Tag: scottish-independence

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How grudging Guardian editorials on SNP leader have persuaded even my intelligent 70s Scottish-university educated friends that the SNP has failed

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By Professor John Robertson In the Guardian editorial on John Swinney, today: Scotland’s new first minister is an experienced and unflashy politician who can read the public mood. Almost everything that John Swinney has said and done since replacing Humza Yousaf this week shows he grasps the palpable wish – south of the border as well as north – for more effective government that is led by more sensible politicians who do not spend their time playing to the gallery. The question, after 17 years governing Scotland, is whether any SNP leader can now deliver this. Mr Swinney therefore owns Scotland’s current … Continue reading How grudging Guardian editorials on SNP leader have persuaded even my intelligent 70s Scottish-university educated friends that the SNP has failed

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Wake up Scotland….you are being played!

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By NMRN This was not just a Tory defection to Labour….this was a Natalie Elphicke Tory defection to Labour……. The Labour party , but mostly Starmer, have shot themselves in the foot here…… Plus Sarwar & co are currently canvassing in Scotland for his party for the next GE…..so would be odd , considering this defection is all over most of the UK media, if the media here in Scotland did not raise this questionable defection at HQ with the branch office manager…….. When I say “raise it with him” then I mean that they , the media, should be … Continue reading Wake up Scotland….you are being played!

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Shouting theatre in a crowded fire – Scotland’s firefighters betrayed by their own union

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In the Guardian today, the above and this below: Wrack, the general secretary of the 34,000-strong Fire Brigades Union, said: “The debate on workers’ rights is a key issue for all unions as we approach a general election. As a policy, it is very popular with our members but it is popular with the voters as well. “We know Labour will come under pressure from business interests but there should be no backtracking and no weakening. Labour needs to deliver this as one of its top priorities. If there is a rolling back there will be significant anger.” Meanwhile in … Continue reading Shouting theatre in a crowded fire – Scotland’s firefighters betrayed by their own union

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The SNP is a failed project? Plummeting income and a hidden membership suggests Common Weal is a better example

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Front page on the National in October 2023, Common Weal’s Robin McAlpine appears. Three days ago, he was telling us: The SNP is a failed project It is hard to express how dark my mood is today or how much pain I feel for the future of Scotland and independence. The SNP is unreformed and unreformable, and the rest of us are just onlookers There is a Karl Lagerfeld quote by which I live my life: “Sweatpants are a sign of defeat.” John Swinney is a sign of defeat. This is a sign of a party not only incapable of … Continue reading The SNP is a failed project? Plummeting income and a hidden membership suggests Common Weal is a better example

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Scotland 17 years later and getting more different from the UK – better support for young carers

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By Professor John Robertson I don’t need to keep on reminding you, I’m sure, of the lower income tax most pay and the range of other indirect benefits of living in Scotland – lower council tax, free tuition, bus passes for the young, the Child Payment, Bedroom Tax compensation, massively subsidised thus cheap ferry travel….. The steady influx of settlers from elsewhere in the UK reinforces the evidence. Today, another Scottish (SNP) Government initiative, within the limits of the devolution settlement: Thousands more unpaid carers in Scotland will be eligible for a new benefit, if regulations laid this week in … Continue reading Scotland 17 years later and getting more different from the UK – better support for young carers

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Updated – How the English cartunionists dehumanise Scots to make anything ‘just a joke’, even hanging and crucifixion

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By Professor John Robertson Peter Brookes in the Times, gleefully shared by the slimy be-wigged lard-bucket that is Andrew Neil, the above. Imagine doing that with the leaders of any other country? Sadly, it’s not new. In February 2024, again from Peter Brookes in the Times, a snide and offensive take on the SNP’s supposed troubles. Brookes Last year, we had: Martin Rowson with another dim-witted stereotype of Scots to conceal the fact that the SNP had a substantive, serious, motion, on one of their only 3 days, based on years of consistent support for the human rights of the … Continue reading Updated – How the English cartunionists dehumanise Scots to make anything ‘just a joke’, even hanging and crucifixion

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13 000 WASPI women in Ayrshire should know that Labour and Conservative candidates do not support their claim – the SNP does

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Ayrshire’s roughly 13 000 WASPI women who have been cheated out of their pension rights, forcing many to work on into older age, burned out, often caring for elderly and sick parents, denied time with grandchildren and becoming sick themselves, have for years now asked the UK Government to offer a little compensation for those losses. On 30th April 2024, in the Scottish Parliament, the First Minister, Humza Yousaf of the SNP, tabled a motion calling for the UK Government, which is responsible for pensions, to pay compensation in full. All of the 63 SNP and all of the Scottish … Continue reading 13 000 WASPI women in Ayrshire should know that Labour and Conservative candidates do not support their claim – the SNP does

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BBC & ITV are orchestrating a pile on

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By NMRN So BBC Debate night has included Ash Regan and Lorna Slater on their panel….of course they have. Preston tonight has the Labour branch office manager Anas Sarwar as a guest…of course it does. BBC QT tomorrow in Cambridge has an SNP MP on it’s panel…of course they do. Both the BBC & ITV are orchestrating a pile on during what is a time of mega over promoted troubled times for the SNP by the media….while we also see one of them, ITV, laying out the red carpet for Sarwar to do what he does best……playing politics…..to try and … Continue reading BBC & ITV are orchestrating a pile on

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The SNP government’s survival did not depend on Green votes only on their refusal to vote with this unholy Blue alliance

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From BBC Scotland today: The SNP government’s survival depended on Green votes David Henderson BBC Scotland political correspondent The chamber of the Scottish Parliament is an impressive place. More so on a day like today. Noisy too. There was a full house of MSPs. Notable among them, former FM Nicola Sturgeon. The debate today – on Motion 13005 – was a matter of political life and death. A vote of no confidence, with the survival of this Scottish government at stake. So it was a bit odd to see Humza Yousaf as its principal defender. He’s already lost his job. … Continue reading The SNP government’s survival did not depend on Green votes only on their refusal to vote with this unholy Blue alliance

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First poll since SNP/Green split suggests first tentative signs of SNP recovery

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By Professor John Robertson A YouGov poll of 1 034, 16+, with fieldwork on 26-29 April, has: For Westminster, Labour up 1 at 34%, from 33 in March; SNP up 2 from 31 to 33 and the Greens down one from 5 to 4. For Holyrood Constituency Vote, Labour stalled at 32; SNP up 2 from 31 to 33 and Greens down 1 from 5 to 4. For the regional/list vote, Labour stalled on 24; SNP up 1 from 22 to 23 and Greens down from 4 to 3. On whether the SNP was right to end the power sharing … Continue reading First poll since SNP/Green split suggests first tentative signs of SNP recovery