Being the least bad option isn’t much of an electoral selling point. What does it say about candidate or party that they’re dependent on not being the other guy, rather than what they stand for or what they propose to do. It’s also deeply damaging for democracy as it encourages abstentionism, as well as fuelling cynicism about politics in general. Yet worryingly it’s becoming much more prevalent. The clearest example’s the current French Presidential election…. Read more »
Rishi Sunak’s recess has gone from bad to worse with the Fixed Penalty fine but even before then he was struggling. This now looks terminal. Whatever’s was said about his and his wife’s tax affairs, it’s certainly wasn’t a smear. Yet, that seemed his defence when interviewed by a tabloid paper known for it’s Tory sympathies. But that line hasn’t… Read more »
Protestations of a referendum in 2023 are met with increasing contempt, let alone scepticism. Whilst the SNP/Green Government have put the independence cause on the back burner, there’s stirrings in the ranks of the wider Yes movement. Recent marches and meetings show the life blood returning to the cause. Ironically and it’s entirely unintentional on the Governments part, it’s… Read more »
What a mess our public-run ferry services are in.Island communities bereft of a reliable service – sometimes any service.The last shipyard on the lower Clyde, Ferguson’s at Port Glasgow, is struggling to complete two ships.On top of this, the latest vessels for taxpayer-owned CalMac have been ordered from a Turkish yard.It wasn’t meant to be this way, when back in… Read more »
Rishi Sunak’s efforts to stem rising fuel costs are a miserable failure. The level of financial support’s entirely inadequate for those in dire need and the actions to mitigate further agony are paltry. There’s no recognition of the changed world in which we now live, perhaps understandable for someone who grew up a pampered rich boy and married into even… Read more »
There was an interesting blog from the Mull & Iona Ferry committee contrasting ferries CMAL have procured from a Turkish yard, with two comparable vessels ordered from the same shipbuilder for Norway. In a nutshell, the Norwegians have gotten more for less. Certainly, CMAL procurement methods need questioned but there remains whether we’re getting the right ferries. One of the… Read more »
Until we can get a Public inquiry into the ferries debacle let me lay out what I gleam happened and why blame firmly rests with CMAL and the Scottish Government not Ferguson Yard or Jim McColl. Vessels 801 and 802 were the wrong type of ships and weren’t wanted by Cal Mac let alone the communities they’re to serve. Dual… Read more »
The Chancellor simply confirmed what had become clear over recent months that the Tories will go long in this Parliament, with the next election not being held until 2024. That gives them time to try and get the cost of living crisis behind them, as its going to get worse, much worse, before any let up might allow even the… Read more »
Gas and electricity bills have been making folk swoon, if not faint. But these heating supplies are still subject to regulation. OFGEM can act and the Chancellor could direct them to do so. Some element of control therefore still remains, even if it may not seem any comfort to those currently despairing as to how they’ll manage to meet these… Read more »
The sacking of hardworking and long-serving crew by P&O and their replacement by low waged and non-unionised labour’s just the start of the journey. For Brexit Britain has reached its first port as it heads for Singapore on Thames and there’s worst places ahead, so baton down the hatches for stormy waters are coming. It’s the direction of travel on… Read more »
