Tag: labour-party

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An enlarged and compliant group of Labour MPs is the last thing Scotland’s public services need in the face of damning assessments of their manifesto

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“The Labour Party has not set out an overall spending plan for health and social care in England. This makes it impossible to judge the plausibility of the party’s plans” (Institute for Fiscal Studies, June 13, 2024) – so why waste a vote in Scotland on Labour? By stewartb – a long read In the next UK parliament when all roads are STILL leading back to Westminster what can we expect from a Labour government of benefit to health and social care in Scotland? With Labour’s manifesto now published, It’s worth taking a look at reactions to its policy pledges. … Continue reading An enlarged and compliant group of Labour MPs is the last thing Scotland’s public services need in the face of damning assessments of their manifesto

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Will Central Ayrshire Labour candidate condemn his leader’s hypocritical use of a private jets funded by country where abuse of workers and women is rife?

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From the Irvine Times, today: Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds joined his party’s candidate for Central Ayrshire on a visit to Prestwick’s GE Caledonian site at the weekend. Mr Reynolds and candidate Alan Gemmell [OBE] were exploring the potential for future investment and jobs in Prestwick’s aerospace sector. From the Guardian on 31st May:: Keir Starmer has admitted travelling via ‘efficient’ private jet to Scotland ‘in the middle of a very busy general election campaign’, despite Labour having previously criticised Rishi Sunak for using aircraft to get around the country. Starmer was in Glasgow to talk about the party’s Great … Continue reading Will Central Ayrshire Labour candidate condemn his leader’s hypocritical use of a private jets funded by country where abuse of workers and women is rife?

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‘Ruling out tax rises undermines Sunak’s and Starmer’s credibility on public services’.

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By stewartb “I think Rishi Sunak’s credibility is completely destroyed ….” – there is a lot of this ‘credibility destroying’ about! From the Institute for Government (6 June 2024): ‘Ruling out tax rises undermines Sunak’s and Starmer’s credibility on public services’. This London-based, establishment-endorsed, centrist think tank states (with my emphasis): ‘… the promises on tax (coupled with promises to limit borrowing and debt) imply tight limits on public spending. It is not plausible to think that the next government can address existing major problems in public services without spending more than is currently pencilled in – or announcing cuts to some … Continue reading ‘Ruling out tax rises undermines Sunak’s and Starmer’s credibility on public services’.

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Will these Labour candidates in Ayrshire admit that they plan to support £18 billion in cuts to vital public services and to make child poverty even worse?

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Both of the above have been happy recently to accuse the SNP of a failure to eradicate child poverty in Ayrshire, regardless of the unique Child Payment in Scotland and the significantly lower rate of child poverty in Scotland than in England or Wales. In February 2024, The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) reported: The Autumn Statement forecasts were predicated on a fresh round of spending cuts. Public sector investment is planned to be frozen in cash terms, whereas maintaining investment (net of depreciation) at its current share of national income in 2028–29 would require an additional £20 billion of spending. … Continue reading Will these Labour candidates in Ayrshire admit that they plan to support £18 billion in cuts to vital public services and to make child poverty even worse?

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Scottish Labour virus in YouTube!

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By NMRN BBC Website Scotland page: There is now only one story in the top section of this page re the nasty political episode we recently witnessed with Dross U turning on his former decision on standing as an MP and choosing the seat of a sick colleague who himself stated he wanted to still stand as the chosen Tory candidate for that seat…..this story is the fifth story in their top section of stories (Soon I am sure to descend even lower as a story before it disappears completely)……..compare and contrast with the multitude of stories on Michael Mathieson which lasted for days/weeks which as headlines were all ‘attacks’ on Mr Mathieson and not as a story one that very quickly became a story via his colleagues defending him that was headlined as such by the BBC … Continue reading Scottish Labour virus in YouTube!

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Labour in Starmer’s various speeches morph from the country being England…to Britain….to Wales….to Scotland….

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By NMRN So today I just got some election bumf through my door , in an envelope, addressed to me from the Labour party…..this is about the 5th piece of propaganda I have had from them. My area is the SNP Tommy Sheppard’s constituency Edinburgh East & Musselburgh and this is one of the seats that I think Labour are targeting really hard to win…..also I have had three sets of Labour canvassers at my door……so far……… that is…….. At the top of the letter was their empty slogan “Change” with a red background but neither a Union jack border nor … Continue reading Labour in Starmer’s various speeches morph from the country being England…to Britain….to Wales….to Scotland….

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Sir Keir Starmer u-turns on his mum’s love of freedom

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In 2023, Starmer wrote: This year, I braved the British summer and holidayed at home in the Lake District. I’ve always felt it’s the perfect place for a family holiday and so it proved. From boating on Windermere to scrambling up the crags of the Langdale Pikes, lakeside fish and chips or simply drinks in the beer garden — soggy or sunny, there really is something there for everyone. Taking my kids to the Lakes provided a special rush of nostalgia, because I went there every summer as a child. My mum adored it, she thrived in the open air … Continue reading Sir Keir Starmer u-turns on his mum’s love of freedom

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Starmer’s Labour Party has been captured by a small, highly determined right-wing clique

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By NMRN Here is the reality and truth of Labour under Keir Starmer: Journalist Peter Osborne tweeted: “Starmer’s Labour Party has been captured by a small, highly determined right-wing clique, one that is as insouciant of Labour’s magnificent history and democratic tradition as it is contemptuous of ethnic minorities” Journalist Michael Crick interviewed: “Thinks it is disgraceful what has been going on with Labour. He said that as a self confessed Blairite and traditionally Labour right winger. I won’t be voting for Labour at this GE. The Stamerites have purged virtually everybody on the left. They purge them from being … Continue reading Starmer’s Labour Party has been captured by a small, highly determined right-wing clique

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Has Labour in Scotland now shifted its stance on NHS use of private healthcare?

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As ‘Investors eye opportunities in Labour pledge to boost private health sector’ has Labour in Scotland now shifted its stance on NHS use of private healthcare? By stewartb We know that a key plank in the Labour Party’s plans for the NHS in England should it win the upcoming General Election is to increase the use of supposed spare capacity in the private healthcare sector as the solution to stubbornly long waiting lists for hospital treatment. It seems, at least from the tone of BBC and mainstream media reporting, that the ‘Overton Window’ – the window of discourse that frames the range … Continue reading Has Labour in Scotland now shifted its stance on NHS use of private healthcare?

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Labour to ban Scots zero-hours contracts, maybe, as they climb to levels already in England & Wales but offer no rebuke to Mrs Sarwar as Scotland leads on Real Living Wage

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From the Herald, today: The Labour Party which is the favourite to form the next UK government has pledged to ban ‘exploitative’ zero hours contracts as their use hit record levels in Scotland, the Herald on Sunday can reveal. Official figures reveal that the average number of Scots on zero-hours contracts has soared to an average of 100,000 in the past year – a 42% rise on 2019, the year before the pandemic. According to Statista, there are around 1.2 million zero hours workers across the UK. The Scottish rate is now exactly the same as in the rest of the … Continue reading Labour to ban Scots zero-hours contracts, maybe, as they climb to levels already in England & Wales but offer no rebuke to Mrs Sarwar as Scotland leads on Real Living Wage