Tag: Jackson Carlaw

THE CONSERVATIVES LAUNCH THEIR ELECTION CAMPAIGN

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Well, this was the big day for them. An election that they called less than halfway through the fixed-term parliament. An election that they wanted. An election that they had to have because they were incapable of government…so much so that the prime minister said that they wouldn’t bring any new bills (including the budget) before parliament. They were effectively going on strike (on full pay, of course).

Here’s a brief overview of how the day has been going for them…

Thanks to Graham for this video.

Note to Tories: Try to keep Nigel Evans away from tv cameras.

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Brexit

So, then, the chairman of the Tory party, the somewhat inaptly named, James Cleverly, who one might expect to play a leading role in this campaign, particularly on launch day failed to turn up for an interview with Kay Burley.  Bad start.

But instead of making some sort of excuse, Kay, to her credit, empty chaired him and asked the questions anyway. Offcom is now looking at investigating this. Connections, anyone?

We’re indebted to Dr Galsworthy for posting this on Twitter. Enjoy.

Cleverly later suggested that he was unable to do Burley’s show because he was already on live Julia Hartley Brewer’s show when he was scheduled to appear. This is unlikely, given that JHB apparently started her interview by asking him about his empty chairing.

Note to Tories: Really, on the first day of the campaign, do try to get the junior staff to schedule interviews a little more carefully.

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Meanwhile, in our own country, the launch got off to a slightly unfortunate start (even more unfortunate than it starring Fluffy and Carrot), and I apologise in advance for the rude word. Look away now if you are likely to be offended.

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Note to Tories. Try to keep away from signposts or shop names that Munguin will giggle about.

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Graham’s blog is always a good read. Witty and informative.

Note to Tories: Isn’t there a load of dishes to wash or a pile of filing to do? Because it would probably be a better use of old Ben’s time.

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Welsh Secretary, Alun Cairns has resigned over claims that he knew about a former aid’s part in the sabotage of a rape trial.

The political satirist, Michael Deacon, suggests that… “Cairns resignation is a dead cat to distract from Cleverly’s empty-chairing which was a dead cat to distract from Cleverley’s interviews which was a dead cat to distract from Bridgen which was a dead cat to distract from Rees-Mogg which was a dead cat to distract from the Russia report which was a dead cat to distract from the Starmer video which was a dead cat to distract from Cairns which was a dead cat to distract from the blocked Labour costings which…blah, blah, blah…”

And that kinda sums up the Tory’s day. Still, Alun’s not standing down as a candidate.

The one big question is…how will Wales manage without him?

Note to Tories: If perchance Cairns is returned to Westminster, have a look around to see if there isn’t someone else who would do better in the Wales Office.

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Roll on tomorrow!

LET’S TITTER AT THE BRANCH OFFICES

According to Richard Leonard, Labour’s branch office in Scotland would scrap the ‘work car park tax’. You know, the one that isn’t a tax and isn’t imposed by the government, but is a form of devolution to local authorities of tax, which thay may choose to implement or not.

Yeah, that one.

In fact, the one that Labour actually very much likedd and was going to introduce in Glasgow.

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Until, that is, the Greens and the SNP agreed to give the councils the power to introduce the tax if they felt so inclined. The, of course, it became a BAAAAAD idea.

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Mr Leonard said: “Many people across Scotland simply cannot rely on our crumbling transport system because it is more interested in profits than passengers.

“The solution to this problem is not to slap a new tax on getting to work, it is to transform our transport system. That is why Scottish Labour will axe the tax in government, bring our railways into public ownership and build a free bus network to serve communities across the country.”

He might well have added: “Labour will borrow Mrs May’s Magic Money Tree and shake it for all they are worth. We will be seeking advice from Arlene on how to get out hands on it.”

Because, although all of these ideas are excellent, they are, at the same time, costly. Free bus travel, for example, is a superb idea already introduced in some Scandinavian countries. What Mr Leonard doesn’t say is how he will pay for it.

This railways stuff it interesting. Again, a great idea.

Railways in the UK were privatised by John Major.

As I recall, Labour came to power in the UK in 1997 on a promise to re-nationalise them. But, for some reason, it didn’t.

Nor did the Labour-led administrations in Scotland in the first two parliaments even attempt to have the power devolved so that they could do what their bosses in London had promised and failed to do. Eight years in power and not a request; not a sniff.

The SNP, on the other hand, are working on this.

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On the subject of the branch offices havers, I’m told that following Nicola’s pledge that she will request a Section 30 from the government shortly, Jackson Carlot has said that the Scottish Tories (branch office) will never agree to that.

Erm, I think you’ll find, Jack, mate, that no one was, for a split second, even vaguely thinking of asking you. Well, above your pay grade.

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OK, we should probably say something about the other wee branch office, I suppose, otherwise, they may feel belittled and left out… almost like they didn’t matter (snigger).

Um…

Let me see…

Hmmm…

Oh yeah, got it:

Willie Rennie is on holiday in Spain when he should be in parliament.

There! I knew he’d have done something of note.

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT COULDN’T GET ANY STUPIDER …

THE “MEANINGFUL” (TITTER) VOTE WILL GO AHEAD…EXCEPT, AS USUAL, WITH HER, IT PROBABLY WON’T, BUT IT MIGHT HAVE TO…

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Would be pure 100% classic May to delay the vote. She has spent the last two years kicking away problems so they can kill her another day.

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I had been going to write about the appalling business of Jackson Carlaw’s lies about the Scottish Health Service’s record on ‘flu injections in comparison with their English counterpart’s record. He did this by comparing the English figures with Scottish figures from the month before.

Needless to say, an investigation showed that Scotland had done a better job than England. It will be interesting to see if he apologises from misleading parliament as the First Minister has requested.

However, these events have been overtaken by the by now regular occurrence of Mrs May, at least apparently, going back on something that she had absolutely been very clear, not to mention strong and stable about.

This from the BBC.

Theresa May is to make a statement to MPs at 15:30 GMT amid reports Tuesday’s vote on her Brexit deal is being delayed.

That will be followed by a statement from Commons leader Andrea Leadsom – and then a statement from the Brexit secretary on Article 50.

Two cabinet sources have told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg Tuesday’s planned Brexit vote will be delayed.

There is not yet any official confirmation of the move.

Downing Street had been insisting the vote would go ahead, despite Mrs May being widely expected to lose it.

But a third Cabinet source has told the BBC the vote is “definitely off”.

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She apparently intends to give a statement to the House of Commons at 3.30.  

Promises, like piecrusts, in Mrs May’s book, are made to be broken.

But, and here it gets even dafter, it may be that she won’t be able to postpone the “meaningful” vote as a Tory (yes TORY) MP points out.

The PM does not get to pull a vote. The House will have to vote to pull a vote. I will oppose. We need to see this deal off once and for all.

 

So, stay tuned.

Sometimes she even beats Trump in the bizarre.

How the world must laugh.

HERE’S THE NEW CABINET

So, this is the new cabinet, with junior ministers to be announced tomorrow.

Personally, I’m sorry to see Shona Robison, my own MSP and a friend, go, but having read her letter of resignation, I can understand why she made the choice to resign.  Shona has had a hard year with the death of both her parents and a personal health scare to cope with. She is in a new relationship now and I wish her every happiness. I hope she’ll continue to be our MSP because she’s a damned good one.

Britain spends less than most of Europe on its health services, below the EU average, and way below countries like France and Germany, but for all that, Shona has managed to make NHSS the best of the four UK services. Jeane Freeman has big boots to fill, but her first-rate setting up of Social Security Scotland makes me sure we will be in safe hands.

Jackson Carlaw put out a generous and courteous tweet:

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I shadowed for many years & appreciated her genuine concern for the NHS. A hugely challenging brief & while did not call for her to go, now is the time for fresh leadership & thinking. On a personal level, I wish her well & thank her for her courtesy.

Anas Sarwar, on the other hand, not only made a bit of a mess of the grammar but was left looking rather petty and silly by comparison:

After 2 years of relentlessly exposing SNP failures on health, Shona Robison is removed as Health Secretary. While this is a welcome change, the best gift on the 70th year of our NHS would be adequate funding and staffing. That is her successor’s real test.

A personal congratulations to Humza, too. I remember Munguin, he and I met on the Edinburgh March in 2012. He was busy, but he took time to meet with Munguin and have a photograph taken with him (which I have subsequently managed to mislay). He may have uttered a few words to me as well!

He’s done a great job with transport… again, Scottish trains, poor by EU standards, are the best in the UK. It is gratifying to see his promotion to Justice Secretary.

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Post Script:

Some comments on Sarwar’s tweet…

Anas, my husband is a hospital consultant and has been for decades. He is clear that under the NHS has never been better. He swears that under it was an utter shambles. So suggest you get help for your verbal diarrhoea (LMR)

Just spoke to a Senior Specialist Nurse in the NHS and I quote: “. needs to stop playing political football with the NHS. He’s just shown why Labour aren’t fit to govern” (Colin Alexander Storrier)

I work in the NHS in Glasgow. I have friends and relatives in Wales and England and I can tell you that the service we have up here in Scotland is miles ahead of what they have elsewhere. (Purple Monkey)

Factually incorrect and seriously lacking class. I give you Anas Sarwar, who luckily is destined never to be in charge of anything. ( )

Delete this, you poor excuse for a human being and public servant. Once you’ve deleted this, delete your account you quilt. The legacy of Ms Robison is the best NHS in UK and that really sticks in your craw! Now, sling your hook! (Davidlikesguys)

Well if failure is the best performing Health service in the U.K What the hell would you call what’s going on in And as far as funding goes It’s Central government to blame in but the SNP’s fault in Scotland? How would you square that? (Lez)

And there are many many more…

 TELT!

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT YOU’D HEARD IT ALL… ALONG COMES RUTH WITH THIS BEEZER!

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The Tories have overseen a large number of fairly odious policies designed, so they say, to encourage the workshy back into work. (Some of us might say that when you are lying dying in intensive care, possibly “workshy” is a tad on the harsh side, even coming from a Tory. Indeed, some of us might be tempted to believe that what the Tories were REALLY trying to do was to dismantle the Welfare State that they never much cared for.)

A new rash of cuts in benefits was introduced at the start of the new financial year 2017, among which was a particularly controversial policy which means that to benefit from child tax credits for a third or subsequent child, women must prove that the child was conceived as a result of rape. Not so easy to do if like many cases, for obvious reasons, the violation was not reported to the police. In any case utterly humiliating to have to relive such a vile experience.

Politicians, campaigners and people in the street have condemned the measure as, at best, heartless, at worst downright inhuman.

As Nicola Sturgeon said when talking about it on her recent visit to the USA, the policy is bad and bad enough, but for it to have been introduced by a government led by a woman is nothing short of astounding.

I’m not going to even try to get into what a rape victim must feel like. Relatively few men are raped, and it’s impossible for me, as a guy,  to imagine the horrors and the humiliation.  Suffice to say, for what must be a very small amount of saving when compared with, say, the refurbishments to the Palace of Westminster, it would have been a good idea just not to go there.

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OK, so in Scotland, the leaders of the main parties across the board, have condemned out of hand the Westminster policy. All except Ruth Davidson.

Uncharacteristically quiet this week, when normally she would be taking every opportunity to get her face on tv and in the papers in the run-up to the council elections, Ruth eventually issued a statement, via a spokesperson, saying that she supported the UK government’s policy, and that she would write directly  to constituents who had contacted her on the subject.

Cop out, we thought. You’re a party leader, we thought. You need to tell us ALL what your take on this policy is, we thought.

So, today, a new line has been taken both by Ruth and by her deputy, Jackson Carlaw. Obviously, they have had one of these “how the hell do we get out of this mess?” meetings and this was the answer they came up with.

Wait for it…

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Yep, it seems that in time-honoured SNP BAAAAAAD fashion, it is all the SNP’s fault. Nicola, they both think, is a hypocrite to blame the Tories for a Tory policy that the Tories introduced (what with the Tories being in Government in London).

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Yes, you read that right.

Ruth and Jackson point out that the Scottish government now has the power to mitigate some of the social security policies of the Tory government without permission (and indeed they have done so). If the SNP feel so strongly about not humiliating women who have been raped, they should use these powers.

So, there you are. Problem solved, thanks to the super brains that are Davidson and Carlaw.

I wonder what Ruth thinks the government should cut in order to fund this… or perhaps it would be better if we put the tax up on high earners. There are few funding options open to Scotland. Any Tories reading, how do you feel about this policy? Should Scotland mitigate it and if so, with what?

Pathetic. spends millions mitigating welfare cuts & will continue to do so. We wouldn’t have to if Tories didn’t make callous cuts.

Carlaw hits the buffers

2It’s hard to credit the amount of time and effort, social media space and press attention that Humza Yousaf has got following the breakdown of a train a couple of weeks ago.

I’ve lost count of the number of times  his resignation has been demanded despite the fact that rail in Scotland, or at least that part of it that Scotland controls, is doing rather well by comparison with the chaos that abounds in some parts of England.

You’ll no doubt remember the classy comments made by one of the sillier Tories.

Needless to say, Jackson Carlaw, as deputy tank commander, had to get his dig in too. The Scottish people wanted a transport minister who used trains, he claimed (although to the best of my knowledge transport also includes road, cars, buses, bikes and planes… so why demand he use trains?)

1The minister doesn’t use trains or it would show in his MSP expenses. The public would be furious that the transport minister had never set foot upon a train, he claimed proudly, as if he’d dealt the man a body blow.

Needless to say, as it was Jackson Carlaw, it was rubbish.

Humza is a minister and his travel costs from Glasgow to Edinburgh have by law to be attributed to ministerial expenses, and not constituency MSP expenses.

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So the facts are something like this:

Between May and November the minister took 34 train trips, 28 between Glasgow and Edinburgh stations.

Mr Carlaw only took five trips between the cities. So Humza used the train a good deal more than Mr Carlaw. To add insult to injury, Mr Carlaw’s claims for  mileage in his car came to  £878, including 21 trips between his home and parliament. This is rather more expensive than taking the train.  (A return fare costs £27,20 and the mileage cost is £46,80.) Still, Mr Carlaw is an important and busy man! Why would he take the train?

It is becoming clearer to me by the day why Mr Carlaw’s business career was less that hugely successful. Clearly he doesn’t do his research before he opens his mouth,  he isn’t terribly economical with his expenses, and he can’t count.

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Just after I uploaded this, I discovered these tweet which explains where Mr C gets his sharp wit.

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Make what you will of them….