Jim O’Neill says the SNP spin over this week’s GERS figures can’t mask the blunt reality they show. 

 

No, I’m not talking about a football team from Sunny Govan, although it could work referring to the “Old co”. No, the recent figures for government expenditure and revenue show Scotland with a deficit of £13.4bn over the last year, which at 7.9% of GDP is four times greater than the UK as a whole.

In past years the SNP’s reaction has been to challenge these figures, since they are produced partially using UK Government figures, and their knee jerk reaction has always been to attack anything produced by the UK Government as, in the modern parlance, fake news. This time, however, the figures have been accepted by Ms Sturgeon without any argument.

The spin this year is that the deficit has been cut by 1% of GDP and so it proves that the Scottish economy is getting better. The problem is that, in comparison to the improving figures for the UK as a whole, this is a poor outcome. Given that the deficit in the UK as a whole is barely over 1% of GDP, how much better would the UK figures have been if Scotland had matched the UK average? Indeed the Scottish Government spends £1600 more per person that the rest of the UK.

There is another flaw in the spin. This year’s figures reflect an upturn in oil industry revenues. Without that upturn, the rest of the Scottish economy would have shown a further decline as against the rest of the UK which has shown an improvement across the board. Further, projections show that the improvement in oil revenues may not be sustained, since there is no indication of further increases in oil
prices.

This reflects the negativity expressed in the (No) Growth Commission which predicted 20 years of austerity following independence. I am not convinced that this is a great prospectus for independence – our economy is going backwards and if you vote for independence you will have to suffer another 20 years of austerity. That is why I believe that Nicola Sturgeon is going to disappoint her ultras by hedging once again on a date for an independence referendum. Remember what happened to her predecessor after he failed to deliver a yes vote?

Meanwhile Jeremy Corbyn has been visiting Scotland, meeting among others the bus builders of Alexanders and the asylum seekers of Glasgow. He has made it plain that a Corbyn-led government would be much more proactive in looking after the best interests of asylum seekers and refugees and, possibly more important, would seek to re-balance Britain’s economy back towards manufacturing.

But if you seek to increase support for the manufacturing industry, you have to ensure that they have markets in which to sell their products. Clearly Brexit would be a major disaster for any growing manufacturing sector, whether it be no-deal or with a deal which increases the costs of British manufacturers especially in Europe, our biggest market.

Very interestingly, Sir Keir Starmer has now said that a second referendum must now be back on the table. It is important for any hopes that Corbyn may have of taking up residence of 10 Downing Street that he now comes out publicly and supports Starmer’s statement and commits the Parliamentary Labour Party to voting for a second referendum in the House of Commons. That by itself would do more to reunify the PLP than any statements about support for Judaism or fast-tracked disciplinary proceedings.

Labour must now take the lead in opposing Brexit and promise to give the UK voters another chance to vote, now that the implications are clear and the lies and shady actions of Vote Leave have been publicised. Labour leadership in this will bring us much closer to government, a government with policies that will lead us out of this mire and be much more people friendly. A government that will really be for the many.

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154 thoughts on “GERS spin doesn’t work

  1. GERS is absolutely no indication what-so-ever of what the finances of an independent Scotland would be. To claim otherwise is to assume an independent Scotland would continue to mirror Westminster’s every decision and run itself as if it were still tied to the UK.

    It is an indication of how the UK is running the Scottish economy though. Unionists have a tendency to forget that the economy and the vast majority of the levers of power that influence it are all reserved to Westminster. So if, as Unionists are forever celebrating, Scotland is an economic basket case, they have to explain to us just why that is if the Union is so darned good for Scotland.

    We don’t have to look far for countries that are much the same size as Scotland who are managing their own affairs whose finances are far healthier than GERS implies Scotland’s are. The obvious example is Norway with a popln much the same as Scotland’s and an oil industry of comparable size. They are wealthy beyond compare. It is telling that they took in about £27bn in oil revenue when the UK only mustered about £2bn. In fact, in one year Denmark took £2bn from Shell Oil alone when the UK actually paid Shell about £200m for the privilege of extracting Scotland’s oil and selling it for a vast profit. just one example of how the UK is mis-managing Scotland’s economy and resources. One can’t help feeling the lack of oil revenue is a political decision taken by Westminster and nothing to do with economics.

    Every year Unionists practically throw a party when the GERS figures come out and imply their own country is an economic mess. It is utterly shameful and not a little embarrassing.

  2. Look at this clown trying to convince folk that he believes that 15% of the population of the UK is responsible for 81% of the entire UK deficit while coincidently living and working outside of the borders of England while only 15% of them are responsible for only 19% of it and they all live within the borders of England.

    Last year we were supposed to swallow the claims that 8.6% of the population caused 23% of the entire UK expenditure.
    This year we are supposed to swallow the claim that its 34%.

    Its not as if data like this can be mistaken for anything other than dishonest horseshite.
    Its not as if data like this could be mistaken for anything other than incredulous levels of brainless lying.

    The next stage of course is to lie about it being Scottish Government data and not OBR data. To brazenly lie about how the Scottish Government uses UK Government RESERVED data to make up GERS reports and that they have nothing to do with the Scotland Office at all.
    UK Government data they are not privy to but which makes up the vast bulk of ALL GERS reports.

    Its funny how no matter how much the Scottish revenue stream increases in income there always comes an expenditure account that leaves the same levels of deficit year on year attributed to Scotland the Scottish Government and everything Scottish when it comes to spending.

    This is the level of worthless horseshite ultra yoons like O’Neill have to present in order to pretend they have a story to tell.
    So utterly worthless and corrupt is their cause they are reduced to this level of moronic stupidity.

    So how about it Jim Bob you going to keep pretending how much you believe 8.6% are over spending by 34% and 15% are overspending by 81% and 85% are overspending by 19%. and they are all clustered together within their own specific little Countries boundaries for convenience sake.

    You gonna be that stupid today Jim Bob?

      1. She accepts them for what they are; a rough estimate of the finances of a Scotland constrained within the UK framework. She also states, correctly, that they say nothing about what the finances of an independent Scotland would be. You appear to have missed that bit.

      2. So why aren’t you debating the claim that 8.6% of the UK is responsible for 34% of the entire UK deficit and they all coincidently live in Scotland?
        How about debating the figure of 15% of the UK being responsible for 81% of the entire UK deficit and they all coincidently live outside of England.
        Or we could debate the figures that say 85% of the UK population is ONLY responsible for 19% of the entire UK deficit and they coincidently ALL live in England.

        So off you go debate those figures.

      3. You kind of avoided debating the figures in my post by trying to deflect with a pseudo whine about abuse.
        Do hypocrisy and well as reality denial much?

      4. What point are you trying to make by using that name for the First Minister?
        Don’t you think you’re coming across as a bit childish, verging on the abusive?

  3. Jim,
    You really are missing the point. Your party has been deliberately and systematically neutralised as a political force by individuals and groups within Labour and outwith. Since the election of Jeremy Corbyn the British Labour Party has come under unrelenting attack. It has become the target of an alliance of powerful individuals and groups. It is part of their bigger plan – to keep the control on the levers of global geopolitics in the hands of a very few. Their plan means it is impossible for them to even contemplate the possibility of Jeremy Corbyn ever to become the prime minister of the UK.
    British democracy has been destabilised as a consequence. All those within the UK that consider themselves democrats need to wake up to the threat.
    May I recommend the article below.

    https://www.veteranstoday.com/2018/08/22/uk-labour-self-destructs-under-anti-semitism-onslaught/

    1. Richard just read the article you have high lighted
      IF they had read that article he would not be suspended and I never thought he should have been in the first place

  4. The growth commission report which I consider has brought a dose of realism to the Indy debate has said we will be tied to the bank of England after Indy which means London will have a controlling say over our finances .
    Common Weal have now issued their own report calling for a separate Scottish currency .
    No matter how you look at it at the moment there is a black hole in our finances as part of the UK
    If independent we would have to work to change that wont be easy but doable and yes Labour must take the lead in calling for a 2nd Brexit vote
    Labour has been the most sustained mass right wing press onslaught ever helped by some MPS over Anti Semitism non of it true .3 Jewish papers same headline same day don’t tell me that’s not organized
    The Israeli pm joins in not a peep of complaint from our Government or any other political party Don’t tell me there is no hidden hand in this ie Mossad CIA and our own Intelligence services .
    Labour suspend people pending investigation .
    The same right wing press hounding us are right behind Boris no suspension for him indeed the Tories are being warned what will happen if they do .
    Don’t worry other parties if they don’t do as they are told will face an onslaught to.
    I have just last night filled a Labour Party online members survey on equality
    Have other parties done that and BTW I don’t think we have a problem

  5. Woops. Looks like I have stirred up a hornet’s nest of the usual suspects. It is not because of Westminster that £1600 more is spent on Scots than the rest of the UK. An independent Government will have to deal with the implications of that. Perhaps that’s why their own Growth Commission predicts 20 years of austerity after independence. Explain that away, chaps

    1. Jim as you are so against an Independent Scotland in advance can l take it that when lndependence is achieved that you will no longer take part in political discourse in an lndependent Scotland. I ask the question because it would be a diabolical liberty if in an Independent Scotland you were to continue to imbue us all with your usual negativity so will you please give us some good news and let us know if you will be retiring from the political arena in a new upbeat vibrant welcoming positive lndependent Scotland it’s only fair because you don’t believe in it.

    2. You are avoiding answering the questions Mr O’Neill. Is it because you can’t?

      1. How can a “region” be the best performing part of the UK outside the SE of England but be “responsible” for 34% of the state’s debt with only about 8% of the popln? Answer: it can’t be. It is merely an “artifact” of the way the figures are presented.

      2. Even were we to believe the figures gave an accurate picture of Scotland as an economic basket case, how is that an argument for the Union? It only works if you subscribe to the idea (which many, many unionists do) that, bad as they are, they are better than they would be with independence as Scots are uniquely incapable of running their own affairs as ALL the other small, independent countries around us do. It is a shame you don’t subscribe to the view of Indies that Scots are just as capable as ALL our neighbours to govern ourselves successfully and be just as prosperous as them.

      3. Why does the UK govt only receive such a paltry sum of money from the North Sea compared to Norway? It is a political decision taken in Westminster, not an “economic inevitability” as unionists portray it. A tweak to the tax policy would see over half the deficit you revel in vanish without the need to resort to a smidgen of austerity.

      4. Why do you keep rehashing the lie that the “independent Growth Commission” predicts 20 years of austerity? For one thing, it does not. It only suggests keeping growth in public spending below the level of economic growth for a time after independence. For another thing, it is only one opinion of life after independence. A particularly “conservative (small “c”)” one. There are plenty others that you studiously ignore.

      There are plenty other questions unionists, like yourself, avoid answering abetted by a compliant media who avoid asking them. Perhaps you could change that situation and give coherent answers to the above questions and defend the Union.

      1. I have never referred to Scotland as a region. The United kingdom is a union of nations. And the Growth Commission does predict substantial cuts in public spending and that it will take two decades to match the smaller states in Europe

        1. No it really really didn’t Jim Bob you’re wilfully lying again and doing it with your usual levels of gibbering stupidity.

        2. And you still avoid answering any of the questions Mr O’Neill. Can we take it, then, that you have no answers to them?

          Your headline is true though …. “GERS spin doesnt work” …. only its the unionist spin that is losing its efficacy as more and more people begin to see the obvious discrepancies in its logic.

    3. Of course it is it only exists at all because Westminster says it does. Independence will be the proof that the £1600 never existed at all.
      The growth commission didn’t predict 20 years of austerity at all. They know they don’t have the required access to magic and prophesy which would enable them to see into the future let alone 20 years into the future.
      You’re already reduced to spewing trolling pish in support of your initial efforts to spew pish dressed up as an article.

  6. Jim the GERS cannot predict how an lndependent Scotland would turn out to be until measures taken by an lndependent Scottish Government are implemented and we wait and see. Nobody can predict the future for the supporters of lndependence its a leap of faith and the belief that Scotland’s folk have the brains guile and temerity to make a success of it. So it’s my view that either for or against Independence supporters cannot predict how it will turn out in the future either way. As for another referendum my guess is that if there was to be another referendum that the Leave would win by a bigger margin and down South the Labour Party UK would be punished by Labour Party supporters who voted leave.

  7. Ted you asked Jim when we go Indy he will no longer take part in political discourse .
    So if we don’t go Indy will you .
    In October when we are to graciously receive the FMS statement on Brexit is there any indication that the Scottish Government is even considering asking for Indy 2 or are we being led up the garden path again like last year .
    Anyway in Thursdays National Gordon Macintyre Kemp wrote .
    Its key to understand that Gers does not offer any real indications on the finances of an Independent Scotland
    He also said until recently Scotland has not any borrowing powers so the key question is who generated the debt
    I will leave that to you guys haha.
    Patrick Harvie was also in the National very disappointed Scotland and UK still so dependant on the Oil and Gas sector .
    Meanwhile Nigel is back to rescue us from remain .
    Our Nigel says in his words he is skint .I know the feeling Nige as I am skint to.
    Nigel entertained a bunch of journalists down the pub .Well maybe that’s why he is skint .
    They had to move outside Nige did not like the loud music .
    Nigel in order to save us from remain is going on a bus tour .
    According to Nigel the day after the EU ref remain got its act together and started a fightback led by George Soros Tony Blair Alastair Campbell and Roland Rudd Ambers brother .
    Nigel also thinks PM May is a careerist putting party before country .He cant believe Boris does not make more use of Social media
    Thinks America First has done nothing wrong .
    He thinks remainers only speak to people in their own bubble and don’t speak to the outside world
    And that bus tour he is working with leave means leave financed by Tim Tice and John Longworth
    Nigel thinks that Michel Barnier is encouraging Republican terrorism in Northern Ireland
    The stockpiling plan just a very good way of stopping Boris from becoming PM
    He also does not rule out violence in the streets if we don’t get the Brexit he promised .
    If the Boris bus tour comes down my street I will ask Nigel remember the NHS promise on the side of the last bus
    How come I will have to pay more tax to get it .
    As part of the UK Scotland voted no still got stuck with Brexit so what do you say to those who say we want to leave .
    How come at the Ayrshire and Arran Health board annual review in public held at Crosshouse hospital last October a member of staff from Spain said he had worked here for 3 years but does not know if he can stay after Brexit .
    Those stockpiling plans to stop Boris that nobody told us about why would we even need to consider it
    What was your plan for the day after Brexit apart from disappearing until now .
    Whats the plan to help business a lot of them small and family run who rely on EU seasonal workers
    What about the International companies thinking about relocating you said that would not happen
    Where are all those countries you said would come to the rescue but so far have not
    Maybe your bus tour should head for Wales explain to them why after voting for Brexit the next day the Welsh FM had to go on tv to make a public appeal to the UK Government to match the funding they get from the EU

    1. David I cannot answer for Jim he will have to decide himself. I am confident that an IndyRef2 will be announced in October because we will have a clearer idea of the Brexit deal or no deal. At the moment Nicola is a tad quiet and l expect that Nicola will fire the starting pistol in October so don’t worry about the garden path.

  8. Ted as a rangers supporter I thought the Gers report was about a certain fitba team
    BTW BBC red button says Rodrigo has been removed from the Big Brother house no reason given now that’s real news haha
    And what happened to those lottery numbers haha

    1. David sorry I follow rugby union and don’t know much about football, l recollect the last time l heard anything about the Scottish Rangers Football team l think was around the time they where disbanded. Are you instead talking about Queens Park Rangers the London football team. Sorry the lottery numbers are not coming through due to the MI5 blocking force field.

      1. That is something we agree about Ted, I am Secretary of Irvine Rugby and a former SRU Council member

        1. Good on you Jim we are kindred spirits, I love rugby union the sportsmanship and just in case of political correctness the sportswomanship is fantastic and supporters across the world so friendly and well behaved. With that in mind as a supporter of an lndependent Scottish Labour Party in an Independent Scotland come the announced IndyRef2 in October l hope all who take part in the campaign will do so in the spirit of rugby union fans. If Scotland vote yes to Independence maybe we should have a new friendly fixture match every year on Independence day to celebrate the occasion.

          1. Mike I agree that tickets for all sports events are extortionate it’s universal but it’s my view that Football is the worst offender. If all football supporters boycotted matches the price would soon come down. I know some football supporters who would rather starve to buy a season ticket than miss a match it’s sad but true.

  9. Ted thanks for your comment
    We are back drew 3 3 with the mighty Motherwell today
    Predictions Sally in the bb house last night predicted Hardeep would go .Hardeep was saved I watch it I could have told her that as I voted to save him even although he is an SNP member.
    Maybe Mossad MI5 and the CIA blocked her voices from telling her haha
    PS how could she not predict Rodrigo would get removed by BB at midnight Friday no reason given .
    Its in the news because Rodrigo has joined Stormy in claiming BB dirty tricks .
    Stormy says she did not go in as BB put in some last minute conditions. BB say Stormy asked for more money
    BB say Rodrigo who was on a final warning for racist language got removed for an incident .
    Rodrigo says he walked because he was missing his mobile phone .
    He missed it that much he left in his dressing gown haha.

  10. Thanks for your comment Jim
    You and Ted watch a sport where the ball is pear shaped .
    You said you are a former SRU Council member whatever that is should have asked me to vote for you I would have. Delivered your election leaflets conducted some phone polling .
    Anyway if the SFA move into Murrayfield and kick you lot out.
    I am sure you will be able to book a pitch at Irvine playing fields haha.
    Ted if we do become Independent assuming a certain lady organizes it and we vote for it .
    Then from day 1 we need to make it work we live here

    1. David l don’t think that the football should move to Murray Field just in case the football fans vandalise the stadium furniture the seats etc. I am especially concerned that the Rangers football club was disbanded and reformed and that there is alot of trouble with their fans who are fighting and beating up the staff who work in McDonalds. I am especially worried that alot of riff-raff will be drinking swearing and fighting and bringing down the tone of the area Edinburgh should be respected after all it’s the capital of Scotland.

  11. Just had a quick look at the BBCnews website Douglas Fraser the business editor has done an analyses of the Gers report .
    And all this Indy talk its Irans fault FB have shut down their pro Indy page .
    So there

  12. Mike I agree that tickets for all sports events are extortionate it’s universal but it’s my view that Football is the worst offender. If all football supporters boycotted matches the price would soon come down. I know some football supporters who would rather starve to buy a season ticket than miss a match it’s sad but true.

    1. But you’ve never been responsible for universal ticket sales for sporting events you’ve claimed to be responsible for RU ticket sales which are extortionate. Im asking for accountability for those ticket prices you’re deflecting by bringing up universal who gives a fuck because its irrelevant.
      So how about it Jim Bob you at least partially responsible for RU fans being ripped off for ticket sales during your tenure within the RU board?

  13. Jim if l may be so bold could you please indulge me if l make a comment on the article below that is also a case of spin.

    “The Herald Sunday Herald
    STUC in firing line over “relying” on SNP Government for 60% of funding”

    Jim UK Government funding to the TUC London head office has been going for donkeys year’s since the 1970s and still continues to this day, the TUC have used this funding for training union reps and lifelong learning for union members. In the article unamed union leaders with a spokesman for the GMB Union have been moaning about the same situation in Scotland with the STUC can’t understand what the difference is. The GMB is a UK Union with it’s head office in London it receives some funding for its training from the UK Government funding that is allocated to the TUC head office so this is either a mischievous fake news story by the Herald or it seems that the GMB are working in partnership with the Tories to make unsubstantiated attacks on the Scottish Government that just happens to be SNP.

    1. Ted I have been involved in the Union movement for over 40 years. Some of those at STUC level. We have always taken Government money because, in Scotland, Governments have always believed in the value of collective bargaining. Sadly, some Scottish Local Authorities (e,g, East Dumbarton) no longer believe in the value of this and are cutting facility time. Btw, my dissertation for my M.Sc in Personnel Management was on Joint Negotiation in the public sector

      1. Quite a few Union members also took Honours as payment for services rendered too. Relaxing and enjoying themselves sitting in the House of Lords on 300 a day serving the very establishment they joined a Union to oppose.
        I bet you lament daily your own lost opportunities to sit with them eh Jim Bob?
        I cant pinpoint the time when the Unions became just another cog in the UK state machine but since they did there is no distinguishing them from the Corporate influence and state institutions that far too many workers need Union protection from.
        The state of the total lack of UK salary annual increases is testament to that fact.
        Public sector workers not seeing an increase above inflation for well over a decade now yet MPs over the same period have had an increase that took their salaries from 65K to 77K.
        Boardroom members still able to supplement their six figure salaries with 6 and 7 figure bonuses irrespective of company performance and share values.
        The Scandal of the Glasgow council failure over decades to maintain a balance between gender pay should have been avoided by Union intervention.

        Being a Union member is no longer something to brag about in fact it has become a standard for shame and betrayal. No wonder it remains loyal to the Labour party. Had they kept they’re original principles the Trade Unions of Scotland would have shifted their alliance to the SNP.

        1. Being a union member is no longer something to brag about in fact its a standard of shame and betrayal .
          Are you for real are you a member of a union .
          Most people are not interested in and don’t care about politics .
          They do care about working conditions at their place of work .
          When I had to take an Ill health retirement package my HR woman turned to my GMB rep in my Home and said we don’t know how to get David his retirement package the rules are complicated
          The GMB with my consent took over and got my ill health retirement package .
          When a union member is in trouble the people in his corner is his union in case you didn’t know nothing to do with politics most people don’t care about politics only what happens to them at there place of work etc

          1. Are you even capable of acknowledging any level of reality over anything?
            The Unions have betrayed everybody that put their faith in them. Unions don’t actually exist in the UK anymore.
            There are no employment protections enforced through the Unions anywhere in the UK.
            Labour run institutions calling themselves Unions charge fees for fuck all.
            Where were the Unions when zero hours contracting came in?
            Why haven’t the Unions achieved gender pay balance?
            Why has everybody except MPs MSPs and board room directors gone without a pay rise for over a decade?
            What are the Unions going to do about the loss of EU workers rights legislation after Brexit?

            Spare me the reality denying horseshite.

  14. Jim I don’t agree with the cutting of union facility time that is a bad move by management and not conducive to fostering good industrial relations. However the issue of the funding of trade union training and lifelong learning that the UK Government gives to the TUC head office
    at an national level shows the hypocrisy that union leaders in Scotland have especially the GMB who as a UK wide union are happy to receive funds from the TUC head office and at the same time attack the STUC for accepting the same funding from the Scottish Government for the same purpose of trade union training and lifelong learning. As a supporter of an lndependent Scottish Labour Party in an lndependent Scotland l do not think that the trade union movement leaders in Scotland or at the UK level should collude with the Tory press to undermine the good lndustrial relations between the STUC and SNP Scottish Government.

  15. ‘Indeed the Scottish Government spends £1600 more per person that the rest of the UK.’

    This is half true. The UK Government spends the other half. The Scottish Government has a budget of £37 billion which is around 50% of the £73 billion spent in Scotland every year.

    I’m never quite sure why this is promoted by Labour and others as a good thing?

    It means we cannot afford to pay our way as a country and we are a drag on the UK’s resources, which ultimately means the UK has to borrow more to pay for our expenditure (until at least the UK is overall making surpluses big enough to cover our high expenditure), and it costs taxpayers more in the long run to service the debt.

    Ah but Barnett is pooling and sharing, socialism in action? Not so.

    The Barnett formula is not a needs-based formula, it is applied geographically. Therefore poorer parts of England & Wales are losing out to Scotland and Northern Ireland.

    The latter understandably given the history requires long term regeneration but Edinburgh, Aberdeenshire, Dumfries & Galloway, parts of Perthshire & Stirlingshire, East Renfrewshire and East Dunbartonshire have some of the most affluent postcodes in the UK.

    Personally I think Labour and others need to come up with an economic strategy for Scotland that is not almost exclusively dependent on the Barnett formula.

    If the worst predictions about Brexit come to pass and we have food or medicine shortages and long queues of trucks stranded at customs ports in and out of the UK, how much political appetite will there be in England for us to get an extra £1600 per head?

    Bearing in mind some of the most strident Brexiteers have called for a fairer funded formula to replace Barnett.

    Barnett is one of the strongest arguments against independence but given the potential problems at the Northern Irish border don’t seem to be an issue for Brexiteers, can supporters of the Union really expect Scotland to always get preferential treatment?

    1. I’ll correct myself here! £73 billion isn’t ‘spent’ in Scotland every year, some of that money is apportioned to Scotland on a per head of population basis to cover costs of UK military, debt and shared services.

  16. Drew the political appetite in England for us to get an extra £1600 per head is done grudgingly by the UK Government the ordinary Joe public south of the border are always dismissive of Scotland getting any extra roubles and want shot of us. It makes me laugh every now and again when you hear a Luvvie an the airways bleating on about how much they love the union and they like the political elites are unaware that Joe public would be happy if Scotland went Independent tomorrow. I had to laugh at the idea of the Labour Party UK coming up with a economic policy for Scotland that is not dependent on the Barnet formula when the same Labour Party UK when in government had there chance and did nothing. As for the Scottish Labour section of the Labour Party UK they have no power to make policy in Scotland that can be implemented as it is the Labour Party UK that decide the policy for the Labour Party UK manifesto. I hope that Scottish Labour section supporters will like me support a new breakaway lndependent Scottish Labour Party that campaigns for an Independent Scotland.

    1. The only real motivation for the UK Government to keep the Barnett formula and indeed Scotland within the UK is the fact that all other potential replacement sites for Faslane and Coulport have more or less been ruled out as unsuitable.

      When the bases on the Clyde were upgraded from Polaris to Trident it took 13 years and was 2nd only to the Channel Tunnel in terms of the cost and logistics to complete. Coulport in particular has a series of complex underground bunkers deep beneath the rocks of Loch Long to be able to withstand an air strike but still have access to a deep water sea loch and be relatively close to the submarine base within the safety limits. There simply aren’t any other sites like them elsewhere in the UK and the MOD more or less admitted this back in 2014.

      The UK Government was over confident before the first independence referendum because they thought they would win by a landslide and for this reason alone I can’t see them gambling on the bases’ future a 2nd time ever in the future, by ever allowing a 2nd independence referendum.

  17. Read a report on Gibraltar yesterday they voted remain do not want annexed by Spain.
    They have a good rapport with the Spanish border authorities .
    But with a huge amount of people and goods coming across the border everyday with minimal checks because of Brexit they say that even a 30 second check at the border
    Would put the rock in gridlock

  18. Well guys your are going to love this something for everyone
    I found this analysis of the Gers report by Douglas Fraser on the BBC news website
    No 1
    Gers was started by conservative ministers 25 years ago to provide the figures with witch to make the case against a devolved parliament
    When the gaps this big they argued why would you want to jeopardise that with a parliament in Edinburgh.
    No2
    They are now used by the opposition to make the case against independence. Though in days of much higher offshore oil and gas revenue they could do the reverse.
    No3
    In the SNP they privately admit they would love to ditch Gers .
    But Politically it would be like Donald Trump giving himself a presidential pardon .
    It would raise to much of a stink from the media and opposition
    No4
    That’s Scotland stuck with this national deficit its locked in
    The only way to bring spending down is to cut it .
    When that is not necessary under current constitutional arrangements .That’s just some of it there is more on the BBC news website.

  19. Brexit has turned out to be a dog’s dinner regardless of which way you voted this has been caused by the tensions in the Tory Party who could not negotiate there way out of a paper bag. As for Scotland l am a supporter of an lndependent Scottish Labour Party in an Independent Scotland who voted for Brexit, so for me getting an lndependent Scotland is my first priority ahead of Brexit so in the mix things if it means voting for an Independent Scotland remaining in the EU to get lndependence then so be it. After an lndependent Scotland is achieved l and any other folks who don’t want an lndependent Scotland in the EU can then campaign for an referendum to leave the EU.

  20. Here is another Gers report the Govan one
    Former Rangers players and staff paid through an offshore trust have been told they have weeks to approach the taxman.
    Over a settlement or face a bigger bill.
    47 million paid to Rangers Employees 2001 to 2010 is liable for tax.
    I am a Rangers supporter I have an ill health retirement pension the DWP write to me every year asking me for permission to contact the pension fund to see if I have had an in crease .
    So I have no sympathy for them pay up .
    Everyone has to including the people who paid your wages by paying to watch you play although not me
    The Taxmans letter asking to approach the pension fund to see if I have had an increase usually arrives before the DWP letter .

    1. David you will find small fish are put through the mill by DWP and the taxman small fry are hammered but those like footballers with lots of roubles are invited to contact them if after talking to their legal and financial advisors because they think they might get their collars felt.

  21. Ted I agree Brexit is a disaster in my opinion David Cameron did it to see of UKIP
    I am a remainer can I ask why you voted for brexit

  22. Apparently there is a dispute over who ordered the flags that were at half mast after John McCain died to go back up before the funeral America first is the chief suspect .
    And the Senator left behind a message to the American people don’t hide behind walls.

  23. David I wanted to give the political establishment a good shake up and l like change and l thought that if Scotland voted to remain and the rest of UK voted to leave it would speed up an lndependent Scotland so that’s why l voted for Brexit.

  24. Thanks for your comment Ted
    I voted remain when PM Cameron called an EU ref .
    Its my belief having won the Scottish ref and with UKIP breathing down his throat and with desertions to UKIP on
    a daily basis .
    He gave them what they wanted an EU ref . I knew straight away it would be about immigration and border control
    nothing else .
    And I was right Farmers and the Fishing industry now crying and complaining they voted for and funded it.
    I voted remain because of all the good things we get from the EU funding subsidies and employment laws .
    We are leaving a trading bloc that has been good for us .
    And does not owe us any favours The week before the vote I was on a bus when we past roadworks it was the gas board this time .
    I thought then Scotland might vote to leave because people on the bus said look at that Polish guys over hear doing our jobs .there was no one there .
    When I remonstrated with them they turned on me .
    The political establishment has been shaken up .And is moving to the right
    Scotland the public is showing no sign of wanting another vote on anything if the FM thought we would vote for Independence she would do it tonight
    I would like to ask the politicians of all parties including Scottish ones who supported Brexit you won so where is the action plan I thought you would have when you won

    1. I actually predicted that vote leave for Brexit would win for the reasons that alot of towns and cities south of the border had seen uncontrolled immigration and the make up of these places changed so fast and with no extra resources for school’s GP surgeries and the like a leave vote was inevitable. Folks in Scotland were not affected by this factor due to a decreasing population and lots of space. The metropolitan elite and political class in London were so out of touch and of the impression that remain would win as they have not got a clue why anybody outside the M25 would vote to leave but vote leave they did as l predicted. The Blame for vote leave goes back to Blaire who opened up the doors to uncontrolled immigration from the EU without making provisions so it’s ironic that Blaire is advocating another referendum to remain when it’s his fault that leave won Brexit. Controlled immigration is good as long as there is a need resources and a plan.

  25. My local paper is carrying a report that Crosshouse hospital since 2007 08 has cut staffed hospital beds by 23per cent .beds at C house on June 15 was 543 and including beds in the maternity and clinical decisions unit with GP Assessment area on 2007 08 as being 702
    This counts this is what we need to concentrate on

    1. David I agree elected representatives should concentrate on on local issues l salute you for highlighting this important issue.

      1. Thanks for your comment Ted
        With the huge amount of money being spent on the NHS I think we should take it out of the political sphere if that cant be done at UK level .
        I would like to see it done in Scotland .
        We need to stop using it as a political football .Its to important for that .
        But to propose that would take real political leadership even more to actually do it.

        1. David I agree cheap political point scoring by all political parties of the health service does them no good and it puts the ordinary folks of politician’s and political parties. It’s a good idea you have come up with about taking it out the political sphere let’s hope somebody in the political parties considers the idea.

  26. It’s fantastic to see the legacy of Blaire is being cleared out by the marvelous democracy road show led by MP Chris Williamson it’s only fair that those who don’t support a member led party are replaced with new MPs who support the leader and the party.

    1. The Labour Party has had mandatory reselection for years. A sitting MP can lose the support of their Party. When their name goes forward, if a majority of branches opposes their reselection, other candidates are allowed to challenge. other Parties could follow our democracy in this.

      1. Jim that’s good to know but in times of Blaire it became a clique university special advisors from Oxbridge parachuted into safe Labour seat’s no routes to becoming an MP for local candidates and trade union officials. It’s good that the left are making the Labour Party more democratic.

  27. Mike Unions are there in the workplace they were there for me .
    The rest of it take it up with your MSP or MP

  28. BTW Mike learn discipline join a pro independence party .
    And they will insist you don’t use the language you use as by doing it you are letting the cause down .
    And the public wont stand for it .
    So I wont bother responding to any more foul mouthed rants either.

  29. The proposed Edinburgh tourist tax how about using some of it to pay workers the living wage during the Edinburgh Festival

  30. As a member of the labour party I filled in an online labour party survey on Anti Semitism and Equality
    As far as I am concerned there is no anti Semitism in the labour party

    1. David I think you always get a few rotten apples in a barrel but l think the issue of anti-Semitism has been hijacked by Blairite diehards who will use it to undermine Jeremy Corbyn as they will never accept him and his democratic changes to the Labour Party UK.

  31. Thanks for your comment Ted
    I was watching channel4 news and got told I am in an Anti Semitic party . I had to ask what that is .
    Frank Field says resigning the whip sitting as Independent Labour forgot to mention he is staying on as a Labour party member .He also betrayed us by voting with the Government on Brexit .
    And he forgot to mention he lost a no confidence motion by his CLP . because of that .
    I want us to concentrate on jobs NHS education closures issues that affect local people every day .
    That’s what Labour do in North Ayrshire and I am sick of all this Anti Semitism crap .And being betrayed I thought we were supposed to be trying to get elected to Government .

  32. David your bang on Frank Field used anti-Semitism as an excuse for resigning before he would have been deselected for other reasons. It’s a shame the Labour Party UK cannot put on a united front as not to do so will do them no favours whatsoever with the electorate. Love them or hate them lessons could be learned from the SNP who have party discipline all boxed off it just shows you that the SNP rank and file members and the wider pro independent Scotland supporters realise that internal party bickering would undermine their end goal.

    1. Frank Field was social security minister in Blair’s first Government. He resigned because he wasn’t given a free hand. He was also one of the gang of four who broke the Labour whip over Brexit and kept May in power. I have never had a high opinion of Mr Field

      1. Jim I agree and it’s my view that a Labour Party UK policy to pause review and redesign universal credit is not radical enough and a vote loser. I would recommend scrapping it completely and design a new system that is uncomplicated and instead of joining benefits together would seperate them. The current universal credit system based on computerised real time changes will never work. It’s my view that the Scottish Labour sections policy should be to scrap universal credit completely It’s sad that currently this is not possible as it is subservient to the Labour Party UK policy and that’s another reason why I support an lndependent Scottish Labour Party in an Independent Scotland.

  33. It appears the silly season is here early Frank Field apparently still a Labour party member is threatening a by election .The new proposed middle of the road party has split into 2 groups CEO has left to start his own group took most HQ staff with him.
    Nigel is thinking about running for London Mayor claims he would push the Tories into 3rd place .Hope he can explain some of his Brexit rubbish .
    Meanwhile back in our world the real world Homebase are to close 42 stores 10 in Scotland hundreds of jobs under threat.
    We should be fighting that .
    You are correct Ted about Universal credit .For me the DWP needs to be overhauled
    CH4 news just said Frank Field has been told by the Labour chief whip he has 2 weeks to change his mind or he will lose his labour membership card

    1. David I would have thought Frank Field would automatically no longer be a Labour Party member because he resigned as a Labour MP. The 2 weeks to change his mind after the damage he has caused the Party by his media appearances undermining the party is got to be a joke surely if it’s not then it is open season for all the Blairites to cause havoc by resigning getting headlines causing damage for a couple of weeks then rejoining.

  34. Thanks for your comment Ted
    That’s what I thought but no ch4 news reported he only resigned the whip not his membership .
    I would have thought resigning the whip would have meant you were also leaving the party .
    He and the others betrayed me with that vote with the Government over Brexit .
    And Jacob Rees Mogg joined in the silly season no Indy ref needed for 20 years
    That will unite the Indy mob like nothing else .
    BTW he also said does not want to be PM .
    So Ted how about those lottery numbers haha

    1. David apparently if he resigned the whip he cannot be a Labour Party MP the whip says he has 2 weeks to make up his mind and take the whip or he will be chucked out and have no party membership. Apparently he said he will not change his mind and is considering taking legal action if he loses his membership what a joke you couldn’t my it up. Sorry l can’t let you know the lottery numbers as l want win it and keep all the lovely groats for myself.

  35. So the conveyor belt of never ending enemies of a Jeremy Corbyn and a revitalised democratic member led party continues. The latest disgrace is a Lord David Blunkett who collects £300 a day for attending the unelected undemocratic institution House of Lords and is so greedy he has to jump on the bandwagon and supply the mainstream Tory media with the ammunition to undermine Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party UK for a handful of measly groats to stuff in his pockets. Now the Labour Party UK and it’s members are getting a taste of what the SNP leader and members have had to put up for for the last few years l wonder how they like it. I will make a prediction the next backstabber to support the Tory press for a handful of measly groats will be either Lord Neil Kinnock or Lord Roy Hattersley wait and see.

  36. Thanks for your comments Ted
    The SNP are getting a share of what the labour party has always had from the press .
    Anyway we are living in a country which has food banks people losing their jobs universal credit DWP all in a mess people struggling to get by not everyone but a lot .
    BBC Red Button carrying a report that thousands have complained about a punch incident on Celebrity Big Brother CH5 show the contestant left the show .I watch it but why is that even news .
    I am a Rangers Supporter but the sporting story running all day Friday was Celtic will they or wont they sell they did for 19 million
    Obscene money much worse in England .
    I would like to see in those situations a percentage of the money received by the selling club by law go to their local authority or central Government .
    To be spent without any input from the selling club on local causes ie foodbanks homeless NHS but not sport issues .
    I might be wrong but can someone tell me if I am correct I heard our National Anthem being played at John McCains funeral today .

      1. David see the below maybe that’s what someone was talking about.

        Famed opera singer Renee Fleming sang “Danny Boy” at McCain’s funeral. McCain requested that the song be performed at his funeral because he often listened to it while sitting on his porch in Arizona as he battled brain cancer.

        Fleming, who is currently starring in “Carousel” on Broadway, and took the day off from the show to perform at McCain’s funeral, per CNN.

      2. It’s not our National Anthem. It’s a famous American patriotic song “America, tis of thee” which uses the same music

    1. David because of social media the mainstream media are desperate to fill the time and so it follows that there is alot of fake news encouraged especially by the Tory press and TV news channels particularly the BBC and Sky for example there is alot of criticism about a history programme made and presented by Andrew Marr who apparently completely rewrote history by deleting anything and anybody Scottish who made major contributions to the issues of the period of the time of the enlightenment what a disgrace.

  37. Been watching with concern the rise of the far right the last 3 days demonstrations in Germany in Chemnitz again tonight .
    Although tonight ch4 news saying a lot of tonights crowd are people worried about the effects of immigration in their town .
    Then we have America First do as your told or else as the Palestinians have just found out .
    It has not been widely reported but President Putin has said once the Syrian conflict ends we all need to help rebuild that country .Do that and it will stop the refugee crisis I hope.
    Here we have allegations of Labour Anti Semitism Boris and his Burqa remarks .
    In Germany Merkel has said she is worried at what is happening .
    I was watching a documentary inside Hitlers killing machine it was about the medical experiments performed on concentration camp in mates .
    Watching it when I saw the inmates on camera I was saying out loud hope you made it .
    Most of the film I have seen before .
    One film I had not seen the experiments were on pain .
    They filmed prisoners in room with no oxygen in it dying in agony .
    The reason they wanted to find out the effects of oxygen loss on high flying pilots .
    Then the experiment on pain someone we don’t see whether man or woman with both hands in a lathe being tightened .
    After the war most of the so called doctors involved either just disappeared or were recruited by the Allies including the Russians .
    The local people near Sobibor where most of these experiments took place said they did not know .
    But with the shear number of locals either working in the camp or supplying the camp they had to know .
    Then there was the stench and the smoke from the chimneys visible for miles .
    Then it came out they did not care anyway
    My Grandfather was in ww1 my dad in ww2
    I am the first generation in my family not to have to do that .Monday is the anniversary of the day ww2 was declared have we forgotten the lessons .

  38. I don’t do golf but America first does
    Senator Elizabeth Warren Democrat is asking if the presidential trip to Trump Turnberry amounts to fraud or abuse .
    A private visit no official meetings 2 rounds of golf.
    The State Department sanctioned 52 thousand Dollars in payments to SLC Turnberry for the working visit .
    It may have cost the American taxpayer over 68 thousand dollars for hotel rooms phone lines car rental and a vip visit.
    The price might be higher with payments to Trump Turnberry potentially exceeding 100thousand Dollars when costs are assigned to 2 remaining open ended contracts with SLC Turnberry .
    Senator Warren wants a detailed breakdown of the costs and if SLC Turnberry profited from the visit.
    Then there is the 5 million pound cost for the police costs .
    Anyone for golf haha.

  39. David l think Trump is cutting the funding to the Palestinians with a view to getting them to the negotiation table. The longer they take to reach a deal then they lose more land and get more settlements so in a way the Trump tough treatment might be good for them in the long run. If you could get a political deal in Ireland then the same can be achieved between the Palestinians and lsrael.

    1. I don’t think it matters if Jim answers because GERS cannot predict good or bad for an lndependent Scotland, personally I am optimistic that an lndependent Scotland would be successful and flourish.

      1. It would just be interesting to see a unionist defend their questionable view on the subject. Pointing and laughing at their own country every time GERS is published is puzzling and requires an explanation.

        1. It’s probably because he’s so sad at the decline of the Scottish Labour section that he needs something to laugh at to cheer him up. If like me Jim advocated a lndependent Scottish Labour Party in an Independent Scotland he would feel upbeat positive optimistic and full of laughter without the need to publishing meaningless theories about meaningless figures.

          1. I am an international socialist. I do not believe in socialism in one country. As a co-operator, I believe in full co-operation with my socialist comrades across the border

          2. One world government? A truly terrifying prospect, thoroughly undeliverable (thankfully) and, if put in place, would see a wealthy global elite take control as completely as they could currently only dream of. Smaller states working together (through democracy) stand a much better chance of curbing that elite control.

      1. Jim if Scotland becomes an lndependent Country will it affect your cooperation with your socalist comrades across the border? Can you tell me what difference an lndependent Scotland v being part of a union would make to your belief in International Socialism you can carry on regardless nobody will stop your beliefs it will be a free country.

        1. I didn’t say anything about a One World government, although at times the UN has shown inklings of that, e.g, under Kofi Annan and Dag Hammerschold

          1. It is the logical conclusion to your argument. You don’t believe in Scottish independence because you believe it is a barrier between you and your socialist comrades in England. You claim it is because you are an international socialist. There are only essentially two logical conclusions to that view;

            1. You are a true international socialist and see ALL borders as a barrier between you and your comrades, therefore you want to see a one-world socialist state.

            or;

            2. Your internationalism stops at Dover and it is only an independent Scotland you have a problem with.

            Which is it?

  40. Theresa May is totally deluded the reason being that both leave and remainers in the Tory Party agree chequers is a dead duck all the signals from EU suggest it’s a dead duck. Theresa May says she won’t compromise and the EU won’t change its position so we are heading for no deal. I think that rather than step aside and let another Tory take over the leadership she will facilitate a general election. This will be interesting because the only way Jeremy Corbyn could get into number 10 will be with the support of other parties and mainly the SNP who l expect will win more of the currently held Labour seat’s in a general election. The price to pay for the SNP support will be a to agree to a section 30 for an IndyRef2 which is a small price to pay to scupper the Tories.

  41. Ruth Davidson, writing in the Scottish Mail on Sunday, said Nicola Sturgeon should take the opportunity to rule out an lndyRef2. Does anyone ever get the feeling that she wants the opposite for the simple reason that she seems to bang on about a lndyRef2 more than the SNP. If someone did a word count of mainstream media articles you would probably find that in the following order that the Tories are talking up the most about IndyRef2 followed by the Scottish Labour section closely followed by the Lib Dems followed by the SNP and last but not least followed by the Greens. It seems strange that it is the unionist parties who want an IndyRef2 more than the SNP could it be something to do with the lack of leadership substance and policies. It’s my view there will be a no deal on Brexit and an IndyRef2 announcement in October to hold an IndyRef2 in March 2019.

  42. With regard to the Andrew Marr programme I did not know about it until I read the National letters page .If true the BBC should be asked to explain the inaccuracies and so should Andrew Marr.

  43. Ted todays Sunday Times is full of plots to unseat Corbyn and May .Margaret Hodge has just said on BBC News Jeremy should quit over Anti Semitism Just watched a recording of todays Andrew Marr . Chief Rabbi said Jews that fearful of us some planning to leave the country .
    John Macdonnell on refused to say if we will sign the report on Tuesday. We need to get back to what we used to do Campaign on jobs NHS education things that matter to local people.
    You were right about Blunkett Then tonight Gordon Brown says sign Tony Blair is apparently going to make a speech this week .Neither of them when leader would have tolerated former leaders speaking out .
    PM May again Sunday Times now saying Top Tories openly plotting to replace her with Boris .
    Sir Lynton Crosby who is apparently still in a huff. about getting the blame for the Tories losing their majority at the election has apparently got his people working with pro Brexit groups to bring May down Boris and David Davis are in on it .Its believed and PM Mays people have had talks with top civil servants about calling a general election if her Brexit deal gets voted down by MPS

    1. David bet you a handful of groats that Gordon Brown will be made a Lord and parachuted into the Lords when the next round of peerages as dished out.

      1. He has already turned it down, as has Blair. Indeed neither has even taken a knighthood

  44. Ted Indy aint what Labour are concentrating on these days to busy fighting each other as usual haha .
    Ruth is probably trying to provoke Nicola with her October statement coming up.
    Ruth needs to reveal where her parties funding comes from .And deny persistant rumours she wants a shot at Westminster How about policies do the Tories still support prescription charges will they support part privatisation of the NHS after Brexit .Will the Tories support immigration policy being devolved to Holyrood .Maybe then we can do something to protect people who have lived here for years facing the prospect of being deported to some country they no longer have any connection with if they ever did .
    Maybe we should ask has she raised any of this with the PM.

    1. David Ruth is a good communicator but all this talk about Tory leadership and a PM is pure fantasy. There’s a big queue of tried and tested MPs and potential leadership candidates chomping at the teeth for leading the Tories and Ruth isn’t even an MP. All the talk of parachuting her into the Lords and giving her a seat at the cabinet is for the birds l am finding this Jackanory so funny I nearly fell off my chair.

  45. PS after America First visits Ireland he might come back to Scotland for another to rounds of golf .
    At least the news was not boring when he was here haha

  46. Can somebody please let me know if there is an lndyRef2 and you are a member of the Scottish section of the Labour Party UK would you be able to actively campaign for an Independent Scotland.

  47. Cant see any problem with that Ted .But its up to the Scottish Government to ask for one

  48. Today I believe is the day ww2 broke out have we learned nothing by the look of it.
    We have our own crew here Tommy Robinson etc .Then we have Nigel and UKIP who campaigned exclusively on immigration and won.
    I read the weekends papers in Sweden a far right party called the Sweden Democrats a poll last week suggests they are on 24per cent of the vote .That would make them the biggest party in Parliament its because of immigration and their plan to stop asylum seekers coming to Sweden .
    In Germany thousands on the streets of Chemnitz riot police deployed again its immigration.
    We have to do something .
    Maybe we could start by rebuilding Syria give people a reason not to flee

    1. David the West don’t want to help rebuild Syria because it’s allies are Russian, personally myself l think we and the EU should work together with Russia to rebuild Syria as soon as possible.

      1. Thanks for your comment Ted .
        I could not agree more Syria has become one big building site .We have got to rebuild .The Russian President is on record as saying Syria is a great place to test new weapons and give soldiers battle training .
        I think the same could be said of the west Israel and Iran .
        No wander its people are trying to reach the west and a better life.

  49. Watched a BBC Timewatch special it was about the trenches and tunnels dug in ww1.
    I have seen it before not much is known about the tunnellers . Only 1 photograph relatives recognized one of the men .He survived ww1 and ww2 retiring from the army in 1946 as a Company Sargant Major they said he did not speak of his war experiences .
    The BBC team excavating the tunnel could only excavate part of the tunnel as it was in to dangerous a state
    But the found pickaxes spades a water pump still operational and a pickle bottle with made in Glasgow on the bottom .
    There was also some German ammunition its thought after a month of digging the British had to withdraw during a huge German counter attack .
    Its not known whether the tunnel was ever occupied by anyone .
    I don’t think we should forget it appears we have

  50. Jim can you please let me know if l was a Labour Party UK member and said publicly that l would lend my vote to the SNP in a general election what would happen to me?

  51. Ted general election is different to an Indy ref
    I don’t know what would happen to a labour member voting SNP at a general election if you went public that’s different to voting yes at an Indy ref .
    Me at an election I would expect all members to work for the return of their local labour candidate .
    Any way Ted my team Rangers got beaten by you know who 1 0 yesterday our manager clearly heard in the run up to the goal the 4rth official shouting into his mic . Foul Foul Foul which the ref mysteriously ignored .
    Were Nicola Mossad MI5 involved in this mysterious incident haha

    1. David as a rugby union man l am not too clued up with football but I am guessing that the linesman and fourth official can assist the referee but whether the linesman acts upon the advice is optional in other words the referees decision is final.

  52. Thanks for your comment Ted
    Nicola Mossad KGB CIA MI5 and Iran the Israeli PM all conspired to beat us .
    The Scotland Ladies football team are going to the world cup STV News say they beat Albania 2 1 to qualify for the first time. Well done

    1. I think the Scotland ladies are fantastic l want to see their games on TV what’s up with the BBC not showing the game’s it’s not fair.

  53. Ted what would happen if a card carrying Labour party member me was to say in public he voted to save SNP card carrying member Hardeep from eviction in Celebrity Big Brother .
    I did haha

    1. David don’t let Jim know to much he might dob on you to the Scottish Labour section HQ as it could be deemed as borderline collaboration and they might suspend you pending an investigation, in Scotland you have committed a very serious breaking of the rules against the Labour Party. It’s my view you should just just receive a little informal warning so you don’t do it again.

  54. In Germany politicians are pleading with the public to think about what they are doing .
    Regarding the riots in Chemnitz.
    And the UN have released a report .that the death rate for migrants crossing the Mediterranean has soared .
    As charity rescue boats are forced from the waters of Libya.
    The number of migrants setting sail from Libya has fallen .
    But 1 in 18 drowned between January and July .
    The UN say the increased death rate on the reduction in the area from 8 to 2 after the Italian Governments decision to ban them from docking at its ports.
    This is something that does not often get a lot of press coverage .
    Except on ch4 news .
    How long can we let this human disaster continue before the west does something .
    Also Bob Woodward of Watergate fame has a book coming out that makes the claim President Trump ordered the assassination of President Assad of Syria .
    But the Defence Secretary and top military officers just ignored him.

  55. The deep state of the Tories their servants MI5 and the enemy within the Labour Party are like a dog with a bone, they won’t let go of the Jeremy Corbyn and anti-Semitism issue despite Jeremy adopting the IRHA and full definition they all conspire to sabotage a change of government and to keep the Tories in power.

  56. Jim Bob You wilfully lied when you claimed that the ticket prices were the responsibility of the board. The board is directly accountable to the Council therefore any and all board responsibilities have to be approved by the Council.

    http://www.scottishrugby.org/sites/default/files/editor/images/role_profile_-_council_member_m13_0.pdf

    Is there nothing you don’t wilfully lie about? Does Labour actually hold seminars in lying for its members and officials?

    Its true when I say that the Labour party runs itself in the manner of an organised crime syndicate.

    1. Actually that is not true. The Board runs the business side of rugby, the Council deals with playing matters. The Council may review and advise the Board ( 14.1, 14.2.4, 14.2.6 Bye-laws). That does not make the Board directly accountable to the Council. Both organisations are accountable to the Member Clubs at the AGM.

  57. There are 59 MP seats in total in Scotland l am not a gambler but I am seriously considering putting on a small amount of my meagre groats on a novelty bet on the SNP having a clean sweep and winning every seat. Can anybody please let me know how to go about finding out the odds and how to accomplish this task as soon as possible as I might lose out if a snap general election is called. Many Thanks

  58. Found this on the BBC Scotland Business website by Douglas Fraser. business economy editor.
    There aren’t as many high earning Scottish tax payers as we thought .
    That dose not mean they have deserted the country for fear of higher tax bills .
    It is more likely they weren’t really there in the first place .
    The result is an alarmingly large gap before the gap before the forecast for income tax set out by the Scottish Fiscal Commission .for the 2016 17 year . And the usual outturn figure.
    They estimated around 11.3Billion it came in at 10.7 billion the gap was 5 per cent
    Which would have made quite a dent to the Scottish Governments budget if it had been passed on directly
    There is more on the website.

  59. After todays statement on the poisoning case .Jeremey after a briefing apparently now accepts Russia was involved .
    Ian Blackford has said RT is controlled by the Russian State and no one should broadcast on it this is seen as an attack on Alec Salmond .
    I watch it so maybe he should also ask his SNP MPS not to appear on it

    1. David l think we can assume that whoever was responsible for the poisoning came from Russia but it does not necessary follow it was state sponsored it could have been the criminal fraternity and a freelance job. All these dodgy characters in intelligence services in the UK and Russia mix with alot of unsavoury characters so who knows, remember the case of the MI6 fellow who supposedly accidentally killed himself and locked himself in a bag strange but true.

  60. Thanks for your comment Ted
    We just don’t know CH4 news tonight said the CCTV pictures we saw tonight are from March .
    So I am wandering why the delay and I might have missed it but why were those 2 picked out.
    But I would not put it past them someone did it .
    Just seen on BBC News the film is from early March.

    1. David why would the guy be poisoned that’s an interesting aspect could it be that instead of retiring in anonymity and putting his feet up maybe he continued dabbling by contacting directly on behalf of the security services folks in Russia or alternatively he was involved with the Russian mafia and either of these could be the reason for his mishap. It’s my view that the reason for whatever happened will involve the quest for more groats usually the greed of man can cloud their judgement sometimes with serious consequences as we seen here.

  61. Thanks for your comment Ted
    He was regarded as a traitor . It appears he was still involved with us. Why did he not have better protection.
    Why use poison all the hall marks of a cold war job.

  62. David If the two fellows in the CCTV pictures are the alleged suspects who are supposedly Russian agent’s then you have to ask the question surely they knew in advance that the UK has the most CCTV in the world, so was the fact that they knew that they would be captured on CCTV a deliberate signal to any as they would classify them as current traitors or any potential future traitors that there would be a price to pay if they wanted to jump ship.

    1. Thanks for your comment Ted
      Exactly there is a lot more to this disaster than we are being told.

  63. RBS are to close more branches in England and Wales.
    I was in the RBS branch in Irvine on Wednesday 2 tellers large que the Woman in front of me with a toddler in a pram. Had travelled in from West Kilbride reason branch closed and poor parking in Largs .
    The man behind me had come in from Kilwinning reason branch closed . Troon and Kilbirnie are closed as well.
    The que was very slow moving this lead to arguments with a staff member .
    Who was told this is not good enough .
    BBC are reporting a planned tax cut by the UK Government for 2pt7 million self employed workers has been
    Scrapped ..I don’t know why yet .
    Yesterdays Times Ruth Davidson while entitled to attack Scottish Government plan .
    Has got to now produce a conservative plan .
    Ian Blackford has again stated RT is a tool of the Russian Government .
    This again is also being seen as an attack on Alec Salmond.

    1. David regarding Ian Blackford attack on Alec Salmond it’s my view this has all been planned whilst the Alex Salmond disciplinary case rumbles on until there is a resolution to the case it is a good move for SNP officials etc give RT amiss so as to avoid attacks from the Tory mainstream media. It’s my view Alec Salmond has been consulted off the record by somebody in the SNP and he is in agreement with it. I don’t buy the reason Ian Blackford cites that RT is a tool of the Russian Government l think it’s just clever internal Scottish/UK politics from the SNP.

      1. Thanks for your comment Ted
        I do agree something is going on I thought they would have stayed quiet regarding Aleck Salmond for legal reasons.
        Posters have gone up in various London Locations saying Israel is a racist entity
        And today BBC cut live to a London reporter who told the world he had had a tip of Boris was having lunch in the restaurant in the club behind him with the Tory chief whip .
        The Boris bike was there in full view when out comes Boris with helmet on .
        Studio said does Boris usually dine with his cycling helmet on.

        1. David I think your onto something with Boris he is definitely out on manoeuvres, he is scheduled to make a fringe speach at the Tory conference the day before Theresa May makes her speech. He is expected to parachute in on the day of the speech so will hog the headlines. I would not be surprised if Theresa May gets slow handclaps when she makes her speech and refers to the chequers deal and then resigns as PM.

  64. As a member of the Labour Party I have to report in CBB Hardeep the SNP member of 22 years is again up for eviction .
    And I have again voted to save him .
    Now Hardeep has said he wants to be an MSP or MP.
    I think the country needs to be saved from Hardeep so lets vote to keep him in the BB house .

    1. David haven’t been following CBB but I think your reports indicate he would be a wonderful ambassador for an Independent Scotland thanks for the update.

  65. Just watched the drama Outlander on TV tonight it was fantastic and made for wonderful viewing it has really increased my yearning for an lndependent Scotland. I am so disappointed that the tool of the Tory Government does not show or commission Scottish dramas for a UK wide viewing. I suppose that the BBC hiarchy attend Tory secret committee meetings to implement government policy to suppress all things Scottish. The Tory secret committee meeting agenda items would read like this:-

    1. Suppress all things Scottish
    2. Attack Jeremy Corbyn
    3. Attack Nicola Sturgeon
    4. Attack the SNP
    5. Attack Alec Salmond
    6. Any other business

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