Perhaps I should be grateful to John Swinney. Since 2007 Scotland’s Finance Secretary has spent £500 million on freezing council taxes. “By the end of the current Parliamentary term, [Band D] households will have saved £1,200 since the freeze was introduced in 2007.” So says the SNP press release which conveniently skates over the cost of this ‘saving’ and the cuts it has imposed on all local authorities.
Category: Politics (Page 3 of 8)
Should Scotland be an Independent Country? If we were asked that question in a school or college exam and we gave only the positive case for creating a new nation we would surely not expect to pass. Yet we are being asked to vote YES on the basis of only the most optimistic forecasts – on the pound and pensions, on oil revenues, the economy and the constitution, on welfare, education and defence, on speedy entry into the EU. All will be well according to the Scottish Government. Continue reading
“When Scotland is told you cannae dae that, you know what our answer’s gonnae be. We’re just, like, saying, ‘Aye we can.’”
There was an almost touching naivety about that smiling young face to camera on the news last night. Or it would be touching if it wasn’t such a chillingly simplistic rejection of all the complexities, all the cavernous unknowns, implied in the momentous decision Scotland will be making on Thursday. Continue reading
If you are visiting this blog post for the second time you will notice that I have changed the heading. If you have just arrived, I should explain that the original heading said In a state of hysteria Scotland risks making an irreversible decision based on the fever of the moment. I apologise for careless use of an emotive word (you will see from comments below that I have been criticised for implying that everyone voting Yes is acting out of hysteria and in blind faith). If you read my argument I hope you will see that is not what I intended, or said. But I do not think I was wrong to express alarm at the mood of the country which seemed to me to reach fever pitch with yesterday’s demonstration outside the BBC. Enough. Here is the post which has attracted more attention than most of my thoughts. It starts with a quote from an article in the Financial Times magazine. Continue reading
I am very sad to report the death of a good friend, Kerry Napuk. He was the inspiration for a community venture in Leith which survives as a testament to his vision, leadership and constant cajoling. This is one of those times when there is no clear dividing line between my private and public worlds so I am recording my memories of a remarkable man. Continue reading
An odd story caught my eye yesterday. A photograph posted on Facebook claimed to prove that Jim Murphy, the Labour MP for East Renfrewshire was ‘egged’ by his own ‘minder’. According to rumours flying round Facebook this was a set up intended to smear the Yes campaign whose tactics had forced him to abandon his soap box tour of Scotland campaigning for a No vote. Continue reading
Raindrops smear a blurry, bleary view of the Borders. I’m on the train, hurtling through what is still (so far) UK countryside, crossing the invisible line that divides Scotland from England. A red mist gathers as I flick through the Guardian, headlines on every page proclaiming why the independence referendum is (to me) such a dangerous, indulgent distraction from the real issues.
No fear of sleeping in these mornings. By 8.30 there’s a lusty knocking on the bedroom wall, nothing personal you understand, just a purposeful hammering and banging, drilling and pounding. I’m not complaining. They are knocking the old house into new shape and it’s good to hear sounds of life next door again. Continue reading
Food banks are brimming with good will this Christmas. The Trussell Trust has delivered food parcels to 60,000 people in desperate need of help during the festive season. While the government resolutely denies that welfare reforms are causing a dramatic increase in food poverty, the Department for Work and Pensions admits that delays to benefits payments have affected 32,000 people over the Christmas holiday. What would Charles Dickens make of it all? Continue reading
At San Francisco airport we are offered a choice. We can go through the bodyscanner or opt for a ‘thorough pat-down’. Without giving it much thought we follow everyone else through the microwave. My man’s scan triggers an alarm which means waiting for a male security officer and a ‘pat-down in the soft parts’. Continue reading
