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PCA - do you really think @Scotland independent would have been worse than the last 15 years of brexit, right wing governments, austerity and racist rhetoric from south of the border?
Dunno. That's a question of alternative history. Things might have been great in Indy Scotland, they might have been rubbish. Things wouldn't necessarily have played out the same at Westminster had the independence referendum succeeded. Cameron might have been binned and he probably wouldn't have called the Brexit referendum if he'd just lost the Scottish one. But this is all hypothetical now.
On the drug rooms:
1) I think safe injection spaces should be experimented with if drug treatment experts think they're worth a shot.
2) there has been a significantly higher level of deaths from alcohol and other drugs in Scotland compared to other UK nations. That difference is not explained by the absence of drug rooms (because they also don't exist elsewhere in the UK). And neither is a drug room in Glasgow gonna fix it all. So it's a big disingenuous to suggest that the problem is all Westminster's fault because of drug room delay.
3) this is just another episode of where the SNP has wasted time and money by ordering the government to pursue projects and schemes that are unconstitutional and unlawful. Drugs law, internal markets, foreign affairs, constitutional arrangements of the UK - none of these things are within the powers devolved to the Scottish Parliament. The SNP is entitled to its view that these things should be within the power of Holyrood, either within or without the UK, but that's not an excuse to pursue deadend projects that end up with them getting their arse handed to them in court time after time.
Would it not be quite reasonable for any party seeking independence to show the limitations of the devolution arrangement? At least to attempt to do so whilst also attempting to govern in a reasonable manner?
In my opinion it's always going to be a difficult task for the same organisation never mind any individual to attempt the two jobs of good government and leadership of an independence campaign.
3) this is just another episode of where the SNP has wasted time and money by ordering the government to pursue projects and schemes that are unconstitutional and unlawful
And on one they do have control, Hospital patients waiting longer than 2 years in Scotland is at 2000+ people. In England, with 10 times the population, the figure is less than 200 patients.
GP recruiting problems have not been adequately sorted, finding NHS dentists is near impossible. A very poor record. But they did try to give us the gender recognition bill, which was of interest to maybe 1% of the population, and even that ultimately failed, giving the Scottish Taxpayers another large legal bill.
Would it not be quite reasonable for any party seeking independence to show the limitations of the devolution arrangement?
The party can do it all it likes. It just can't unlawfully spend taxpayer money on ordering the civil service to produce endless white papers about what a wonderland an independent Scotland would be!
https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-independent-scotlands-place-world/
Still seems fair enough for a cabinet secretary to ask his/her department to produce a paper on things that are within that departments concern. It's a report for discussion. So I am not sure how it's unlawful. I think it's a normal part of government for departments to produce reports which often produce nothing more than a discussion. It seems to happen all over the democratic world.
Still seems fair enough for a cabinet secretary to ask his/her department to produce a paper on things that are within that departments concern.
It could be, if it were lawfully within the department's concern. But it's not. Constitutional matters are reserved under Part 1 of Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/46/schedule/5
It's not legislation though. Also the SNP are elected to promote the cause of independence, vthey should do so.
The Scottish Government's budget has to be approved by the Scottish Parliament by legislation. The Scottish Parliament can't pass legislation to approve expenditure on a matter outside its competence, and the Scottish Government can't spend money on matters unapproved by the Scottish Parliament.
In any case, the devolved/reserved powers split doesn't just apply to Parliament passing legislation - it also relates to the exercise of all functions by ministers. See s54 of the Scotland Act 1998.
The "Building A New Scotland" project was a particularly egregious example of SNP misconduct. It was highly partisan and produced nothing more than a bunch of dreamy white papers about a golden independent future that the Scottish Government had no power to implement and consequently went nowhere. It would have been fine for a party or a think tank to produce at their own expense but it was a total waste of taxpayer money.
And on one they do have control, Hospital patients waiting longer than 2 years in Scotland is at 2000+ people. In England, with 10 times the population, the figure is less than 200 patients.
This one has a simple answer. In England to reduce this headline figure they started giving priority to folk apprioaching the two year mark rather than on clinical need so someone with an minor condition who had been waiting almost 2 years was given priority over someone with a crippling and worsening condition who had been waiting less time. Result in England the headline figure was reduced but not in Scotland as they continued to give priority according to clinical need.
I would like to know what you think the scots government could do to further improve the NHS given that its half their fixed discretionary budget and when by most meaningful measures it outperforms England
The "Building A New Scotland" project was a particularly egregious example of SNP misconduct. It was highly partisan and produced nothing more than a bunch of dreamy white papers about a golden independent future that the Scottish Government had no power to implement and consequently went nowhere. It would have been fine for a party or a think tank to produce at their own expense but it was a total waste of taxpayer money.
OTOH the SNP had progress to independence in their manifesto for government and all of the Unionist parties made it clear that the SNP would be progressing their independence campaign - and yet the SNP were elected. That's basically democracy in action.
Now I'm confused ..
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp890n51684o
But we were told in 2014 that the oil and gas was almost gone. 😉😂
Yep Schroedingers oil. It's an interesting substance in that there always seems to be less of it about when support for independence is higher in the polls. However it also bucks certain widely accepted economic rules in that when there's less of it available the retail price goes down..
Both Badenoch's "drill baby drill, net zero is woke" announcement today and the SNP's "we're going to surf a tsunami of oil and gas to luxury independence" line during indyref campaign are nonsense.
They're the same fantasy adopted by people very far from the actual industry.
Yep Schroedingers oil. It's an interesting substance in that there always seems to be less of it about when support for independence is higher in the polls. However it also bucks certain widely accepted economic rules in that when there's less of it available the retail price goes down..
Funny isn't it. Like the new field further out that we were told did not exist during the independence referendum but which then was granted licenses shortly after ( from memory)
Now I'm confused ..
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp890n51684o
But we were told in 2014 that the oil and gas was almost gone. 😉😂
Its utter insanity, renewable energy is around 50% cheaper to produce than extraction fossil fuel gas into energy but profitability of such gas is three to four times more in a capitalist system, money and profit trumps everything else, see below for example of this - clip to play at exact quote
Somafunk - we have to have some alternative to wind for those pesky winter high pressure events. Solar will not do unless we massivly expand it, storage is almost impossible on the scale required, in Scotland we do not want nuclear and anyway lead times to build are too long and its not quick and easy to turn on and off. that leave fossil fuels
tidal flow is a large part of the answer IMO but its still unproven at scale and is best for baseload not the peaks
Somafunk - we have to have some alternative to wind for those pesky winter high pressure events. Solar will not do unless we massivly expand it, storage is almost impossible on the scale required, in Scotland we do not want nuclear and anyway lead times to build are too long and its not quick and easy to turn on and off. that leave fossil fuels
tidal flow is a large part of the answer IMO but its still unproven at scale and is best for baseload not the peaks
Solar would largely ameliorate the need for expansion of such fields if it was implemented on scale for every home with battery storage.
This'll never happen as long as we have dickheads in hoc to the fossil fuel energy companies
Not on the scale required. Winter high pressure event we would get very little wind, little solar and we still need energy for a couple of weeks day and night. We cannot store enough energy with current tech and batteries are highly polluting to make. Batteries can smooth fluctuations and even manage a day or two of low wing low solar but not the weeks required
yes more solar would be good and actually less consumption - but we still need a reserve of power generation for those events
I am as dark a green as I can be but am also a realist.
"Solar would largely ameliorate the need for expansion of such fields if it was implemented on scale for every home with battery storage."
I doubt it. UK demand around 30GW. December solar output around 0.3GW average and nothing for 16 hours a day.
There is no cost-effective storage for seasonal variation.
Google says.
" A standard system can see its output drop by as much as 83% in winter compared to summer months, with a 3.5 kW system potentially producing only about 52 kWh in a month, compared to 362 kWh in summer. "
So each house would need maybe 10 x 3.5kW systems plus enough Tesla batteries yo store a few days use for cloudy periods.
Gets to somewhere around £100k per house?
I think I would rather use wind and burn gas when the wind drops.
couple of weeks not a few days storage needed.
There’s plenty of scope for hydro, particularly micro generation - we have a local scheme on the island and returns a healthy profit. Current legislation is in favour of the big generators means that it’s very difficult to get funding for new schemes. Likewise, there’s been a few tidal power test schemes but nothing commercial - when you consider the tidal range and currents down the entire west coast, the potential must be massive but again, probably too many vested interests in preserving the status quo, lobbying by oil and gas producers to want to make a meaningful difference.
Hydro - yes micro hydro can be a useful supplement particularly for isolated communities - but its flow generation not reservoir and is again too small scale so again not much use in those winter high pressure events as it does not hold a reserve so cannot be "turned up". We have very limited scope for further large scale hydro. tidal is a good bet for sure and its disgraceful its had no real government funding
It would be a very odd decision to pursue tidal flow and oil/gas over nuclear. But perhaps that's not a Scottish politics question specifically...
Very sensible IMO
If tidal flow had had 1/10th of the investment over the last 25 years that nuclear has then we wouldn't be needing nuclear is my bet. New nuclear will take 25 years to get on line. Its not the answer
Anyway Scotland voted for a nuclear free future.
Edit - unfortunatly the scots government does not have the money for this really being on a fixed budget - however tidal flow now has its first commercial scale generator in Scotland which is the worlds largest IIRC. Its been in the sea 4 years - dunno how well it is performing
Both Badenoch's "drill baby drill, net zero is woke" announcement today and the SNP's "we're going to surf a tsunami of oil and gas to luxury independence" line during indyref campaign are nonsense.
They're the same fantasy adopted by people very far from the actual industry.
MeyGen seems to be a great project, and it's huge, think it's planned to the largest in the world. There are some issues with tidal power slowing it down though, so taskforce has been set up (think it's called MET) which is supposed to come up with a cohesive plan which i think is due at the end of the year. Whether it will deliver or not though? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Also since this is the Scotland thread, I should mention that most of the previous funding in ar6 and ar7 (which wasn't a huge amount tbh) went to Scotland, some to Wales and none to England. 😉
Inm Murray the Scotland secretary sacked. Interesting character - know as a good local MP but also the architect of the Tory / Labour non aggression pact at the 2017 ( IIRC) election and also very much on the right of the party. NO clue as to why yet. He got the post when he was the only Scots Labour MP but now there is a choice. It will be interesting to see who gets the job ie what side of the party his replacement comes from.
I wonder if its in reaction to the massive fall in support for labour in Scotland since the election
the Tory / Labour non aggression pact at the 2017 ( IIRC) election
🤔
PCA - despite the denials I saw it on Murrays facebook page that there was a list of which constituencies this was in and how to vote tactically for the tories to keep the SNP out.. It was a tacit tactical voting / non aggression pact done with deniabi8lity but it was real and happened.
Douglas Alexander the new Scottish secretary. Hmmm. Hardly new blood. An other one mired deep in the expenses scandal and another right winger.
That Scotsman article above seems to rely on the notion that absence of written evidence is evidence of absence.
You're asking us to believe that Dugdale/Corbyn's Labour Party and Davidson/May's Tories managed to reach an agreement on an electoral pact in Scottish elections, communicate it to the candidates and doorknockers on the ground, do it, and keep it so secret that 8 years later no-one has ever spoken about it. The evidence for its existence is TJ having seen it on Facebook.
There's more evidence that the Abominable Snowman skippered a CalMac ferry...
"There's more evidence that the Abominable Snowman skippered a CalMac ferry."
After faking the moon landings.
The point surely was that as the SNP, after losing the indyref, were unable to accept the result and have spent the last decade droning on about indyref 2. Naturally many No voters will vote tactically to avoid getting an SNP MSP.
No conspiracy required.
Certainly not much evidence that Kezia Dugdale had much to do with it as Jim Murphy was leader of the Scottish Labour party at the time of the GE in 2015, also Ed Milliband was UK Labour leader and resigned because of the scale of their defeat. I can only offer my personal opinion and experience as someone who was an active campaigner for the SNP at the time with friends in various parties on both sides of the independence debate that the idea and practicalities of co-ordinated tactical voting to defeat the SNP was widely discussed online and in person. Even Jim Murphy might have had sufficient nous not to put any such discussion on record.
@irc Your mostly correct but support for independence and support for the SNP are not one and the same.
Certainly not much evidence that Kezia Dugdale had much to do with it as Jim Murphy was leader of the Scottish Labour party at the time of the GE in 2015, also Ed Milliband was UK Labour leader...
Maybe, but 2015 has nothing to do with the conspiracy theory that TJ is promoting about a secret Labour-Tory pact for the 2017 General Election. The SNP lost 21 seats.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_United_Kingdom_general_election_in_Scotland
2017-2015That's entirely my fault for not reading properly .
I do remember widespread chat about organised tactical voting for the unionist parties in 2015 and even more so in 2017 though. nothing so organised and official as a pact but something extensively discussed in person and on social media.
Fair enough
Douglas Alexander the new Scottish secretary.
It does make you wonder why the Scottish, Welsh and NI secretaries are still in the cabinet when the functions exercised by them have mostly been devolved to the responsible governments anyway.
There's an argument, in Scotland at least that the Scottish Secretary position is being used to discredit the Scottish government and to undermine devolution.
There's an argument, in Scotland at least that the Scottish Secretary position is being used to discredit the Scottish government and to undermine devolution.
Especially when you consider that absolute **** Alister Jack, was the Secretary of State as well as mp for my area and utterly shit at it, he was made a Life Peer earlier this year for his services to keeping the leash on any chance of independence.
George Galloway briefly detained at Glasgow Airport on his way home from Moscow via Abu Dhabi.
In entirety unrelated news, "Galloway told The Herald he intends to make another political comeback by standing as a candidate in next year's Scottish Parliament election."
$$$
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/25499918.george-galloway-detained-gatwick-terrorism-laws/
That's all we need another shameless chancer
hold me closer, shameless chancer...
Now you've ruined a perfectly decent song 😄
Anyone know anything about this? Its a headline in the times but the article is behind a paywall
Anas Sarwar ‘plots bust-up’ with Starmer to save Holyrood campaign
Senior members of Scottish Labour believe that the prime minister is a ball and chain around its chances of ousting the SNP in May’s election
I had a look in the national as well - no obvious mention but this caught my eye
Curtice’s predictions said that the SNP would emerge with 59 seats, six short of a majority, with Labour returning 20 MSPs and Reform 19.
Norstat polling puts the Tories on 10% of support in constituencies and 13% on the regional list, leaving them with half the number of seats they currently hold at just 14.
Meanwhile, the LibDems would have 10 seats and the Scottish Greens seven.
Support has risen for both parties as the Scottish LibDems have gained 11% in constituencies and 10% on the regional list, with the Greens picking up 7% and 8%.
With support for the Greens on the up, it would mean that there would be a narrow pro-independence majority at Holyrood.
https://www.thenational.scot/news/25500362.majority-scots-back-scottish-independence-poll-shows/
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, has challenged Keir Starmer and party strategists to “stop being shy” of the UK government’s successes, implying that without a dramatically bolder sales pitch Labour faces obliteration in next year’s Holyrood elections.
In a speech peppered with direct attacks on John Swinney, leader of the “knackered” Scottish National party leader, and “poisonous” Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, Sarwar directly his main message internally.
He repeatedly chided Labour for being too shy on boasting about its achievements – appearing to echo growing concerns within the party and the cabinet Starmer is failing to construct a coherent story about Labour’s policies.
With Scottish Labour has surprised its critics by winning several key byelections, its popularity as measured by opinion polls has plummeted, in line with the UK party’s steep decline.
The latest Norstat poll for the Sunday Times Scotland underscored growing anxiety in Sarwar’s party, by placing Labour third behind reform in a Holyrood constituency vote, at 17% to Reform’s 20%. The SNP are comfortably in the lead at 34%.
Despite the byelection wins, many of Sarwar’s allies fear those findings demonstrate Labour is in deep trouble. Sarwar is seen as being increasingly equivocal about whether he believes Starmer is the right Labour leader.
Sarwar used the word “shy” eight times in his speech, as he drummed home his appeal.
"those key byelections" were won by candidates explicitly refuting Westminster policies
Anyone know anything about this? Its a headline in the times but the article is behind a paywall
Anas Sarwar ‘plots bust-up’ with Starmer to save Holyrood campaign
Senior members of Scottish Labour believe that the prime minister is a ball and chain around its chances of ousting the SNP in May’s election
I read it. He is buggered unless he puts some distance between him and Starmer/UK Labour policy before the Holyrood election.
"There is now an acceptance that if Starmer is to remain in No 10 for the Holyrood elections — and some senior Sarwar allies are no longer convinced that is a certainty — the Scottish leader will have to split from the prime minister decisively.
For some around Scottish Labour’s top table, it is now being seen as a question of when, rather than if, Sarwar publicly and loudly breaks with the prime minister."
He is buggered unless he puts some distance between him and Starmer/UK Labour policy
Which is impossible as the Labour Party in Scotland can't have policies any different from the rest of the Party.
Well they can for devolved things. He is stuck with unpopular policies like the 2 child cap though unless London Labour change them.
Sarwar could defect to the SNP as
A Starmer has said there's going to be no second insured.
B SNP 1 and 2 across the board is a dreadfully ineffective strategy hugely unlikely to ever achieve a majority.
So he could safely be part of a centrist government knowing that independence a vanishingly small possibility.
😄
He is buggered unless he puts some distance between him and Starmer/UK Labour policy
Which is impossible as the Labour Party in Scotland can't have policies any different from the rest of the Party.
Certainly when there has been fightback from Scottish labour and any attempt to show differences from London Labour, Scottish labour have been roundly slapped down. they did get away with it for a couple of byelections where the candidate specifically rejected London Labour policies. Seems like individuals can get away with it but the Scottish party? Not allowed
" SNP 1 and 2 across the board is a dreadfully ineffective strategy hugely unlikely to ever achieve a majority."
Every SNP list vote is wasted. I am amazed that 27% of SNP voters are voting 1 and 2.
Almost as if they don't understand the system.
https://wingsoverscotland.com/lets-make-this-simple/
Is it an SNP ploy to stop Alba getting a foothold?
I don't think so as Alba are no hopers and will not win seats this time. SNP have picked up list seats IIRC just not many. 2nd vote green is the way to go
Wings is a pure diddy
SNP won't pick up many list seats where they win constituency seats, they could pick up list seats where they don't win constituency seats. It's going to be impossible to work that as an effective strategy
I'm an SNP member but the SNP does not own the concept of Scottish independence and should work with other parties and other organisations outside of parliamentary politics to build support for independence
Is it an SNP ploy to stop Alba getting a foothold?
Absolutely. The SNP needs to drum it into the head of every voter in Scotland that they are the only way of achieving independence. Letting that link slip means losing many votes and, ultimately, power. Imagine relying on someone like the Alba Party to prop you up in government and them demanding a new IndyRef in return for their support!
At a glance it looked ok ish - no accounting for regions just dealing with it as a national list so inaccurate
First time I have looked at anything for a while after I read a load of conspiracy bollocks he posted.
You could always try ScotGoesPop he can't stand Wings. However they're broadly in agreement that SNP 1 and 2 won't work.
https://scotgoespop.blogspot.com/2025/09/yougov-seats-projection-is-good-for-snp.html
Oh I agree with the basic thesis. Vote 2 green always 🙂
Senior members of Scottish Labour believe that the prime minister is a ball and chain around its chances of ousting the SNP in May’s election
I suspect Starmer isn't that enthusiastic about Labour's election campaign in Scotland being headed by Anas Sarwar either. He's not a high performer and he's the nepo baby of Mohammed Sarwar. Starmer's dad didn't get him the job...actually, not sure if you know this about Starmer's dad but...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/news/05/0525/sarwar.shtml
"At a glance it looked ok ish - no accounting for regions just dealing with it as a national list so inaccurate"
Last time the SNP only got 2 list seats. Possibly South Scotland? So for a practical estimate a national list is good enough when the SNP are polling 35% on the constituency vote.
The main point that for almost all cases a list SNP vote is a waste. Being a diddy doesn't change that. So why are the SNP pushing for 1 and 2? If they were interested in the biggest number pro indy MSPs they wouldn't. I guess as usual party politics comes first.
I did know about that politecameraaction but I also read this
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/sarwar-cleared-of-election-bribery-1083035.html
Yes, the jury agreed that Sarwar Sr was only lending his rival in the election £5000 in a plastic bag out of the goodness of his heart. 🤷♂️
Yes they also agreed that the News of the World providing the other man concerned with a secret tape recorder and £45000 made the whole story look like a set up
I’m still thinking about which party to vote for. My old reliables are not deserving of my X.
I have been seriously disappointed with the SNP, and I cannot vote for the greens with their current beliefs about a few things - no way do I want them anywhere near government again.
I guess I’ll be voting Alba as a kind of protest, and I’ll see nearer the time what the maths says for my list vote.
An increase on observations of/visibility of this sort of sentiment has popped up a few times. I'm less optimistic than some on this.
The below is something I've been seeing more of locally.
Immigration is "getting out of control", she says.
"It looks like they are going to overspill us," she says. "We will be the underdogs."
When challenged on her evidence for her claims, she responds: "I don't have any evidence".
Asked what she means by "they", she says: "All the ones that are coming in, especially Muslims."
She said she was not racist but was instead saying "just truth" and "my opinion".
Sounds like a pretty good solution for the 'chronically hard of thinking' problem.
But yeah, I guess we should try sorting out the problem where the ultra-wealthy are making everyone poor first. Then we can see if the gene pool still needs thinning out a bit.
Shame to lose the Saltire to these mouth breathers but unfortunately once racist shites take something it tends to stay taken.
I don't think we've lost the saltire to them yet but if they can continue with the high profile rallies then that's a real possibility. The independence marches that still go on don't get the media coverage.I don't believe that all of those who think immigration is a problem are racist but many are. It's going to be difficult if not impossible to convince folk that it's structural issues in our economy that are making us (or many of us) poorer not immigrants
Glasgow is the frontline of the UK's immigration system, with more arrivals than anywhere else...Glasgow takes in more asylum seekers than any other city
This is rubbish. My single local council in London has more asylum seekers than the whole of Glasgow. Glasgow has the highest per cap council-housed population of asylum seekers, which is different.
20% of all asylum seekers live in one city - London. And that number is increasing, not decreasing, as cities like Glasgow takes fewer through dispersal schemes.
https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/asylum-accommodation-in-the-uk/
Scotland has traditionally been seen as a left-leaning nation where inward migration is welcomed.
Scotland is 96% white (much higher than UK average), 10% immigrant (much lower than UK average), and has the highest proportion of councils that declined to settle any asylum seekers at all - one third of all councils.
The whole premise of the article is "Glasgow was the UK's asylum seeker capital but the mood is changing", but the whole premise is fabricated!
Shame to lose the Saltire to these mouth breathers but unfortunately once racist shites take something it tends to stay taken.
I noticed in a classic union flag waving part of the central belt that they weren't using the saltire for their anti immigration protests but were flying the Lion Rampant. My local expert tells me that they refuse to fly the saltire because of its association with independence and the SNP, and want to emphasise their allegiance to his majesty. I chose not to question if the Windsors were in fact immigrants!
This is rubbish
Well, they're still running with it...
Latest UK-wide figures show Glasgow was the local authority with the highest proportion of housed asylum seekers at 59 per 10,000 inhabitants (a total of 3,716).
John Swinney is calling for a "pause". I don't go anywhere near Glasgow, but some of the articles wording feels like it'll feed anti asylum seeker sentiment.
Ten years on from Sheku Bayou's death, and the Police Federation have managed to bounce out Bracadale. Self-satisfied, self-congratulatory, shambolic government.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3vnwpkn977o
Lord Bracadale only has himself to blame. Having private meetings with one party does not give the appearance of neutrality.
"The SPF said Lord Bracadale's position had become "untenable" after it emerged he met privately with the family of Mr Bayoh on at least five occasions since the start of the inquiry and "discussed evidence with them".
Top tip: if you actually want to solve a problem, don't give a retired judge an infinite amount of time and money to fanny around. But if you want to kick a problem into the long grass, do exactly that. It's a great day for the SNP and Police Federation.
I rarely have anything positive to say about Thatcher. But her Home Secretary commissioned Lord Scarman to examine the causes of the Brixton Riots 2 days after they were over, and the report was delivered less than 6 months later. The Scarman Report wasn't perfect, but it was 90% snd it was timely!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarman_Report
Top tip: if you actually want to solve a problem, don't give a retired judge an infinite amount of time and money to fanny around. But if you want to kick a problem into the long grass, do exactly that. It's a great day for the SNP and Police Federation.
I rarely have anything positive to say about Thatcher. But her Home Secretary commissioned Lord Scarman to examine the causes of the Brixton Riots 2 days after they were over, and the report was delivered less than 6 months later. The Scarman Report wasn't perfect, but it was 90% snd it was timely!
But Scarman was a retired Judge was he not?
Lord Cullen led two inquiries (Piper Alpha and Dunblane) which were widely considered to result in major change.
I'm not sure the SNP will want it to drag on any more? Surely everyone has already made up their mind?
Top tip: if you actually want to solve a problem, don't give a retired judge an infinite amount of time and money to fanny around. But if you want to kick a problem into the long grass, do exactly that. It's a great day for the SNP and Police Federation.
I rarely have anything positive to say about Thatcher. But her Home Secretary commissioned Lord Scarman to examine the causes of the Brixton Riots 2 days after they were over, and the report was delivered less than 6 months later. The Scarman Report wasn't perfect, but it was 90% snd it was timely!
But Scarman was a retired Judge was he not?
Lord Cullen led two inquiries (Piper Alpha and Dunblane) which were widely considered to result in major change.
I'm not sure the SNP will want it to drag on any more? Surely everyone has already made up their mind?
Top tip: if you actually want to solve a problem, don't give a retired judge an infinite amount of time and money to fanny around. But if you want to kick a problem into the long grass, do exactly that. It's a great day for the SNP and Police Federation.
I rarely have anything positive to say about Thatcher. But her Home Secretary commissioned Lord Scarman to examine the causes of the Brixton Riots 2 days after they were over, and the report was delivered less than 6 months later. The Scarman Report wasn't perfect, but it was 90% snd it was timely!
But Scarman was a retired Judge was he not?...
I'm not sure the SNP will want it to drag on any more? Surely everyone has already made up their mind?
Scarman wasn't given an endless leash to piss around, and Thatcher (stunningly!) didn't pretend that what he was looking into was somehow ourside the business of government.
Your second assertion absolutely proves the point - the SNP has managed to allow this to rumble on for so long that you think everyone has made up their mind before the report has been presented and before the inquiry has summarised the facts, causes and implications. Certainly the idea of consequences or responsibility - legal, political or moral - for anyone has gone right out the window. Being the most deranged actor, it's the Police Federation's narrative that had got the most airtime. The Scottish establishment has closed ranks, got on its high horse about US police choking a black man to death, and did absolutely **** all to address its own police force choking a black man to death on the street.
1982 was also the year that Lord Carrington resigned as Foreign Secretary for failing to anticipate the Falklands invasion by Argentina, even though he personally clearly had not been at fault. Nonetheless he took responsibility for the success and failure of the ministry he led. Was that year the end of accountability in public life?
This seems a fair summary to me.