Category Archives: News

East Lothian Courier – 5 May 2022

  

I’m a book person more than a TV fan but my wife enjoys the soaps and accordingly I occasionally watch them. I was therefore intrigued when I received an e mail saying that there was to be product placement of Heineken 0% alcohol in the Woolpack and Rovers Return. Now I don’t want to spoil anyone’s viewing but I think… Read more »

MACASKILL CALLS ON STURGEON TO “COME CLEAN” OVER FERRIES CONTRACT

  

“SCOTTISH PUBLIC DESERVE ANSWERS TO KEY QUESTIONS” The former Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill MP has on Monday written to the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP demanding that she “come clean” and  provide “straight answers” to the questions about the contract signed by Scottish Ministers in relation to the yet to be completed Glen Sannox (801) and vessel 802 which are now over… Read more »

Partygate Inferno – Scotsman Article – 28 April 2022

  

Partygate’s burning up more than simply Boris Johnson’s political capital. The incessant drip of stories is fuelling the fire and he’s running out of road. The Tories can be ruthless when they view the leader as an electoral liability, as even Thatcher discovered. Previously though whilst the Prime Minister might go, the system remained unscathed. Not this time, now the… Read more »

Fuel Crisis Blame – Scotsman Article – 28 April 2022

  

Partygate may be the political chat but for most people it’s the fuel crisis that dominates. Johnson’s a sideshow, even war in Europe’s just a tragedy on their TV screen. For them, it’s the relentless grind of worrying whether they’ll be able to not just heat but power their home that afflicts. It’s much more than the simply the invidious… Read more »

The Distortion of Democracy – Scotsman Article – 21 April 2022

  

Boris Johnson’s regime is more and more akin to a kleptocracy. Elected not to improve the nation but instead enhance the wealth and privilege of its members and its core of powerful supporters.  The abuse evident in the unwillingness of so many cabinet members to declare whether they’ve non domiciled status. A simple question you might think in a party where grandees in years gone… Read more »

The Least Bad Option – Scotsman Article – 21 April 2022

  

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 »

Sunak’s Smear – Scotsman Article – 14 April 2022

  

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 »

Campaign Convention – Scotsman Article – 14 April 2022

  

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 »

Two CalMac Ferries May Be Scrapped – 11 April 2022

  

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 »

Sunak’s Failure – Scotsman Article – 7 April 2022

  

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 »