The Living End
Something kept nagging at the back of our minds as we read today’s front-page lead story in Scotland On Sunday about a battle between finance secretary John Swinney and a number of Scottish councils.
And then we remembered what it was.
The row centred around Swinney’s plan to impose on councils a commitment to pay social care workers the living wage of £8.25 per hour, whether they were employed by the councils directly or private sector contractors.
The article notes that:
It then goes on to extensively quote Willie Young, finance committee convenor of the Labour-controlled Aberdeen City Council, on the subject:
The short version of that is that according to Young, it’s impossible for Swinney to impose a living-wage requirement on the hiring of care workers because it’d be in breach of EU laws, and every council in Scotland would resist the move in courts.
Which is all well and good, except that the party Mr Young represents appears to hold a rather different view.
For over a year and a half, and as recently as this morning (via deputy leader Alex Rowley on the BBC’s Sunday Politics Scotland), Scottish Labour have been stridently insisting that the Scottish Government COULD impose exactly such a requirement, and railing furiously against its explanations that it was impossible for exactly the reasons which are now being cited as true by Scottish Labour councils.
The branch office’s tame newspaper, the Daily Record, added its tuppence-worth back in May 2014 when a Labour proposal to that effect was voted down in Holyrood:
The Scottish Labour website “slammed” the SNP at the time for their “hypocrisy” in blocking the proposal, with spokesman James Kelly MSP calling it “utterly spineless” and demanding that the Nats “grow a backbone”.
Given that his party now appear to have completely reversed that position and are threatening to take John Swinney to court if he does the exact thing they wanted him to do just 19 months ago, we must confess ourselves confused as to what Labour’s official policy now is. If anyone can clear the matter up for us, we’d be very grateful.
They were going to use the mythical APD money to top up their wages. Simples.
Well they do have a record of voting against their own amendments.
You’d have thought the SoS would have been on the case. Maybe not, right enough. What about those nice people over at The Herald? Sigh.
If you read Labour North policy closely enough it says something like “we stand for SNPbad !”
Labour official policy, they’re making it up as they go along.
I believe that Labour are deperately seeking exactly that…
..a policy!
They’d better hurray, not long ’til May. 😀
I don’t know about a backbone for the Nats but Labour aren’t short on faces.
I may be missing something here (and probably am), but WHY DIDN’T the SNP introduce the living wage (to contractors) as proposed? Was it the EU regulations that prohibited them from doing so at that time? Have those regulations now changed?
Their day of reckoning is fast approaching..
“Was it the EU regulations that prohibited them from doing so at that time?”
Yes.
@ handandShrimp
Hugh Janus
They’re just running round in circles
bleating essenpee Badddd!!!
One wonders if their policies are just exactly the opposite of what the SNP’s are ??
Just go for the double in May…SNP X 2
So they wanted it and now its here they dont want it anymore duh ,Mr Swinney if they are going to get their knickers in a twist just wait until 2017 we will be giving them their p45`s anyway.
The Scottish Labour policy prism is multi-dimensional.
You have to appreciate what day it is and the person making the policy statement, as well as the topic itself, in order to pin point the branch’s position.
It’s a multi-policy system for an ever changing environment.
People know where they stand with Labour in Scotland.
I think I’ll wait until the Labour party’s next U-turn before I comment…it’s getting hard to keep up with them.
Labour Party policies are simply
“Everything she said plus 1”
If one was a political comedy sketch writer one couldn’t in their wildest imaginings, think up a comedic party like SLab. They’d say it was too outlandish and utterly unbelievable.
But that’s what Labour in Scotland want us to vote for?
It could be contended that Willie Young is,himself,a good argument against a minimum wage,never mind the living wage.
It’s dead simple, when it comes to the crunch, they’ll abstain!
I got as far as millionaire SLAB Cllr Willie Young and knew we were in for some more SLAB BS!
In relation to the EU Regulation that prohibits the policy being enacted I will bet that it wont be a Regulation that Cameron is negotiating over either.
Cllr Willie Young and SLAB are also twa faced, Just ask working Council Tenants in Aberdeen about the rent hikes they have had to swallow since the last Council Elections.
I could be wrong but it seems to me that John Swinney was trying to ensure councils were able to offer social service workers the living wage rate without actually making it mandatory (and therefore breaking EU legislation). What the motives are of the councils protesting against this can only be guessed at – looks like they’d rather throw up the chance to pay low paid workers the living wage in favour of another chance to scream SNP bad while protecting their own pay and conditions.
No wonder the SNP government are trying to ringfence funding received by councils, you couldn’t trust them to deliver anything. They will bleat and bleat about council cuts while accepting ridiculous salaries for themselves and wasting money on expenses and legal challenges. The low turn out of council elections means they feel entitled to proceed as they please and rely on the apathy of the electorate to act unchallenged
Perhaps all councillors should accept no more than the living wage themselves, I’m sure we would then have more than enough funds to run all our vital services
Labour one assumes fully supports the precarious working conditions of the ‘ precariat’ a huge new emergent social class that lacks seven forms of security according to the labour economist Guy Standing(2011,The Precariat- The New Dangerous Class)
He describes these as equivalent to citizen rights – labour market rights (government is not committed to full employment) ,employment rights(little protection against arbitrary dismissal) ,job rights (no stable niche in the labour market),work rights ( unhealthy, unsafe workplaces),skill reproduction rights (absence apprenticeships & re-training), income rights ( living wage),representation rights ( no collective voice) .
This is the UKOK economic plan beloved of New Labour and the legacy continues today with the current WM elite.
The Precariat in Scotland can vote in May as active citizens working as a collective,perhaps working towards a constitution ,a bill of rights,with accountability of our elected representatives at its heart. Vote for our party of independence and for a better Scotland.
Well, whatever rainbow of policies they have on any issue, Willie Young couldn’t be relied on to stick to any of them.
As a multi-millionaire, he’s in the game for himself. As a foot-in-mouth loose cannon, he’s not helpful to Labour. Keep it up, Willie!
I can confirm that Willie Young, labour councillor, property developer (a real one) and solicitor is one of the worst things that has ever happened to Aberdeen.
Unfortunately the immense damage he has done to Aberdeen will not be easily undone.
I hope he is consigned to the bin in the council elections, never to be seen again.
Leaving aside Labour’s (North British Accounting Unit) flip flopping, unless the EU rules have changed, why would Mr. Swinney think it legal to enforce a living wage now, when he knew he couldn’t previously?
My head hurts. Canvassjng is difficult when you argue against a Labour policy one week ,only to find that it is complety reversed the next.
Is this the idea then, to sow confusion so nobody knows exactly what they stand for or against at any given time ?
Ah but this millionaire counciller who is so desperate to become a MP is a total fruitcake. He blames every bad decision the Labour Party make on the SG, the Labour councils are so desperate to make the poor folk pay more in a time of austerity just so they can be pretendy politicians.
Aberdeen town centre now rates at the worst in Scotland, monstrosity after monstosity and now they have been given money. Cant imagine how many bookie shops and pound shops we will get now!!
Heard today on the Blab that its 45000’houses, losing track of how many they are building with the pack of gold from Dippys magic tree!!
Scottish labour making up their lists!
James Kelly in bronze medal position maybe?
New labour members can’t vote yet… 🙂
https://archive.is/fZup7
Swinney is squandering money by forcing labour controlled local authorities to pay hard working social care workers a living wage, the man is a complete idiot!
He should be spending money giving well off couples thinking of buying a house a gift of £6 000.
SNP have got twisted priorities, helping poorly paid people is despicable when they should be giving presents to the well off!
That woman Sturgeon attended a meeting for disabled people yesterday, shows her priorities, she should be working hard to renew trident, causing further mayhem in the Middl East and spreading lies and misinformation on accepting child refugees.
britnat councils threaten to sue?
Och, it’s all double Dutch to me, I’m away to ask J.K.Rowling, for her advice!.!
I’ve held a council contract in London for the last 4 years. The London Living Wage is indeed one of the clauses that covers every employee despite the face that our salaries are much higher. To not pay the Living Wage as a minimum is one of the grounds for Breach of Contract.
Dohh face = fact
Do as I say not as I do , this is mantra as followed by all of the (lack of ) opposition parties in Holyrood.
SLAB are the ‘A’ plus party at this , credit where credit’s due , they really are the ‘political stars’ of hypocrisy are they not.
Perhaps time J K R started official charity for them….after all she has donated to Labour in the past has she not .
Jeez – so many u-turns they’re meeting themselves on the road coming back!
This is doing my head in trying to understand
Firstly why did the SNP vote against it first time (if it eu law why do they think they will be allowed to do it this time)
As for labour I just went on google and typed pinocchio for anything they say
whats changed
Oh! Dear! What can the matter be?
Willie Young has been locked in the lavatory.
He’s been there from Monday to Saturday
Coming up with this load of old ….
Is Willie now saying white is the new black or black the new white? I can never tell which it is with Labour.
(PS; Rev you must be one of the very few folk left who still buy ‘Scotland on Sunday’ in any shape or form ..)
For myself I think Labour opposes all of these, raising minimum wage, paying the living wage, rent controls, land reform, proper banking oversight and trade union protection.
I will continue to think as such whatever Labour has or will say or the media will repeat. They will have to actively in government otherwise before I will change my opinion not while I have the last 20 years of experience.
Mad Jock… Wings reads the s***e so you don’t need to. ?
You put your policy in…
you take your policy out…
In out, in out,
change it all about…
They do the labour lies,
then get elected out…
Coz thats what their all about !!!
Ooooohhh…..the labour party….
ooooooohhh….the labour party..
Ooooooooohhhh..the labour party…
MP’s, MSP’s….out, out, OUT !!!
How these people were elected to anything is astonishing.
Never forget these are the very same Labour drones that stood side by side campaigning against the people of Scotland to benefit themselves.
Dialer taxi for Dialer!…
Commentator says YES! Penalty Celtic.
Shurley schome mishtake!
Then spends the last 2 minutes trashing the manager good old BBC.
Good game if your carping from the sidelines… 🙂
Willy Young?
May 2017
Councils pay £10 an hour. Stop the private contracts. Nae problem.
You can tell the Labour party don’t play Chess and John Swinney’s pretty good at it because that was “Mate”
Now Kezia’s going to have to get a new Compendium of games that isn’t all Ludo and Buckaroo
Should be fun if all the stupid Labour councils refuse to pay decent wages, I can hear it now “vote for your local labour councillor”
Within the next couple of elections there’ll be no Labour anybodys left doing anything anywhere
We’ll be millions and millions better off without these people ripping off their own folk
It’s obvious that the Labour party is in a death spiral, we should do the decent thing and put them out of their misery. We should vote them out of the Scottish Parliament and out the council’s of Scotland, it is the humane thing to do.
Hi is it possible that SNP have talked care contractors into paying the living wage i.e Living wage employee’s. I’m not sure what the process is but recently ( I work in the care sector) and out of the blue the company I work for began to pay living wage to everyone on their books who were not already getting it, it has caused some issues because now domestics and care workers are on the same rate where previously there was something like 80 pence and hour difference. I’m not saying that domestics, laundry maids are not entitled to living wage they are but I believe if you have worked/studied to achieve HNC/SVQ3 in Social care you should be paid a bit more because of the extra responsibilities working hands on with vulnerable people brings.
Young Traditional Musician of the Year is on Radio North Britain right now.
It’s heartening, moving stuff. These fabulously gifted youngsters are the true representatives of the very best that Scottish culture has to offer.
Cheers Ian B. 🙂
Iain… Humain… no fur them… fur us. 😉
O/T
Today is the final day to respond to the BBC for current affairs and TV news coverage in the devolved nations.
Online Survey at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/have_your_say
On the subject of councils and our money , remember last year a few of the councils resigned from COSLA . So does anyone know
A) who COSLA represent now?
B) what COSLA are proposing to bridge the gap between a council freeze and a proposed 18% hike in the public interest
C) who represents the public when COSLA and the Councillors and the SG are on opposing sides?
Looking at those Labour ‘policies’ above, I understand now how they rejected the Tories all those years then managed (voted) in the Referendum to hand Scotland to the Tories.
@Ian Brotherhood says: 31 January, 2016 at 5:47 pm:
“Young Traditional Musician of the Year is on Radio North Britain right now.
It’s heartening, moving stuff. These fabulously gifted youngsters are the true representatives of the very best that Scottish culture has to offer.”
Yeah! But! They’re not all playing the same wrong tune as the Yoons, Ian.
Nor are they all out of tune with each other like Labour.
@molly
I seem to remember cosla represents 28 out of the 32 councils,although can’t remember which ones resigned.
Bullies try to shut down new media.
Please share.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/iscot-magazine-an-appeal#/
German local authorities and states commonly demand that contractors abide by local collective wage agreements, which are freely negotiated between unions and employer federations. If it is okay in EU law to require bidders that are not covered by the agreement because they are not members of the employers federation to adhere to what in law is a private agreement between third parties, then surely the living wage should be no problem.
The only issue I can see is if you try to insert a clause that is dicriminatory or where the public body cannot show that it is reasonable against commonly accepted common good objectives. But the benefit of the livings wage has been demonstrated ad length
So having done a little research I found this.
‘the public authority can determine the contract terms at the outset and refuse to negotiate them with individual bidders.’
here
http://uk.practicallaw.com/2-386-8761?service=publicsector#a220387
If the contract terms include a T&C’s clause that require everyone employed in the fulfillment of the contract, either directly or indirectly, be paid the real living wage and have all the other benefits we take for granted, pensions et al, protected then any proposal that does not meet that requirement can be rejected as non-compliant.
John Swinney is entirely within his rights to offer Councils cash that is contingent on them including such a framework in their procurement processes. Make it a big enough wedge of cash and they will have little choice but to comply.
Even if you could not include such non-negotiable terms in the contract you could potentially include them in the MEAT (most economic advantage) criteria. If minimum T&C’s were a MEAT criteria with a 51% weighting then it would be a binary proposal. You could not win a tender without meeting them.
I very much like the non-legislative way the Scottish Government has driven the uptake of the living wage and John Swinney’s wheeze of making Local Authority funding contingent on compliance with Scottish Government requirements has the potential to really have an impact on the way business is done in Scotland in areas far outside the SG’s areas of competence.
OT
That magic number again. Guardian finds that 800,000 are missing from the electoral register since individual registration was introduced.
https://archive.is/5hWrK
This is probably in England and Wales though the article doesn’t actually say so. Eerily identical to the Scottish figure. What is it about 800,000? Is this some sort of cult figure like 666?
Nana. I already have my subscription to iScot Magazine… but just going to sort an annual Sub for the old dear. 😉
O/T
Was anyone here aware that iScot magazine were bullied out of the shopping centre in the run up to Christmas?
Malicious tweets were sent to the centre’s management & they were stopped from operating their pop-up shop. By preventing the shop they weren’t able to sell subscriptions as planned.
We can’t let the bullies win
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/iscot-magazine-an-appeal#/funders
Nana@6.58.
Thanks for that Nana, we subscribe already, but I think the yearly subscription is almost due.
Fantastic magazine.
O/T
Don’t know if its the weather but the I-player has been playing up all day, thank goodness we don’t pay the EBC a penny.
You could go doolally trying to follow SLabs reasoning and their ever changing policies. To keep it simple just think of what you’d do at any given time, day to day in fact, to make life difficult for the SNP and there you are. You say A and I’ll say B. No consideration given to what’s in the best interests of Scotland and the Scots: seems that nothing’s changed. It’s all about ousting the SNP and clinging onto their jobs in the hope that they’ll ultimately return to their heyday and be in total control once again. No chance of that!
Another issue raging at the moment of course is the rift between central and local Government. Council protests against John Swinney’s cuts and sanctions for any local authority that tries to raise funds by breaking the council tax freeze. The Council leaders voted 21-7 against his budget offer on Friday stating that ”it’s an austerity budget”. These complaints, such as cuts, sanctions and living wage, will multiply and escalate between now and May and will be reported daily, to great effect they hope in influencing the outcome of the elections, by their ScUM cronies.
John Swinney must be totally worn out between having to deal with the, in the main, Unionist controlled Councils in Scotland on the one hand and Westminster and the Scotland Bill on the other. John Swinney (and many prestigious economists) concerned that acceptance of the current Scotland Bill proposals will lead to Scotland losing billions and even more austerity measures having to be implemented. In essence Scotland ruined. The Unionists whilst complaining vociferously about ‘austerity cuts / budgets’ instead of supporting him accuse him of wanting the talks to fail to delay making unpopular choices. Happy for him to accept the fiscal proposals on offer now and then later castigate him for doing so? They are playing games; playing games with our children’s and grandchildren’s futures. It’s this type of behaviour that has led to us identifying who is who now, their sinister, vindictive motivations and resulted in us turning our backs on them for once and for all. Thank God for the Internet.
I for one can’t thank John Swinney enough. Can’t thank him enough for working his butt off to protect Scotland against the enemies, so many of them, ranged against us. There’s no other politician in the UK that can compare when it comes to competence and decency ….. with Alex and Nicola on a par of course.
Roll on May for our sakes but even more so for John Swinney when he’ll be rid of ONE of the thorns in his side.
O/T What’s this about Greg Moodie’s National cartoon for tomorrow being blocked? Anyone know more?
@Conan the Librarian –
Dunno, but if true, that’ll explain his tweet, approx 40 mins ago.
Do any of us need three guesses at who he may have featured in the cartoon?
@ Iab B
We have multiple choices this week… there are lots of litigious cu – unionists about.
O/T
I see that Bellacaledonia have published an article by Angela Haggerty …. ‘Without Fear or Favour.’
I’m on my IPad so can’t post it on here. Maybe someone else could do so (if it’s not been posted already).
Here you are Petra
http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2016/01/31/without-fear-or-favour/
I’m getting seriously…..seriously pissed off by the witch from Hogwarts.
Hi Conan – Greg tweeted this:
‘The lawyers have decided that tomorrow’s planned cartoon cannot be published.’
Followed by:
“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticise.” – Voltaire’
Check out his twitter TL – Melissa Iacone tweeted GM’s avatar with black sticker over his mouth.
Time for Je Suis Greg Moodie?
ps Anyone think that Spanner might be Ian (Not So) Smart (allegedly).
With Journalists being sacked on the whims of ‘football teams’, and critics of a very rich author reportedly being ‘bullied’, and then we have this, as pointed out above by lolysmum at 753pm;
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/iscot-magazine-an-appeal#/story
Is it not clear there are sinister forces at work across Scotland, censoring criticism, and preventing freedom of speech, where that might involve anyone being pro-scotland. This is getting quite out of hand.
Then to top it all, we have what appears to be censorship of a Greg Moodie cartoon. Wow, it isn’t just mad islamist terrorists who want to silence freedom of thought and speech, it seems there are certain people in Scotland who abuse their power to do so as well.
With each passing day, Scots are finding out who the REAL enemies are. Although I have been around for a long time, I am pretty shocked at the last week’s events. This cannot go on.
Seems that Herald publications are now feart of their own shadow – or is it the shadow of a ‘menacing author’?
Unionists showing their true colours for all to see. It isn’t pretty.
Don’t know if its a wind up but there is a Facebook pic doing the rounds of a Trident missile parked up at Harthill Services.
Could be total fake, on the other hand it could give a much needed facelift to what must be the worst motorway shithole
@Gary45% says: 31 January, 2016 at 7:54 pm:
”
O/T
Don’t know if its the weather but the I-player has been playing up all day, thank goodness we don’t pay the EBC a penny.”
Probably overloaded dealing with Wogan tributes.
Seems that Rowling has been playing the victim card her whole life.
She alleges she was bullied at school. They called her Rowling Pin. Aw the poor wee thing. Should have been at my school with regular fists in in noses etc. No victim complex here.
She then claims she was left penniless with two kids and had to claim off the social. Again playing the look at me victim card.
Now a billionaire she wants to still be the victim but exact revenge and bully those weaker than her. It’s a classic bullied turned bullier scenario. Attention seeking narcasist.
JK Rowling’s twitter “faves” and “likes” are a constant source of wonder. Quite incredibly, the defamation queen has “liked” this tweet.
Brian Spanner QC @BrianSpanner1 10h10 hours ago
“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”
Not for many in Scotland.
Orthodoxy.
Another couple of JK “likes”.
First one up says Brian Spanner is being held to account by the Scottish media.
Muriel Gray @ArtyBagger 8h8 hours ago
@BrianSpanner1 @PGtwweets @andrewgmorton @jk_rowling Good lesson that SM is publishing and we’re accountable for what we write.
And here’s the great man’s/woman’s/its defence of ‘I was only abusive when no one was following me’.
Brian Spanner QC @BrianSpanner1
@PGtwweets @ArtyBagger @andrewgmorton @jk_rowling when I wrote those things I had about 12 followers. I say this not to excuses not any way.
But that isn’t right. Brian called Mhairi Black “a nastly little fuck” in December last year. JK’s first tweet to Spanner was in August.
And this one’s a cracker.
Carl Besoul @besoul7 8h8 hours ago
It should be clear by now that @BrianSpanner1 ‘s main crime is being a Unionist- Nats everywhere going McGarry was right even when wrong
So what have we learned today, kids. Well, judging by today’s JK “likes”, the defamation queen defends your right to say absolutely anything about absolutely anyone, but only if you’re a member of the persecuted Unionist minority and have less than a couple of thousand twitter followers. Otherwise, prepare to be sued the fuck out of.
You don`t need magic powers to get anything you want,
with the money Rowling has got their is nothing in this world that is beyond her reach,
she could bankroll a president or destroy a president,
she has the power to force governments to do her bidding,
and yet her best friend on twitter is a hate preacher called `Brian Spanner`,
Rowling has surrounded herself or been surrounded by the very worst that Scotland has; Scottish Journalists and Muriel Gray,
Rowling sees Scotland through the prism of their hate of the real Scottish people,
Rowling needs to get herself out of that Blairite Yoon bubble,
my own thoughts is that she has been badly misused by the Scottish Establishment since she became famous.
@RL
No, its not pretty at all, but then they’re a nervy bunch these days.
The unionist establishment, their media and their media luvvies have nowhere to hide.
Their pledges, their statements, their promises and assurances made throughout the indyref campaign? All worthless, all dross and don’t they just know it. Just as they know they’ll be held to account for those failed pledges and assurances.
Their constant state of fear and agitation is telling enough. Their willingness to lash out only too predictable. Now they have to explain austerity UK to the electorate. They have to explain the lack of action from the UK govt. over the loss of steel jobs, the cutting back of defence contracts, the loss of HMRC jobs, the collapse of support for ‘UK’ oil industry, the treatment of Scotland’s MPs in commons, the dismissal (out of hand) of said representations amendments to the Scotland bill and the forcing of the UKs amendments on the Scottish electorate.
Labour, Conservative, Libdem, their media and commentariat, their campaigners. Every single one of them have a lot of explaining to do.
In their own time then.
I don’t think Jk has the first clue about Scotland or its culture. She inhabits a world of society ceilidhs and Disneyland Scotia
Maybe she should spend a week in a school in Easterhouse! Nae Polite upper class Harry Potters there. I am afraid she is devoid of any reality. The company she keeps are one dimensional Brits who want to keep people like us in our place. The Labour party she allegedly supports is Brown and Blairs Tory lite. She is a soft Tory and a hardline Brit.
How dare we be Scottish it’s just outrageous that we don’t want Wm rule.
Macart says:
“Their pledges, their statements, their promises and assurances made throughout the indyref campaign? All worthless, all dross and don’t they just know it.”
Yes, I too believe that explains a great deal. They took a huge gamble of lying and cheating just to win. Perhaps they didn’t think about the consequences beyond achieving the win. Perhaps they thought their opposition would crumble completely. Perhaps they didn’t care.
However they know what they did, and when we didn’t go away but actually kept growing in strength and influence, they really really lost the plot! Consumed with bitterness and anger, they have gone from bad to worse.
With any luck they will have burnt themselves out by IndyRef2!
Having previously mentioned the lack of gutsy material in The National to Petra.
I will have a look at it tomorrow, if it is not up to scratch, then I will happily promote the I-Scot as it is a more than capable replacement.
If The National hasn’t grown a pair tomorrow, everyone stick your money in the I-Scot.”it does what it says”
Robert@9.41
Thanks for that. I thought I was going to have to go for my internet providers jugular.
I will give it a few days.
O/T
https://www.sundaypost.com/inside-the-sunday-edition/major-snp-donor-at-the-centre-of-tax-haven-row/
I’m sorry but I’m really peed off about yet another MSM smear.
Sandy Adam is an absolute gent, he really is. He’s a gem. This guy has done so much for other people unheralded. He’s unassuming & generous. This is from personal experience.
Sandy Adam is a great supporter of Independence, locally & nationally. You’ll see his ads in the National for Springfield Properties.
That he’s being attacked because he supports Independence has really riled me.
DC Thomson Bastards – they’ll take his adverts in the P&J though.
The sad thing about JK is that she is keeping down the very people that gave her the financially powerful position, her place among the “elite” british. People buy her scrievins to read and escape the existence that she so much wants them to remain in, very british!
What actual fact based argument has she made for her stance on her “adoptive” countries political autonomy?
Heard the saying so many times but never so apt till now, ” power gone tae her head!”
When it comes to insight, opinion pieces, informative articles and a bit of fun iScot has it all (including regular columns from Derek B and WGD).
I just wish everyone would buy it and then spread it around.
@galamcennalath
They’ve grown as defensive and aggressive as all get out and that’s telling GM.
Pure and simple there has been no proven advantage to remaining within the union. Its not mounting evidence, its a mountain of evidence. They lied to retain their status quo and their lies have cost people their jobs, their security and for the moment their futures.
Now they get to explain this state of affairs to those folks who have lost so much.
SNP bad doesn’t cut it. Their promises – better together, safer, faster devolution with nothing ‘off the table’, economic security, job security, mutual respect, a family of nations.
Over to them then.
OT while I catch up on postings.
Got in almost a panic tonight while submitting my accounts to CoHo as a micro-entity. Why? Because it was so easy, easier than last year, and I’ve been submitting online for years. Was I doing something wrong, I must have been! But no, it’s fine. I’ve now got a lesiurely hour or more, rather than frantically looking at the clock getting them in before midnight to avoid a £150 penalty.
Which brings me to my point. I want a clone of the CoHo website for Independent Scotland. BUT will we get one? Nowhere in the YES campaign was this type of small detail made clear, not in the Q&A section of the White Paper either.
Now, as an over 40 year Indy supporter I can take a fair bit of disruption and change for Indy, but there’s a lot of people while sympathetic to Indy, were afraid of change.
The concentration was on economy, currency, EU, but perhaps it’s a whole load of litttle things that put people off, fear, uncertainty, doubt – not from Project Fear, but from themselves.
So what I think is needed is a whole load of Q&A for the minor details, never mind the big issues.
Q. Will iScotland have a clone of Company House software?
A. Hopefully YES.
Q. Will iScotland have SAO (Self Assessment Online) same as now?
A. Well, again hopefully yes, though revenues may be simplified eventually.
It will not have escaped people that we’re in an election year in Scotland, and the SNP are riding high. Since the start of January we’ve had repeated SNP bad stories. The timing is no coincidence, given that’s when the SNP started its campaign. Expect nothing else until the elections take place. Smear smear smear.
In addition to my earlier post re Sandy Adam, can I just say I’m dreading the build-up to the May election.
We’d the Whitford smear earlier this week which was only buried by the McGarry/Jakey spat.
How much effort, money & research by the MSM is going to go into trying to find skeletons in the closets of anyone associated with the campaign for Independence.
It’s going to be non-stop attrition.
@TheWealthOfNations
Good work, I wasn’t sure about that. But of course, if ScotGov puts out a tender for a contract for work, that’s different. It has to allow competition from all over the EU, so can’t put in any conditions that discriminate against any EU member state, if they for instance do not have a living wage requirement.
But business totally between Government or Councils, has no such EU competitive requirement.
I want to confess to having read and enjoyed all of the potter books. That said I’m speechless at this whole episode playing out in front of us all.
JKR has a lot of the traits that someone with Munchaunsen syndrome..without actually hurting anyone physically.
m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munchausen_syndrome
She seems to revel in her power, especially when the cameras are rolling. When she has her victim in front of the “world” she then plays her trump card. Also appears to cry to gain sympathy…poor me,dreadful marriage,not suing for the money and on and on.
Ruby put up loads of links to some of her previous cries of I’m going to sue. In almost all instances a donation was given to her favoured charity. I am saddened by her attitude to a nation who took her to their hearts. Will never look on her as a successful woman without wondering,who she stomped on to get there! So sad she has fallen so far into the gutter when she could have not only had the millions but also and more importantly….respect from those who put her where she is by buying her books.
…the union is finished. It is only a matter of when.
It will be difficult for any future Scottish government to work with a rUK government/Whitehall who will continue to undermine their neighbour to their own advantage whenever possible. I stress I refer to the neoliberal, warmongering elitist unionist and not the general public.
Oops posted this on the wrong thread…got so many Windows open I used the wrong one…I blame the SNP for my stupidity
😉
SNPX2
New Herald scandal: SNPbad Monday Torrance has been replaced by luxury flights.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CaFdo1-W0AEn3GS.png:large
A touching tribute from The Herald.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2PHxk3hCsQU/Vq6gpVOY4HI/AAAAAAAAAWw/JR8Mgwi9834/s1600/Farewell-to-a-national-treasure.png
“with the money Rowling has got their is nothing in this world that is beyond her reach”
……..
The above comment has a few things wrong with it (can’t remember who posted it, sorry).
Compassion
Empathy
Happiness
Humility
Dignity
Humanity
Integrity…..just to name a few.
She can sue me for all i have, she can chase me with an army of lawyers for the rest of my days on earth, but you know what, at the end of the day, she would still not have a single thing on that list, but i will still have every single one of them because of the person i am.
THAT makes me a MILLION times better than she will EVER be, and that knowledge makes me a happy camper.
Must sting huh, JK ?
Just a thought… But maybe this is a carefully laid trap by the SNP?
Another nail in the coffin of SLAB!
IvMoz says:
31 January, 2016 at 10:41 pm.
“Sandy Adam is an absolute gent, he really is. He’s a gem. This guy has done so much for other people unheralded. He’s unassuming & generous. This is from personal experience.
Sandy Adam is a great supporter of Independence, locally & nationally. You’ll see his ads in the National for Springfield Properties.
That he’s being attacked because he supports Independence has really riled me.
DC Thomson Bastards – they’ll take his adverts in the P&J though.”
They will also ignore the fact he sponsoring some young individuals who might well be part of cough cough ahem Team GB for the Rio Olympics.
@imoz 10.41
Agreed, Sandy Adams a real gent and all round nice guy – canvassed with him in Forres during the referendum where he was overall campaign manager
REV
Interesting point a bit further down that article about the Labour Party keeping their property off-shore in a tax haven – not only does it appear hypocritical for them to criticise Sandy BUT
If they are not disclosing rent paid for their HQ this may point to a huge hidden and unreported donation to Labour from foreign sources unknown
Nice to know that the Labour Party is with the Osbourne and Cameron families and the 1% that own everything in keeping their assets and income offshore so it cannot be taxed
Think I will send a wee complaint to electoral commission before turning in
PS did anyone notice the great front page in National yesterday? Must have pissed off all the so-called sports commentators in the UKOK State and Corporate BUM media
Cadogan Enright
How do you keep your property off shore if you’ve been kept afloat by cheap Co op loans ?
Reasons why you may be committed to an asylum
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CaEpt6YWcAAu4nT.jpg
They forgot one,
leaving your daughter in a pub!
The one about novel reading? were they prophecying JK Rowling?
oh hush my mouth.
After 149 years the Canadian Guelph Mercury has had it’s last print run, due the changing face of media and also technology.
People came down to the Newspaper building to say their fond farewells to the staff and the building and some to even hug the building.
Certain shaky newspapers here would not be missed if they closed up shop tomorrow. It would a case of going along to tell the lot of them you hope that the door hits their arse on the way out, and some to even piss on the building.
Well if you give it out you must be prepared to take it when it’s handed back.
Could it be that the right hand of the branch office of the Branch Office doesn’t know what the Branch Office’s left hand is doing?
Also, (please correct me if I’m wrong, because I’m not sure about this but…)
Is it a ‘SANCTION’ against the councils if they break the pledged ‘council tax freeze’ when in fact it would be that they do not get to enjoy the ‘INCENTIVE PAYMENT’ of c.£1,000,000 which the Scottish Government gives the local councils to help them continue operating the council tax freeze?
Unfair, inaccurate headlines? Well, that definitly wouldn’t be a surprise!
LOL …the Scottish Labour Party. A motley crew stuck in a lifeboat lost in the wilderness of the political sea, and where each member has an oar, and without guidance, either face each other, or sit back to back, but each just pointing in different directions before paddling furiously to try and get there.
And instead of going anywhere …the poor boat just goes around in circles.
Maybe someone should ask ship captain, Kezia Dugdale what the great plan is?
We wait with abated breath…
Yesindyref2 10.58,
I get exactly what you’re saying.People need to know that everything won’t turn into a shambles the day after a Yes vote.They want to know how it will all work on a practical level on day one.But this is a confidence thing.We have to explain that after a Yes vote there will be a transition period and that we,the Scots,are more than capable of introducing a smooth running Scottish based system in that time.If people don’t have that confidence in their fellow Scots to make things work,they won’t vote for Indy regardless of what you tell them about tax assessment,DVLA,power supply and everything else.We mustn’t get bogged down in detail,but we must reassure people we can make it work.Tricky,given our hostile media,but we have to keep at it.
How did a clown like Willie Young get to be a multi millionaire?
Love it when he appears on STV, pure entertainment, I mind him close to tears announcing Alex Salmond is a Bully.
Young represents what is the Labour party, corrupt, no policy except hate the SNP, Spin, and wealthy ‘socialist’
O/T links
http://www.alexsalmond.scot/press-releases/2016/1/31/alex-salmond-receives-sabino-arana-award-in-bilbao
http://www.snp.org/more_powers_and_a_fair_deal_for_scotland
http://www.scottishenergynews.com/uk-will-rue-cost-of-missed-carbon-capture-opportunity-warns-scots-expert/
https://www.energyvoice.com/opinion/100359/opinion-we-must-grasp-renewables-opportunity/
O/T links
https://www.facebook.com/StevenPatersonSNP
https://www.politicshome.com/foreign-and-defence/articles/story/labour-%E2%80%98could-boycott-commons-trident-vote-stave-internal
http://www.globalresearch.ca/cameron-desperate-to-stop-scandal-as-secret-plans-to-sell-the-national-health-service-are-discovered/5504306
http://www.thecanary.co/2016/01/31/hsbc-scammed-1billion-british-high-street-shoppers-media-blackout-continues/
IvMoz, the one thing for sure is that Mr Adams will no longer give the Sunday Post his advertising and hopefully many of his friends will find they no longer wish to use DC Thompson as advertisers either.
The entire media of Scotland has a death wish – it would be best if that would happen sooner rather than later.
Nana says:
Thanks. As always I enjoy your links and feel better informed by them.
http://www.snp.org/more_powers_and_a_fair_deal_for_scotland
Swinney – “These powers formed a key part of the UK Government’s prospectus at the referendum, and now that promise must be honoured. …. I have read and re-read the famous ‘Vow’ and cannot find the clause that reads: ‘Heads the UK wins; tails Scotland loses’. This wasn’t the Vow; it’s not Smith and we will not sign any deal which does that.”
Tough talk from JS. OK, what are the SNP going to do if/when further devolution isn’t delivered in a fair and acceptable form?
Two things struck me this morning with regard to recent Media events
1)The relentless positivity for Scotland by the independence movement is winning the argument hands down in the Meeja and
2)Todays announcement (BBC Shortbread radio)that Westminster is to come back to the SG with a set of revised Tax raising proposals also means we are winning on a political level.
Nearly over the line..next time though!
HaggisHunter says:
1 February, 2016 at 7:58 am
How did a clown like Willie Young get to be a multi millionaire?
The usual reasons:
Wealthy parents, or sheer, dumb luck.
@galamcennalath here’s a few more links before Rev puts up a new thread.
https://www.holyrood.com/articles/editors-note/what-does-fallout-over-council-budgets-mean-future-local-authorities?
Good old bribery and corruption…
https://cms.fightforthefuture.org/japan/
http://pr.aljazeera.com/post/138268417205/hans-blix-tells-upfront-hes-doubtful-isil
Apologies to anyone I didn’t reply to last evening. Bit frazzled at the moment, doing a spot of nursing.
Westminster is rumoured to be offering a new ‘better’ deal to the SG to avoid a refusal over the powers that the ‘myth’ commission recommended.
Swinney & Sturgeon should still refuse and in the meantime boot the carping lone ranger I.Murray into the long grass, what’s he like?
PS:
List votes as per Prof Curtis in The National.
https://archive.is/mMLOy
SNP x 2
The Isolator says:
1 February, 2016 at 9:36 am
2)Todays announcement (BBC Shortbread radio)that Westminster is to come back to the SG with a set of revised Tax raising proposals also means we are winning on a political level.
Should the proposed financial arrangement collapse (and there is a 50:50 chance IMO), both sides will be desperate to avoid being seen as the cause:
The WM line:
“We tried hard, this is the strongest devolution agreement on the planet we offer, SNP ungrateful, SNP don’t want more powers, SNP bad blah blah blah”.
The SG line:
“We tried to reason with them, we gave them a chance to fulfil all the promises made, to honour the vow. The current deal on offer is detrimental to Scotland etc etc”.
Coming soon?
Who knows, as I said at the mo it’s 50:50. If the financial arrangement offer is rejected, then it will come down, as ever, to a matter of trust. Then we will see who gets the blame. Worth remembering at this stage that only 9% of scots appear to believe the Vow was honoured. For this reason, the SNP have to play hard ball, and I mean really hard ball, and be ready to walk away, which they can do at any stage now.
The Isolator says:
“The relentless positivity for Scotland by the independence movement is winning”
I agree. There are times when we all feel the Yoon negativity should be tackled head on. Always, when I calm down and look at the progress, positivity is winning.
It’s almost like the two side talk past one another. One full of bitterness, anger and grievance – the other largely ignoring this, staying ever positive, and moving forward.
call me dave says:
New deal info — such as it is — here.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-35458650
The spanners wont be pleased.
call me dave says:
“Westminster is rumoured to be offering a new ‘better’ deal to the SG to avoid a refusal over the powers that the ‘myth’ commission recommended.
Swinney & Sturgeon should still refuse”
The powers fall far short of the Vow, that is for sure. However, IF the fiscal arrangements are acceptable, then it would be very difficult for the SNP to not take even these limited powers.
I trust Swinney’s judgement.
How did a clown like Willie Young get to be a multi millionaire?
The usual reasons:
Wealthy parents, or sheer, dumb luck.
He’s a conveyancing lawyer in his 50’s and he’s built up a tasty house rental portfolio, as the great socialist workers of our red tory era do do.
Aberdeen has a very odd house price history, early 90’s cheap as chips, boom and boom and now its stopped dead. Aberdeen city council’s SLab/unionist owned but have built almost no social housing, making Aberdeen rental a gold mine, ask Wullie. Aberdeen developers like Stewart Milne basically took over social house building in the north east making himself a very rich builder and virtually all of this vast wealth accumulation under UKOK red tory rein, take a bow Crash Gordon etc
Toryboy world wont build affordable social housing and if red toryboy world only pretend to, its a great way to make a lot of money very quickly. You can even buy AFC and have red tories like Wullie in the directors box, for a treat.
mike cassidy says:
1 February, 2016 at 9:57 am
New deal info — such as it is — here.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-35458650
The spanners wont be pleased.
Aye but this is all part of the grand posturing. Public perception is everything. WM trying to look reasonable by this demonstration of compromise. I wouldn’t be surprised if this second offer was part of their cunning plan all along. We know it is bullshit, but the SG have to hold fire and respond accordingly and consider each revision. The bottom line is if it is not fair for Scotland, reject.
In case you missed the comparison, their press with our press: wp.me/p4fd9j-4b8
Jakey says nothing will make her leave Scotland except Independence
So there is hope
As others have said…
Scotland will flourish with independence.
We will watch our own backs, we will continue to be suspicious of other nations motives, until we have equal understanding and grown up negotiations.
Dr Jim says:
“Jakey says nothing will make her leave Scotland except Independence”
… so, it’s only a matter of when, not if? 😉
Didn’t Dame Moan also say she would leave Scotland too if we voted YES—– and then she left anyway.
Personally she needs the £300 a day at the old House of Lords and a subsidised meal.
Does she keep a house here so she can vote in INDY2?
Nice that people like JK love Scotland only on their own personal terms. I.E if it leaves the Yooouk then she will leave Scotland. I thought love of ones adopted nation was unconditional. She wants to leave if the people who live in Scotland don’t agree with her.
We are all here despite the majority of Scotland voting no. so who is small minded bitter and disloyal?
Luigi @ 10:14
“The spanners wont be pleased.”
Thanks Luigi. When I went into my Imperial toolbox this morning I noticed my UNC (Unified National Coarse) spanners, made appropriately by a Birmingham company called King Dick, looked a bit dull.
Grouse Beater says:
1 February, 2016 at 10:27 am
In case you missed the comparison, their press with our press:
Will there ever be a UK movie drama made about paedophilia and the BBC and Westminster?
What happened in Boston is broadly similar to the BBC but all we really had is, scrapped trials, establishment paedophiles only exposed after they die, shrugs, “how awful,” “that’s Jim for you,” “it was a different time,” shut it.
Small wonder that former Slab MP & “deadwood” wannabe MSP Thomas Docherty, whose career has come & gone without me ever noticing the doughball, calls fellow Slab MSP’s, MP’s (there is only wan) & toon cooncil placemen, “deadwood!”
It certainly takes wan tae know wan, a job for Rentokil methinks.
While we have had Labour has busily demanding over the last few years that the Scottish Government should make all companies bidding for Government contracts pay he Living wage.
Its a different story when it comes to Labour Councils, as far as they are concerned it is really bad that the Scottish Government should impose the living wage of £8.25 per hour for Social care workers on on councils.
You know undermining local democracy and all that.
@Graham MacLure
I’ve got a king dick spanner too! A 13mm ring type, ideal for the hex nuts on the toilet seat … 🙂
Project fear made it an essential tool.
PS:
Hope Swinney and Sturgeon keep their lips pursed as the latest UK medicine on offer may not be good for us even with a coating of sugar.
PPS:
Clyde tunnel needing £27M but the SG will find the money down the back of the sofa says Glasgow City Council… maybe.
https://archive.is/dUhl1
Graham McClure 11.13
If your spanner is looking dull,
imagine how my King Dick ratchet podger feels.
https://www.alanwadkinstoolstore.co.uk/hand-tools-c1/spanners-c56/ratchet-podger-spanners-various-sizes-p26328/s28831?gclid=CNi3_rvB1soCFScFwwodXSgCDg.
Must stop listening to “Round The Horne”!
They are out just like all unionists to fill their pockets before they get turfed out by us,by voting No all we get is fleeced so prepare yourself Scotland thanks to your stupidity we will be robbed faster and harder than ever before,because they know the clock is ticking,thanks no voters you clowns.
ot can anybody give me a reason why we should not use wind power renewable energy today ?
Especially today Derek 🙂
My, My opposition councillors in angus are certainly getting their nickers in a twist as councillor likens John Swinney’s council finance policy to ‘Germany in the era of the Third Reich’ – as Opposition councillors in Angus have seen plans to put up a council tax freeze-busting budget “torpedoed”.
The architects of an alternative spending plan have accused the Scottish
Government of “bully-boy tactics” after revealing that a council tax hike of 18% would be required just to break even in the face of financial penalties which would follow any move to raise council tax.
Critics have attacked the Scottish Government over ts “tyranny” over the finance settlement, with one councillor labelling it the “democracy of Germany
in the Third Reich”.
His comment was described as “beneath contempt” by the Scottish Government.
Carnoustie councillor Bill Bowles — who briefly became a member of the SNP last year — said work had been going on for some time to deliver an alternative budget which would introduce a modest council tax rise in a bid to stave off
threats to services.
“We were looking at a 5% increase and could have lived with the loss of £1.4 million of council tax freeze support,” he said.
“But the draconian penalties which would be inflicted mean Angus Council would lose not only the council tax freeze support (£1.4m) and teacher number support (£1.83m) but their share of health and social care integration funding (£5m) as well.
“This means that we would need to propose an increase of around 18% just to break even.”
He went on: “I am disgusted that (finance secretary) Mr Swinney should find it acceptable to reduce local authority budgets, attempt to put all the blame on
Westminster, and then propose to withhold massive amounts of allocated moneys if councils step out of line and refuse to bow to his demands.
“The only people who are being affected by these actions are the young, elderly and less well-off.
“If this is democracy in action then the last time it was seen to work so effectively was in Germany in the era of the Third Reich.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Comments such as this are beneath contempt.”
Arbroath opposition councillor David Fairweather said: “This has torpedoed our plans completely.
“This dictatorial attempt by the SNP Government over our budget settlement is a devastating blow to the residents of Angus who will see essential services eroded further or lost completely.
“For us now to put forward an alternative budget is nigh near impossible and I am sure the public will see this tyrannical SNP stance for what it is.”
The Angus budget will now be set on February 18 after the authority decided to move it back a week to allow work to take place on the detail of addressing the funding gap beyond the savings package already being considered.
Their are 1223 councillors in Scotland,
New York has double the population and has 51 councillors.
1223 X £16,000 = £19,568,000 (rough estimate of wages),
surely cutting councillors instead of hard working staff is the way to go.
The n@zi / undemocratic stuff from ‘in too deep’ councillors, proves they are out of touch.
How many voters in their own wards placed an even greater trust in the SNP?
John Swinney is trusted to run the whole country not just your budgets..cheeky buggers…
The n*zi stuff from unionist politicians, and their bully bunch, proves their level of social intelligence.
Let’s hope these types (both n?zi and unionist) never return to power.
See JKR still at it this morning calling someone Braveheart on twitter for posting up a lot of stuff about her with allegedly beside it.
She is also getting support from Laura Laverne a BBC/ music journalist about women being abused on twitter – oh the irony- and how NMcG had her arse handed to her on a plate.
I am finding it very difficult to keep positive about it – the stench of money, power and privilege is all over this.
“Jakey says nothing will make her leave Scotland except Independence”
I think that is the perfect definition of a win win situation.
Liz 12.59
Feck me!
Lauren Laverne is joining the spannerati.
Say it aint so!
Well, maybe she’ll read out some spannerisms on her new late night Woman’s Hour programme.
American polis in Glasgow learning how not to kill everybody from our useless Scottish polis
Amazing how good at stuff other nations say we are innit
One of my pals tells me Mrs JK Murray’s Leylandii hedge is taking a fair battering from Storm Henry this afternoon.
Hard hats on. 🙁
liz says:
“music journalist about women being abused on twitter – oh the irony- and how NMcG had her arse handed to her on a plate.”
Given what Spanner has been tweeting, I can’t think anything more ironic! This is all about Spanner and those ‘hard of thinking’ folks who wallow in the filth with him. For any woman to take his side seems incomprehensible.
Many hypothesise about who Spanner is. We must remember those who know the identity with certainty may communicate with Spanner in other ways including with his ‘real’ Twitter persona.
I do wonder (and posted a comment yesterday) if McGarry is aware of the identity and the so called initial tweet was in fact a response to something Spanner had just said it his ‘real’ account.
A quick look at other Twitter activity around then does show some negative tweeting concerning McGarry.
Dr Jim @ 1.15pm
Thanks for sharing, good to know. Our police get constant criticism from every quarter. I think they have a very hard job, and by and large do it well.
I know any rally I’ve attended in Glasgow is full of good humour, and they take a very laid back approach, standing casually around the edges, just chatting.
I’m also aware our police were commended for their handling of the miners strikes here, even when they got heated. English police seemed to have a different approach.
Let’s hope all these folk that have such little regard for people pursuing Independence in this country, are sourcing some packing boxes sooner rather than later.
Can’t come quick enough to rid ourselves of these arrogant, self important, nasty types.
I liked Grouse Beaters comment, to think if I lived in another country, like Catalonia, and had the nerve to belittle them for seeking independence.
@ Scot Finlayson says at 12:45 pm … ”Their are 1223 councillors in Scotland. New York has double the population and has 51 councillors. 1223 X £16,000 = £19,568,000 (rough estimate of wages). Surely cutting councillors instead of hard working staff is the way to go.”
Exactly Scot and I can think of numerous ways that the councils could save money … far too many to list on here. Some such as in Renfrewshire have made decisions that have absolutely destroyed the local economy. High time that the electorate took a greater interest in exactly what they’re doing / getting up to for the wage that they receive.
An interesting article from G A Ponsonby – Newsnet: ‘Scottish Labour treated like a protected species on U-turns.’
”What is Scottish Labour policy on the council tax freeze? I have to admit that I don’t know. I don’t think anyone does. The policy changes depending on the wind …… I don’t think I’ve ever seen a political party adopt so many different positions on one issue. Indeed, as witnessed by the clip below, senior Scottish Labour MSPs can both claim to have always opposed the freeze and never to have opposed the freeze.”
‘Jackie Baillie caught lying over council tax freeze’
http://newsnet.scot/?p=116342
Dr John Robertson’s analysis of TV news in the run-up to the Scottish Parliamentary Elections in May. Part 3 – January 22 – 27.
‘TV news must exhibit more credible research on major.’ issues
http://newsnet.scot/?p=116346
@Peter McCulloch says: 1 February, 2016 at 12:20 pm:
“My, My opposition councillors in angus are certainly getting their nickers in a twist as councillor likens John Swinney’s council finance policy to ‘Germany in the era of the Third Reich’ – as Opposition councillors in Angus have seen plans to put up a council tax freeze-busting budget “torpedoed”.”
It would be difficult to find a more criminally insane group of people outside of Carstairs Mental Hospital & Penitentiary than that group of councillors. Either they are stark raving mad or they think the people who elected them are.
Did these raving loonies really imagine they would get away with raising the Council Tax and yet retain all the various grants provided by the Scottish taxpayer, (courtesy of the SG), as compensation for freezing the tax?
Those various grants were made specifically as compensation for freezing the Council tax? They were not a SG given free funding package.
Every girning thing they complain of being removed is part of the extra funding they get for freezing the council tax.
In fact independent sources have averred that the SG were over generous and more than compensated for the loss of income from Council Tax.
This:
https://twitter.com/laurenlaverne/status/694078323371216896
liz says:
1 February,2016 at 12:59
“She is also getting support from Laura Laverne a BBC/ music journalist about women being abused on twitter – oh the irony- and how NMcG had her arse handed to her on a plate.”
Yes liz , Laverne another clueless, ill informed and biased one wading in with her ‘half a story’ comments .
Totally missing the irony of what she is defending. , her article is one in defense of ….WOMEN on Twitter !!!…..but she does not extend her defense of women abused by Spanner’s use of the C**T in his comments towards other women.
In fact there is no reference to him at all or anything in reference to what instigated this , we only have her biased interpretation via the ‘arse handed on a plate ‘ comment.
Perhaps Laverne deserves to have her unwanted arse handed to her on a plate as if she ,like others, chooses to be selective and omit key points of this story then she should shut up and refrain from giving a false and incomplete version on this matter .
Beware fake feminists …..because you either defend ALL abused women or hold your tongue.
This post is about tools
A lot of talk about tools on this thread.
I just though I would let you know that I have a ‘Black & Decker Gyroscopic Motion Sensing Cordless Screwdriver’.
I love it!
I can’t comment re Harry Potter because like the Tellytubbies & Xfactor the whole Harry Potter craze passed me by.
If there are adults on this thread who like reading childrens books then I would recommend
Anothony Horowitz
Neil Gaiman
Philip Pullman
Rick Riordan
Eoin Cofler
Horrid Henry is pretty good too. I’ve just read ‘Horrid Henry’s Christmas Play’and it really made me laugh.
Enid Blyton is back in fashion.
I’ve just got a hold of Anothony Horowitz “Granny” which I’m looking forward to reading. It’s for 9-12 year olds but I’m young at heart.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519DKA8WV1L._SX324_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
It does say it’s wickedly funny but the cover looks quite scary.
TUT! Why is there no edit facility?
My last post should have the header
This post is about tools & good children’s books
Whatever SLAB’s policy is on Local Authority funding, the Telegraph obligingly reports:
“£300m cuts to Scotland’s schools after SNP targets councils.
A new report finds local authorities have cut school budgets by seven per cent more than inflation over the past five years, in response to reductions in their funding from the Scottish Government.”
https://archive.is/fHWGr
Looks like COSLA is stepping up its pre-election rhetoric. John Swinney says the Council Tax freeze is “fully funded” and that the cut this year is 2% of LA budgets. Yet LA cuts have been 7% ABOVE inflation since 2010. Why?
The country’s 14 Labour local authority leaders, including the heads of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen councils, today issued a joint statementwarning that further cuts will “pull the rug out from under Scotland’s young people.”
@Robert Peffers says:
1 February, 2016 at 1:35 pm
You and I know the Scottish Government more than compensated councils for freezing the council tax.
But I suspect those loony unionists councillors are hoping that people are ignorant enough to believe them that John Swinney is responsible for the cuts to or loss of their services.
This seems to be their ploy in the run up to the Holyrood elections which is to claim that the Scottish government is not fighting Tory austerity and is making deeper cuts than the Tories planned.
@mike cassidy
I think calling them spanners is a good thing.
First it’s “spanner in the works”, and secondly it keeps alive for a long time, the Spanner / misogynist / media involved / Rowling issue.
Oh, I’d say not to use “spanners” for people who just support / supported a NO vote though.
Keep it for the unionist media and extreme activists.
Finlayson: “Their are 1223 councillors in Scotland. New York has double the population and has 51 councillors.”
New York’s population have real problems in their daily commute getting across and around all the mountains, lochs, and sea channels in between skyscraper and housing blocks.
PS:
They have action group ‘councillors’ of volunteers, made up of the local community. Maybe a way we could go one day.
From that incompetent biased BBC article:
“The offer is expected to emerge at the latest round of negotiations in London.
But First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the proposal would cost Scotland billions of pounds over the next few years. ”
*patience* How could Sturgeon comment on that new proposal, if it is expected to emerge at the latest round?
More BBC propoganda, or just incompetence.
Re alternatives to THOSE books; many feel that Ursula le Guin’s Earthsea Trilogy was a case of premature boy wizard fantasy fiction.
“A Wizard of Earthsea
The basic premise of Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea (Parnassus, 1968), in which a boy with unusual aptitude for magic is recognised, and sent to a special school for wizards, resembles that of Harry Potter. Ged also receives a scar in his struggle with the shadow which hurts whenever the shadow is near him like Harry Potter’s scar when Voldemort is near him.
Le Guin has claimed that she doesn’t feel Rowling “ripped her off”, but that she felt that Rowling’s books were overpraised for supposed originality, and that Rowling “could have been more gracious about her predecessors. My incredulity was at the critics who found the first book wonderfully original. She has many virtues, but originality isn’t one of them. That hurt.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_influences_and_analogues
Just got my feb.edition of iscot magazine, cant put it down, love the ‘project fear’ analysis.
I’ve still got some of two sets of AF spanners, one with ring one end and open another, got with green shield stamps. My car mad son probably has the others though he says he hasn’t. I’m not sure but he may have helped with the Spirit of Independence, certainly had praise for Chris Law. I guess my spanners would have gone to a good cause.
So spanners do have their use.
I’ve only seen 2 or 3 of the Harry Potter movies though I have the box set. My daughter was/is an HP fan, even been to the museum in London and spent money on grossly overpriced merchandise. She did say that the later books got very dark.
We’ve played destination Hogwarts, and Hogwarts Cluedo over Xmas. Who dunnit? It was JKR with the spanner in the twitter room.
I had a quick look at the Laura Laverne article but decided it wasn’t worth reading.
I have very serious doubts about ‘feminists’ I’m not too sure that they don’t do more harm than good.
There are a lot of people who speak just like Brian Spanner but unlike JK Rowling they are not people I would associate with. I would be crossing the street if I saw them coming and if I encountered them online I would be paying them no heed. Guys like Brian Spanner can call me whatever they like it won’t matter because I have zero respect for people like Spanner.
Yes Ruby, I’m disappointed in the lack of ‘feminist’ support for Natalie too.
Where are WFI? Does their legal battle prevent them from a moral view too?
Or Woman 50:50?
All talk it seems when the fragrant JK is concerned.
Important regarding misogyny and hatred
https://twitter.com/AngrySalmond/status/694127672251801600?lang=en-gb
Check this out and read the comments for details of a petition and George Sq event.
https://twitter.com/ChristinaSNP/status/694163771741306881?lang=en-gb
ScottishPsyche says:
1 February, 2016 at 2:41 pm
Yes Ruby, I’m disappointed in the lack of ‘feminist’ support for Natalie too.
Ruby replies
THIS POST IS ABOUT HYPOCRISY
Exactly! Where are all the ‘feminists’?
Jenny Marra, Kezia Dugdale, Jackie Baillie they all claim to be ‘feminists’
I gave up on them when they stayed stum re Iain Davidson & the threat of a ‘doing’
I think they should let the Roosh V meeting go ahead so that we can film everyone who attends the meeting.
We might find ‘Spanner’ at the front of the queue.
I think there would be more than ‘Spanner’ from that Yoon clique at the Roosh V meeting.
Remember it’s all just ‘banter’ where SNP women are concerned!
Remember the outcry from Stella Creasy?
Hypocrisy indeed.
The next book.
“Harry Potter and the Disappearing Magic Spanner”
A must read.
SNP SNP
Ruby researched and posted data on here about a number of legal cases that JKR has been involved in … taken out against others. Wikipedia highlights that ‘By 2011, Rowling had taken more than 50 actions against the press (alone).’ Doesn’t ever seem to be a very happy chappy?!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._K._Rowling
The World sees her as being rich, successful and powerful (as we well know). But what lurks behind the public persona? From all accounts, her accounts, she has been extremely unhappy, depressed in fact, during particular periods of her life. Depression of course relates to anger turned inward.
She was a very unhappy teenager riddled with phobias and fears such as of being a failure …. suffered from OCD. In her twenties she suffered from Clinical Depression and contemplated killing herself. She has also stated that ”halfway through writing her series of HP books she wasn’t in a very happy place in her own life.” She would have been aged around 35 at that time. Little is known about her early life.
She described her experience of depression as thus: ‘It’s so difficult to describe depression to someone who’s never been there, because it’s not sadness. Sadness is to cry and to feel. But it’s that cold absence of feeling – that really hollowed out feeling.”
One day, soon hopefully, someone will carry out a psychological analysis of her Harry Potter books which may shed some light on the connection between the subject matter and the state of her psyche. As an example in her words she obsesses on ‘Morality and Mortality’. The latter may account for, in the HP series, her preoccupation with death, destruction and misery.
Her experience of clinical depression helped her to create the hellish ‘Dementors’ … ”They glory in death and despair, they drain peace, hope and happiness out of the air around them … get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you … you will be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life.”
I’m interested in astrology as is JKR.
http://www.astrology.co.uk/news/jkrowlingastrology.htm
Her own astrology chart highlights her ‘interest’ in death and experience / s of depression. It also shows that she is dealing with some very challenging aspects right now such as T Saturn opposing a stellium of natal planets in Virgo that include Venus, Uranus, Pluto and the Moon. Depressed again? T Uranus opposes her natal Mars. Volatile and angry? T Lilith and Chiron (the wounded healer) positions are very difficult too (to name but a few). She must be aware of this taking into account that she has such an interest in astrology and should take heed.
The Laverne/Rowling love-in must have started here?
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/28/conversation-lauren-laverne-jk-rowling-interview
But it takes the irony bypass of all irony bypasses to use the Spanner spat as the start of your defence of woman against twitter abuse.
https://www.the-pool.com/news-views/lauren-s-blog/2016/5/lauren-laverne-on-her-favourite-women-online
All the services in NY are privatised. Privatised Police,Fire etc. There is no need for so many councillors.
It is the Unionists controlled councils who are always complaining about cuts. The cuts to Scotland’s budget comes from Westminster (austerity). The Unionists voted No ie for austerity cuts. There would be £10Billion more to spend in Scotland. No Trident/illegal wars, banking fraud or tax evasion. Oil tax at 60% when the price has fallen 75% costing jobs in Scotland.
@mike cassidy
No comment section on that blog by Laverne I notice.
Shame would be interesting to see how she would react to being force fed some of Jakey’s friend’s vocabulary.
a week past sunday, politics Scotland
brewer, isn’t the sg just honouring their commitment to the ct freeze as per their election manifesto?
fmcav.. er…
brewer, didn’t labout also have the same ct freeze commitment?
fmcaveny,….er….