Tag: snp

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£30 thousand? Labour received £14 million in secret loans before an election

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Today BBC Scotland, with images of the former SNP Chief Executive and, of course, his wife Nicola Sturgeon, has: The SNP could face another probe into its finances after taking five years to declare thousands of pounds in loans from its former chief executive. The Electoral Commission said the party received two payments totalling £15,000 from Peter Murrell in 2018, but did not notify the watchdog until last year. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-67896063 Only at the very end, on the other probe, launched 54 months ago, re £600 000 of the SNP’s own money apparently vired from one heading to another, as many … Continue reading £30 thousand? Labour received £14 million in secret loans before an election

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If every ‘failure’ results in hostile media and political scrutiny, we will never encourage creativity, entrepreneurial thinking and risk-taking in how we deliver public services.

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stewartb BBC Scotland doesn’t miss a trick! On the Scotland page of the BBC News website today (4 January) there is this headline: ‘Nicola Sturgeon warns flagship care plan may not be meeting goals’. The article is based on a contribution the former FM gave to a BBC Radio 4 series earlier this week called ‘Fixing Britain’. Given the nature of the programmes (see later), I wonder (!) what prompted BBC Scotland to include this in its daily news/politics coverage? The article quotes a Tory politician in Scotland with a typical ‘SNPbad’ comment so might BBC Scotland have been given … Continue reading If every ‘failure’ results in hostile media and political scrutiny, we will never encourage creativity, entrepreneurial thinking and risk-taking in how we deliver public services.

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Why is SNP success in averting health strikes raising ‘fears for patient safety’ not worthy of comparison?

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The SNP in Government is often blamed for supposed failures to run the NHS: SNP accused of leaving A&E in a ‘shameful and unacceptable’ condition as 300,000 patients have waited more than four hours to be seen Daily Mail 3 days ago Nicola Sturgeon accused of diverting ‘jaw-dropping’ £17.6bn away from the NHS Daily Express in February 2023 Call for answers over SNP probe and NHS in crisis (not ‘crisis’) BBC Scotland in April 2023 The SNP Government has now averted action by all NHS unions, representing nurses, consultants, junior doctors, radiographers, physiotherapists, ambulance and support staff. The first three … Continue reading Why is SNP success in averting health strikes raising ‘fears for patient safety’ not worthy of comparison?

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When Wes Streeting puts a kilt on NHS reform

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Leah Gunn Barrett Alex Massie (Times December 31) says that Labour is a national party or it’s nothing. Labour will never be a national party. It’s an English party, headquartered in and concerned only about England. Scotland is an afterthought, and Scots know it. Massie shows his contempt for Scots when he claims a Labour win in England will make it respectable in Scotland, as though we can’t think for ourselves but must take our cues from our southern neighbour.  Massie is right about one thing. Boring and ruthless Keir Starmer has rooted out what remained of Labour’s working-class principles. … Continue reading When Wes Streeting puts a kilt on NHS reform

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‘My New Year’s Wish is for Scotland to put the failing UK out of its misery’

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I couldn’t put it better than or as well as, Leah Gunn Barrett: This was published in the December 30th Edinburgh Evening News. I wrote it in response to Ian Murray’s regular Thursday column, which was full of the usual drivel about how an English Labour government will be good for Scotland. Ian Murray promises Labour will go into the 2024 election year with a positive policy platform that will put Scotland’s interests first. When have we heard that one before?  He says, presumably with a straight face, that Keir Starmer has changed Labour into a credible alternative to the … Continue reading ‘My New Year’s Wish is for Scotland to put the failing UK out of its misery’

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We can’t end poverty when we’re trapped in the failing UK

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Leah Gunn Barrett This letter was published in The National on December 21st and explains why Scotland, a naturally wealthy nation, suffers from high levels of endemic poverty. The cure is simple – we must end our colonial status and restore our sovereignty. There’s been a chorus of criticism of the Scottish government over its recent budget from unionist politicians and media. But why should anyone be surprised over Scotland’s dismal state? The reason is our status as a de facto English colony.   As a colony, we don’t own our own resources so we can’t provide heat and power for the costs … Continue reading We can’t end poverty when we’re trapped in the failing UK

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Daily Record gets Sturgeon tax wrong in sad effort to malign her

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In the Record today: Nicola Sturgeon can avoid paying the new higher rate of tax announced in the budget despite earning up to £300,000 from a book deal. The former First Minister set up a company to manage the income from her lucrative deal with publishers Pan Macmillan earlier this year. Sturgeon is the sole director of the firm which will be subject to just 19 per cent corporation tax on any profits it makes rather than the new 45 per cent rate set by the SNP/Green government in last week’s budget. Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy MSP said: “Everyone already assumed that Nicola Sturgeon had … Continue reading Daily Record gets Sturgeon tax wrong in sad effort to malign her

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SNP’s Scotland seems very attractive to the world if you look at actual evidence, Chris Deerin

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From Ernst & Young on 19 June 2023: https://www.ey.com/en_uk/news/2023/06/scotlands-foreign-investment-grows-with-record-results Who is Chris Deerin really? Not just a journo. See this from October 2023: That’s according to research for a think tank. The Commission on School Reform says ministers must work with councils to reverse the trend. The Scottish government says it’s looking at challenges that influence attendance…..the figures are based on Freedom of Information requests from the Scottish local authorities who were able to respond to them. The figures suggest nearly one in three children are missing an average of one day a fortnight, while nearly 20% of high school pupils miss … Continue reading SNP’s Scotland seems very attractive to the world if you look at actual evidence, Chris Deerin

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Scotland’s drug deaths – handy summary on the real facts – Westminster responsibility, falling fast, Scottish Government acts

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Westminster is ultimately responsible for Scotland’s drug deaths Drug deaths fall by 21% in only one year as SNP policies begin to reverse long-term effects of decades of Tory/New Labour neglect Evidence emerges that significant drug deaths fall is largely due to Scottish Government programme first in world Drug deaths in England & Wales significantly under-reported according to UK Civil Service Significant falls in drug deaths among the young after 16 years of SNP rule Continue reading Scotland’s drug deaths – handy summary on the real facts – Westminster responsibility, falling fast, Scottish Government acts

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BBC Scotland woman journalists betray their own kind just to protect UK minister responsible for mass deaths!

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On the left, how BBC Scotland want you to remember Nicola Sturgeon’s much-praised performance in the pandemic with, on the right, the reality most of us should remember. The BBC Scotland report is unattributed but there are lots of senior women at Pacific Quay who might have selected a better headline had they a shred of decency in them. The report does go on, at the very end of course, to let a spokesperson for Ms Sturgeon to tell it like it was but the damage is done by then. Before that, we get line after line of Hancock’s vague, … Continue reading BBC Scotland woman journalists betray their own kind just to protect UK minister responsible for mass deaths!