By stewartb There are multiple reports of leading Labour politicians joining with the Tories to dismiss out of hand the Scottish Government’s proposals for the reform of drug laws. Candidly, it’s no longer a surprise: the Bain Principle – ‘Labour opposes anything proposed by the SNP, regardless of the merits of the thing in question’ – is in rude health. And at times the Labour leadership even seems intent on making mountains out of molehills of small differences with the SNP. Presumably this is to make their party even more attractive electorally in Scotland to erstwhile Tory supporting Unionists. The … Continue reading Our ‘political masters’ flex their muscles – instant dismissal of drugs proposal for Scotland!

Yesterday on a busy Saturday, CalMac operated 100% of sailings in all but the Inner Hebrides where reliability was only 99% (98.6). Out of 523 sailings, only 3 were cancelled. The single sailing from Ardrossan to Campbelltown, on the mainland, was cancelled. One of the 21 Oban to Craignure sailings and 1 of 4 Oban to Colle/Tiree sailings were cancelled. Brittany Ferries are at 100% today but have cancelled 1 of only 7 sailings (Plymouth to Roscoff) for Tuesday and Wednesday. The people of the Brittany, dependent on tourism, will have no connections with the UK for at least two … Continue reading CalMac ferries back at 99% reliability and 100% in 4 out of 5 regions

Published two days ago: Final income tax outturn data for 2021-22 was published by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) today. The figures show Scottish income tax revenues were £13,724 million in 2021-22, growing by 14.9 per cent since 2020-21. This means the Scottish Government, having done so well, must hand £390 million of our allowance back in ‘reconciliation’, because: The Scottish Government must rely on forecasts when setting each Budget, and the UK Government also relies on forecasts when determining BGAs. When information about actual revenues and expenditure becomes available – known as ‘outturn data’ – subsequent Budgets are adjusted to account for … Continue reading Major increase in Scotland’s income tax revenues in just one year

From the Daily Record yesterday: The SNP has been accused of “shameless hypocrisy” after health boards spent nearly £130m sending patients to private hospitals. Humza Yousaf’s party this week urged Labour to rule out “privatisation” of the NHS. They hit out at the “expanded role” for the private sector and dismissed Labour leader Keir Starmer as a Blairite. But new figures released under FOI show the amount given to the private sector for treating NHS patients is on the rise under the SNP-led Government. In 2018/29, the total stood at £24.1m, before surging to £32.7m and falling to £15.4m in the first full year of … Continue reading Paul Hutcheon won’t do his sums as NHS England spend 74 times as much pro rata on private hospitals

From GB News yesterday: Tory MSP Russell Findlay told the Daily Record: “It is madness to try and solve Scotland’s drug death crisis, the worst in Europe, by essentially legalising heroin, crack and other class-A drugs. “This would put more drugs on our streets. It would put more lives at risk. What kind of message is the SNP sending to Scotland’s drug-ravaged communities?” Likewise, Labour also condemned the proposals with Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor saying: “I do not think this sounds like a good policy. “I find it quite stunning that this would be a priority for the Scottish … Continue reading Tories and Labour to block SNP Government’s evidence-based proposals for decriminalisation of drugs, for cynical political gain

BBC Travel has joined the campaign to suggest the Orkneys have no strong ties with Scotland and claim: The Viking spirit of a remote Scottish archipelago – Orkney made headlines worldwide this week with news that the archipelago wants to leave both Scotland and the UK in order to join, or rather rejoin, Norway…..Vikings started arriving in Orkney from Norway in the late 8th Century and found the fertile islands so much to their liking that they stayed for 500 years, settling as farmers and using the islands as a base to launch further voyages.  https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20230706-the-viking-spirit-of-a-remote-scottish-archipelago Leaving aside the language used to … Continue reading Orcadians are Picts rather than Vikings

I thought STV had cleared this up but the Insider is hanging on to this one: The Advocate General for Scotland is “examining” Scottish Government spending on an independence minister, according to an email sent to a Labour peer. A UK Government source had denied there was any investigation after the issue was raised by Lord Foulkes in the House of Lords on Thursday, when he asked Treasury minister Baroness Penn if she would co-operate with the probe. However, an email exchange between the peer and Lord Stewart, the UK Government adviser on Scots Law, suggests an inquiry has been … Continue reading Lord Foulkes still expects an SNP probe!

By stewartb A new report by the public accounts committee of the House of Commons is noteworthy. Before reading the summary below, I suggest a moment’s reflection! As a ‘thought experiment’, take the reaction of the BBC, the corporate mainstream media and opposition politicians to the procurement of two ferries in Scotland as your benchmark. Then, after reading about another procurement – and mindful of the ‘ferries’ benchmark – what scale and intensity of media and political reaction would be commensurate?  Source: House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts (3 July 2023) HS2 Euston. Sixty-Third Report of Session 2022–23 (https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/40783/documents/198632/default/ … Continue reading It’s not ‘ferries’ so no big deal? Eight years’ planning & design and £2.2 billion over budget but UK government ‘does not know what it is trying to achieve’.

First Minister and previous Health Secretary, Humza Yousaf has averted strikes by nurses, ambulance staff and now junior doctors. Deep within the grudging report from BBC Scotland with no comments from Sandesh Gulhane or Jackie Baillie, we read: Committee chair Chris Smith said the improved offer involved “compromise on both sides” and was a “genuinely credible and workable pathway towards pay restoration”. Dr Smith said: “At this stage, our negotiation team feels we have reached the limit of what can be achieved this year and does not think strike action would result in a realistically improved offer. “Equally, it could … Continue reading Yousaf praised after averting strikes by nurses, ambulance staff and now junior doctors