Unspun: the political diary 27 Nov 2021 at 6:00am
Pigging outBORIS Johnson?s loopy CBI speech inevitably led to Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross being asked if he'd also sampled Peppa Pig World. ?No, I have not. But on Saturday afternoon I was at Elgin Town Hall watching the McDougalls, "he replied. "If you?ve not seen them, congratulations, you?re relieved of that. They?re basically the new Singing Kettle.? A bit harsh, we thought, but then if you?re having to deal with the Prime Minister, being surrounded by hundreds of unruly toddlers is hardly a good day off.
English Channel: UK-France relations are ?strong?, says minister despite migr... 27 Nov 2021 at 12:21pm
A Home Office minister has insisted that relations between France and the UK are ?strong? despite Boris Johnson and President Emmanuel Macron clashing over how to deal with migrants crossing the Channel in small boats as they flee war, poverty and persecution.
Political inertia and supranational scale 27 Nov 2021 at 5:00am
THE migrant crisis and ongoing political ramifications continued to dominate the newspaper comment sections.
Robert McNeil: Stirling is the happiest place in Scotland is it? I'm not so s... 27 Nov 2021 at 6:00am
AW, as it were, naw. How depressing. The results of another happiness survey are in. This latest, compiled by Rightmove (the people who need you never to settle down) put Hexham in Northumberland top of its annual poll. Stirling came first in Scotland.
SNP Conference: What's really going on with the SNP's endlessly-stalled push ... 27 Nov 2021 at 5:30am
THE SNP conference meets once again this weekend, in an online format, at least. Speaking to a veteran SNP campaigner, we talked about how much the traditional in-person conferences were missed. Partly, this nostalgia referred to the ability to debate fully, to get a sense of one?s own political agency and to feel the atmosphere of the crowd after a rousing speech. But personally, too, it was an opportunity to socialise and to catch up with friends.
Spencer: Diana movie exposes the heartlessness of royal family, says Joanna B... 27 Nov 2021 at 5:30am
I FIND the royal family monumentally boring. I don?t watch The Crown. I haven?t the least interest in the Cambridges or the Sussexes, what they wore, what they said, whether or not they are ill, or squabbling amongst themselves.
FREE MONEY OFFER 23 Nov 2021 at 2:59pm
I’ve just remembered that I meant to leave this pinned to the front page when I shut Wings down as a blog, so here it is. It’s just a short one. I am willing to bet anyone in the UK any amount of money of their choosing that there will NOT be a second independence referendum in …
Jigsaw Puzzle Blues 22 Nov 2021 at 11:18am
Craig Murray is due to be released from HMP Edinburgh a week tomorrow, having served half of an eight-month sentence for contempt of court via “jigsaw identification”. Our latest poll data from Panelbase, surveying 2000 Scottish voters last week, reveals that just a quarter of Scots think that such an offence merits imprisonment. Readers may …
Into the new world 18 Nov 2021 at 1:12pm
So, in accordance with the wishes of the readership (and despite rather peculiar claims on some sites that all polls in Scotland are now commissioned by Unionists), Wings has its first polling data for you in its present form, relayed without comment. In association with Panelbase, this month we surveyed 2000 Scottish voters (double the normal sample size) on …
Tidying up 28 Sep 2021 at 8:37am
Right, as promised, one last piece of admin. (This post will be removed in due time.) We left yesterday’s piece and the associated poll up for two full days to make sure the people who don’t read Wings at weekends saw it and had the chance to vote in it too. But in truth it …
Under Her Thumb 26 Sep 2021 at 7:59am
When the Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts died last month, the first of their songs that popped into my head, for no particular reason, was “Under My Thumb”, a mildly controversial 1966 album track the band never released as a single in the West. Its most infamous place in history, though, is this. Until Watts’ death …
Lights out 25 Sep 2021 at 6:59am
This week in 2014, I drew a picture of a light going out. Seven years on, I’ve just done the same thing. Back then it was the union snuffing out Scotland’s candle of hope. This time around, it’s about our very own caped crusader hanging up his black rubber pants? at least for the foreseeable. …
Not-so-pretty Greens 24 Sep 2021 at 1:46pm
For many years now, whenever I’ve done one of those ?Which Political Party Should You Be In?? online quiz things, it always says that I’m a Green, which is weird because I really hate cyclists. Nevertheless, it was still the result when I did one most recently, just last month. So I decided that for the first …
All the right people 12 Sep 2021 at 9:28pm
…appear to be absolutely raging tonight about this: Folk used to accuse Wings of being divisive. But look who we’ve united! Dim young Mr Kiehlmann of the Twitler Youth there has in fact quite spectacularly misunderstood the judgement in our defamation case against Kezia Dugdale. But that aside, SNP, Greens, Labour, Tories, and desperately-failed old would-be intellectual …
Hearing voices 12 Sep 2021 at 12:17pm
Craig Murray’s speech to the Alba conference yesterday, delivered by his wife Nadira.
**Date for Diaries** Please join us outside HMP Edinburgh on the morning of 30 November 2021 to celebrate Craig?s release from prison. Speech from Craig. All welcome. It?s St Andrews Day – bring your Saltire. #cmcountdown #ScotlandJailsJournalists Craig Murray Justice campaign (@cmurrayjustice) November 17, 2021 Craig Murray #CountdownToFreedom series #ScotlandJailsJournalists Peter Oborne, journalist & …
This blog will be going dark for a few months. The Queen kindly paid for my dinners for over twenty years while I was a British diplomat and Ambassador, and now she is going to be paying for my dinners again. That is very kind, I thought she had forgotten me. The following is a …
I was down in London last week for discussions around my appeal to the Supreme Court, and staying in a hotel close to Leicester Square, I wandered along to see the fans during their game with Ukraine and its very noisy aftermath. I was hoping to write a piece about disgusting uncouth yobs of racist …
On the final day of the Assange extradition hearing, magistrate Vanessa Baraitser refused to accept an affidavit from Assange’s solicitor Gareth Peirce, on the grounds it was out of time. The affidavit explained that the defence had been unable to respond to the new accusations in the United States government’s second superseding indictment, because these …
The pre-positioning of the BBC correspondent on HMS Defender shatters the pretence that the BBC is something different to a state propaganda broadcaster. It also makes plain that this propaganda exercise to provoke the Russian military was calculated and deliberate. Indeed that was confirmed by that BBC correspondent’s TV news report last night when he …
Sometimes it is worth stating the obvious. The United Kingdom does not have a coast in the Black Sea. British warships are not infesting the Black Sea out of a peaceful intent, and there is no cause for them to be entering disputed waters close to anybody’s coast. This is not a question of freedom …
Yes vote holds up in new YouGov poll 26 Nov 2021 at 1:11pm
As you may have seen, YouGov's first full-scale Scottish poll for six months was published yesterday, and it showed no change on the independence question.Should Scotland be an independent country?...
Dumfries, Aberdeen and the Highlands in line for civil service jobs post inde... 27 Nov 2021 at 3:35pm
SNP delegates have voted to support a radical distribution of government departments and civil service jobs across Scotland's towns and cities under independence in a move to reflect a German style of decentralisation and not replicate the over centralisation of the UK economy.
Leave the UK Government to sort their self-inflicted constitutional farrago 27 Nov 2021 at 12:00pm
?LABOUR, LibDems and the SNP need to put their differences to one side and build a coalition to stop the Tories at all costs? ? a quote from a blogger in The Independent. One can understand the frustration at Westminster and beyond. The Lords is now complaining about the Commons being sidelined by secondary legislation and reserved powers by the present Tory No 10!
Scottish Print Media Failure 27 Nov 2021 at 1:09pm
Why have Scottish titled publications fallen far further in circulation than counterparts in the UK and Europe in the 21st century? The decline of the Scottish print media has been chartered over years but recent figures mark out just how stark this is. Publicly available figures show that percentage falls in Scotland and the UK …
Poem of the Week: SÚILÍNÍ GORMA (pale blue eyes) 27 Nov 2021 at 11:13am
SÚILÍNÍ GORMA (pale blue eyes) There is nothing left but the brush of possibility, the rattling moan of a train that cracks its metal knees before leaving, the confidence of a chin and its thin pair of lips singing an ancient Irish song even as they are sealed with silence. There is nothing left …
Black Friday ? Global Action against Amazon 26 Nov 2021 at 10:10am
Amazon?s fulfillment center in Dunfermline, Fife, the biggest distribution center in the UK, is being blocked by climate activists who are disrupting the company?s business on its busiest day of the year. The action is intended to draw attention to Amazon?s exploitative and environmentally destructive business practices, disregard for workers’ rights in the name of …
We need to talk about ferries 26 Nov 2021 at 9:32am
Scotland’s island communities are poorly served and the tendering and shipbuilding process has been a shambles. Could democratising the whole system improve the process of planning transport networks and ferry services? In 2015, as work started on the building of two new ferries for Arran and the Hebrides, I visited the Ferguson yard in Port …
Beat 25 Nov 2021 at 9:43pm
A poem by Magi Gibson as part of our coverage of 16 Days to End Violence Against Women and Girls. My aunt?s funeral ? my first – I?m twelve or maybe just tipped into being a teen. In the gloomy, flower-filled living room my uncle grips her coffin as they try to move it …
Bella Caledonia, an Anthology of Writing from 2007-2021 25 Nov 2021 at 6:15pm
I’m delighted to announce a project we’ve been working on for months, an anthology of some of the best of Bella’s published work since we launched way back in 2007. We publish in the New Year but you can pre-order an advance copy here for only £12.99. The collection is a mash-up of all the …
Priti Patel Must Be Sacked 25 Nov 2021 at 4:35pm
British politics is bewildering, and slightly terrifying. Here we are ruled by a government we didn’t elect that includes individuals such as the Home Secretary Priti Patel who has presided over a toxic and racist immigration policy and cultivated an atmosphere of hate. This disastrous and inhuman set of policies has now culminated in the …
Scotland 1979: Time, Crime and Telling Stories of the Past 24 Nov 2021 at 6:01pm
1979, By Val McDermid, Hachette, £20. Reading Val McDermid’s new novel 1979, a line from L.P Hartley’s ‘The Go-Between’ kept coming back to me: ‘The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there’. That line may be a cliché, but it neatly sums up this novel’s central concerns. In 1979, the first of …
Cambo Convergence 24 Nov 2021 at 12:26pm
There’s a convergence of pro-Cambo views that brings together the unlikely forces of Brian Wilson, Alex Salmond and the Daily Express. Writing in the Scotsman Brian Wilson notes: “The decision on whether or not Cambo and other developments proceed should be evidence-led and not based on sloganising or political positioning. We have seen enough of …
Peppa Pig World 23 Nov 2021 at 8:46pm
Many of you will have briefly paused celebrating all of the huge opportunities that we’ve been brought by Brexit to notice that we are governed by a bizarre priapic buffoon. Apparently the Conservatives have just noticed this too. After the sea of chaos and sleaze he has presided over it seems it’s only NOW dawning …
Sturgeon urged to commit to end oil and gas production in Scotland 18 Nov 2021 at 3:49pm
First minister says country could join Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance at lowest ?friend? tier of supportNicola Sturgeon has been urged to take a tougher stance on phasing out oil and gas by signing up to a new global alliance that calls for an end date for oil drilling.Scotland?s first minister sign...
Scotland?s bottle and can return scheme in ?shambolic? mess 17 Nov 2021 at 5:27pm
Legislation for compulsory scheme was passed by Holyrood in 2019 but there is no longer launch date, say ministersScottish ministers have been accused of making a ?shambolic? mess of their bottle and can recycling programme after admitting they no longer had a launch date for it.Scotland was expe...
Scottish Tory leader refers himself to watchdog over undeclared income 13 Nov 2021 at 11:56am
Douglas Ross says failure to declare income from refereeing and MSP work was ?an error on my behalf?The Scottish Conservative leader, Douglas Ross, has reported himself to the parliamentary standards watchdog after it emerged he did not declare earnings from his second and third jobs while servin...
Scotland to ban plastic straws and polystyrene food boxes from June 11 Nov 2021 at 3:50pm
Scottish ministers fear raft of measures could be undermined by delay to parallel action in EnglandThe sale of plastic straws, cutlery and polystyrene cups and food boxes is to be banned in Scotland next year as part of measures to reduce waste and pollution.The Scottish government said the ban w...
Tory party vice-chair Andrew Bowie resigns in protest over sleaze 10 Nov 2021 at 10:19am
MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine becomes first party figure to step down as a matter of conscience over scandalToday?s politics news ? live updatesThe Conservative MP Andrew Bowie has announced he will resign as a vice-chair of the party in the wake of the sleaze scandal engulfing Boris J...
Scotland?s rainforests are a biodiversity treasure | Letter 8 Nov 2021 at 3:22pm
Along the western seaboard of Scotland, the largest remaining fragments of temperate rainforest in Europe cling on. Dr Andrew Weatherall and Dr Paul Walton say the Scottish government needs to back up its restoration pledge with a clear financial commitmentIt was disappointing to read in the Guar...
Revealed: Scottish anti-independence donation may have breached rules 8 Nov 2021 at 1:18pm
Centre for Economic Education and Training faces possible sanctions from Electoral Commission after £46,000 donationA Scottish anti-independence campaign group was given £46,000 from an obscure organisation that might have breached political fundraising guidelines, the Guardian can reveal.Scotlan...
Cop26 protesters urge Sturgeon to act over ?intimidating? policing 4 Nov 2021 at 5:52pm
Activists call on Scottish first minister to intervene after ?numerous incidents of abuse of powers? Climate campaigners attending the Cop26 summit are urging Nicola Sturgeon to intervene in what they describe as intimidating and heavy-handed policing of protests in Glasgow.The open letter from ...
Scottish minister?s complaint against nursery upheld by inspectors 3 Nov 2021 at 3:31pm
Nursery that was subject of complaint by Humza Yousaf ?did not promote fairness, equality and respect?Inspectors have upheld a complaint by the Scottish health secretary, Humza Yousaf, after a nursery allegedly refused to offer his daughter a place.The Care Inspectorate said Little Scholars nurse...
Nicola Sturgeon makes presence felt despite no seat at Cop26 table 2 Nov 2021 at 3:32pm
Analysis: first minister can steer clear of any policy failures while pointing to benefits independence could bringAs world leaders, negotiators and activists converged on Glasgow for the start of the Cop climate summit, curious delegates who picked up a Scottish newspaper may have seen a small a...
Johnson: the perfect figurehead for a corrupt and unreformable Westminster 24 Nov 2021 at 1:13pm
The performance artiste with the stage name Boris Johnson who is treating the position of the Prime Minister of the UK as the world’s greatest improv gig does not currently have his troubles to seek. The fall out from his disastrously self serving decision to rip up independent oversight of Conservative MPs’ sleazebag side gigs …
Not building bridges with the UK : making connections with independence 22 Nov 2021 at 11:05am
It was reported today that the “Boris Bridge” has been definitively cancelled. Most of Scotland was about as shocked and surprised at this development as it was at the revelation that bright orange is not in fact the natural skin colour of the cast members of The Only Way Is Essex or that there’s been …
plus ça Westminster change, plus c?est la même chose de Westminster 18 Nov 2021 at 2:06pm
There’s one thing that Westminster is very good at – you might even say that in this respect the UK really is world-beating. It’s just a shame then that what Westminster is world beating at is in finding ways to appear to be dealing with an issue while not actually changing anything at all. This …
One million arguments for independence 16 Nov 2021 at 11:05am
If you read The National you will be aware that the paper is about to embark on a major initiative along with Believe in Scotland and the SNP to print over one million copies of a special eight page pro-independence newspaper and deliver it to homes across the country. I’m not involved with this project …
The moral vacuum that is Johnson?s Westminster 14 Nov 2021 at 7:35pm
As the Conservative sleaze scandal and the controversy surrounding second jobs for MPs, or in the case of Douglas Ross, third and fourth jobs, rumbles on, it has come to light that the Conservative MP for Moray, list MSP for the Highlands and Islands, leader of the Scottish Tories, and linesman for the SFA managed …
A short break 8 Nov 2021 at 5:08pm
I’ve not had a proper break for a while, and I’ve probably been overdoing it of late. I’ve been trying to build up my strength and stamina in my bad leg and walk outdoors without relying on the walking stick. It has been going well but unfortunately the post-stroke fatigue is rearing its ugly head …
Shining a light on Tory dark money 7 Nov 2021 at 5:33pm
During the Scottish Parliament elections in May, the question of a second Scottish independence referendum dominated the campaign. It’s a measure of just how important and defining an issue for modern Scottish politics that the independence question has become that it even pushed the covidocalypse off top billing during the campaign. As we all know, …
Joe Biden?s popcorn bowl 4 Nov 2021 at 8:35pm
According to a recent article in the Daily Mail, a vile and frothing right wing British nationalist nightmare of a publication whose sole saving grace is that it is not quite as unhinged as the Express (although there’s not much in it), the paper was informed by a senior Tory MP that he Conservatives had …
The Tory theft of devolution to buy themselves votes 3 Nov 2021 at 10:19am
It didn’t take long at all for the Scottish Conservatives’ hypocrisy about the COP26 conference to be exposed. But then, it never does. The Scottish Conservatives hide their hypocrisy in much the same way that a puppy thinks that by burying its nose under a cushion it becomes invisible even though its body is still …
Putting Alister Jack?s gaslighting at a peep 1 Nov 2021 at 12:33pm
Ever since the EU referendum and particularly since the Scottish elections in May, the Conservatives have been trying to gaslight Scotland into believing that certain truths which are deeply uncomfortable for the Tories are not in fact true. There problem is that despite the best efforts of a right wing press and a BBC which …
Coronavirus in Scotland ? here are the key demographics 26 Nov 2021 at 2:00pm
We have put together some regularly updating charts and maps showing the demographic information available on the people affected by the coronavirus pandemic in Scotland.
Black Watch set for Leuchars move in 2029 25 Nov 2021 at 1:21pm
Military chiefs have signalled the famous Black Watch battalion could return home in 2029 by moving to an expanded Leuchars base.
Nicola Sturgeon?s approval ratings plunge 25 Nov 2021 at 9:40am
Nicola Sturgeon's popularity has taken a drastic hit since the height of the pandemic - but she remains far ahead of her rivals, according to a new poll.
Imagine a Scotland where we won the FIFA World Cup ? And when we did 24 Nov 2021 at 4:40pm
Imagine a Scotland where we won the FIFA World Cup … And when we did Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, 24 November 2021 Imagine a world where the Scotland men?s national team were not only occasionally very decent and even sometimes very good at football, but actually contested and succeeded at the top of the international …
Imagine a Scotland where we won the FIFA World Cup … And when w...
Seven years of Nicola Sturgeon and resolving the tensions between party and m... 23 Nov 2021 at 11:15pm
Seven years of Nicola Sturgeon and resolving the tensions between party and movement Gerry Hassan The National, 23 November 2021 Nicola Sturgeon has been First Minister and SNP leader for seven years. This formidable achievement is part of a bigger picture of the SNP?s emergence as the dominant party, the rise of independence, and the …
Seven years of Nicola Sturgeon and resolving th...
Falling in love with the Scotland football team again 17 Nov 2021 at 7:03pm
Falling in love with the Scotland football team again Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, 17 November 2021 Scotland are on the rise again. At least in terms of the men?s national football team who are on a roll. They have qualified for the World Cup play-offs next year after winning six World Cup qualifiers in a …
Falling in love with the Scotland football team again appeared first on Gerr...
The Tory Party has long has a contempt for the people. Until Boris Johnson th... 17 Nov 2021 at 9:07am
The Tory Party has long had a contempt for the people. Until Boris Johnson they used to be better at hiding it Gerry Hassan The National, 16 November 2021 The whiff of Tory sleaze, decay and arrogance is all around; Boris Johnson is clearly revealed as the chancer politician that everyone knew he was. But …
The Tory Party has long has a contempt for the people. Until Boris Johnson th...
The British political crisis is deeper than Boris Johnson and the Tories 12 Nov 2021 at 8:57am
The British political crisis is deeper than Boris Johnson and the Tories Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, 10 November 2021 The UK is undergoing one of its periodic spasms of concern about Tory sleaze and corruption. Two complacencies underpin much of this coverage. The first is about Boris Johnson?s unique slapdash version of morality, monies and …
The British political crisis is deeper...
The Keir Starmer-Brian Cox exchange tells us how Scottish independence needs ... 9 Nov 2021 at 7:53pm
The Keir Starmer-Brian Cox exchange tells us how Scottish independence needs to be reframed Gerry Hassan The National, 9 November 2021 The past week has been one of the worst in British public life for decades as the scale of corruption of the UK Government and the Tories has been further revealed. This should be …
The Keir Starmer-Brian Cox exchange tells us how Scottish independenc...
A Short Cut Out and Keep Guide to Scotland for COP26 3 Nov 2021 at 7:09pm
A Short Cut Out and Keep Guide to Scotland for COP26 Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, 3 November 2021 Welcome to Scotland. This is your chance to contribute to saving the planet ? or at least to making it a slightly more hospitable place. While undertaking your serious work in Glasgow here is your concise cut …
A Short Cut Out and Keep Guide to Scotland for COP26 appeared first on Gerry...
As COP26 meets ?It?s the Economy Stupid? which needs to change 3 Nov 2021 at 8:52am
As COP 26 meets ?It?s the Economy, Stupid? which needs to change Gerry Hassan The National, 2 November 2021 The world?s media currently has one subject – will COP26 succeed in committing leading nations to act and change their ways on climate change. What is less talked about are economic assumptions and versions of the …
As COP26 meets ‘It’s the Economy Stupid’ which needs to change...
The world comes to Glasgow: Time to Think and Act Big 31 Oct 2021 at 8:43pm
The world comes to Glasgow: Time to Think and Act Big Gerry Hassan Sunday National, 31 October 2021 Glasgow can do big things. It has revelled in being an international host city ? from the most memorable European Cup finals to European City of Culture 1990 and the 2014 Commonwealth Games. The city?s sense of …
The world comes to Glasgow: Time to Think and Act Big appeared first on G...
Can books really change the world? 27 Oct 2021 at 7:03pm
Can books really change the world? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, 26 October 2021 The past two months has seen me spend much time packing and unpacking piles of books: putting them into boxes, labelling them, taking them out of boxes, and putting them up on newly built shelves as I recently have moved house. It …
Can books really change the world? appeared first on Gerry Hassan - writ...
As new variant arrives in UK infection rate in England soars to twice that in... 27 Nov 2021 at 4:33pm
The Herald makes no attempt to tell you anything useful, with: SCOTLAND has recorded 17 coronavirus deaths and 2,287 new cases in the past 24 hours, the latest Scottish Government figures show. The death toll under this daily measure ? of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days ? now stands at 9,562. https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/19746476.covid-scotl...
Alex Massie still able to fool his bosses that he knows about Scottish Politics 27 Nov 2021 at 12:52pm
Feeding English readers of the Times and the Spectatory with comfortable myths, the notion that Ross and Sarwar are teamed-up is one of his funniest. He writes: For the second week in a row, Douglas Ross used his time at first minister?s questions to ask about crime and Anas Sarwar used his to inquire into the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital?s disagreeable habit of allowing patients to catc...
Not the most ?worrying? Covid variant 27 Nov 2021 at 10:42am
True to form, stupid and exploitative, the Express describes the new Omicron (formerly a wrist watch for Buddhists) as ‘the most worrying’ when it’s not. The Telegraph has CMO England, Chris Whitty, saying the opposite: BBC UK has this: The Omicron Covid variant is “not a disaster” and some people may be “hugely overstating the situation”, a scientist advising the government says. Omicron has b...
?We are now seeing a concerted attack on our parliament? 27 Nov 2021 at 10:23am
From SNP Media Embargoed till 00:01 27th November 2021: Addressing delegates at the SNP?s annual conference today (Saturday) Deputy First Minister John Swinney is expected to say: ?We are now seeing a concerted attack on our parliament, from the very people who fought tooth and nail against it being established in the first place. ?In a grotesque irony, the Tories are using something that the p...
Why are Scottish GPs not voting for industrial action? 26 Nov 2021 at 1:53pm
In the Guardian today: GPs in England have voted in favour of taking limited forms of industrial action to protest against the government?s drive to force them to see patients face to face. The results led the profession?s new leader to warn ministers that ?demoralised, broken and exhausted? family doctors may refuse to undertake some normal duties to show their anger. https://www.theguardian.c...
Royal College fails to find ambulances queuing outside Scottish hospitals 26 Nov 2021 at 1:30pm
According to BBC Health but nowhere on the BBC Scotland website: The Royal College surveyed A&E departments across the UK between 8 and 14 November, receiving responses from 70 of about 230 units. During that week: 94% of clinical directors said that ambulances had been held outside their buildings at some point before patients could be taken into the hospital 61% said ambulances were being for...
Scottish newspaper hides Scottish vaccine rollout success 26 Nov 2021 at 11:09am
In the Scotsman today: Covid: Vaccine has saved almost 28,000 lives in Scotland, study says Thousands of people in Scotland are still alive today because of the coronavirus vaccine, a new study has said. What, I thought you said they were hiding the vaccine rollout success? They have praised it but have carefully avoided any comparison with, for example, England. Like this in that new study the...
Scottish newspaper unaware of major vaccine developments less than an hour away 26 Nov 2021 at 10:51am
The Herald today strikes fear into our hearts with this on the new Covid variant: They don’t however mention the evidence that the Valneva vaccine developed in Scotland may have the edge to combat new variants, as reported by Al Jazeera, more than two weeks ago: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2021/11/9/valneva-covid-19-vaccine-why-it-might-be-a-game-changer
Why is the new S African variant more dangerous and how the vaccine developed... 26 Nov 2021 at 9:12am
I’m not a virologist, an expert in how viruses work, or an epidemiologist, an expert in how human societies respond to them, but I can read a bit. Why is the new S African variant likely to be more dangerous? The rod-like spike proteins on the surface of SARS CoV-2 are the tip of the spear of the COVID-19 pandemic. The spikes bind to human cells via the ACE2 receptor and then dramatically chang...
New South African variant may be more vulnerable to the cancelled Livingston ... 26 Nov 2021 at 7:29am
According to English Health Secretary, Savid Javid, this morning, the new B11529 variant, identified only 3 days ago in South Africa, has twice the number of mutations as the Delta variant and may be more resistant to the existing vaccines. Notably, we hear that the new variant has around 30 changes to the spike protein which the virus uses to break into human cells making it dramatically diffe...
COP26: Where are the Global South? 10 Nov 2021 at 3:35pm
In this special COP26 edition of the podcast, Louise Wilson hears from Alistair Dutton of SCIAF about who is feeling climate change first and worst, the missing $100bn climate finance, and the achievements of COP so far.
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COP26: Can we be cautiously optimistic? 5 Nov 2021 at 11:20am
In this special COP26 edition of the podcast, Louise Wilson speaks to WWF Scotland?s Fabrice Leveque about cautious optimism, how Scotland can prove it?s a climate leader and the work still to be done.
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All Eyes on Scotland 29 Oct 2021 at 11:30am
In the latest edition of the podcast, Mandy Rhodes speaks to SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford about the latest push for independence and the UK Government?s decision not to award a carbon capture plant to Scotland. Elsewhere, the team discusses the upcoming COP26 climate summit and asks ? does Glasgow really have a rat problem?
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An Attack on Democracy 25 Oct 2021 at 9:31am
Following the murder of Sir David Amess MP, there is renewed focus on the growing level of threat and intimidation politicians face, particularly online. In this edition of the podcast, journalist Margaret Taylor speaks to SNP MP Carol Monaghan about what it was like to receive a death threat. Elsewhere, the team discuss whether Sir David?s death will lead to a tightening of security for electe...
Joking aside 13 Oct 2021 at 2:00pm
Former Scottish Conservatives leader Jackson Carlaw is the guest on this week?s edition of the podcast, fresh from being named Wag of the Year at the Holyrood Political Awards. He reflects on a career in politics and what really happened when he stepped down as leader last year. Elsewhere, the team discuss Nicola Sturgeon?s comments about having ?time on her side? when it comes to a second inde...
The case for independence 6 Oct 2021 at 4:35pm
In this edition of the podcast, Mandy Rhodes speaks to former SNP deputy leader Jim Sillars about his life in politics and why he believes the current party leadership is failing to articulate the case for independence. Elsewhere, the team discuss a landmark legal ruling by the Supreme Court and Prime Minister Boris Johnson?s speech to the Conservative party conference.
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Where now for Labour? 29 Sep 2021 at 12:00pm
As the Labour Party meets for its annual conference in Brighton, journalist Andrew Learmonth talks to recently elected MSP Michael Marra on how the party can get back into government both at Holyrood and Westminster and how it heals itself following the division of the Jeremy Corbyn era. Marra also reflects on being named One to Watch at the recent Holyrood Political Awards. Elsewhere, the team...
Deal or no deal 10 Sep 2021 at 2:58pm
After striking an historic Green deal and announcing its 12-bill programme for government, has the SNP run out of steam or is it ready to power forward to independence? Mandy Rhodes interviews Professor James Mitchell.
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A Leap of Faith 3 Sep 2021 at 9:02am
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says the cooperation agreement is a ?leap of faith,? but which party has more to gain, the SNP or the Scottish Greens? Join the Holyrood team as they discuss all the latest developments, as well as the prospect of vaccine passports amid rising Covid cases and Michael Gove?s unexpected appearance in an Aberdeen nightclub.
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Captured by the Taliban 27 Aug 2021 at 6:00am
The guest on the podcast this week is journalist Yvonne Ridley, who was taken hostage by the Taliban while reporting from Afghanistan after 9/11.
Also on this episode the team discuss the deal between the Greens and the SNP and the prospect of a "circuit breaker" due to the worrying rise in Covid cases.
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SNP conference: Swinney claims Johnson wants to 'take back powers' - BBC News 27 Nov 2021 at 2:59pm
SNP conference: Swinney claims Johnson wants to 'take back powers' BBC NewsSNP opens four-day virtual party conference BBC NewsKeith Brown's full #SNP21 opening speech ? Scottish National Party SNPSNP have 'undeniable mandate' for indyref2, depute leader tells conference Evening StandardSNP conference backs consideration of Finnish-style 'open prisons' in Scotland The ScotsmanView Full cov...
