Tag: labour-party

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Lord Ashcroft – why did he decide to acquire the Holyrood magazine ?

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Anonymous It appears though that Labour in Scotland’s leader (of sorts) Anas Sarwar is the bees knees as in yet another trolling (or comedy) exercise by media (of sorts) who dislike the SNP so much, that we now find out that, Anas Sarwar has been named as the “MSP of the year”, by the Holyrood Magazine (now owned by Tory Lord Ashcroft) in their yearly magazine political (of sorts) awards (of sorts) ceremony. Anas Sarwar tweeted in response to ‘winning’ this award (of sorts): “Thanks @HolyroodDaily for the MSP of the year award”. “Over 3 years, we’ve changed Scottish Labour so we can deliver the change our country needs”. “Economic … Continue reading Lord Ashcroft – why did he decide to acquire the Holyrood magazine ?

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A lesson for any tempted to vote Labour in Holyrood 2026 – Researchers reveal the policy supported by Scottish Labour causes children to go hungry

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Labour’s Westminster House Jock and North British branches celebrate English Labour’s election victory under their shared flag, before going on to vote to keep the Dead Conservative’s two-child benefit cap, shown by the IFS to increase child poverty levels. Not only has the Institute for Fiscal Studies proved that the two-child benefit cap is the main cause of child poverty in the UK but today, we read in the Guardian: Families hit by the two-child benefit cap are much more likely to go hungry, skip meals or be unable to afford to eat healthily, according to new data which shows … Continue reading A lesson for any tempted to vote Labour in Holyrood 2026 – Researchers reveal the policy supported by Scottish Labour causes children to go hungry

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Do statements by leading Labour politicians in Scotland require Talking down Wales?

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By stewartb The Herald had this headline on 19 July 2024: ‘Scots ‘failed’ by a lack of planning for a pandemic by SNP or Tories.’ Within the article there is this: See https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-herald-1130/20240719/281672555180089 . Before commenting further, note the sleekit attempt at casting doubt on ‘transparency’ and ‘honesty’. It’s as if Wales was NOT also judged to be just as ill-prepared by the Covid-19 Inquiry: it’s as if the Labour spokesperson in Scotland has erased the fact of her party being in government in Wales throughout the period of devolution; it’s as if Labour in Scotland really do hold firm … Continue reading Do statements by leading Labour politicians in Scotland require Talking down Wales?

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Understanding ‘patriotism’  – insights from the Labour Party

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By stewartb – a long read In early July this year and following elections to the European Parliament, we learned of the formation of a new alliance of far-right MEPs. The group chose for its name ‘Patriots for Europe’. (See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp9vre72wpdo) ‘Patriotism’ has become a much favoured characteristic recently. In April this year, Keir Starmer (20 April 2024) wrote a piece for The Telegraph – long known as the Conservatives’ de facto house journal – below the headline: ‘Labour is now the true party of English patriotism’. Are we all ‘patriots’ now? It’s notable how much attention Labour Party-supporting organisations … Continue reading Understanding ‘patriotism’  – insights from the Labour Party

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It may seem like we in North Britain live in a backwater but Starmer has jumped on the ideas of Mariana Mazzucato

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By stewartb It may be hard for many – perhaps the majority(?) – of folk in Scotland who are not glued to the weekly goings on in politics and the constant implementation of economic, social and environmental policies by the Scottish Government to resist the feeling that Scotland is crap. So often that’s the message relentlessly pushed. And on days like today in Westminster with the ‘King’s Speech’, it may seem like we in North Britain live in a backwater. It takes determination and effort to fill the ‘positivity void’ created and sustained by the BBC and most of the … Continue reading It may seem like we in North Britain live in a backwater but Starmer has jumped on the ideas of Mariana Mazzucato

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As political leaders in Wales and NI join Labour’s Chancellor in condemning 14 years of Tory damage, BBC Scotland reveals Labour’s plan to persuade voters here to blame the Scottish Government instead.

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By stewartb It’s been instructive to compare and contrast the reporting of the Labour PM’s initial visits to Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff. Northern Ireland The BBC News website (July 8) on its NI page has this headline: ‘What does the Labour government mean for NI?’ The BBC’s NI economics and business editor provides context: ‘The single most important influence on Stormont’s budget is the spending policy of the Westminster government. Most of what Stormont spends is the ‘block grant’ which comes from Westminster.’ (my emphasis) And adds: ‘For years the Stormont parties have complained about the negative impacts of “Tory … Continue reading As political leaders in Wales and NI join Labour’s Chancellor in condemning 14 years of Tory damage, BBC Scotland reveals Labour’s plan to persuade voters here to blame the Scottish Government instead.

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Voters in Wales are less than convinced about Labour’s track record

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By stewartb The BBC News website’s Wales section today has this headline: ‘Low Welsh voter turnout appalling, says Kinnock’. It reports that: ‘In Wales, only 56% of voters filled out their ballot papers, compared to 60% across the UK, and 67% in Wales last time out in 2019.’ (In Scotland the overall turnout was 59%, down 8.4% from 2019.) And: ‘Despite winning the majority of seats, Labour’s vote share in Wales actually dropped, down from 40% to 37%.’ ‘… every Welsh constituency saw a decline compared to the previous election.’ So the impact on the 2024 GE of Labour having a long record in government in Cardiff whether on … Continue reading Voters in Wales are less than convinced about Labour’s track record

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

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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

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

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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: Cons 8% Labour 23% SNP 51% (77 folk) Reform 6% Greens 6% Other 2% (only 3 folk wasting on Alba?) 90% to 100% certain to vote: Cons 9% (Older Tories turn out?) Labour 21% (Labour don’t turn out? SNP 52% (66 – SNP folk turn out?) Reform 4% (Grumpy folk are too scunnered to bother? … Continue reading Ipsos SUB-POLL today cautiously suggests major swing back to SNP as John settles in

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

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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