The pertinent questions
We’re not going to join in the attacks on a nurse who criticised Nicola Sturgeon during last night’s BBC election debate. While her lifestyle seems at a glance to be wildly at odds with her claim that she relied on foodbanks to survive, there are – genuinely – possible explanations for at least most of it.
Her daughter could have won a free scholarship to the £11,000-a-year George Heriot’s school. Family and friends could have paid for her five-star holidays to New York and frequent dinners in expensive restaurants. She lives in Stockbridge, which is a quite expensive area of Edinburgh – in itself the most expensive city in Scotland – where wages might not stretch as far as elsewhere.
Owning a convertible car isn’t proof that someone’s wealthy – I have one myself that’s worth less than £1000, and I also have a relative who has very little money but who nevertheless owns a horse just like Claire Austin’s daughter seemingly does. (It’s also possible to be quite poor but still own things you bought when you were less poor.)
It ill befits Yes supporters – who are happy to deploy the existence and growing use of foodbanks to justifiably attack the UK government – to complain if someone who calls the First Minister “wee Jimmy Krankie” adopts the same tactic. More to the point, we entirely agree with Ms Austin’s core view that nurses should be paid more in general, as we suspect most people do.
(And in Scotland, of course, they ARE paid more than in the rest of the UK, and under the SNP have always been given the full pay rises recommended by the independent pay board, which hasn’t been the case in England.)
But that still leaves some things hanging disquietingly in the air.
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1. Why was Ms Austin specifically invited by the BBC to ask a question about a devolved issue in a Westminster election debate?
The large bulk of last night’s programme was rather bizarrely taken up with discussion of issues on which the election can have no impact because they’re devolved to the Scottish Parliament, such as education and health.
What that did was ensure the debate was weighted significantly in favour of one of the two parties who are the main combatants – the Tories. When the discussion focuses on devolved issues the SNP are put under scrutiny and pressure for their record but the Conservatives get to escape scot-free.
If an audience member happens to bring a devolved issue up spontaneously during an unscripted part of the debate, it should still strictly be dismissed as irrelevant – just like if Theresa May was doing a radio phone-in (LOL, we know) and someone rang up to complain about the penalty Celtic were awarded last Saturday – but in live TV these things happen and sometimes you just have to roll with it.
But specifically inviting someone in the full advance knowledge you planned for them to ambush one particular panellist with an off-topic question is a lot dodgier.
2. Who does Ms Austin want to solve this problem, and how?
We can safely assume that anyone who calls the FM an insulting name popular with Unionist trolls isn’t going to be a big SNP fan. But who in this election is proposing a big pay rise for nurses?
Certainly not the Tories, and Labour are simply making their usual vague, meaningless noises about “the pay increase they deserve” without putting any sort of figure on it or explaining how they’d pay for it. Kezia Dugdale was allowed to get away without any questioning when she opportunistically joined in with the attack.
3. How is Ms Austin actually getting food from foodbanks?
You can’t just rock up at a foodbank and ask for some free grub if you feel like it. You generally have to be referred in writing by the DWP or some similar organisation, and if you – by your own admission – have a full-time job paying almost £8000 above the “National Living Wage” (which is currently £14,625pa for a 37.5-hour week) you might have a tough time getting that letter.
“My daughter’s horse is short of oats and I can only afford a relatively cheap brand of champagne for my parties” probably won’t cut it with the Trussell Trust.
4. When is a living wage not a living wage?
Of course, that raises another issue. If a nurse really can’t manage on £22,345 a year, how can you possibly call a figure that’s £8,000 shy of that a “National Living Wage”? But that’s a question that only the UK government can address – the minimum wage is reserved – so why was it only put to Nicola Sturgeon and not Ruth Davidson, who was after all the UK governing party’s representative in a UK election debate?
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It’s possible that Ms Austin’s account of her circumstances was somewhat less than entirely frank. We don’t know, and either way we certainly don’t blame her for trying to get a better deal for nurses even if she’s largely blaming the wrong people.
But both her claims and the “vile cybernat witch-hunt!” smokescreen that’s been blown up around them by Unionists (thanks to a handful of stupid and counter-productive Yes supporters going off half-cocked about unconfirmed and false rumours) mask the real mysteries that the debate and her appearance on it threw up.
It’ll be interesting to see if any of them are resolved in the coming hours and days.
Nice one yet again BBC.
A few minutes ago just as she was about to give an answer (some hope) about the hasty panicked cap being applied on the Dementia Tax somebody threw the switch and we got a plug for the FA Cup Final.
We were then switched to a News(sorry Opinions) bulletin and Nicola was being attacked in last night’s alleged GE Debate complete with yet another appearance from The BBC’s favourite ant-SNP nurse.
It really saddens me that, again, a band of people who forget the internet interacts with the real world have allowed the pertinent issues (NHS pay, living wage, rising foodbank use) to be completely ignored because of stupd rumour mongering and decisions to attack people who disagree with them.
It plays neatly into the narrative unionists want and it really damages the image of yes supporters.
This woman may be nasty to the SNP on the internet, but she’s also an actual person doing an actual job who had a fair point about her own field. We need to stop seeing people who don’t like the SNP as heretics that must be hounded out of the debate. This is why I’m not on that twitter or facebook or any of that shite. People who would otherwise be perfectly happy to talk to each other (see heineken advert where they build a bar) turn into real dicks. It’s stupid when the yoons do it, it’s stupid when we do it.
Hold politicians to account, aye, but ffs some woman off the street who happens to be in an audience? Leave her be.
What the so called debate proved beyond all doubt is that the BBC are willingly campaigning for the Tory party in their election bid.
The BBC deliberately avoided most of the pertinent issues and questions the Tory party and Labour to a lesser extent have to answer with regards to their manifestos.
By concentrating on questions not relevant to the GE which allows attacks to be conducted on the Scottish Government specifically they turned what should have been a GE debate into a Scottish Government witch hunt.
I don’t know why Teresa May is so afraid to put herself forward for a BBC debate she will obviously be well protected and never pushed to explain herself in any degree.
Sarah Smith has a lot to answer for.
Is she confused or unaware what particular areas are devolved or what Westminster have responsibility for?
Full marks Stu, for focusing on the facts rather than the hype.
I’d like to see Nursie give an honest account of herself instead of hiding behind vague suggestions.
Given that the BBC are not in full-on pursuit of the SNP over this I can only assume that it is choosing to (to quote Spinal Tap’s Nigel Tufnel), “Best leave it … unsolved.”
Ms Austin also explained that nurses were going on strike last night. But over all, a well thought out, mature nae perfect destruction of this 2017 General Election debate, by beeb gimps.
At the very least BBC Scotland is raising its get Sturgeon game now. Their Eardley ligger is all over Facebook for example, hard at it blaming SNP for “briefing” him.
I am sure neither Sarah Smith nor Jackie Bird would possibly have got involved in such a set up. Way beneath them.
AYE RIGHT!!!
It’s hard enough to get through the BBC filter once, to get in an audience.
To be invited back to ask ‘your’ (irrelevant) question seems unprecedented, and one can only conclude it was a stitch up.
Waiting for the dirt to seep out is the best bit anyways, no need to jump the gun. Anticipating yoon incompetence should be considered entertainment.
As for sympathy, if you participate in Aunties shenanigans & get caught out being economical with the actuality… Meh!
I am a real political geek but I don’t watch these types of programmes anymore. I had my fill of the red, blue and yellow tories & the ultra UKIP tories all ganging up against the SNP with the full support of rabid BBC foaming at the mouth Labourites like Smith, Brewster et al, all in full tribal warcry against the ‘nats’. Throw in an 80% Yoon audience and it’s simply a modern form of the Roman Gladitorial Games or the HUnger Games, with the hapless victim/sacrifice/fear figure – the SNP.
Meanwhile Sarah Smith’s mother is still claiming her £300 per day plus very high expenses flying up and down to London from Edinburgh to attend the House of Lords. And yet Sarah’s wee ‘socialist’ Maw has never, in over 20 years, EVER spoken in the House of Lords. She has still to give her maiden speech. She’s too busy most of the time attending the Scottish Opera. Aye, the Smiths are really in touch with the working class! It’s only because her father was the late John Smith, that Sarah got a shoe-in to the BBC media circus. Why he was buried on Iona, the burial site of ancient Scottish Kings is beyond me. I somehow don’t think Dugdale will be given the same misplaced reverence for someone who was never even prime minister! Socialist?! The whole Smith clan are an utter joke but the Union keeps them all in their cushy ‘jobs’.
Para 1 – I was referring to May.
Thanks Rev to put things in perspective. However I don’t expect to get any proper scrutiny of the legitimate questions you raise any time soon.
There’s three weeks, or so, to go. Let’s be smarter next time – and there WILL be a next time.
When is enough not enough?
There is not a snowballs chance of this person ever having or having to, visit a foodbank!
Some people can get by on what this person is earning but some never have enough to live the life they were or wish to become accustomed to.
They are living in cloud cuckoo land in that they feel that they are somehow wronged and they are entitled to eat in the finest restaurants, quaffing the finest champagnes, have exotic holidays and send their children to the finest schools all paid for by on a nurse’s wage.
In an ideal world we would all be better off in that respect but sometimes enough is never enough!
“Their Eardley ligger is all over Facebook for example, hard at it blaming SNP for “briefing” him.”
Well, he’s got a point. Joanna Cherry is a QC, for Christ’s sake, she should know better than to go parroting rumours.
Good piece.
I’m loathe to judge anyone’s lifestyle, but her own question to FM is about her lifestyle. Of course we would like to pay nurses more, no question.
My focus is her explanation that because she didn’t get asking her question on QT, she was invited 2 weeks later to this event, as recompense for not getting a shot on QT. Surely, that can’t be right, as there must be loads of folk don’t get their shot?
Are you guaranteed your airtime no matter what? She got an extraordinary amount of airtime too.
Record and Scottish Sun now running the story, which is going to result in some readers thinking food banks are abused, because of course, that’s how it’s slanted.
Just a comment about horse owning. They are hideously expensive to own, it’s like another mortgage, insurance, livery, shoeing, feed, vets etc. There are some ways to defray costs, but they are money pits, and I love them. I had a sharing arrangement.
I did not watch the debate but what you say is truth.
This is the BBC doing the Tories business for them. As for this nurse, I accept your explanation for the circumstances that may be involved in her choices. Nicola should be able tobat this over the net to Ruth, her boss has been running Britain one way or another.
I listened this morning to the Shadow Minister for Education being harangued unmercifully by John Humphreys and I was wishing she hasd simp!y said to him that he apparently knew the cost better than she did and then shut up. The BBC are well worth the watching. I would rather that people would not fall into the trap they set up say nothing that willsnnoy them more.
That Nurse has a very familiar face I am sure if people look through the Referendum stuff they will find her.
I should addn
@Cuilean
Don’t disagree, but Opera where I am working is an everybody event and not seen as just for the rich (working in former Soviet block country). But in the UK, I do take your point 😉
I have nothing but distain for so-called socialists taking the ermine and basically prostituting whatever principles they used to have to soak off the taxes of the very people they were supposed to represent.
Sorry, RANT over!
Martin says
“Hold politicians to account, aye, but ffs some woman off the street who happens to be in an audience? Leave her be.”
She hardly looks like that Martin, didn’t you read the post ?
She didn’t just “happen to be in an audience” mate.
Her question was deemed so important that she was invited last night, because they didn’t manage to get that juicy piece of SNP Bad squeezed into last weeks propaganda fest.
If it smells like a plant…
I should add not all nurses are angels, some I have known were short of a halo,one or two would definitely be members of the Scottish Tories.
The bottom line in this story is that it just solidifies the fact that the BBC is enemy number one in this battle for independence and is the thorn in our side that is going to make our task extremely difficult as long as the older people who are guaranteed to come out to vote are hard wired to the propaganda. It’s the real life matrix.
It really doesn’t matter which way you come down on this the fact is it went out on the air and probably reached the audience it was targeted at who knowing no better or caring less will have gotten the message that the BBC intended them to get and diverted the attention from where it should have been focussed the actual General Election for which Ruth Davidsons party is responsible
They called it after all, so defend it, but the BBC made sure they didn’t have to
So job done BBC
at Gus1940
Off-topic, but I couldn’t believe it when they quickly cut with the questions about to start. Did switch straight over to the BBC News channel where I have to say the journalists actually did their jobs and really put her on the spot. I haven’t seen her look this uncomfortable since Angus Robertson nailed her in PMQs
She ain’t so strong and stable now
Long may this rumble on
On-topic, spot on Rev on the above article
What a public service you provide!
Yes a fine and noble assessment and a warning to all who use social media , Now here’s the BUT , if this had been a one off occurrence ok fine everyone makes mistakes .
But as we all know its planned its contrived and has been for months , well probable years , people are sick to the back teeth of this shit storm without access to any kind of reply ,so the ones who lose the place a bit, cut them a bit of slack .
Daily Politics set to run this nonsense just now. Loathed to watch, but will see what their agenda is.
The “nurse” episode was so clearly a set-up. Does the BBC regularly invite audience members back to QT if they don’t manage to “ask their question”?
If so, why was Nurse not invited back to QT. Why invite her onto the Leader’s Debate. As Stu points out, it is a GE debate.
Their website posted the “nurse” statement followed by anti-SNP comments from the right wing invitees in the “spin room”. It was obviously set up so that the papers could run with it next day. Website live page now removed.
The State Broadcaster colludes with the yellow press to denigrate the First Minister. What’s new? The “nurse” was simply a useful tool.
So no apology from the BBC for obvious campaigning on behalf of the Tory party. They do, however, post an apology from Joanna Cherry in which they repeat the nurse complaints once more:
link to bbc.co.uk
@Martin
Hold politicians to account, aye, but ffs some woman off the street who happens to be in an audience? Leave her be.
_____
Why should her claims not be held up to scrutiny.
The FM is rightly held accountable for any failings in her Governance but this was not a genuine case and should be called out as such.
She was there to act as a symbol of the down-trodden trying to garner sympathy from the audience in the studio and those at home and hoping for backlash side-effect against Nicola Sturgeon.
Thanks to social media this person has rightly been called out for her lies with the Daily Rancid also thinking it of merit to expose her as well.
Tony Little, opera in Scotland is for everyone too. I was at La Boheme on Saturday wearing sneakers, shorts and a Madness t-shirt. It was only a bit more spendy than the cinema and the very back row is even cheaper, only sold on the day of the performance. I actually prefer the cheap seats because the supertitles are easier to see.
Two points;
Her pay scale indicates she is not a nurse. She is on the salary of a Health Care Assistant which is not a nurse.
Secondly she does not work in the NHS. She is employed by BUPA.
Who organised this set up in the first place?
No question about it -it is the bbc who is culpable in this instance – they INVITED her to ask about a devolved issue and quite deliberately used her to attack the snp and indy – just another day at blatantly biased and corrupt media. Sarah Smith will never be neutral in these debated nor Jackie Bird – their whole body language etc was in high spirit with the ‘star’ of the show – the nurse.
As ever the real issue is the BBC. They won’t change and will continue to pump out unionist propaganda and lies until we gain our independence.
I hope the SNP have plans to stop this when we gain our independence. They must not be allowed to continue to undermine our country when we finally break free.
Bob Mack says:
22 May, 2017 at 12:41 pm
Two points;
Her pay scale indicates she is not a nurse. She is on the salary of a Health Care Assistant which is not a nurse.
Secondly she does not work in the NHS. She is employed by BUPA.
Who organised this set up in the first place?
_____
According to her she is a charge nurse so more like £32k rather than £22k.
Quite clearly a set-up. SNP politician currently being harangued on the Daily Politics by BBC stooge about the clip, which was shown again preceding the item. The BBC will put this on a loop over the coming days.
What put the tin lid on it was the exchange at the end of the programme in which Smith said the issue was valid for discussion (it wasn’t) and it would influence the way people vote. Then, Bird delivered, grinning, what was clearly a pre-scripted line to conclude the broadcast – ‘hearing from the public can be a blessing – or a curse’.
A complete contrivance by a corrupt propagandist organisation.
Even more telling is her reaction to comments during her time on Questiontime 11th May (BBC iPlayer). seemed to be very much in tune with right wing comments. Obviously the BBC saw the merit in giving her the opportunity to give her question last night that they didn’t have time for back on the 11th May.
She also made mention of nurses going on strike, I am not aware of Scottish nurses threatening this but I have of the English, a downright dishonest person.
As an experienced Charge Nurse she would be earning in excess of £30,000 per annum.
The SNP being totally smeared by Coburn on daily politics about this and Drew Hebert sat and took. For God sake grow a pair and stop being so bloody nice. Enough is enough, time to go on the attack during so called interviews
Bloody predictive – Drew Hendry
The real story in this is that it was not a leaders debate about the G.E rather it was a platformed Unionist attack on Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP.
To my real surprise, Coburn was the only one that, rather than constantly attack Nicola Sturgeon, he actually tried to debate the real G.E issues although he was drawn into devolved issues through the drive towards those subjects.
The only one on that stage that should have been grilled was Ruth Harrison who should have been asked to try and defend her own party’s policies which affect the UK as a whole!
Absolute disgrace however that the publicly paid for BBC, made sure that this ‘debate’ was a full scale attack on Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP, the ONLY party in the UK even trying to help those on low wages and no wages.
It’s not far from Stockbridge to Lidl, or Leith walk cheap veg shops, or a bit further to a huge Aldi, if you have the luxury of having a car. Where you live, if in central Edinburgh, is not really a bother in terms of shopping, even Farmfoods is within walking distance. Buses are good and cheap to use as well, due to not being privatised.
It does appear that this nurse was slagging the SNP, and not the actual Tory, UKGov, even though it is the SNP who are the only real opposition to tory cuts and tory/red tory austerity. All a bit suspect, and orchestrated to ensure a programme which was designed to confuse people about the GE, and devolution.
Can understand why people were angry about it all. Has anyone really serioulsy threatened this woman like they have Nicola Sturgeon? Or is it a case of exposing something or at least something which might be worth examining abit closer, because we all know how dirty the BBC and the UKGov can play. They don’t like being called out.
If any witch hunt goes on anywhere, we can be sure it won’t be a tory of any kind, on the receiving end. They take no prisoners when it comes to independence supporters, or the SNP, for that matter. They show no mercy in fact, but are a dab hand at hiding dodgy Tory expenses, and such things.
All’s fair in love and war? :-/
Jim says:
22 May, 2017 at 12:37 pm
@Martin
Hold politicians to account, aye, but ffs some woman off the street who happens to be in an audience? Leave her be.
_____
Why should her claims not be held up to scrutiny.
The FM is rightly held accountable for any failings in her Governance but this was not a genuine case and should be called out as such.
She was there to act as a symbol of the down-trodden trying to garner sympathy from the audience in the studio and those at home and hoping for backlash side-effect against Nicola Sturgeon.
She was there to deflect attention from the ruinous policies of the Tory Party and, to a lesser extent, other Yoon parties. The inference was that the SNP is responsible for the whole austerity agenda and is deliberately targeting the NHS and education for cuts, when the opposite is actually true. The SNP is the only party committed to protecting vital public services, even within the constraints of the Tory austerity budgets imposed on us for the last 7 years.
[…] Wings Over Scotland The pertinent questions We’re not going to join in the attacks on a nurse who criticised Nicola Sturgeon […]
Training Day says:
Quite clearly a set-up. SNP politician currently being harangued on the Daily Politics by BBC stooge about the clip, which was shown again preceding the item. The BBC will put this on a loop over the coming days.
Totally agree Coburn AN sub a disgrace the way she dismissed the MP.Its a pity I can’t email her about this nurse and her very good life style she seems to lead and as I said before is she using food banks under false rules and if so she should be charged as she is taking food from some deserving person.
link to archive.is
I am livid about this distraction from the real issues.
link to moflomojo.blogspot.com
“totally smeared by Coburn” Yeugh
Come on the Wasp, it’s lunchtime. 🙂
Regarding the “wee jimmy crankie” quote. I would say to this nurse.
“You don’t have the looks to be so pass remarkable yourself”.
” You’ve just embarrassed yourself and your family with possibly some porkie pies! Get over yirsel,you’ve had your 2 mins of fame”.
Stu, these are the bald facts about nurses pay in Scotland, an abstract from my post on WGD. You are much more patient and reasoned than I. This was a deliberate attempt by Sarah Smith to full the TV audience.
“Ms Austin,the flame haired harridan who was a ‘re-invited’ member of the ‘balanced’ BBC audience who, and these are facts from her own tweets, is single, is photographed sitting in a very comfortable gaff, who earns according to her own tweet, £22,345 per annum, the nearest equivalent of which on the Royal College of Nursing’s official Scottish pay scales is £22,313, which is the fifth increment of the Band 4 scale , which is £404 MORE than her equivalent in England and Wales, where Ruth’s Government is demanding £20 BILLION in ‘efficiencies and savings’ from the English HS, which means sacking thousands of nurses doctors and vital health staff by 2021, while Clare is guaranteed no redundancies, by that BAD SNP mob whom Clare is accusing of bringing you to the brink of resigning.
In Northern Ireland the equivalent rate is £621 LESS that Clare’s take home.
They must be queueing ‘round the block at the Falls Road Food Bank across from the Victoria.
We have yet to discover the location of the Food Bank which gave ‘free food’ to a single woman, in full time employment, pocketing £437 a week. Did she mislead them? Or can anybody pop into their nearest Free Food Store these days? Somebody’s lying somewhere, and it ain’t the Royal College of Nursing.
I’m sure David Clegg will be investigating this juicy EsEnnPee Bad yarn today.)
There are two issues if we can call them that here.
Firstly according to the lady herself having been in QT she was invited by the BBC to this debate to ask her question. You have to submit questions up front in writing so the BBC moderator clearly understood it was being framed in Devolved manner pertinent to Holyrood not Westminster.
Secondly any daily mail types who have seen her photos in the Sun or indeed on line have their prejudices about the complex reasons for going to food banks reinforced and probably believe she does go to a food bank in between the foreign holidays etc. She has to an extent undermined what is a disgraceful situation in this country.
I would say the Sarah Smith handled it appallingly, the FM rightly stated that the public sector pay squeeze is unsustainable when inflation is going through the roof. Now that was the GE issue and all of the leaders should have been asked to respond to that. Instead we got an incoherent attack on a Holyrood government that may have caused initial misinformation on social media but has been exposed by tabloids who are not favourable to the SNP as being of questionable provenance.
I feel sorry for the nurse involved, I feel the BBC set her up for a fall and the BBCs involvement is disgraceful.
It was a shambles of a debate, an angry Ruth, Kez and Willie might as well have not been there, FM constantly under attack on devolved matters and Patrick Harvie and funnily enough Mr UKIP trying to get the debate to actually be about the GE.
Hate to say it but it has all the hallmarks of a former Labour leaders daughter & political editor for BBC Scotland’s influence, in making sure this nursing question got put to the FM as part of the show.
Whatever Ms Austin’s motives, hounding someone like that is sickening. I think your question no 1 is the important issue here – why did she get invited back to attack Nicola Sturgeon on a devolved issue (the actual pay) when the pay freeze comes from Ruth Davidson’s party?
But the debate had another questionable contribution. The maths teacher claimed the only reason good Highers are up is because the standard of exams has been dumbed down.
My son sat Higher Maths in 2015 and Advanced Higher Maths in 2016. In 2015 they ran the new and the old Higher Maths exams alongside each other as some schools hadn’t changed over. There was a media outcry about the new exam as it was much harder than the old one – so much so that they had to change the bands to compensate.
For Adv Highers most of my son’s class failed their prelims as the exam was so hard. He brought his questions home telling us that even the maths teachers were struggling to solve them (and that’s if they can even find teachers to teach maths at that level as the subject matter is so specialised).
So my husband who used to teach engineering at university sat down with him trying to solve the questions at home, for both exams in far more time than the exam and struggled with this, too. It’s true that in the late 90s/early 00s my husband and his university colleagues used to complain that the standards had fallen and that they had to start teaching first years at a far lower Maths level than they expected, but this has now changed. I can’t tell myself if they’re at the right level or not, because my own Higher Maths doesn’t even compare to what the kids do here, but the standard has demonstrably not been dumbed down.
And the older gent in his “5th decade of teaching” who claimed that the extra money for headteachers from the Attainment Fund couldn’t be used to hire extra staff? That must have been his headteacher’s decision. The school my niece works at near Perth just got a huge award of that money and that’s exactly what her headteacher is doing – hiring someone. And here’s what the Scottish government guidance says on this:
“Where schools identify the need to recruit additional staff for an appropriate intervention or activity, they should work closely with the Local Authority (as the employer) to ensure that the job remits and specifications are clearly tied to the aims of the intervention.” (link to gov.scot)
Hiring additional staff is clearly an option in deciding how to use this extra money.
The next time a debate of this nature is in the offing the FM should tell them to go fuck themselves!
So its another BBC “ringer”, just like during the last indyref.
Colour me surprised – the BBC cheat & lie? Who would ever have imagined such a thing was possible.
To paraphrase the late-great Michael Flanders (and out of context): The BBC hierarchy is NOT political – they are ALL Conservatives.
@Jim,
No Jim, charge nurses are generally band 7 which start at £40,000. This lady has this morning tweeted her status to others. She states she gets £23,000 per annum which is the equivalent of a band 4 Health Care Assistant under agenda for change pay scales. She is not a nurse.
Every health care assistant in the NHS on the same grade 4 is paid more than her because she is employed by BUPA who pay the national Agenda for Change rate which we know is lower in England.
This was an attempted stitch up.
Ward nurses are generally band 5 or 6.
Neatly done Rev.
I’m trying to picture a Conference Room at PQ with Donalda Wotsername and her henchpersons planning how to turn a scheduled GE Scottish Leaders Debate into nothing of the sort and make it a full on attack on Nicola and The SNP plus making sure that not a word is spoken about The Labour and Tory Manifestos.
1pm National BBC Opinions Bulletin has just started – any odds against Nursegate being featured?
Its got massive mileage for BBC, BBC2 lunchtime politics show, nothing much about huge May U-turn today, but full on monstering of, JC loves the IRA, SNP smear nurses, rounded off BNP leader interview.
Job done, tory BBC.
Martin
This woman was not just someone“ off the street“ she was invited by the BBC having apparently already been on QT, so it would seem she was a plant.
Her salary of £22000 should rule out her claim that she has to rely on food banks. If she is not lying about this then she can surely reveal the location of this food bank and vindicate herself but as yet she has not. Why.
Ms Austin by her own admission says she has received abuse from other nurses. Why.
I would suggest Martin that you reserve your sympathy for Nicola Sturgeon who was ambushed in an appalling manner by the BBC with the help of this planted anti- SNP audience member.
And perhaps a thought for those people earning less than £22000.
Her linkedin profile, link to linkedin.com paints a picture of her big-ing herself up.
She’s a Staff nurse and possibly not full time.
I then spent 2 years working for the NHS Lothian Staff Bank gaining experience in all areas; Medical & Surgical Admission Units, Medical & Surgical Wards, Gynae, DCN, Ortho, , MOE, Rehab and A&E.
I now work predominantly in A&E although as I work for three employers I can be sent to any area that needs speciality staff urgently.
Not sure how the overlap in her actually qualifying as a nurse and when she claims to have been employed as one works. She’s only been qualified for 5 years.
If you read between the lines of the tweet it’s obvious she asked for questions to ask.
@admiral
She was there to deflect attention from the ruinous policies of the Tory Party and, to a lesser extent, other Yoon parties. The inference was that the SNP is responsible for the whole austerity agenda and is deliberately targeting the NHS and education for cuts, when the opposite is actually true.
_____
Exactly right and Dugdale had the audacity to blame Nicola Sturgeon for Tory austerity policies when the fact is, the S.F spends a considerable amount of a limited budget mitigating tory austerity with no acknowledgement from the Red Tories!
Someone explain to Dugdale that all nations run a deficit through borrowing and the figure of 15Bn is highly dubious and debatable.
‘I, Daniel Blake’.
The reality of having to rely on state handouts, not this ‘nurse’s’ version of poverty under this disgusting, tory and red tory condoned attack on our most vulnerable, our poorest, our sick, disabled, and most disadvantaged members of the population.
Just absolutely raging now at the attacks on the SNP and Nicola Sturgeon when it’s the TORY/RED TORIES that people should be calling out, and raging about.
The BBC is a state run, state sanctioned Tory mouthpiece. Sickening indeed.
Control the media and you control the people could hardly be more true.
Only positive, noticed piles and piles of Sunday rags left on shelves and floor of local coop last night, what a waste of trees though.
There are two “Claire Austin”s on the NHS mail system that work in Scotland, both in NHS Lothian.
One is ST1 Obstetrics and the other is a Staff Nurse.
Staff Nurse is Band 5, which is £22,440 – £29,033. (info here: link to rcn.org.uk )
interestingly, that page gives you historical data for payscales (make sure you select Scotland), and none of the scales have the value £22,345. So either she doesn’t know how much she earns, or she’s plucked a value out the air to suit her agenda.
@Chas says: 22 May, 2017 at 12:11 pm:
“I’d like to see Nursie give an honest account of herself instead of hiding behind vague suggestions.”
She has given enough of an account of herself, Chas. She has said that she was invited by the BBC to ask a specific question that she and the BBC both knew was totally irrelevant to the debate the BBC had set up under the pretext it was to be a Scottish Party leadership debate about the General Election.
There is no doubt that both the BBC and the woman in question colluded in an elaborate ploy to turn a debate on the General Election into an attack upon the First Minister, The SNP, The SG and the Independence Movement.
If not for the alert independence movement supporters who recognised the woman, The BBC’s, “Cunning Plan”, may have worked.
By now attempting to divert attention away from the BBC’s, “Cunning Plan”, they are now attempting to justify the unjustifiable.
It was pretty clear who was in charge in a broadcasting sense for last night’s show. It is a side issue of whether the nurse was genuine or not imo. To be honest the SNP have used plants in the audience as well in the past, this is a standard political trick used I would imagine pretty much everywhere to varying degrees.
For me that is not really an issue. If anyone thinks independence is inevitable then they just need to have viewed last night’s offering to be dissuaded of that notion. Make no mistake, we are up against powerful people and forces, and they are and will be ruthless, and they have no intention of seeing Scotland become independent. There is a lot of both personal and vested interests in preventing independence. I just don’t believe for one second that BBC Scotland got confused over devolved and reserved powers. Holyrood has been there for nearly twenty years after all, and education has never been to my knowledge controlled from Westminster. This was deliberate imo, and we need to be able to deal with it effectively, and the media strategy from now on in has to be much better than what it was for the first independence referendum, and it is a wake up call for the likes of Nicola Sturgeon, Joanna Cherry (who made a mistake last night), and company (although privately they must surely be able to see what is happening).
defo says:
22 May, 2017 at 12:17 pm
It’s hard enough to get through the BBC filter once, to get in an audience.
To be invited back to ask ‘your’ (irrelevant) question seems unprecedented, and one can only conclude it was a stitch up.
And so it does, I was picked to ask a question during the Indyref debates, from a show in Portree, was relevent for both sides of the matter, but the way I worded it when we the audience were asked to right out two questions each was slightly against the Yes campaign, this was done on purpose to ambush the No side, anyway after an hour of filming having been waiting in the Portree community centre, five questions were asked, BUT after having to apply to appear on the show about two months before, three totally anti yes questions were allowed, two from doctors who were supposedly holidaying in the area, and just appeared that day and got in , even after we were all vetted that day, and the other wasfrom another holiday maker, again just appeared that day, we the locals were livid that for a debate on local issues that these three people hijacked it, think it was the folloqwing week that nut job in Inverness got clear airtime, did I get asked onto Inverness show to ask my question there, I dont bloody well think so, the BBC had plants in 2014, and they had them again now
My main concern in all of this, isn’t the nurse herself (though her claim was so outlandish to begin with, that it was no surprise that everyone started to question her background. Going on the attack and blaming the FM when really, the blame lies with Westminster and it’s control of the economy and inflation didn’t help her case either). The real blame here lies with Sarah Smith (primarily), Jackie Bird (backup presenter) and the BBC overall.
If Sarah Smith can’t tell when a question is asked and the issue is one that is devolved to Holyrood and not Westminster, then she is in the wrong job. Christ! Even an audience member along with Patrick Harvie highlighted the point that the questions being asked had no relevance to the General Election. Sarah Smith must have known what was going on and therefore not only allowed it to continue, but joined in the questioning. If it flew over her head, then she is utterly incompetent …even after being told by both panellist and audience member that the questions were irrelevant!!
My main concern is how do the SNP handle this? You can defend in a battle and win. You cannot defend in a war and win. Sooner or later, you need to go on the offensive if you hope to win. The SNP need to bring the BBC to task over this misguided and unbalanced TV debate. What was shown around Scotland had half the electorate howling at the TV over open biasm and opportunism.
As Stuart says, many questions remain unanswered; not just around the nurse …but also the BBC and its presenters too.
Who gave her the authority to speak for “all NHS staff” (which numbers over a million)? She then contradicts herself by stating the nurses who disagree with her.
Her agenda is blatantly transparent, and anyone unable to see that isn’t impartial.
A number of newspapers covering this story in a similar way to WoS.
Let folk listen to what she claims and compare with the lifestyle she appears to enjoy from her social media postings.
People will draw their own conclusions as to whether she was telling the truth or using foodbanks to play politcs.
Rev. Stuart Campbell says:
22 May, 2017 at 12:21 pm
“Their Eardley ligger is all over Facebook for example, hard at it blaming SNP for “briefing” him.”
Well, he’s got a point. Joanna Cherry is a QC, for Christ’s sake, she should know better than to go parroting rumours.
im certain the first tweet i saw was from nick saying that the bbc have confirmed she is married to councillor, then she wasnt, then she was, etc but cant find it on his timeline anymore???
mmmmm
@Bob Mack
No Jim, charge nurses are generally band 7 which start at £40,000. This lady has this morning tweeted her status to others. She states she gets £23,000 per annum which is the equivalent of a band 4 Health Care Assistant under agenda for change pay scales. She is not a nurse.
Every health care assistant in the NHS on the same grade 4 is paid more than her because she is employed by BUPA who pay the national Agenda for Change rate which we know is lower in England.
This was an attempted stitch up.
Ward nurses are generally band 5 or 6.
______
She apparently claimed on her FB page that she was a charge nurse;
From this website:
link to payscale.com
!A Charge Nurse (RN) earns an average salary of £32,762 per year.”
Even at the lower rate of £32K there is still no reason or need to use a foodbank and there is no way she would get referred to one.
I do realise it was a setup and the problem for the Unionists is that now, the whole country knows it to!
Not sure at how a 50yo nurse claims to be on less money than a newly qualified band 5 nurse? Starting wages are about £22,440 up to £29,034 at the top band 5 level.and from what her LinkedIn profile says, she is an A&E speciality Staff nurse 5 years qualified.
Really not sure how she could be qualified to be refereed to a food bank?
Staff nurse at band 5 in Wales gets £22,129 to £28,747 and they are voting to strike.
If anyone else graduated from university and then did the work they do and didn’t see an increase in pay above inflation or at the least to match inflation they wouldn’t accept it.
my partner works in the NHS in Wales so I have an idea of what they go through on a daily basis.
Not badly paid compared to many other jobs however underpaid for what they do and in England they have scrapped the nurses bursary.
Ms Austin says that her fancy dinners and trip to New York were paid for by friends and family, and we have no reason to disbelieve her on this point. However, were I in her claimed position of having to rely on foodbanks to survive, I think I’d be asking said friends and family to buy me a week’s shopping rather than taking me out for an expensive meal or on an expensive trip. Might just be me though 😉
Anyone who describes themselves on their published Twitter profile as “moderately rich” and whose published Facebook account is chockablock with trips to the theatre, posh restaurants and champagne-swilling international trips, who then (the second time she appears in a live prime-time TV election-special audience), claims to have been so unable to manage on her salary that she’s had to use the food bank… is the legitimate subject of public scrutiny and questions.
John Beatties show leading with the state of nursing. Two guests one experienced nurse in mental health lamenting the state of nursing within NHS and a spokesperson from Royal College of Nursing. What’s the guessing neither of these two guests were phoned up late last night or that the shows lead topic was dreamed up after last nights debate. The word orchestrated springs to mind.
The BBC colluded in this – I’ve been on one of their panel debates before – they phone you up beforehand to ask your availability and what your questions are! They then select the audience based on your responses – on the day they have 3 or 4 people selected and singled out to ask the pre arranged questions – it’s then pot luck if anyone else in the audience gets a chance to participate! Given that by her own admission they asked her because she didn’t get to ask her question the previous week, the BBC KNEW what she was going to ask and therefore KNEW that health was a devolved matter and F*** All to do with a Westminster debate!
Again, Sarah Smith could have intervened and cut the questioner off pointing this out, but allowed her to continue!
They deliberately orchestrated the whole thing to show Nicola Sturgeon in a bad light!
I hope the woman enjoyed her 5 minutes of fame because she exposed herself as a liar and a fraud – very naive to imagine that in this day and age she wouldn’t be discovered as such from her Facebook/ Twitter/ Instagram/ LinkedIn trail which are all readily available to the outraged public!
All she has done is gain notoriety as a liar and fraud and in the process of her actions has demeaned genuine food bank users and people in the nursing profession who actually work for the NHS unlike her who earns a lot of money as an agency nurse!
She has proven herself to be untrustworthy and the BBC again proves itself to be the manipulative, dangerous, propaganda arm of the British state!
The questions that need to be asked are – WHY was she specifically asked to go on a GE leaders debate to ask about a specifically devolved area? Especially when the Scottish govt have NO control over pay ( which is negotiated across the whole of the U.K. under agenda for change scales). Yearly pay awards are set by a uk wide independent review body, which the Scottish govt also cannot change. Every year the SNP have given their recommended award. Every year the Tories have not. link to rcn.org.uk Compare the pay scales across the uk. Why are the media not asking the BBC why they invited her on specifically?. Why does the FM not shut this line of hectoring down by saying pay and uplifts are decided uk wide so unions will not allow an increased pay award in Scotland! The truth is always the best way to remove a direct attack. This nurse appears to work in an agency ( not directly in the NHS). Even part time she wouldn’t be making the wages she claims as a ‘charge nurse’ ( band 6 at least, experienced as she claims she would be an SCN ( senior charge nurse) on band 7. She claims to have helped run benbecula hospital. ( a tiny wee place) so a foi request on if she had ever been employed in that capacity would easily answer questions about her honesty – as would a fitness to practice report to the nursing and midwifery council. If we cannot expect basic honesty from our nursing staff then that’s a worry. Nurses are not paid as they should be for the levels of skill, knowledge and responsibility they have and some ARE having to use food banks and charity to survive ( disgraceful in a first world country), but that shouldn’t be allowed to be used by the agenda’d bbc to try to have a go at the FM ( who is not responsible for it) while letting the Tory govt off scot free.
I am not going to makes any comment on that nurse in leaders debate.
However I for one have no problem with not just those working in the NHS, but workers in other sectors of our economy being paid a decent living wage to help keep
them out of poverty.
But as Stuart has already pointed out the setting of
the minimum/living wage reserved to Westminster and the Scottish Government’s fixed budget being reduced by Westminster austerity there’s only so much it can do.
And Sarah Smith and others should have been made clear in the leaders debate to the viewing public.
In case people didn’t catch the foodbank nurse/devolved issue/ SNP-accused squirrel, the lunchtime Daily Politics show just aired that entire section again and grilled an SNP person on it all over again.
Elephant in room — today’s newspaper stories blowing the woman’s claims out of the water so the clear evidence that BBC’s entire “question” is a total set-up — not even mentioned,
The SNP are obsessed with Independence so says the BBC Reporting Scotland
Indeed so much so they said it 9 times in 3 minutes
No SNP person was interviewed
I can assure everybody that most of this is utter nonsense. I am in a difficult position of knowing the full facts but being unable to break confidences. Staff morale in the NHS in Scotland is among the highest in any organisation on these islands. Take my word for it. It is being measured as we write.
One day I will tell all but for now, my word is my bond.
The work currently being undertaken by the Scottish government has attracted the interest from IHI in America.
This is the world’s most prestigious health care organisation, headed up by a Scot who used to control the NHS here in Scotland. They are very impressed indeed.
BBC Scotland wrecked a UK GE debate and the only real news is that it was a very skillful display by Pacific Quay, keeping everything focused on SNP bad and not on Teresa May or massive issues like,
link to uk.reuters.com
TOP NEWS | Mon May 22, 2017 | 1:30pm BST
No trade talks before Brexit bill settled, EU tells London
Was Brexit mentioned last night, was there angry passionate Remain Scots voters like Ms Austen given loads of debate air time and beeb close ups to grill Ruth D?
Whatever we say about Pacific Quay liggers, with every election, they are getting better and better at what they do, damaging Scottish democracy.
Could it be that her obvious lie and subsequently getting caught was just a way to cast doubt on the fact that ‘real’ nurses are ‘actually’ having to use food banks. That she was a plant with the intention of getting caught out so it would cast doubt on the recent reports of nurses having to use food banks to get by and that would vindicate the Tories by allowing them to then say ‘look! The stories of nurses using food banks were all false!’ or even just to bury the nurses using food banks stories in your google search under all the headlines of “Nicola Sturgeon criticized from nurse on using food bank” (just a thought) but very fitting of an underhand Tory tactic.
Haven’t read the earlier comments, so apologies I’d this point has already been made.
It is quite possible that there was a double objective here. Firstly to deflect the debate away from WM and the Tories, but also secondly to provoke a reaction from those pesky cyber-bullies-nats we hear so much about. Have tempted a few foolish folks to go too far online, Yoon loyal media will then have the opportunity to make mischief.
Everyone on the YES side needs to be ever vigilant for traps.
The Rev’s tone is spot on, highlighting the pro Unionist BBC bias and real underlying issues. WoS has wisely not gone down the witch hunt route.
The BBC clearly conspired to keep the debate away from Westminster and general election issues. A day of reckoning will come!
Post Indy I would suggest the Scottish government takes over all the BBC assets in Scotland, but NONE of the staff. The staff would be free to apply for posts in the new SBC. Anyone who have has undermined Scottish democracy need not apply.
The Sun editor said in the press room that it would be his front page story. It wasn’t and tucked inside was a picture of her guzzling champagne in posh NT restaurant.
I was attacked on the Hootsmon’s Loyalist comment page for mentioning this.
“I was attacked on the Hootsmon’s Loyalist comment page for mentioning this.”
Did you remember to go through the decontamination process afterwards though Donald ?
It takes more than just a quick shower to get the bile stink right away.
My issue with this is that the BBC website are carrying the apology, not from themselves for their duplicity in this matter but that somehow the SNP tried to “smear” somebody.
Of course it was a person who asked a question which was a deliberate BBC attempt to embarrass the Scottish government and got caught by all their fellow media doing it, however that seems to have eluded their necks which seem entirely made of brass.
It has damaged the BBC I think.
There was a point when they would do their own reputation damage in the eyes of the public, not by us who know what they have been doing but by the obvious over egging of some of their schemes one day caught out by the public at large. Once you lose belief that you are a truthful speaker you are then seen for what you are.
I would dearly love to know why the Scottish branches of the Conservative Labour and Lib Dem parties are getting away with putting forward their own election manifestos in Scotland separate from the election manifestos of their parties down South.
I thought this was against the rules?
If we all fraudulently went to foodbanks week in week out, Free food, Power cards, Gas cards etc etc, maybe just maybe we could all afford a to holiday to the US, Bollinger, fancy food in fancy hotels and restaurants.
If this is the case and she did fraulently take food and power cards etc, then she should be hauled over the coals for her actions.
The “nurse” moment in the debate is generating far more debate than it deserves. I think this primarily because
1) The debate was a poorly managed heap of crap
2) The opposition to the SNP including the Eardlies and that ilk were desperate for an ambush and will take whatever opposrtunity comes their way no matter threadbare.
It should be noted that anyone who points out that it is threadbare is an evil Nat for looking to see how threadbare it is.
However, it is a sideshow. The real news is that “weird” and “wobbly” May has wobbled (again) and is desperately backing off on a manifesto that is less than a week old. We are going to trust this person to negotiate? Are we really that crazy?
Anyone hear how the poll in Wales went?
Agree with some comments that this is also likely a tactic to attempt to divide people. Again.
A huge and very convenient distraction from the real issues that will impact very heavily and very negatively on the people here in Scotland and the rUK. Who’s that guy employed by the Tories to advise (propagandise) on their ‘campaign’.
Expect more of this kind of thing happening and being ratcheted up big style in the run up to June 8th. It is more an indication surely then, of what this Tory,( unnessary)General election is all about.
KEEPING SCOTLAND, shackled. Brexit, England= Bankrupt. Simple.
Mike says:
They can ans should produce documents covering devolved issues, but even at that, why bother for a GE?
If the produce documents which contradict HQ on reserved issues, then that would be something for the Electoral Commission to take up.
I can’t be bothered doing a comparison but I do reckon they will be careful and it will be a mix of devolved stuff and other parts towing the main party line.
The objective, of course , is to pretend to have some Scottishness about themselves.
As ever the real villain in all of this is the britnat bbc.
A few months ago i was watching a programme about foodbanks, there was a young couple complaining that they had two kids, both had a job and they had to use foodbanks, what they did not say was, they had a big house with a mortgage, they did admit both of them had a car, needed to get to work ofc, i managed to get to work quite well on public transport when i was their age with kids to support, and a wife that did not work, ofc, i lived within my means, no mortgage, could not afford one, no car, could not afford one, and no holidays, could not afford them, that’s what’s wrong with some of todays generation, they want it all now, and its all on credit they cannot afford, i would have loved a big house with an extra room for my 3 kids, but alas i come from a generation with the attitude , if you cannot afford it, wait until you can afford it and don’t take risks with your hard earned money, think of your kids, if things go wrong they will suffer for your buy now pay later attitude to life and finance…. Rant over, Peace to all
@Mike says: 22 May, 2017 at 2:19 pm:
“I would dearly love to know why the Scottish branches of the Conservative Labour and Lib Dem parties are getting away with putting forward their own election manifestos in Scotland.
I may be wrong and I have not checked but are not the Scottish Tories actually a separate set-up from their English counterparts?
I know the Greens are separate from the English Greens and Labour are described as an integral part of the London Labour Party as, “An Accountancy Unit”.
In the same way Labour in Scotland stupidly sacrificed itself doing the tories’ dirty work during the first independence referendum, so now the bbc in Scotland is sacrificing itself doing the tories’ dity work in promoting britnat propaganda. Fewer and fewer people in Scotland will now give the bbc in Scotland, or elsewhere, the benefit of the doubt.
The bbc is finished in Scotland.
Don’t pay the britnat tax; let britnats pay for britnat propaganda.
“Hold politicians to account, aye, but ffs some woman off the street who happens to be in an audience? Leave her be.”
But, she is not “some woman off the street”.
She is a paid up member who is being used to troll.
Get real. We know the script by now.
OH for the SNP to have someone with the gallusness to go on one of the BBC’s Tory party political broadcasts (aka known as any BBC political programme and, when asked about a devolved issue replied:
“Sorry, Andrew/Gordon/Sarah/Whoever, that is a devolved issue – I am on here to discuss matters pertinent to the General Election, such as the total mess this Tory Government is making of Brexit/its insidious death tax/its plans to claw back powers from Holyrood, Belfast and Cardiff. Ask me about relevant Genera Election matters, I will answer, otherwise, get stuffed”.
It is way past time the SNP got nasty with the BBC – don’t be so bloody nice and co-operative.
Some consolation: there was a few moments of booing directed at shouty pointy Ruth. Little mention of that in the media reviews.
Just watched that awful woman, Jackie Bird, sum up the Scots Leaders’ Debate. She’s been beaming lies and propaganda into our living rooms for 29 years and seems to be staying there forevermore.
It’s a BBC rumour that she poisons all younger rivals by inviting them to dinner, then sedating them while she eats their brains like Hannibal Lecter and buries them in the BBC basement.
I digress. She immediately sums up by talking up the nurse putting NS and that it is often these ‘unexpected and personal’ audience moments which can turn a debate!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not so ‘unexpected’ you poisonous excuse of a journo, when you invited the nurse on in the first place with the sole intent to attack NS. Clegg swallowed the BBC farce which might explain his anger at being conned that he ran the story in the Record that she was not what she seemed at all.
Stu’s right. THis story is not about nursey. It’s about the BBC’s shadowy role inviting a plant to embarrass our FM. Out and out propaganda machine.
We are up against a sophisticated adversary. The BBC in general is an establishment tool, and in Scotland specifically is a propaganda 5th column for the yoons.
Encourage the boycott whenever you can. Decline to pay the tax. At events sponsored by them wear your badges and T-shirts. Don’t buy any product made by their organisation.
I heard a snippet on R4 today ( I know ) from a chap who has written a new book about India prior to 1947. He managed to inform the audience about the British being instrumental in setting up the Muslim Brotherhood there, and in ensuring that county’s partition. Hundreds of thousands of people died as a result of British duplicity. They had a long long history of running an empire. They cannot ever be underestimated.
In Ireland last century it is arguably the clout of the US and Mr Devalera being a US citizen which made Britain see “sense” there. Weakened by the second war and undermined by the US the Empire was broken up to suit their aganda. But We have only ourselves.
This fight might go on a hell of a lot longer than we anticipate. And it is by no means certain that the yoon side will let us go gently.
For now, don’t pay the TV tax. Vote only pro Indy parties. Ignore aunty. She is a serial abuser, and yer mum should have telt ye to keep away frae her.
Wasn’t there a similar incident with a nurse on a Better Together leaflet during the 2014 Referendum? Wasn’t there a similar ‘row’ afterwards about how she was just a poor nurse and the Vile Cybernats were picking on her? Is this another weak attempt at a straw man by the same people?? And, aren’t the press/BBC treating us like we’re extremely stupid – again?
Not impressed by Sturgeon on this one.
She handled the recent Dugdale implosion really well but she’s off the mark on this.
I suppose that’s why they are politicians.
The BBC are helping us here. Ordinary folk are starting to question their impartiality.
This all out attack by the British Establishment will work in our favour.
Slowly slowly catchee monkey.
Don’t pay the tory state propaganda machine’s tax.
I am off the impression that people have to be referred to food banks by Social Services.
was unaware anyone could just walk in of the street and help themselves.
If I am right, then who referred Claire Austin and which food bank did she attend.
Some woman off the street?? Oh she knew what she was there for right enough, saboteur,troll,Jeremy hunt is the man she needs to talk to about a pay rise,his party control the purse strings. Are you listening Scotland?
Whilst not defending the social media frenzy regarding this nurse, i feel that a lot of it was fuelled by the knowledge that if this was an indy supporting person, we know there would be a five page spread on every paper bar The National and repeated ad neauseum on Reporting Scotland
Pay Scales for a nurse in Scotland.
Band 1 through to
£16,293 £16,293 £17,534 £20,101 £22,440 £26,831 £32,013.
Band 9
£40,832 £47,563 £57,232 £68,599 £81,011
This is just some of them so what pay scale is Claire Austin,on its a pity Jo Coburn did not invite this nurse to and ask her what her pay is and what food bank she used but then again that is not the BBC way I don’t think this story is finished yet.
I didn’t watch it. It’s the same old shite with the BBC so rubbered it, but for the ones who are angry.
Get even, and get out the SNP vote in 2 and half weeks.
Jc after all this blatant anti snp propaganda,what more does it take for those ‘proudscotbuts ‘,to see the light? I’ll not hold my breath.
This nurse is apparently a member of the campaign group “Nurses fighting for decent pay”, which as Stu says is actually a laudable aim, not least in England where their latest pay recommendation was not implemented by the Tory Government. (Something which Sarah Smith somehow couldn’t bother to direct at Ruthless.)
However, this nurse started her question in the debate yesterday quite differently:
This was directed principally – and in the event exclusively – at the First Minister and followed directly on the heels of another chosen audience member who also falsely claimed, against all the evidence, that the obsession is the FM’s.
This anti-SNP prologue of the nurse had in fact nothing whatever to do with nurses’ pay. So why did she include it?
What then seems to have been missed from this whole sorry episode is that by linking nurses’ pay with a partisan Unionist attack on the FM, this questioner has actually besmirched and damaged the case for nurses’ pay, which objectively is entirely unrelated to the issue of Scottish independence. There are no doubt many nurses who would like to see both their pay improved and an independent Scotland.
Ms Austin has left a distinct sour aftertaste that she is merely using the issue of nurses’ pay for rather different – and less laudable – purposes.
“starlaw says:
22 May, 2017 at 3:04 pm
I am off the impression that people have to be referred to food banks by Social Services.
was unaware anyone could just walk in of the street and help themselves.
If I am right, then who referred Claire Austin and which food bank did she attend.”
Thanks for that I was about to ask if anyone has established if she lied on TV or if in fact she did obtain food from a foodbank. Seems highly unlikely given her salary. If she lied then everything else she said,supposedly in defense of nurses, is null and void in my opinion.
@Juteman says: 22 May, 2017 at 2:59 pm:
“The BBC are helping us here. Ordinary folk are starting to question their impartiality.”
Indeed so, Juteman. I’ve been pointing this sort of thing out on Wings for ages but it won’t stop the usual suspects from posting comments to Wings with the constant Drip! Drip! Drip! “SNP should be doing this that and the other”. “Nicola needs to up her game”. “The SNP should be more aggressive”. “Blah”! “Blah”! “Blah”! “Blah”!
Sometimes I wonder whose side some of them are on. My impression is that whatever the SNP/SG are doing it is working and working well. It may be a slow process but it works and it has got us this far from when I first began to support Scottish independence all those years ago. Then almost everyone treated us as dangerous and violent terrorists.
Mind you there’s still some Yoon, Britnat, Misogynistic, numpties who still make such claims but it isn’t too hard for an open minded and thinking person to see who the real dangerous, violent and stupid terrorists really are. The smell of abject hate and fear can be detected for 100 yds around any news outlet.
As we speak the gap between the two factions is plain to see in the comments sections of such as the Scotsman, Daily Mail and other on-line broadcaster’s websites.
So once again we have dirty underhanded tactics by the BBC and a certain Andrew Learmonth writing in todays National fell right into the BBC Yoon trap and stitch up when reporting on the so called Debate.
I never watch those debates now because they are Brit Nat stitch ups. Mister Learmonth needs a face palm with a deid fish. It wasn’t the first stitch up and it wont be the last.
The whole thing stinks of the usual collusion between BLiS and BBC as well.
Thank god for WoS!!!!!
As I said earlier, and as is her excuse, she asked around for questions. She obviously didn’t understand them or forgot the version she’d meant to ask and defaulted to the originals.
O/t davidbsb,re Ireland and de valera,If jack lynch (irish taoiseach,)back in 1969 had the balls to threaten Westminster with a Russian naval Base in (lough Foyle)Derry. The yanks would have stepped in,and all those years of brit bloodshed averted.
When something seems a bit fishy, it’s to be expected that’s there is a bit of flurry of activity as people try and work out what’s going on. Well done Stu for trying to get to the bottom of it.
@HandandShrimp
O/T The Wales poll result will be released at 16:00. Try Roger Scully on twitter.
WTF was Sarah Smith involved anyway? Apart from being a rather crap journalist she is so anti SNP like the rest of her ilk that she could not possibly be fair and balanced. Strange, odd audience too apart from the above, ahem ‘nurse’. Hope the STV debate will be more balanced – would not be difficult after watching that tbh .
Well all I can say is thank goodness for the internet, because without it, we’d all have gone to bed last night worrying about the poor nurse who goes to foodbanks.
Seriously, it is now becoming an utter joke the nonsense that the liars at the BBC are indulging in. I now question ANYTHING on ANY subject by the BBC. Their news is pure anti SNP propaganda, their history programmes are pure britnat nonsense, with history from a very, very ENGLISH point of view.
The BBC is now just one big expensive joke. They are peddling bare faced lies to Scots, day in, day out.
I know they have always been against the idea, but I do genuinely believe that the SNP gains nothing from appearing on any BBC programmes or interviews. They should just boycott them altogether. Of course intially they will take a bit of flak, but longer term, more and more Scots will start to realise why the democratically elected Scottish Government refuses to have anything to do with the liars and propagandists at the BBC.
When it’s got to the point where even pro-Unionist papers like The Sun and The Daily Record admit BBC Scotland are at it, it really has to stop. Why does Nicola Sturgeon insist on offering up her teeth for the inevitable BBC booting, over and over again? If May can get away with not turning up at debates then why not Sturgeon? Turning up is like saying to the BBC: “Please boot me in the teeth!”. Surely there’s a limit to how many times she needs to be taught that lesson?
I was on question time with my wife a while ago, we didn’t get invited back to any other program to voice our questions.perhaps they weren’t the correct ones!
Tried a few times since,no luck so far,could be wrong type of supporters.
Nicola Sturgeon was first class, how she handles this shit is a marvel. Where would Scotland be without her?
@starlaw says:22 May, 2017 at 3:04 pm:
” … If I am right, then who referred Claire Austin and which food bank did she attend.”
Haud oan the noo. Starlaw. Are you not jumping the gun a wee bit there?
Before getting into those questions the first question has to be is the woman telling the truth that she has had to use food banks and if she was could it be as a result of her low pay or perhaps an error of a bank account or her employer being late in paying her wages or some such cause.
Her claim also inferred that it was due to her low earnings as a nurse in the SNHS – but was it?
Let us not jump to conclusions and start at the beginning.
Bob Park. 1.40pm
Very intriguing post Bob. Sound like NHS here is on the right track.
I’m looking forward to the dismantling of the BBC after independence and its replacement with a Scottish service.
Jesus wept, this little gem in the “scottish” Labour Manifesto,
link to scottishlabour.org.uk
The Curriculum for Excellence
was a bold policy conceived
by Scottish Labour, but it has
been undermined by poor
implementation by the SNP.
Teachers have not received the
support and resources they
need to successfully introduce
and deliver the new curriculum.
Instead, like so many public sector
workers in Scotland, they are being
asked to do more for less.
So basically the CfE was a gift to the SNP from the outgoing Labour administration which we’re now seeing the results of but it’s all the fault of the SNP for not throwing money at it rather than it being a stupid fucking idea in the first place regardless of how well intentioned it was.
Remember, you can still register to vote.
link to gov.uk
You have until late tonight. Do it, and make sure you vote, so we can ensure the red and blue tories have no success in Scotland.
How many people have used foodbanks across the UK in the past year? Over a million, isn’t it? How many of them do you suppose drink Champagne, fly off to New York on holiday and send their kids to exclusive, fee-paying schools. Not bloody many, I’ll bet.
Sure, nobody knows about anyone else’s financial situation, and no-one should be reaching for their torches and pitchforks, but come on! It’s not much of a stretch to suspect there’s something fishier going on here than the contents of Baldrick’s apple crumble.
IndyRef2 might be a while off yet, but the propaganda war has already begun in earnest. And it’s only going to get dirtier.
I repeat my previous post.
Play the ball, not the nurse!
Whether she is a nurse or not, or whether she is NHS or BUPA employed is not that important in the great scheme of things.
If she is a liar, then more fool her. It hasn’t seemed to have harmed Alasdair Carmichael much. I think it may be enough that her own colleagues don’t seem too happy with her.
The REAL issue is the the National Broadcasting company CHOSE to include a question about Scottish nurses in a GE WM debate. i.e knowingly included a devolved matter in a TV debate on WM policies.
That is wrong!
The question should have been ‘outed’ as a devolved matter and then batted to the leader of the Conservative and Unionist party, Ms. Davidson who is the representative of the WM government in Scotland and whose party is responsible for all decisions on Nurses’ pay in Britain.
All participants should have been invited to comment after the Conservatives and then Nicola could have pointed out the steps that the Scottish government has taken to mitigate those policies in Scotland.
Sarah Smith was woefully inadequate in stewarding this debate and admitted that they had deliberately allowed discussions on devolved matters because they know that will influence the vote. She admitted that the impartial BBC knowingly tried to influence the outcome of the election.
That remark should be reported to the Broadcasting Standards committee and the Electoral Commission.
That a gullible nurse has been made the scapegoat for all the ‘sins’ of the BBC is par for the course. People should not play with fire.
We can understand why our frustration at the BBC bias has caused people to investigate the nurse’s background, but sadly nothing is below them tactics wise now and a lot of the general public still believe the BBC.
It is the BBC who should be slated for this debacle.
@Robert J. Sutherland
Well spotted, she did indeed ask the FM if it would cost her her seat which in fact it couldn’t because the FM has no seat in the HOC
So a completely and totally irrelevant question designed to illicit an audience response
Which makes you kinda wonder how does someone with even a modicum of education not know that Nicola Sturgeon isn’t a MP given that the questioner even lives in Edinburgh
Are the powers that be who would defend this woman saying she’s educated enough to be a Nurse but doesn’t know what the First Minister of Scotlands job is
because if they are defending her on that basis then the nursing profession is in trouble because we would have morons working in it
But we really know no matter how you slice it or analyse it
this is definitely not the case
The only conclusion left therefore is collusion by other actors, and that the burden of suspicion because of past record of the BBC in this area, circumstantial though it may be, falls on them, unless they can prove otherwise
The prosecution rests m’lud
This was a concerted black ops by the BBC. From the line-up of Holyrood mps (why was NS on this?) to the plants in the audience, through to the ‘commentariat’ of the usual suspects of bitter SNPBad ‘journalists’. Jackie Bird could hardly control her pleasure at the outcome of the preordained stichup of NS.
Sarah Smith’s performance was a disgrace and in any normal world would merit sacking. But we live in a colony and these paid liars have been colluding for years to undermine the elected representatives of our country at all costs.
Personally, I am fed up of the SNP’s naivety in the face of brute force by the Brits. Hoping that the uncommitted will see through the artifice of this conspiracy is..to my mind..a vain hope. Try speaking to some of them on the doorstep!
I suggested a long time ago that the SNP needed to start educating the general populace about how Scotland funds itself and how our powers are so meagre. Yet there are those on here who think people aren’t interested in explanation as why the ‘£15 billion deficit’ lie does not need destroyed explicitly.
If enough folk buy the sort of shite being flung about last night then we aint gonna win anytime soon believe me.
One question : if nursery is lying about her status in the NHS and to actually using foodbanks…does this not merit disciplinary action against her by her employers?
David McDowell says:
Its all about proportionality. BBC is worth £billions, with unlimited cash, resources, liggers.
SO its clearly a tactical choice being made, probably made a long time ago. 4th estate, UK 4th estate BBC, must always be not exactly bowed down to, not exactly knuckling under the BBC but certainly not challenged, more of SNP acquiescing, far less battle it out with them, they are the boss BBC.
Everyone knows BBC Scotland is 100% pro tory, anti SNP and certainly anti Holyrood.
4th estate UK status is what gives all newsrooms and certainly all producers and editors, the confidence and the power to really get stuck in, shape and frame UK democracy and its haha democracy, wipe out threats, SNP, Greens, use and exploit useful idiots like UKIPers, protect and boost royals and the Lords. Look at how happy and confident Jacky Bird, Sarah Smith, all kinds of laughing hacks and liggers were in the BBC press spin room, MSP’s included.
Its what the UK is, or certainly what England is. And they all seem to like it too. Even if by some miracle Jezza does win, he’s hardly a radical threat to any of the UK estates at all. But their biggest threat today is ofcourse Scottish democracy and the SNP.
Scotland is ruled by the BBC, its their region, we just live in it. And lets face it, for at least a third of Scotland, BBC world is pretty fantastic.
Wales: Poll
link to blogs.cardiff.ac.uk
@David McDowell says: 22 May, 2017 at 3:47 pm:
Yes David, Great idea – let’s all blame the Nicola as you have just done. It’s all Nicola Sturgeon’s fault for meekly turning up to get kicked in the teeth yet again.
Has it never entered your head that it takes a lot of guts to turn up knowing you are probably going to get kicked in the teeth again?
Nicola does it and when it happens there are some previous unionist voters suddenly see the truth that the Union and its propaganda wing a rotten through the core. We have a great bunch of hard working and long suffering MPs who are regularly abused by unionists while doing their jobs at Westminster.
Tune in to Parliament TV when the next session begins and see it for yourself.
When it’s got to the point where even pro-Unionist papers like The Sun and The Daily Record admit BBC Scotland are at it, it really has to stop. Why does Nicola Sturgeon insist on offering up her teeth for the inevitable BBC booting, over and over again? If May can get away with not turning up at debates then why not Sturgeon? Turning up is like saying to the BBC: “Please boot me in the teeth!”. Surely there’s a limit to how many times she needs to be taught that lesson?
Lochside
Sarah Smith is just a BBC sock puppet. If it wasnt her, they’d get some other sock puppet to present their frauds.
Behind Sarah are dozens of very high paid grizzled old BBC tories sitting round Pacific Quay conference tables, day in day out, working out the best ways to take down the SNP. God knows they have a lot of experience.
Even all new and exciting Donalda Mac, will have almost no say in how the BBC in London want Scotland to vote.
“The bbc is finished in Scotland.”
I would love to believe that, but it can only happen after independence, and that will not be allowed to happen while the BBC has a breath left in it’s body!
People may be ‘slowly’ coming to realise what we on here have known for years (that the BBC is simply a corrupt, establishment organisation), but will it be soon enough, before Holyrood is dismantled by Maggie May?
We must get out of this lunatic Union.
heedtracker@4:07pm
“David McDowell says:
Its all about proportionality. BBC is worth £billions, with unlimited cash, resources, liggers.”
I didn’t say that.
In the nursery…
link to imgur.com
Our nurse was a willing stooge of the unionist BBC.
The debate was in regard to the General Election. She went in to cause damage by embellishment of the situation. Do not plead a case as yours when it is not. Many of us can tell a story of ATOS or Foodbanks. However we would never claim it as OUR story (I accept that a few on here could tell that story from direct experience).
She was shouting about the austerity pay rise limit imposed by the Tories to the UK and via consequential so to Scotland. Her spin was to put the blame on the Scottish Government.
She was fully aware of what she was doing as were the BBC.
She lied and therefore deserves no sympathy.
Meg merrilees @ 15:56:
Several good points there, Meg, and not least that one.
We’ve been rather distracted by the all-too-obvious dodgy nurse, but that wasn’t the only such infringement. The second segment of the programme began with a teacher going off on another devolved issue – teaching. Now we know nothing about her – maybe she was also a plant or maybe she wasn’t – but the BBC knew fine well what her question was beforehand, since (as we know) they always vet these things in advance, and they deliberately selected her to ask that question. So this devo-tilt wasn’t just some wee accident of an audience member going “off piste” somehow.
No, this was a deliberate setup, and the BBC has been caught red-handed at it. Even though they are now trying to rewrite history on their website by pretending that it was really all Joanna Cherry’s fault or somesuch.
Biased Craven Contemptible
Robert Peffers@ 4:09 says:
“Has it never entered your head that it takes a lot of guts to turn up knowing you are probably going to get kicked in the teeth again?”
No Robert, here’s exactly what enters my head:
If Nicola is turning up knowing she is “probably going to get kicked in the teeth again” then it’s a matter of debate whether that shows her “guts” or her stupidity. I’m entitled to my opinion and won’t be bullied into not giving it by anyone. I take heart that several other people in this forum clearly agree with me.
The poll from Wales is a Blimey! indeed.
Mayhem must be trying to throw this election Shirley? However, now is the time to redouble our efforts. The Tories appear to be crumbling in their own chaos (no coalition required).
Don’t know if it has been mentioned but the punch line in Greg Moodie’s cartoon in today’s National is, guess what! ” Wings Over Scotland”!!
How his Fame spreads!!
orri @3.55 – ha ha excellent digging ,the deeper you get the worse it becomes , a close inspection works wonders .
I believe if the BBC told the truth for one week, we’d be independent in one week.
Nursey has attracted most of the comment, meaning the performance of Ruth ‘raging bull(shit)’ Harrison has avoided its deserved scrutiny. She seems to have two settings. That manic grin thing, or a face of pure twisted hatred. A weird and angry woman.
Poor Dugdale seemed to be just plain angry as well. Her infantile reactions to Sturgeon were embarassing, certainly nowhere near the standard required for a (ahem) national party leader.
Rennie occasionally erred into sense when he rounded on the real and obvious enemy (blue tories). I was able to take him a bit more seriously when theres no animals humping in the background.
Harvie I thought behaved like a sensible grown-up politician, commenting on issues (as opposed to barking BS at NS then shouting over her attempts to answer stuff like ‘she wont say’).
And as for the Kipper, I thought he was OK for what he is, he got his (wrong) views over quite succinctly & didnt just attack Sturgeon, even having a pop at the tories. Kippers in Scotland, got to at least give them a modicum of credit for attending with a straight face.
The wheels have come off the Tory bus in Wales. Let’s hope engine blows up in Scotland.
The thing I don’t understand is how people on benefits who use food banks and live on less than £4,000 a year are demonised yet workers who use food banks and live on £20,000 a year are pitied. All the while we are told that working is the best way out of poverty.
I find her bad mouthing of other nurses rather bizarre (calling them a ‘disgrace to their profession’). It all lends credence to the idea that she’s just using the issue of nurses’ pay to further her own agenda. Whether she was lying or not about using food banks, the whole impression she gave was a negative one.
Holy shit. Has there ever been such a weak tory leader than Mayhem. I’d love to see the look on likes of Bird and Ligger Neil’s puss right now, under layers of slap, varnish, botox and hair dye.
link to independent.co.uk
For non Scots WoS readers, puss is colloquial round here for face, not actual pussy cats.
The next time an snp member stands up in front of a live debate.first words to address an answer/audience should be. For the benefit of ebc plants ,i shall answer a question only once.
I’ll leave this here.
link to twitter.com
defo says:
22 May, 2017 at 12:25 pm
Martin says
“Hold politicians to account, aye, but ffs some woman off the street who happens to be in an audience? Leave her be.”
She hardly looks like that Martin, didn’t you read the post ?
She didn’t just “happen to be in an audience” mate.
Her question was deemed so important that she was invited last night, because they didn’t manage to get that juicy piece of SNP Bad squeezed into last weeks propaganda fest.
If it smells like a plant…
INdeed, but go after the BBC,not her. People are just giving fuel to the unionists fire. I honestly thought we’d gone beyond being that stupid.
@Thepnr Here’s Two wee videos showing a bit of a meltdown in the Tory campaign
Weak and wobbly
link to youtube.com
Boris chased
link to twitter.com
Exactly Richardinho,why on earth would other nurse’s be a ‘disgrace to their profession?. She was definitely “no woman off the street “.
I am really disappointed in Joanna Cherry she should know a lot better especially as a QC.
It has completely taken the gloss off a story that was going badly wrong for the Unionists and the BBC who have now been able to turn the story back.
Will we never learn.
I can say factually that the lady concerned was not speaking on behalf of all nurses. Incidentally is she a member of a trade union who may dubiously make such a tall claim?
Do I think nurses should be paid more? Yes. – and nursing assistants, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, radiologists, microbiologists, porters, audiologists, maintenance staff. No redundancy packages should be extended and not just for nurses.
BBC set up and do I feel sorry for the person concerned? No .They chose their 5 mins in the limelight . Hell mend her. I’m such a caring person too.
Well I was talking to a Daily Mail Tory woman 83 yrs old again this morning in the cafe.
The one I mentioned last week who didn’t know her pension was safe in WM hands and they would pay it to her even if Scotland was independent.
She watched the debate and never mentioned Nurse but said she “noticed that the debate was a bit confrontational and didn’t like how Sturgeon was bullied”.
Switched off after the first 20 mins.
Meanwhile the latest UK polls are putting the wind up the Tories and ‘hey presto’ we have a reaction today.
link to archive.is
How will the sub-samples up here go …. don’t know, but the SNP will still be in charge after the stour settles.
I call out shortbread almost on a daily basis. I have learned to not watch these ambushes and excuses for our kilted auntie to piss on Scotland.
But don’t worry too much folks there is a long way to go and a Brexit winter is coming to Darn Sarf! Lots of leavers wish they had not been so rash.
Thepnr 4.36. Wales have an advantage,no sectarian orange bigots.
If the SNP continues to play this game using the BBC’s rules we will LOSE any second referendum. The SNP were told this before the first referendum and they are being told it again now. The SNP need to play a much shrewder media game. This latest blatant stitch up proves the BBC is still the real political opposition, not the Tory corpse they are trying to animate like a puppet. The SNP cannot lead us to independence by co-operating with these BBC weasels. When will they face up to that reality?
link to en.m.wikipedia.org
to found a “hospital” (then the name for this kind of charitable school) to care for the “puir, faitherless bairns” (Scots: poor, fatherless children) of Edinburgh.
scholarship could be an option if it’s charitable status relied on it.
OT, Welsh Westminster voting intention:
LAB: 44% (+9)
CON: 34% (-7)
… oh please, please let there be a swing against the Tories in Scotland’s like that!
Even if it was simply away from the Tories and spread amongst other parties (i.e. Not just all to SNP) it would be good IMO. The threat in this GE to SNP and Indy is mainly from the Tories.
OK.
Somebody has to do the dirty work.
And it shouldn’t all be left to the Rev.
So hold your nose and realise that the BBC has previous when it comes to planting nurses.
link to archive.is
I am always amazed when people commentators etc say that the S.N.P. Are obsessed with independence I mean do they not realise that was what the party was founded for and why it exists ?
Email from Kezia.. (Labour champion.. LOL)
Dear Croomp,
Today we launched our Scottish Labour manifesto.
You can watch my speech here and read the manifesto here.
Our opposition to a divisive second independence referendum is at the heart of our manifesto.
Voters across Scotland can use their vote on June 8 to send Nicola Sturgeon a message that she needs to get on with the day job.
But they can also use their vote to elect a Labour champion for their constituency and deliver a government that works for the many, not the few. In seats across Scotland, only Labour can defeat the SNP – the Tories aren’t at the races.
A Labour government would introduce a £10 Living Wage, grow our economy and invest in our valued public services.
Over the next two weeks, we will take our message across every constituency and every home in the country.
But we need your help. We need volunteers to help our teams across the country – and we need every penny we can to make sure we can deliver a Labour government on June 8.
Unlike the Tories and the SNP we are not bankrolled by millionaires and tycoons. Can you afford to chip in to elect a Labour government?
Together we’re Stronger.
Thank you,
Kez
Kezia Dugdale
Scottish Labour Leader
I observed Austen in QT on 11 May on Utube. Who was the man sitting on her right side? Was he the Tory Cooncillor?
@Me at 5:04pm
“The threat in this GE to SNP and Indy is mainly from the Tories”
Should perhaps simply be
“The threat in this GE to the SNP, Indy, and Scotland is mainly from the Tories.”
I am not prepared to belabour our own leadership with the type of criticism I am reading here – they have more than enough to contend with.
Keep it to yourself and be wary of splits and divisions.
Your own impatience is likely to be an embarrassment.
It is the integrity of the SNP’s positions and policy-making which will eventually win out, I am absolutely sure of it.
Here is a suggestion for our MSP’s etcetera
Check you facts then respond. Far more effective.
Have you never heard of a trap? I hope mr Mundell has sent the appropriate email/ tweet.
Having said that the BBC and patsy overstepped themselves.
I’ve been thinking of the Struggling and Foodbanks.
Here’s a wee bit of information from The Herald in November 2009 about the salaries at the BBC in Scotland.
“Ken MacQuarrie, the director of BBC Scotland, earns between £190,000 and £220,000, leading the list of 10 executives at BBC Scotland whose salaries are published today by The Herald, after a request under the Freedom of Information Act……”
“The second-highest earner in Scotland is Donalda MacKinnon, the head of BBC Scotland’s programmes and services, whose salary is between £130,000 and £160,000.
Six senior managers – Bruce Malcolm, Atholl Duncan, Ewan Angus, Anne Mensah, Andrea Miller and Alan Tyler – earn between £100,000 and £130,000, while Donald-Iain Brown and John Maxwell Hobbs earn between £70,000 and £100,000……”
2017—-Donalda MacKinnon is now the Director of BBC Scotland. 🙂
Bless.
I didn’t watch the debate last night, but I did catch the earlier BBC evening news broadcast. It attempted to frame the Westminster election in Scotland as being about “Scottish independence” (directly referencing the Tory election campaign slogan), and included an interview with Alex Massie (an independently minded journalist with no known political preferences apparently) and a vox pop with some people attending a race meeting at Kelso.
If the “public service” broadcaster had attempted to characterise the election in England as being about “strong and stable government”, then included an interview with Charles Moore as a supposedly neutral observer, and concluded with a vox pop of Ascot race goers, I think the roars of outrage would have been heard across all of England’s green and pleasant land.
Once again, it all comes down to the BBC’s practices. Devolved questions by people invited back onto BBCQT.
Either of those two issues blocked and it would never have happened.
Is the BBC corrupt or negligent? Either way, they are not fit for purpose.
I haven’t seen mentioned that Mrs May had a nurse and foodbank interview, where she said that there are many reasons why people visit food banks!
Camz 5.35
See my 5.06
Not fit for purpose.
And Joanna Cherry’s stupidity is enabling the BBC to focus the story on her apology.
Like other Wingers, I have been saying for ages that those representing the SNP have to be more aggressive with the BBC.
If they keep bending over…..
I didn’t watch last nights bun fight, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Why are we all so surprised when the establishment owned propaganda machine gets to show the people who’s in charge?
Inform Scotland banners can be bought at yeshighland.net
Take a banner to marches or do what YesAirdrie is doing and set up a yes stall with our Inform Scotland BBC misreporting Scotland banner…stick it in their faces at every turn. Let others see that they should maybe take a closer look at what the BBC is doing. This is the only way to bring them down, get the message out. You can also get our car stickers from Lindsay Bruce at ayemail. We are a not for profit group.
Mark Fletcher – well said.
If the BBC and its Scottish Colony at PQ are innocent of political bias surely they would not object to a program along the following lines as they obviously feel that they have nothing to fear from a public interrogation.
A 2 hour program in QT format where a panel of BBC Scotland superstars face questioning by an audience consisting of members of the public but including politicians.
Suggested panel members – Donalda Wotsername, Glen Campbell, Jackie Bird, Toodloo Taylor, KayE, Sarah Smith and Gordon Brewer.
I can’t think of a suitable chairman but perhaps other wingers might have suggestions.
Trailer for tonight’s Misreporting Scotland has just had Bird announcing that it will be highlighting Nursegate.
Now Reporting Scotland is repeating what that nurse said as read. Jackie Bird asks, “Nurses and Foodbanks, how widespread are they? “Cheeky cow.
Apparently at 6.30 pm, Reporting Scotland is going to cover the NurseGate story, stating ‘a nurse has to use foodbanks, how widespread is this?’
I wonder if they will give the details of her lavish life style, that many of us could only dream of.
BBC reduce Scotland’s politics to sewer level just to prove that Scotland is uniquely incapable of mature governance. That’s what these ‘shows’ are really about. Don’t buy their narrative. Tipping point is nearing…fast.
Is it not the case that all Joanna Cherry is guilty of, if guilty at all, is re-tweeting what on the face of it was a perfectly plausible tweet from somebody else which proved to be inaccurate.
However, her alleged despicable act of doing so is being built up into some sort of cause celebre in an attempt to blow a smoke screen over last night’s disgracefully rigged BBC alleged GE Debate which wasn’t.
Gus 1940 @ 6.01
Robert Peffers
Oh no! Scotland’s about to get poorer! Nurse! Nurse!
link to thenational.scot
I’m going to have to call BS on all of this. If she has friend and family who can buy her trips to New York why won’t they help with the odd tin of beans. Sorry, just don’t believe it.
I usually just lurk. But I will share the content of my complaint to the BBC, not that I expect a meaningful reply.
In ‘The Leaders’ Debate, on 21st. May,the topic was supposed to be ‘The General Election’. Towards the end of the programme, a red headed nurse (Claire Austin?) was allowed to ask questions which were related to a devolved issue, the NHS, and therefore should have had no part in this debate. It was later revealed by her that she had been on Question Time on 11th May, but had not been able to ask her question then, and was therefore invited onto The Leaders’ Debate. Is this true? If so, it means that the BBC staff connived in arranging unfair questions in the programme,which placed members of the Scottish Government at a disadvantage, since they had to defend their record in Government, whereas the members of UK parties, who were in fact responsible for these issues had no need to explain their policies. It is difficult to understand how BBC staff on the programme were not aware of the unsuitability of these questions. Was this person specifically invited onto the programme?
Was the content of her question known by the BBC staff before she asked it?
Did Sarah Smith and Jackie Bird consider asking such a question in this context acceptable?
Does the BBC , as an institution, consider this acceptable?
What action does the BBC intend to take Now?
What will the BBC do now to ensure this does not happen again?
Will the BBC take action in the future to prevent a recurrence?
Oh it’s smearing time again
We’re gonnae leave them
Ye can see that rabid yoon look in their eyes
They will plot and scheme tae keep us in the union
Oh it’s time for aw that smearing shite again…
🙂
Just another point occurred to me-
Surely ALL nurses in England, N.Ireland, Wales and Scotland know that the NHS is devolved and who is in charge in their area of employment.
They must have heard about the Junior Doctor’s strike over pay and the role Jermey Hunt plated in that.
The woman in the spotlight suggested that ‘they’ are on the point of striking and if she is in a trades’ Union then she definitely knows who is to blame and where to take her argument.
Sorry Ms. Austen I’m trying to be fair BUT Nursegate not looking very good for you.
Beginning to look like there was indeed an unholy alliance or in plain English – a stitch up.
I think Nicola handed it brilliantly by saying that her own sister works in the NHS and tells her what it is really like.
What was tRuthless doing throughout all this?
I didn’t get to see it.
Heh, heh, great article from someone who takes no prisoners.
gus1940
I agree.
However, this is called ‘clutching at straws’. They are so desperate that they think they can bring down a scalp like Joanna’s – that would be a massive coup.
However, I think her instant apology will defuse lot of that.
Some of this afternoon’s headlines ….
“SNP minister accused of backing ‘smear’ against nurse who attacked Nicola Sturgeon during TV debate” – Telegraph
“Dugdale attacks SNP “dirty tricks” over controversial nurse” – Herald
“Kezia Dugdale blasts SNP over ‘smear campaign’ as ‘foodbank’ nurse is hounded with abuse” – Record
“Nicola Sturgeon backs SNP candidate accused of nurse “smear”” – Scotsman
… the opportunity to attack the SNP fully exploited.
No mention of the BBC wilfully orchestrating deflection from actual general election issues.
No investigative journalism to explore the validity of the claims not their authenticity.
Im with a lot of folk on here… the SNP need to grow a pair. All this apologising crap is weak. Salmond would never have been so tame.
What was tRuthless doing throughout all this?
I didn’t get to see it.
She looked like a scary ventriloquist doll, with only two looks, wide eyed mental and very wide eyed mental. She’ll have to work on that, if she’s going to tv debate again. BBC camera’s protected the worst of Ruth’s gurning, which they do always with tory oddballs, like May and her mouth drop thing, when she tries to be funny. Scary, beeb gimp cut away, fast as light.
It is worth a look by the way.
BBC website in full SNP attack mode, highlighting the SNP MP apology, way down the page the lifestyle anomalies. Strangely no mention of why someone was specifically invited to ask devolved question at debate. In this context the ITV debate puts the BBC to shame.
Who initially put out the misinformation, looks like a beautifully set up attack on the SNP. After all, as already, mentioned why was she invited back to ask a specifically non GE question.
The BBC now feels it has the SNP on the back foot, I feel a HoL place being prepared for some BBC Scotland staff. But it really needs to be the BBC that is under scrutiny by the people of Scotland.
Re the SNP media handling strategy.
No one knows for sure whether a more robust confrontational approach against the media/bbc would help or hinder our cause of Independence.
One thing I do know.
Donald Trump defied the Establishment and won US Presidency at least in part by calling out the media head on for what they are.
He is a winner,we are losers.
That is not to say it would definitely work in our case,but no one can know for sure it wouldn’t make a difference.
It’ a delicate matter and could backfire as not everyone has the mad Donald’s panache.
The BBC still running with the poor little rich nurse being the star of the debate.
How utterly corrupt can a State broadcaster be?
I would trust North Korean news before I put any faith in anything the BBC tells me.
“Poor nursey was in tears when i met her…”
Aye, big crocodile tears.
If you support independence, or even if you just like your country, BIN THE BEEB.
Give yourself a pay rise, STOP PAYING the tory propaganda tax.
It’ a delicate matter and could backfire as not everyone has the mad Donald’s panache.”
You are a trolling again Dak. Fair enough. Trump’s a neo fascist who lost. He lost the vote and won the electoral college. He’s essentially a US game show host and we’ll be lucky to get through his reign without massive wars and bloodshed.
So no, don’t copy Trump.
BBC just did a piece, not too bad. It flagged the higher rates in Scotland, and Brian T made it clear the pay rate, as recommended by the UK pay body has been implemented here.
That’s the bit Nicola could have put more emphasis into, but she was on the back foot.
They reported that said nurse was referred twice in 5 years to a food bank, in very specific circs.
So, there we have it, finally, the truth.
I find it somewhat bizarre on a day when the PM does U turn on a 5 day old manifesto that the only interesting thing the BBC can find to say about an election is whether the SNP were too critical of a particularly weird setup the BBC themselves had contrived.
The BBC are a joke and they are fake news personified.
However, we have wasted enough time on this dross. There is an election to win
Mis-reporting Scotland seizing the chance to repeat the attack on the Scottish government.
…the poor nurse was in tears and had been referred TWICE to Foodbanks…a little bit of journalism would have been useful here.
She is not a new start, nor is she an aux. so please BBC tell me how she fell below the net but can still have her public Facebook lifestyle?
She has now been used twice in 24hrs by the BBC. If she was so crushed by the response of the first outing why give the BBC an exclusive?
Bit of a spanner in the bbc lies..sorry, works..
“As far as we know a nurse has never used a foodbank” – Trussell Trust spokesperson.
BBC defence is that these devolved questions are legitimate. The query is was the majority of questions on devolved matters, if it was then is smells of a set up by the BBC to attack the FM. The BBC really needs to justify its stance on this debate.
We really need to have other broadcasters and the licence fee separated, subscribing to the BBC should now be optional without blocking out other broadcasters. I know some will tell me just to not pay it but I don’t want to get involved in a continuous threat of legal action.
As said before: the real culprit in all of this is the bbc.
Don’t pay the bbc tax: let britnats pay for britnat propaganda.
Steven Jardine will be discussing the ‘storm’ around Nursie at 10.30.
Getting their money’s worth out of this bullshit.
I noticed a link from “Poverty Alliance”. It states “.It is not up to us to make a moral judgement about how people spend their money.”
What a load of Shit. It makes comments all the time about the “rich” the “middle classes” and others. How WE spend our money is a moral judgement.
If we spend money on nuclear weapons as opposed to overseas aid, whether we enjoy a trip to New York have a slap up meal is a moral judgement.
If the wealthy RCN, UNITE, UNISON, BMA leaders all wish to give up 1/2 of their salaries then I would be happy to hear of it and will give them praise.
Now in the real world. I have worked all my life, good jobs bad jobs including cleaning folks backsides. Some paid less than nurses. What does this prove? It is an unfair world. What is my moral judgement to try and deal with this? Vote for Scottish Independence.
What were the circumstances Valerie?
“They reported that said nurse was referred twice in 5 years to a food bank, in very specific circs.”
On the idea that the nurses appearance is questioned, did anyone else notice with about 22/23 minutes left on the program last night, Ruth davidson subtly nudged the host and pointed in a direction for the next question from the audience. Tory trying to guide the debate?
The Reporting Scotland item just ended was breathtaking in its selectivity but at least one nugget of fact escaped the general obfuscation, that the Trussell Trust are unaware of any nurses using their food banks. Much emphasis was laid on the point that Ms Austin has been in tears over social media abuse but none on the questions raised in the Unionist press.
I suppose I should recognise the acknowledgment that Scottish nurses do earn a little more than their counterparts in rUK. And the reminder that I haven’t been to the Nurses’ Food Bank aka Malmaison for some time.
The thing at the moment is just how gullible are those in the rUK and indirectly Scotland.
Didn’t we have a consultation on extra powers for Holyrood that, despite propaganda to the contrary, was largely ignored?
So elect May with a mandate including a hastily tacked on grave robbing permission and don’t delude yourself that after consultation any cap will be introduced.
We, in Scotland, are already wise to this con.
On a lighter note, did anyone just witness Coburn’s Party pitiful broadcast ?
Twice nearly called the uk the EU, and almost a “oh aye..and this…” moment !!
Filmed on an old nokia with only 45 seconds of video…oh deary me, ma sides are hurtin’.!!
Did the Bird just say on Reporting Scotland that the FM has had to apologize to the nurse? Has anyone seen this apology?
Rock says:
21 May, 2017 at 9:49 pm
“I have no doubt that we will learn all about the “ordinary” nurse in a W O S article very soon.
The “independence supporting” The National should be on standby to offer the Rev. Stuart Campbell a reasonable fee to reproduce it as front page headline news the next day.”
Over to you, The National’s lobbyists here.
“Well, he’s got a point. Joanna Cherry is a QC, for Christ’s sake, she should know better than to go parroting rumours.”
This is what had me holding my head in my hands. We know the media will get huge mileage out of this when actually they should be on the back foot.
Just couldn’t believe JC could be so bloody stupid.
I have a cousin who volunteers for a foodbank. Some of her tales of customers are quite horrendous – this is a true blight on our society – but not one, if indeed in work, has anything like the apparent resources of this person. Referrals come via the DWP, the doctor and, I believe, the local churches. And you MUST (certainly for her foodbank) be referred to benefit. So who referred this individual?
@Brian McHugh
Didn’t say what the special circs were. It might be between jobs?? Not sure why they didn’t say.
Brian T said there was an apology from SNP about alleging she was married to a Tory councillor. He said, as these things go back and forth on social media.
I’m more angry that two visits in 5 years to a food bank was clearly played out as – can’t survive, not sustainable, have to go to food banks.
Nursie sure as hell didn’t say twice in 5 years!
“They reported that said nurse was referred twice in 5 years to a food bank, in very specific circs.”
That seems a bit too vague for me. She was ‘referred’, by whom, her Da, and did she actually go to a Foodbank.
All sounds a bit conveniently BBC dodgy/made up to me I’m afraid.
One_Scot says:
22 May, 2017 at 6:07 pm
“”Apparently at 6.30 pm, Reporting Scotland is going to cover the NurseGate story, stating ‘a nurse has to use foodbanks, how widespread is this?’””
?
……………..
Well according to the BBC report it is not very widespread despite framing a question that seemed to suggest it was. The Royal College of Nursing said about 40 nurses or so had applied for help via their hardship fund. So not so widespread.
When giving his spiel at the end I thought I heard Brian Taylor say responsibility for setting pay for nurses was devolved but then later he said pay is decided for whole UK.
Anyone else hear that? Which is correct? I thought pay was set for whole UK by the Pay Review board for nurses. And the 1% cap for public service employees was a UK Government policy.
TheStrach,
“As ever the real issue is the BBC. They won’t change and will continue to pump out unionist propaganda and lies until we gain our independence.”
It would need a massive revolution to gain independence as long as the BBC exists in Scotland.
And it is not going to happen any time soon.
Because it takes at least 620 years to grow a spine.
Why are we complaining about the BBC from our armchairs?
As if they are going to pay any attention.
Destroy the BBC, enemy number one of the Scottish people.
Valerie. I’m a complete film buff. I judge bad acting when I see it. She certainly had a lot less makeup than all other photos of her, no earrings, frumpyish clothes. I call her out as a extremely unconvincing bad act.
Jeezo, Saint Theresa flopping around like a knocked over goldfish, with just the most gentle of questioning from her chum brillo.
As always the Rev calls it correctly with his pertinent questions. If the disgraced bbc continues to milk this as an anti-Scottish government story it will only convince more and more people that the bbc in Scotland is fundamentally untrustworthy and a danger to democracy.
@Lochside says: 22 May, 2017 at 4:05 pm:
” … Personally, I am fed up of the SNP’s naivety in the face of brute force by the Brits. Hoping that the uncommitted will see through the artifice of this conspiracy is..to my mind..a vain hope.”
Well you could always vote for some other party that are closer to your own personal views. Let’s see now, there’s The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party – Nope! They don’t do Independence for Scotland but they’d accept your vote anytime. There’s the Scottish Accountancy Office of the United Kingdom Labour Party. They want your vote but they’re for a form of Scotland being separate from Westminster – as a region of England.
UKIP are crying out for voters too as are the LibDems and that’s yer lot really.
“Try speaking to some of them on the doorstep!”
Do you really imagine that those elected as SNP Councillors, MSPs, MPs and MEPs have not done their share of talking to people on the doorsteps?
If you bothered to watch Parliament TV from Westminster :-
link to parliamentlive.tv
You would see & hear the SNP MPs talking to Unionist MPs every session in that House and they are the hardest working members of the hardest working party in that place.
If you view Holyrood TV :-
link to scottishparliament.tv
You would see the MSP there working very hard too and that cite will let you view all sitting committees too.
The SNP MSPs work their socks off both in the chamber and in committee.
“I suggested a long time ago that the SNP needed to start educating the general populace about how Scotland funds itself and how our powers are so meagre.”
And just how do you suggest they go about doing that, Lochside?
Perhaps if they ask the BBC, ITV, STV and BSkyB they would fall over themselves to tell the Scottish voters all about it instead of spreading Westminster propaganda. Maybe the newspaper owners might be happy to take on the task of educating those Scottish voters, who don’t want to know, on the error of their ways?
“Yet there are those on here who think people aren’t interested in explanation as why the ‘£15 billion deficit’ lie does not need destroyed explicitly.”
Are there, Lochside? I didn’t know that. I do know there are people in Scotland who don’t want to hear that particular bit of information but strangely I also know many of them actually do know the truth but they still tell us there is a 16 billion deficit anyway and, what’s more, they will tell anyone who will listen that it is all the fault of Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP SG.
“One question : if nursery is lying about her status in the NHS and to actually using foodbanks…does this not merit disciplinary action against her by her employers?”
Now there’s a thing, Lochside. Just who are her employers?
Some claim she works for BUPA yet if so then the SG are not her employer and the SG do not pay her wages. Some say she works for the SNHS in Edinburgh and if so then the local Hospital Board are her employers and they, not the SG pay her wages but the SG do regulate the SNHS wages and have stipulated that all nurses employed by Scottish SNHS Hospital Boards are better paid than their equivalent grades in the other UK countries NHS services.
So which employer is it you think is going to take action against this nurse?
@GEEO… 7-116PM
To quote Geoffrey Howe when ‘putting the dagger’ into Thatcher….’like being savaged by a dead sheep.’
SNP policy seems to be take BBC punches on the chin and apologise. That’s one SNP policy that needs to change.
BBC in meltdown over the need to boost the Tories after Corbyn’s leap in the polls. Their Election live website has 20 consecutive posts exclusively about May in the past hour. Clips from interviews etc.
Panic stations.
Does include the clip of Boris Johnston being heckled in Cornwall though.
link to bbc.co.uk
Labour in Scotland launched their manifesto today. BBC reporting Scotland seemed to concentrate on its declared opposition to independence.
Did anyone ask her how she felt now that she is campaigning on Labour’s manifesto promise to abolish tuition fees in England given that she has been a critic of the SNP’s policy on this?
The BBC are using this nurse farce like a sledgehammer against Nicola Sturgeon.
Its as clear as day this nurse was a plant. Its as clear as day she has never used a foodbank in her life. Its as clear as day she lied her arse off and all the BBC does is continue with the State propaganda circus by continuing to give this so called nurse credibility.
That’s what happens when you have a State propaganda service accountable to nobody.
@ Legerwood at 7.14
My understanding is that the Pay Review body is UK-wide, with their recommendations constrained by the 1% cap from Westminster.
It is then up to the separate health services to decide how much of the recommended increase to implement. Staff in the Scottish NHS have always received the full amount, which is not the case elsewhere. This leads to different payscales in the 4 services.
So we’re back to the shite of stacking the audience, with tomb tabards.
Just watched Nick Eardley on RS in Argyll & Bute. It was mince. He said Helensburgh was booming.Helensburgh’s population has dropped by8% in the last ten years.
He then interviewed a guy from the South who has just opened a new bistro. He seems to think the 6500 folk at the Base will help his business flourish. He’s in for a shock.
According to Babcock who run it 85% of the service folk live inside the Base during the week and go home to England every week. They spend nothing in Helensburgh. The lost salaries is equivalent to £64m per annum from the local economy.
As for the guy who has opened the cinema, he’s done it with grants from various sources but the service folk don’t use it because they have their own cinema in the Base and have subsidised booze.
@jfngw
I know some will tell me just to not pay it but I don’t want to get involved in a continuous threat of legal action.
Hi jfngw, I hope I can assure you that there will be no threat of legal action if you do things properly when cancelling your TV license.
Not having a TV license but owning a TV is NOT illegal, only watching the BBC or BBC iPlayer or any other LIVE broadcast including SKY without one is illegal.
You are though perfectly entitled to watch any other stations catchup TV, Netflix or other subscription channel without a license.
I cancelled mine the “official” way after the 2014 referendum, received a rebate and have not heard from them since. After you cancel they say that the may contact you after 2 years to ask if you still don’t need a license. That’s because they are not allowed to hassle you.
See how I did it here just following the instructions on this webpage:
link to tvlicensing.co.uk
The very fact that this woman asked Nicola Sturgeon if she was afraid she would lose her seat at Westminster, actually proves how little knowledge she has of politics itself.
In order to be able to use a food bank, one must be referred to by the DWP or by a healthcare professional i.e. G.P. The healthcare professional has to be concerned enough for your lack of nutrition first.
I’m sorry, but the complaints Miss Austin had about her daughter’s horse and having to use cheap champagne at parties etc is just sickening.
There are genuinely people out there who actually struggle day to day, wondering how they are going to feed their children.
I can’t remember if it was on here that I heard about