The outcome and impact of this dependency [on UK decision-making] will be little different no matter how well the SNP does

By stewartb There is more at stake than ‘just’ the number of pro-Independence MPs elected in Scotland, important as that is! The IFS report referenced below also makes for depressing reading, not least because in brings home (yet again) just how dependent on England’s political choices we are. And in the immediate future, the outcome and impact of this dependency – including on devolved matters – will be little different no matter how well the SNP does in the upcoming general election. That is a seriously limiting, constraining democracy! Source: Institute for Fiscal Studies (28 June, 2024) How would the parties’ tax … Continue reading The outcome and impact of this dependency [on UK decision-making] will be little different no matter how well the SNP does

Ipsos SUB-POLL today cautiously suggests major swing back to SNP as John settles in

Many thanks to https://x.com/SNPwindaes for alerting me to this. It’s only a telephone sub-poll of 203 Scots weighted down to 176 but, today on the day, Ipsos, the most trusted pollster because they’re based in Paris and have no dog in this fight, has: All: 90% to 100% certain to vote: I know. Recent polls are up and down but one or two full polls especially the usually unfriendly Savanta, have signs of an SNP recovery, as the the most popular party leader and his Tartan Army loyalist, Toblerone-loving, Westminster leader do well in TV interviews. Source: https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/labour-holds-18-point-lead-over-conservatives-final-ipsos-election-poll https://www.thenational.scot/news/24426651.new-general-election-poll-puts-snp-ahead-labour/ Continue reading Ipsos SUB-POLL today cautiously suggests major swing back to SNP as John settles in

Robbo’s TWENTY + reasons why Scots should vote for the SNP

Apologies to Robbo for above uncertainty in image selection By Robbo All sourced from TuS: 1) Best NHS by country mile with more GP’s, Dr’s, Nurses, Dentists (95% Scots registerd with NHS Dentist), Police officers per head than rUK. 2) Social housing 6 times higher than rUK and 50% higher than Labour. 3) Child Payments that are protecting 100k Scots kids from poverty not available in rUK. 4) On average lowest Council tax than rUK. 5) GDP 30% higher in Scot than rUKI 6) Deadly Measles infections seven times more likely in rUK thanks to higher immunisation in Scotland. 7) … Continue reading Robbo’s TWENTY + reasons why Scots should vote for the SNP

Why is this British state, tax-payer-funded public service broadcaster only telling you how to get free voter-ID when it’s too late?

registration certificate, as long as you are registered to vote. You can see those details on the BBC website on the Electoral Commission website. Presenter says ‘Good advice!’ At the website: Conspiracy or c***up? Those less likely to have bank cards, driving licences etc, the poor, are also more likely to vote for leftist parties. The SNP is clearly the only larger left-of-centre party known to be working to reduce poverty. Evidence from Alan Dorans, SNP candidate for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock, in the National, January 2024: This matters for all of us but matters more for the SNP than … Continue reading Why is this British state, tax-payer-funded public service broadcaster only telling you how to get free voter-ID when it’s too late?

Labour’s GB Energy policy merits so much more objective appraisal than it has received from the media

By stewartb The chameleon that has been the Labour Party’s GB Energy policy merits so much more objective appraisal than it has received from the media. This deficit in critical assessment is important – is to be deprecated – given that GB Energy (GBE), and the location of its HQ, is clearly being pushed by Labour as its big inducement to voters in Scotland. IMHO GB Energy is the GREAT OBFUSCATION! What follows is just one example of the gushing, uncritical reporting that may well prove successful in seducing some voters in Scotland: ‘Thousands of Scottish jobs’ created by Labour’s … Continue reading Labour’s GB Energy policy merits so much more objective appraisal than it has received from the media

Labour’s GB Energy has been a bit of a shapeshifter

By stewartb It’s not often that I’m inclined to write anything positive about a BBC Scotland journalist’s contribution. But here goes! The BBC’s ‘Business and Economy Editor, Scotland’, Douglas Fraser had an article (24 June) in the Scotland Business section of the BBC News website under this headline: ‘What would ‘GB Energy’ mean for Scotland’s green economy?’ (See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyxxxljq070o ) (Never unalloyed reaction to BBC Scotland tho’! Curiously, this article which attempts a critical appraisal did NOT appear in the Scotland Politics section despite this being six lines in: ‘Labour makes a big play of setting up GB Energy.’) – (my emphasis). We … Continue reading Labour’s GB Energy has been a bit of a shapeshifter

Labour candidates forced to stay away or ‘rewrite the Labour manifesto’ as they face the public in hustings across Scotland

At a hustings in Ayr last night, a source said of the troubled Labour candidate for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock, Elaine Stewart : The Labour candidate rewrote the Labour manifesto. She claims Labour support settling with the WASPI women. Also she had a great line when she said” that once Labour have established the financial position they will increase taxes, if needed. Another told us she expressed support for putting an end to the House of Lords. These are all expressions of support quite contrary to the Labour manifesto and reveal deep contradictions in the Labour campaign here. Recently, on … Continue reading Labour candidates forced to stay away or ‘rewrite the Labour manifesto’ as they face the public in hustings across Scotland

Major fixes are required for a failing UK state but the two main parties are in denial for partisan electoral reasons

From stewartb There have been some escoriating assessments of the Tory and Labour manifestos for the upcoming General Election. They include the one below from the establishment-revered Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). When reading the extracts, written from a London/England-centric UK perspective, reflect on just how ‘distant’ – how lacking in effective agency — Scotland’s electorate and government are in all of this! The IFS is essentially arguing that major fixes are required for a failing UK state but that the two main parties are in denial for partisan electoral reasons. Within this Union, Scotland’s ability to influence the nature … Continue reading Major fixes are required for a failing UK state but the two main parties are in denial for partisan electoral reasons

Making sure Labour get full credit for the PFI disaster costing Scots £30 billion

By Professor John Robertson Deep into today’s BBC Northamptonshire, not BBC Scotland, of course, we read The NHS is currently grappling with the detrimental effects of inefficient Public-Private Partnerships (PFI) introduced by New Labour, which are siphoning off essential funds from patient care. How much? From SNP Media, in March 2023: From SNP Media today: The price of the biggest scandal of the Devolution era – Scottish Labour’s PFI catastrophe – continues to increase after it was revealed the cost to the public purse ballooned by an extra £1million every week in just the last year alone. In response to … Continue reading Making sure Labour get full credit for the PFI disaster costing Scots £30 billion

Researchers reveal Labour will spend even less than the Tories on the NHS

From the Observer, today, based on analysis by leading experts at the Nuffield Trust: Labour and the Conservatives would both leave the NHS with lower spending increases than during the years of Tory austerity, according to an independent analysis of their manifestos by a leading health thinktank. The assessment by the respected Nuffield Trust of the costed NHS policies of both parties, announced in their manifestos last week, says the level of funding increases would leave them struggling to pay existing staff costs, let alone the bill for massive planned increases in doctors, nurses and other staff in the long-term workforce plan agreed last … Continue reading Researchers reveal Labour will spend even less than the Tories on the NHS