Wouldn't it be nice if pledges actually meant something...

Ripped straight from Scottish Unionist comes news of another abandoned pledge made in the SNP's 2007 manifesto.

In that manifesto they set out the very laudable goal of providing free access to council swimming pools for all children in Scotland. Swimming pools provide a fun and safe environment for anyone and especially children to take part in a healthy past time. Providing free swimming is especially beneficial to low income families who perhaps cannot afford other activities. If the SNP live up to this promise I will certainly applaud them for it.

Unfortunately...

...as reported by the Press Association, Herald and Scotsman, only Glasgow and Inverclyde councils offer free swimming pool access for children, as was the case before the Scottish election.

This not the first time we have covered broken promises from the SNP, and I doubt it will be the last.

I think skewered is the right word...

I think skewered is the right word for what Scottish Unionist has done to the SNP in two blog posts today.

The first, "Pan-unionist alliance", lines up quotes from Iain Gray (Leader, Scottish Labour), Murdo Fraser (Deputy Leader, Scottish Conservatives) and Tavish Scott (Leader, Scottish Liberal Democrats) laying bare Alex Salmond and his party for what they are, posturing blow hards.

The second has the pretty self-explanatory title "Hypocrisy, thy name is Salmond". It includes this perceptive quote from George Orwell.

“All nationalists have the power of not seeing resemblances between similar sets of facts ... Actions are held to be good or bad, not on their own merits but according to who does them.”

Since I'm a shameless promoter of Labour bloggers I'll round off this post by encouraging anyone interested in astute and intelligent political analysis* to head over and check out Scottish Unionist.


*[If you don't like astute and intelligent analysis try an SNP blog.]

SNP Lose again

I have just logged on to the computer and went and read the news as i normally do and lo and behold I find a story of another SNP policy dumped, only this time its the cornerstone to their domestic policy.

As you see here they have decided to drop the proposals to introduced a local income tax, the CBI, the FSB, The STUC and not forgetting the Labour Party told them it would be madness to introduce but they said they would do it. The tories joined labour and made it almost impossible to get it through parliament, but still they went on so what changed.

Maybe it was the fact that they lost on the budget recently or maybe the rising legal arguments that it was actually illegal to set a tax at national level as that is not then local and therefore against the Scotland act.

I dont care what changed all I know is that it has and the mad idea of a local income tax set nationally is gone hopefully for good.

Labour's Budget Proposal

The Scottish Parliament has just voted to reject the Budget, the SNP at the moment are posturing and blaming everyone but the people who are to blame and Mr Swinney we mean you when we say that.

They have also said that Labour did not offer anything constructive to the budget negotiations well on that point i am cutting and pasting what Labour suggested the SNP administration could change the budget to help Scottish people and the Scottish economy.

And if anyone wants to know the email was sent to party members long before the vote took place.

So here are Labours constructive suggestions :-

Labour proposals for the budget

1.Apprenticeships – we propose an additional 7,800 apprenticeships over each of the next three years. This would lead to an additional number of apprenticeships over the next three years of 23,400. These apprenticeships would be split amongst adults and those aged 16-19.

2.Apprenticeship Guarantee Scheme – a clear commitment from the Scottish Government to an Apprenticeship Completion Guarantee Scheme, which matches the commitment in Northern Ireland.

3. Partnership Action for Continuing Employment – a clear indication from the Scottish Government for significant new funding to help retrain people who lose their job

4. Town Centre Turnaround Fund – Labour submitted a detailed amendment proposing the establishment of a fund to the value of £50million last year. We are now one year further down the line and in the midst of a global economic crisis. The need for appropriate support is now even greater.

5. NHS Funding – Health money should be invested in front line services. We seek assurances that the total NHS Budget increase of 3.9 per cent will be reflected in full in the award made to the health boards across Scotland on day one of the budget, not held back for pet projects

So constructive suggestions for local communities, Local services and local people shame the SNP couldn't listen.

Scotland and the Budget

Tomorrow the Scottish Government publishes its budget, the second of a minority administration and the media is asking who they will do a deal with this time. last year they went to the right, but then again that is nothing new for the SNP, so this year will they do the same again. They do seem to like to do the same things again as thanks to a blog I read it seems that Alex Salmond is going to threaten to take his ball away if he doesn't win the vote.

People are facing real hardships and the Salmond is on an ego trip, well that is nothing new that is for sure, I mean this is the guy who thought he was Barack Obama and told us all that he invented the "yes we can" slogan.

But seriously the budget is a major concern for the country, in this time of financial trouble what we need is our politicians to suggest a budget that will help us all and that will work for all the people and not just the few.

I want a budget that protects public services and not more cuts and more chance for the snp to say concordat and blame it all on Westminster, I want to see how they are going to build the new forth bridge and to actually admit that the Scottish Futures Trust was nothing more than a big lie and was never intended to actually do any large project management.

On the bridge, if I have got this right the SNP were asking the Government to allow the bridge to be built using money that would be given in 20 yrs time, now first of all that is like asking your mum or dad for an advance in pocket money but from some mysterious date in the future and how many of got away with that . Secondly does 20 yrs in the future mean that they are admitting that they are not going to be independent.

So to get back on topic please lets not have any games on the budget Mr Salmond and actually do what you say you were elected to do and serve the people of Scotland.

Whata Mistaka To Makea

I found this story in the Scotsman, and I mean if the SNP can't even buy the Saltires From Scottish companies then so much for them looking after Scottish Industry.

Scottish Independence

The following article was in last week's Gaudie. It was written by Amy Robertson, a member of the Labour Club. I hope everyone enjoys reading it as much as I did.


Financial crisis? I’m more worried about the SNP…

So, the FTSE is down, a huge number of our banks have been nationalised and the countries savings are in jeopardy. Yawn.com. Unless it affects my interest free overdraft I'm not really interested. I think there is something much more frightening and relevant to us, as students, on the political horizon - something that will take more than a 700 billion dollar bail out to cure. Last week Alex Salmond caused what can only be called a cringe worthy scene when he attempted to talk economics. Not only did he embarrass himself with his fumbling incoherent number chat, but he also embarrassed this country.

Many people I'm sure must be drawn to the SNP and the notion of independence, however I have a feeling that SNP for many Scottish citizens is a mere euphemism for the ‘We hate England’ party. Has anyone put down their Saltire for more than a second and stopped to think of the repercussions of Independence? Well for one, if we were once again faced with the onslaught of recession we would not be able to run to our big brothers in Westminster for help.

How many of us grew up with Blue Peter, or Neighbours? (Before the cruel people at the BBC moved it to Five)- or even the Six o clock news? Well hate to break it to you but as menial as it seems these programs are controlled by the British Broadcasting Corporation - not the Scottish Broadcasting Corporation. Could we really face an abundance of home-grown channels such as STV and copious amounts of shows such as Postcode Challenge with the MostAnnoyingWomanInTheWorld Carol Smilie? Nah, I didn’t think so.

For students how will the Loans and Tuition fees system change? Furthermore it would be more complicated for students to study in places such as Aberdeen from England and the rest of the UK. The pound would no doubt be abolished, to be replaced with a completely new currency, or indeed the Euro. How complicated would that be? A trip to the Carling weekend in Leeds would be up there in terms of logistics with going to America! Furthermore changing currency tends to trigger inflation meaning that things such as magazines are much more expensive. You might not notice the difference between two fat balding MP’s in Parliament but you would notice the price of your weekly NME or Heat rising. Plus erm, Scotland would have to have its own Olympic team... with the highest obesity rate in Europe we’ve not got the best prospects.

We as students are the members of the population who would be most affected by possible independence - as the future working population. For us it would mean a much more fragile infrastructure to live in, could Scotland really cope without England? I'm not so sure, plus would the Queen still be our Queen!?! So as the race commences for the title of Leader of The World - aka the American Presidential Election stop for a moment and imagine Alex Salmond (supposedly our First Minister..) making small talk with Barack Obama or John McCain. One can't help but think he’d look hugely insignificant.

Thursday 6th November

Yesterday as we now know was a great day for Labour.

We won 2 council by-elections against stiff opposition in Glasgow and Edinburgh, I know the new councillor for the Forth Ward in Edinburgh personally and I know that Cammy Day will represent the people of Forth brilliantly.

In Glasgow we won in an area that the SNP now call their own, Baillieston is in the heart of Glasgow East a constituency that we lost just a few months ago, in a By-election in the same council ward just over 2 months ago the SNP held their vote but today we won and fought back the SNP tide.

And as has been posted already the victory in Glenrothes is stunning.

To not only win, in lets remember is a seat that Alex Salmond was prediction that the SNP only had to turn up take, but to do it with an increase in Support over the 2005 election is stunning.

Now i could sit and blog about the reasons behind the victory but to be honest their are too many to mention, but i will just make comment one one.

Lindsay Roy

What a stunning candidate, a man who has a love for the constituency and who has a vision for the future of Glenrothes.

A great headteacher who has been an inspiration to so many.

His loss to fife education is our gain.

Linsday you've done us proud mate.

Can i feel sorry for Alex Salmond

You know I never thought I would almost feel sorry for Alex Salmond, I mean what does the guy have to do to get a break recently.

Well think about it he spent all his time working out the benefits of Scottish Independence and how much better of we would be with oil at $150 a barrel only for the price to go and collapse to under $60 cause a major economic headache and he has no room left on the back of his fag packet to do anymore sums.

Now as if that wasn't bad enough he made a speech where he spoke about the arc of prosperity saying that Scotland should aim to replicate the great successes of 3 countries, now as its a blog and I am doing a history degree please allow me to take the 3 nations he spoke about one at a time.

His first was Ireland which has undergone something of a boom in the last 10-20 yrs and has become the Celtic Tiger, well now its more like the Gretna Tiger (Donald that is a football joke just for you) as a state it is officially in recession and the Celtic boom is well and truly over.

The second one of the countries he choose he did so specifically because it had based its economic growth on its banks taking a major share of the world market and that was Iceland. Now maybe its just me but i don't think basing your economic arguments on a country which you can now buy for £3.50 and a bottle of irn bru is the best thing to do.

Now if those 2 weren't bad enough for poor eck he now goes and finds himself with only one country left, Norway, and what happens then, well the Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre comes out and tells him to stop using Norway as an argument as he would be “upset” if he thought that his country were being used as a “source of division or strife in other countries".

I mean do we really need to piss off the Norwegians, the last time we did that they invaded.

I started this blog by saying that I almost feel sorry for Alex Salmond but to be honest I don't as its his brand of economic incompetence that i have fought all my life.

Scotland is a great country indeed it is in my opinion the best nation on the planet, we have given the world some if its greatest inventions and people and we have always looked outward but the brand of nationalism that Salmond and the SNP push is less about looking out and more about looking south and blaming them bad people south of the Solway Firth.

So I don't feel sorry for Alex i feel sorry for us Scots having him as First Minister.