The news you may have missed
Yesterday we noted that nothing had yet been heard from Scottish Labour’s policy review into universal services, launched amid much hoopla in September 2012 off the back of Johann Lamont’s infamous “something for nothing” speech.
The party has spent much of its time since then attacking the SNP over social justice, claiming that universal benefits are a middle-class subsidy, hurting the poor by spending money on giving the well-off free stuff they could afford to pay for.
Professor Arthur Midwinter, the Labour-friendly academic the party hired to lead the review, was widely reported by the press vowing to “devote at least two days a week for up to two years to prepare a series of reports for the commission, which is being co-chaired by Labour MP Cathy Jamieson and finance spokesman Ken Macintosh”.
Those two years have come and gone, and nearly six months more, and there’s been no sign of a single report from the commission. And it turns out there never will be.
We know this because an alert reader contacted Cathy Jamieson (Labour refuse to talk to us directly, so all their answers have to come to us through constituents writing to their own MPs and MSPs), and got an answer yesterday.
Actually we HADN’T seen that in media reports – except for this week’s ambiguous announcement from Jim Murphy that Labour wouldn’t be reintroducing tuition fees in Scotland (though it would still support them in England), but which avoided mentioning the party’s last known policy of imposing a graduate tax instead.
We’ve searched and searched and can find no mention anywhere in the press that the party had formally abandoned thoughts of bringing back prescription charges or limiting free bus passes. As recently as last September the SNP were still putting out press releases asking for the commission’s findings, which met with a wall of silence.
Nor have there been any reports that we can find of the demise of the policy review. As far as we can ascertain, the revelation that the commission has been scrapped is a Wings Over Scotland exclusive.
It’s not the first time Scottish Labour have announced a policy commission amid great press fanfare, only for it to be quietly killed off years later. In 2011 it did the exact same thing with the Council Tax, simply shrugging its shoulders and giving up after spending almost two and a half years trying to come up with a replacement.
At least that one got mentioned in one newspaper. But this time the media haven’t bothered following up on the vast number of column inches it spent reporting the commission’s creation. (And it really was a lot – we had to create a tag especially for keeping track of the story and its many spinoffs.)
The public is only properly served by a media that puts all political parties under fair scrutiny. But time and again, the Scottish press unquestioningly trumpets Scottish Labour’s bold but empty assertions, then sweeps the subsequent absence of results under the carpet. The party can then get away with endless U-turns over policy, safe in the knowledge that the public won’t be reminded that Labour’s word is meaningless.
Or at any rate, it USED to be able to.
Just back from hawaii.
Its the way you tell ’em, Stu!
If it wasn’t for the sports reports there would only be about 5 papers in Scotland,
Poor Ms Lamont, she’s looking drawn there,needs to pull herself together
Astonished.
Newspapers live for the moment, the next headline, the so-called exclusive stories. They have no recall and treat readers like fools. Not any longer, the new Media of Scotland are the only hope for the future.
This is why I contributed to the Wings over Scotland fundraiser.
Some say Labour has lost the plot, actually Tony Blair and his New Labour crew buried the plot six feet deep.
It’ll be interesting to see if this little revelation appears in the papers tomorrow, particularly since this flies in the face of conceived wisdom that alternative media relies on the traditional media for its stories.
Labour’s word is meaningless
Theres the T-shirt right there!
Methinks it is Scottish labour that are getting something for nothing.
No policies of their own, in Scotland they pinch SNP ideas and in Westminster they slavishly adopt ConDem ones.
No ideas – sorry that is wrong – Jim has so many he contradicts himself day and daily. I meant real ideas.
No talent, correct me if I am wrong.
No strategy for regaining the trust and votes of the left of centre constituency – SNP BAD is not a strategy it is an affliction that requires urgent treatment.
On the something side, there are, are least meantime, fat salaries and juicy expenses.
Scottish Labour, thanks for, well, nothing.
For me one of the defining features of the indy referendum campaign was the complete inability of the MSM to hold unionist parties, particularly Labour in Scotland, to account for just about anything. It appears this is going to continue.
Seems like Arthur’s got a nice little earner advising a tory commission now:
link to forargyll.com
@Rigmac7
I am so stealing that.
How do Labour voters in England square the circle that Labour agree to NO tuition fees in Scotland but £9k reducing to £6k in the future in England I thought we were better together. So daft is the policy that it is to be funded by a pension raid ( probably G Brown’s idea again). That UKIP and Conservatives will be screaming “scrounging Jocks” very soon . And yes Murphy’s mob will come up with some scheme to recoup the fees. Maybe if you do 9 years at Uni with no degree at the end you should repay the cost to the government.
Your just startled that she was wearing her kitchen curtains? I’m ASTONISHED
“Just back from hawaii.”
Nice name for a solarium!
Out of power after decades running Scotland unchallenged, as if a mobster territory, Labour are shown to have no principles, no policies, no imagination, and no affection for the people they claim they represent, only hatred of those elected to power.
Some astonishingly good comments above.
Now we know where the fragrant Johann gets her “astonished” remark from – the Astonish cleaning range has a carpet cleaner “Vac[uous] Maxx” with a nice wee union flag on the label.
@handclapping
Don’t you mean five pages
@ Colin McCartney
I have it on good authority that the jacket is made from living room curtains – her grannies – and granny had 4 windows, more to come!
@weetroot
I would have if I’d thought of it
Do you realise that if double vowels are not allowed you come out as wetrot?
I’m ‘ Ballie’d ‘ over by the news. Well the news that had to be wrung from the weet cloot that is Scottish Labour by a concerned constituent.
You see, this is why I love donating cash to Wings.. You find out about stuff that would normally disperse in the aether.. (when the MSM/BBC fail to do their jobs properly)
Shame that Labour won’t talk to you Stu.. (on the plus though, if you did have to talk to them directly it’s a fair bet that your ears would start bleeding – happens to me when I hear JaBa for more than 10 seconds)
The reason the media have not and will not report SLAB’s failure to deliver is because if they did, they would be seen to be guilty by association. Having played Labour’s game when the so-called commission was launched, they have no choice but to gloss over the fact that the commission has disappeared. If they report it they are seen to have been fools. Better to get even closer to Labour and hope that nobody notices. Short term they might get away with this tactic – long term they are doomed.
Tick Tock.
O/T,
Just wanted to point out, the fundraiser is now sitting at just under 90K, which is 2x target.
An old trick to get away with doing nothing at work was to either carry an empty box or a clipboard. It made you look “busy” and therefore nobody challenged you to test if anything was actually being done…the story reminds me of Labour.
Compare and contrast the BBC and STV coverage of Scotland’s First Minster’s (someone who can actually deliver) economic strategy blueprint to the coverage of two Westminster politicians who are in no position to deliver i. e. Gordon Brown’s belated vision for an oil fund or Murphy’s daily scatter gun policies made up on the hoof.
List of feenats
Jim Murphy
Iain Gray
Kezia Dugdale
feel free to add
Would it be fair to suggest that Prof. Midwinter, despite having worked for Labour whilst in office and also in opposition, concluded that the Scottish Government was actually doing a good job and that Labour should quietly shelve the whole thing for fear of being found wanting?
Answers on a postcard please.
Don’t you just love it when a politician says “The Labour Party has no plans to ….”. Doesn’t mean they wont, it simply means that they don’t have any public plans at the moment.
Does anybody truly believe that Labour policy would be different in Scotland than it will be in the rUK if Labour ever gains control again of both Parliaments?
Does anybody actually believe that Devolution will even apply?
So Jamieson and Macintosh have been working on this for 2 and a half years two days a week but it’s been quietly dropped?! Any chance of a refund on their taxpayer funded wages?
The Scottish press, Scottish Labour and BBC Scotland.
A blight on the landscape of Scotland.
All three working hand in glove and steeped in collusion and corruption.
Scots deserve better than this lot.
And the only escape route is through full independence.
Let’s start with Scottish Labour and hit them where it hurts.
Through the ballot box in May
It is sad and pathetic that Labour keep pedaling policies that they have no intention of delivering on and of course this goes completely unchallenged by the MSM. However, my concern is that with this continued biased media reporting, the SNP won’t win nearly as many seats as some are currently predicting. The net result of which may be some claiming a victory for Labour along the lines of, ‘well considering where we were with the polls a few months ago then this result is not too bad and something to build upon’.
And of course everyone is now starting to become convinced that there will definitely be a hung parliament with the SNP likely to play a large role in forming the next government. However, I think this underestimates the tenacity of Tory voters in England and they will come out in droves with the latter terrifying prospect in mind which may just see Cameron and his gang back in for a second term.
Then what for Scotland?
Hey been picked for QT tomoro, any question suggestions would b appreciated!!!
Well there you go … never a truer word spoken from Ms Lamont. The Scottish Labour Party has created a whole commission and produced … well … nothing! So indeed it was something for nothing after all!
The red tories are desperate to get back into power, but they simply haven’t a clue how to achieve their ambition. Just as well, for if they ever did get back into power…..what a disaster that would be. Remember Gordon Brown, nuff said. They could try some good old fashioned honesty, but they are far too clever for that. So, all that is left is to be negative, throw mud at the government (some might stick), get the media onside (no problems there) and then grope around in the dark in the hope of finding that all elusive gem known as an original idea.
The trouble with using a scatter gun in the dark is that one’s foot often gets in the way.
Good stuff. There’s a lot here. Two BIG points.
Firstly, I doubt if most voters have noticed the way in which Labour announce commissions to fully explore important social issues in a blaze of MSM flood lights … then quietly wind them up and no one notices!
Secondly, Cathy Jamieson appears to be making a significant policy announcement on the universality of prescriptions and bus passes.
I was talk about the dreadul shirt never mind back to the basics. The only policy the Labour party have is to copy and paste from the SNP. Labour are only talking what has been devolved to the Scottish parliment, he doesn’t want talk about Westminster why, because it wouldnt help their case in being elected back to their 67 thousand plus Jobs,as their Westminster policys wouldn’t advantage Scotland or the Scottish people, for instance they will continue with the Tory’s policy on austerity.
Then what for Scotland?
More of the same. Exactly as it will be if the polls are wrong and Labour gets a majority. Exactly as it will be if the polls are wrong and the lib dems get a majority (just my little joke).
Of course that could happen. But voting labour will not prevent it unless you imagine there is a substantive difference between the unionist parties, which I do not believe.
Vote SNP, no matter where you stand on the political spectrum. They are at least a voice which is different from all of the rest
The establishment is propped up by EBC, MSM MPs and the “civil service” or EXECUTIVE. this mob is, and always has been in a common cause to deceive the working class people for the benefit of the elite and their hangers on. Figure head HMQ or THE CROWN.
They are in a CONSPIRICY to protect the establishment and the position of the elite, that’s the way it was set up and ment to operate. So everything will be OK then. Tug of the forelock.
Bill Fraser says:
“Don’t you just love it when a politician says “The Labour Party has no plans to ….”. Doesn’t mean they wont, it simply means that they don’t have any public plans at the moment.”
Slight correction, Bill.
It simply means they don’t have any plans they’re prepared to divulge to the public.
Would it be fair to suggest that Prof. Midwinter, despite having worked for Labour whilst in office and also in opposition, concluded that the Scottish Government was actually doing a good job?
No, it would not be accurate. I concluded some time ago he was a mercenary of no fixed abode.
This is what happens when the msm rely on Press Releases and by adding a comma here and a full-stop there, so-called journalists can argue that there job is done. This is not news gathering or searching out a story, simply taking on board what they are given and passing it off as news.
Wings and Stu Campbell, however, continually offers journalism of the highest order. Neither wonder newspaper sales are plumetting.
They probably sat around a table and looked at each other. After an hour or two of counting tumble weed someone said “Anyone got a Scooby what we are trying to do here?” A few more bits of tumble weed pass by and someone says “the game’s a bogey, let’s go and do some Better Together doom stuff instead”
In their rush they probably forgot to tell Johann they had scrubbed her Commission. I would imagine she is astonished by all this.
Obfuscation is the name of the game.
Scottish Labour are now not ostensibly different to SNP on the big issue Social Justice issues – whilst voting against NHS budgets and free school dinners, they have publicised (and coopted) policies such as free tuition to the extent that they are spinning it being their idea.
There are areas of deliberate confusion, clearly (the fandango over NHS Crisis) but if you asked the average man on the street, would the perception be that the only difference between SNP and Lab is Independence?
Of course this does not undo the inability to trust Scottish Labour but they have done the job at one level of reducing the policy issues, largely, to Indy or Not Indy. While seeming to be better than SNP (by column inches dedicated to Keziah hunting down and exposing SNP fails – apparently – with the zeal of an exocet). Add in the publicity yessterday of the fact that 75% of Lab representatives are against Trident – not that they will vote against it.
The obfuscation is deliberate – papering over the vast chasms of differences in terms of efficient social justice between them and SNP.
The issue remains of how much this wallpaper is Scotland-only and will be stripped away in the event of a Labour WM victory.
O/T…
ooo Just noticed.. 200% Fundraiser
Mon the Wingers
I hope those tumbleweed effects weren’t provided at taxpayer expense. We don’t want a tumbleweed for nothing society.
@Mike
In Investment banking, they call it “Dead cat bounce”. Even doomed shares may show a temporary lift before succumbing to the inevitable.
Regardless of how Labour spin the May 2015 results, they are doomed. Its like the time they went wild after retaining Glasgow City Council and then the city duly voted for independence. Now no seat in the city is safe.
This isnt a beheading but a slow slice up the vein and we’ll have tea and biscuits as we watch them bleed out.
O/T again re database.
Herald in full attack mode.
link to archive.today
Our day shall come. God speed that day!
@Desimond.
Tea and biscuits beats knitting by the guillotine.
The traditional media are a threat to democracy in Scotland.
The unionist parties, Labour in particular (because they’re the dominant one in Scotland), are, too, but it’s the MSM and BBC that are destroying democracy in Scotland. It’s small consolation that they’re destroying themselves in the process.
Thank god for WoS, Newsnet, Bella, WGD and others!
If the Labour party can create a commission which may last up to two years at two days per week who pays the participants feesj.
@ MajorBloodnok
Your wish is my comand.
A secret spy video from Labour’s committees
link to youtube.com
Enjoy!
Scottish Labour are now tweeting that they are against Tory Austerity and will vote against it. As far as I can tell, there has been no such announcement from UK Labour.
The plan seems to be to make Labour pro-austerity in England and anti-austerity in Scotland, allowing them to win Scottish votes, which will empower Miliband who will then implement the austerity he has committed to.
Effectively, you have a party with two opposing and irreconcilable sets of policies.
For this con to work they need to create the illusion that Scottish Labour is a seperate party and will vote against Miliband. Of course they won’t.
This is only going to work if the media completely fail to hold them to account. Although I guess it’s mainly for their leaflet campaign. They can now say all the things people want to hear, while voting against those same things.
Clearly, that will kill off Scottish Labour for good, however the media spin it. Scottish Labour have become the kamikazi pilots of British politics.
Off topic but why is the Daily Record running this story under NHS Scotland?
News
Health
NHS Scotland
NHS in crisis: Patient awaiting surgery given bed in hospital TOILET
06:33, 4 March 2015
By Ben Rossington
OT- South Lanarkshire SNP group will not support the Labour budget savings, because they want to axe teachers.
Lots of guerrilla fighting in the local councils I think to highlight the crap Labour comes out with.
I’ve noticed local councillors in North Lanarkshire keen to align to community action groups.
Last week we had 3 Labour councillors and our MP McClymont attending our anti fracking meeting. I was too polite to point out to the meeting that McClymont abstained from voting for a UK moratorium, but I did point out that the alleged safeguards proposed by Labour had been ripped to shreds in the Lord’s.
Simply astonishing!
Who knew they’d told fibs aboot their intentions?
So they quite loudly proclaim to be doing one thing, appointing names and such what, then quietly forgot to tell anyone they’d given it all up as a bad idea.
FFS seriously? These people want to run our governance?
@ Robert Kerr Ah seen wan o they guillotine thingys before the Referendem,by the F765 wiz it no gon at ah rate of knots,trimming they Wee Blue Books tae size,hunner n thousands there wiz an even mair than that,an coffee provided an ah wee bikky.
So, SLAB will be happy to talk only to SLAB-friendly media. Wimps.
I really dislike Tory and LibDems policies, but at least I know what I’m getting.
BUT Labour (North British Branch) , who really knows what they are on about? They seem to be making it up as they go along!
@MajorBloodnok
Aye, the answers are not blowing in the wind as Lamont’s commission must have found out.
The ID debate is part of today’s business at Holyrood.
I’ll tune in and get the info from the SNP speakers before giving it the nod. I suspect Murphy will have cobbled together a statement about it and passed it over for the Deputy to deliver.
Heard wee Wullie this morning on GMS in his grave tones denounce it all as a threat to our liberties.
What is happening in Aberdeen?
link to twitter.com
@Craig Patrick – correct that happened in England.
Manchester has become ‘fully devolved’?
link to twitter.com
When Labour’s Scottish Branch Office spokesman, Jim Mugfy, says he has no plans to change any of the SNP’s policies, he is being absolutely truthful: he will never have the opportunity to do so, and, even if he had, he wouldn’t have a clue how to go about it.
“As far as we can ascertain, the revelation that the commission has been scrapped is a Wings Over Scotland exclusive.”
Give it an hour or two and Jim Mugfy will be claiming copyright on the story.
I wonder if Murray and Torquil will write about the failure of this much vaunted Commission to get off the ground. will they ask searching questions about who pulled it? Will they when and who changed the SLab position on universalism?
Anybody know what the Redord line on this was Johann launched this? It would be entertaining if they were backing her
Oh well Labour got nothing for something. Who knew!
@Rober Kerr 12:34pm
did you notice the bit at the foot of that article: “xref agenda please”?
Any journos on here know what that means (I have my suspicions)?
There’s a possible explanation for Johann’s less-than-appropriate attire: she mistakenly thought it was her day to stand in for wee Jimmy Krankie at the SECC.
Looks like Arthur is still working on it!
Someone should really tell him!
link to theconversation.com
“As an adviser to Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont, Arthur was appointed chair of the party’s Welfare Commission, which is putting together a series of proposals for the future of Scotland.”
Again, they treat the electorate with disdain. The Scottish branch office yet again prove they cannot be trusted on what they promise and it seems the lying is compulsive and the BS relentless.
O/T very proud of my daughter (future author) and her story:
bellacaledonia.org.uk/2015/03/03/our-future-in-our-hands/
Shrek
Not made my mind up on the database as yet. Certainly it raises a question or two and a tingle on the old spidey sense. First question I ask myself is, in today’s technological climate is there such a thing as privacy? As anyone who hasn’t got a cast iron spam filter will know as soon as you visit a site, download a few cookies you’re inundated for days with pish, which requires tedious hours of unsubscribing. Your address is fired onto junk mail lists across the interwebby and your visiting preferences appear as ads whenever you open a page.
Cams on every street corner, phone sales picking you out of lists and always, but ALWAYS calling about f**king PPI or double glazing as you’re settling into your tea. People you’d never contacted, never solicited anything from, but they know you, your phone number, your address and sometimes spookily, your food, beverage, holiday, hobby, political, reading material preferences. Its like some fekker has been stalking you and passing on the info to everyone and their dog.
Jeez our lives must be on enough marketing databases right now to make even the operators behind that prism thingy drool.
The real question is do you trust those who are collating and holding the information? That’s the kicker right there. I’m not big on trusting politicians. There’s a number I have a growing admiration for these days, but government can’t help being government and they do change all the time. The one collecting the information for the best of reasons and purposes won’t be the government forever and can’t answer for the conduct of future governments.
I’d need some cast iron guarantees if were to be convinced.
Rev, you’re such a bargain. this election is turning out to be just as much if not more fun that the Ref, hope the result’s better though !
I suppose we could ask Arthur if he is still working on this. Maybe nobody has told him the plug has been pulled.
Q 1. What do the Daily Record, the BBC, the Labour Party
Scottish Branch, The OO, The Masonic Lodges, The SFA
and (a clue)the Ibrox crowd, have in common.
Q 2. The SNP cannot, and never will be, part of this group.
Do you understand the reason why not?
Q 3. Do you think it is possible that some day,
the Daily Record and the BBC will report the truth
about Scottish politics –
or anything else for that matter?
Q 4. Can you think of a solution to all this?
(Clue, begins with I)
skimmed daily record supermarket
much thinner than usual
centre pages
NHS crisis
usual
@ Macart 2.07pm
I never see any internet ads because I’ve got AdBlock Plus, a free plug-in for Firefox and other browsers.
I’ve got a bog standard anti-virus software (F-Secure) and never get any spam. I’ve never even been offered breast or penis enhancements.
Maybe nobody just likes me.
Oh, I do get some cold calls, which I quickly and politely end with “I’m sorry, I’m not interested. Goodbye.”
I nearly did that when a reputable polling company called me last week. When I realised what it was, I was well chuffed I’d been chosen for their political poll.
(We have a GE coming up in April.)
Some of the questions were extremely leading and stupid. “Do the proposed cuts to the police budget make you feel less safe? Agree-disagree on a scale of 0-5”
I told the interviewer that the police budget has never had any effect on my feeling of safety.
The next question was whether you’d prefer to have more actual police officers on traffic control (e.g. speeding) or more speed cameras?
Duh! I told the interviewer it wasn’t an either/or question anyway, the question was a gross over-simplification of a hypothetical complex issue, and FYI, I’d have both but since resources are stretched and that’s not an option in your survey, you’ll probably put me down as a “don’t know”.
I think the survey/poll was commissioned by Persu, our UKIP type of party, judging by the questions and how they were worded.
I gave the poor interviewer an earful about all the dodgy, stupid questions that wouldn’t stand up to proper, academic scrutiny, but I was nice to him in the end, said I understood he was only doing his job, thanked him for the call and wished him a good weekend, the weather was supposed to be quite nice.
Oh, and they invited me to become a member of their internet panel (apparently I ticked enough boxes for a demographic they want) so I’m looking forward to skipping all the consumer/commercial polls but letting rip at the political ones.
Empty barrels making the most noise is entirely appropriate to describe the Labour Party in Scotland
Newspapers live for the moment, the next headline, the so-called exclusive stories. They have no recall and treat readers like fools. (No no no… Yes)
I’d put it more simply and say that the Scottish press print anything trumpeted by Labour, and whilst Labour will make a big song and dance about the announcements, they will do anything possible to hush up the failures.
It’s stone cold proof of the calibre even a simpleton can understand that the Scottish press is simply a giant Labour mouthpiece with footy scores thrown in.
@Jim Thomson 1.53 pm
I have no idea but I have emailed the author and asked him to elucidate.
It’s citizen journalism, what the Rev has taught us to do.
Our day shall come
@ lumilumi
Heh, first class lumi.
When it comes to filters and protection I’m pretty much sorted these days. Its been a while since I had any serious spam problems. The point I was getting at is that there are so many ways for people, companies and government to gather personal information these days, there is in actuality very little privacy to be had.
Must admit I’ve never been contacted for any political polling. Perhaps its my aftershave?
@think again says:4 March, 2015 at 10:59 am:
” … No talent, correct me if I am wrong.”
o.k’. yer wrang!
I’ve never seen such a GREAT talent for telling lies and blethering utter
Pi*#… Err! twaddle.@Clootie says:4 March, 2015 at 11:35 am:
“An old trick to get away with doing nothing at work was to either carry an empty box or a clipboard.”
Same idea on the industrial side. Except, it was a tool bag with your packed lunch, a flask of coffee and the morning newspaper in it. If you were really creative you had a screwdriver handle or the end of a spanner sticking out of the corner.
@Robert Kerr says:4 March, 2015 at 12:34 pm:
“Herald in full attack mode.
link to archive.today
Do these MSM numptie think we zip up the back?
It took me all of one second to figure out that, one way or another, there is going to be such a database. The reason being that as the Scottish Government have to take on tax collecting due to the VOW promises, they have no option that to have a database in order to collect those taxes.
The unionist, “Proud Scot, buts”, voted for that database but were far too dim to realise the obvious implications.
I set the alarm specially so that I could hear the Radio Scotland news headlines about the Ashford poll.
Still waiting…heard about a failed terrorist plot, korea,slavery, DC not wanting to do all the TV debates .
They are scrabbling around trying to find other things to talk about. No good news allowed for SNP.
Talking of Labour reviews fading without trace, has Mags started her tour of Scotland yet to listen to voters?
I can’t link to it due to Herald paywall but google ‘Labour reaches out to Yes voters’ & you’ll find it.
The tour was announced on 21st September 2014 to much fanfare in the meedja (UK & Scottish) but there has been absolute silence since that date. No ads for local meetings, nothing on Facebook or Twitter.
Another Slab initiative sinks like a stone never to be seen or heard of again. Why does that not surprise me?