Everyone’s a winner
Posted on
July 19, 2013 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Here’s a nice wee feelgood story to end the week, found by one of our covert field agents this afternoon. (Codename “Maw”.) Despite the extreme financial pressures on the British economy, the UK government has managed to stumble across a significant cash windfall – over half a billion pounds, in fact.
We’ll pass you over to the Fife edition of the Courier for the details.
Other media coverage of the issue appears to have overlooked the lottery aspect entirely. Scottish charities’ share of the money the government has decided to hang onto would have been £44.3m. Have a nice evening, folks – we’re Better Together.
Traditionally impoverished regions spend more per capita on the Lottery. I have no doubt Scotland falls into this category. As I have said before, it would actually be interesting to know what proportion returned to Scotland.
I bet it wouldn’t be pro rata either on population or spend.
The ‘short changing’ of Scotland is systemic in the British system.
As well as the 12p/£ tax they also syphon off an unspecified slice of the 28p/£ “good causes” money for the Big Lottery Fund to allocate to public bodies, supplementing (i.e. replacing) public spending.
Unbelievable!
I think with each passing day, I become more estranged when I see the Union flag. I really feel nothing for the British State now.
How can this nasty coalition just pocket all of that money, instead of just, say, dividing it up and handing a fair share to each hospital in the land. And these B******s want to give themselves a 6 grand pay rise this year too!
Seriously, how …has it come to this?
I’ve never bought a lottery ticket.
And these B******s want to give themselves a 6 grand pay rise this year too!
That’s unfair. None of them want to take the pay rise. They all deeply regret that the independent* body that decides these things is forcing the pay rise on them, but what can they do? They’re just going to have to put up with having more money. We all have to make sacrifices and this is theirs.
*Further proof that independence is a disastrous error
According to Douglas Walker, this is what Susan Boyle ‘said’ :
“We have still been able to retain our proud identity whilst being a part of Britain…
I share many of the same concerns that other folk do with regards to independence…
Economically, the costs of change will be vast and money that should be directed into important areas like hospitals, schools and the vulnerable in society will be swallowed by bureaucracy…Many people are struggling to make ends meet — how will they cope if prices escalate because of this change?…Welfare helps many of the most vulnerable in society. I don’t believe you should break what’s working…Then there’s the question of the military — what will become of the regiments?…Another concern is there is nothing in place with regards to the EU, plus there is the question of our currency…We should remain a part of Great Britain and instead of wasting money on this change, we should put it into the areas that need it the most.”
(Walker’s interpolations have been removed, but the emphases retained.)
How much of the above exists in whatever record Walker made during the interview?
Has anyone seen a more comprehensive and lucid summary of the BT ‘position’ previously, even in BT-funded leaflets/Press Releases etc?
We’re expected to believe that Susan Boyle said this off her own bat?
Any real journalist worth his salt should be onto this like a terrier doing what only-he-can-do with a hearth-trapped rat.
(Please, please, pretty-please…let it be Ian Bell on Sunday.)
O/T Caught sight of JL at Glasgow Airport on Thurs afternoon. She was in front of me with her clan going thru security. Dont know where she was going to but she surely deserves a break after giving all those TV and newspaper interviews. (I was going to Turkey.)
Euromillions odds make the UK lottery look like the alamo, just saying..
Just realised I’ve posted (11.28) on wrong thread.
Sorry.
If anyone’s in Ayr town-centre tomorrow, the SSP are joining with No2BT (Bedroom Tax) to collect signatures and do some leafleting later – meet at Wallace Tower, High St, midday-ish.
You’ll probably hear us before you see us, but don’t be shy – come and talk to us. If nothing else, you can be assured that you won’t be given a sales-pitch and presented with forms asking for your bank details. (We’re not very good at that stuff, but we are good at reminding you why you should – especially now – give more than a flying fuck about ‘politics’.)
I’ve been doing the UK lottery, one line, twice a week, since it started.
I just stopped.
Great article by Gerry Hassan in Hootsman to-day.
link to scotsman.com
Not such a good one by Alf young who is very silent about his involvement in Inverclyde.
Jiggsbro, it’s hard to feel sorry for millionaires not wanting that pay raise, but they’ll take it anyway
Off topic, but any nation that can produce a song as brilliant as Musette & Drums by Cocteau Twins is clearly capable of self-government.
This site is crap for putting URL links on.
Jiggsbro
But deep down, do they Jiggsbro? If it was added to their salary, are they going to hand it back, or will they verbally protest, but yet do nothing really.
This is Westminster, the most corrupt building in the whole of Western Europe. I think a few folk here would agree, when it comes to this wage rise, that the Politicians say one thing, but deep down, will gladly take the wage rise.
The more I hear of pocket-lining UK governments ripping those in-need off, the more I don’t want to be part of said UK. Scotland deserves better.
jiggsboro says
“That’s unfair. None of them want to take the pay rise. They all deeply regret that the independent* body that decides these things is forcing the pay rise on them, but what can they do? They’re just going to have to put up with having more money. We all have to make sacrifices and this is theirs.”
your right jiggs, we all have our cross to bear, and some people crosses are bigger than others,
the burden of lifting that huge payrise when inflicting the biggest reduction in benefits in the welfare states history must be giving them all the hives at picking up their paychecks
poor wee sowels maybe they could salve their consciences by giving their extra money (they dont need) to a foodbank for the people who like a (free good) eh?
whoosh
They say they SAVED money allotted for the Olympics??? Remind us again HOW MUCH it was SUPPOSED to cost, and how much it DID cost???
Does this affect the Euromillions tickets? Can’t believe they kept all that money. Greedy barstewards! DOn’t do the National Lottery but play Euromillions when the jackpot goes into the hundred million plus range.
I would recommend Mark Thomas comedy product, series 2 episode called lottery. It shows exactly what the “charity” money is being spent on.
“I would recommend Mark Thomas comedy product, series 2 episode called lottery. It shows exactly what the “charity” money is being spent on.”
Tsk. We recommend stuff with links around here:
link to youtube.com
Lottery tax receipts £7 billion. Has GERS missed Scotland’s £875,000.00 cut of this? Or will there be no Scottish lottery?
Gardham through the Looking Glass:
link to heraldscotland.com
Perhaps it’s the heat.
Ianbrotherhood,
good on you! Hope you have a good day and look forward to hearing how it went.
John Frum he come!
Bring many gift for braves. Bring guns of Patriots (him Solid Snake?) Speak with forked tongue to many tribes
Seeum story on Bbc.co.uk – Better Together Target Scottish Tribes (in um politics section)
Me no likeum. Me findum, punchem up bracket real good. Him no takeum piss. Anger great spirit!
No byeline but a good piece for the Courier, perhaps, despite the BTs and ACs, there is hope for journalism in Dundee.
Now then Rev Stu, given that a wee chewkie like Lord Leigh can manipulate the Lottery commission to the amount of 7.3 million squids, would it be fanciful to think that there is the remotest possibility funding for the MSM and BT could thereby somehow find a willing donor who’s been the recipient of such public funds? Nobody, but nobody seems to give a monkey’s curse where the money goes.
We’ve already had the experience of seeing ‘blood money’, as it a was labeled going into Darling’s coffers, who then said ‘feck-off’ I’m keeping it. Is this money laundering at a sophisticated level, or am I being over hasty? Full marks to Mark Thomas for digging away.
Often wondered why the shareholders of the Scotsman and the Herald were not kicking-up a stushie as their share value and investment plummeted – is there some kind of payolla operating?