap is the … Continue reading The venality of the Truss Government

“Devolution – and the UK’s territorial constitution – is being reshaped” – as Scotland’s parliament, government and voters spectate without agency!  By stewartb It’s been some time since my attention was last drawn to the constitutional significance for Scotland’s parliament and government of the UK Internal Market Act 2020 (UKIMA).  The implications of this Act may still not be appreciated fully by many in Scotland. It is an Act that was passed into law by a Westminster Tory government, the one rejected by majority in Scotland at the ballot box. It was passed into law without the consent of the … Continue reading “Devolution – and the UK’s territorial constitution – is being reshaped”