The Words Matter Even More

Nicola Sturgeon continues to use the phrase "I do not consider that I have misled Parliament" (or "broken the ministerial code"), a fact which Calton has already highlighted. At first hearing it seems a strange turn of words to use but, on further consideration it becomes apparent that, by using this particular phrase, the beleaguered First Minister is leaving the door open to someone else considering that she HAS misled Parliament, the most obvious person to do so being James Hamilton, who is currently looking into the matter and who will hopefully report by the end of the month. Having paved the way by her choice of words, and her refusal to say whether or not she would resign if she was found to have broken the code, she can then employ the tactic of 'my truth vs your truth' - 'I consider that I have not broken the code, you consider that I have'. Who is to say who is right in this post-truth, through-the-looking-glass world which is Scotland 2021?

Sturgeon will get an easy ride from the Parliamentary Committee investigating the botched handling of the Salmond case when she appears in front of it next week, thanks to her fan-girl Fabiani. If necessary the whole avian and animal kingdom will be summoned to aid in deflecting questions from Murdo Fraser, Alex Cole-Hamilton and Jackie Baillie. Possibly even flora too - 'Oh look - a snowdrop' - if things really start looking difficult. The coup-de-grace will be the post-truth argument. Nicola is right because she is right. Anyone who disagrees is wrong. Even in the face of utterly damning evidence she will not resign. This is where we have got to and it stinks.

Those who voted for this woman and who continue to support her should hang their heads in shame. Truth matters far more than independence or party loyalty.

Out of touch Tory?

"Out of touch Tory" is not a phrase Calton usually associates with Murdo Fraser MSP, however the man does seem to be out of touch with the stark choices facing many people this Christmas when he tweeted this:

Dear everyone. If you want to wish me a Happy ChrIstmas, buy a card and a stamp and post it. Don't send an email to your address list. Ta
— Murdo Fraser (@murdo_fraser) December 19, 2013

When families are struggling to put food on the table and heat their homes, never mind buy presents for the kids, suggesting that the only way you can wish someone a proper Merry Christmas is by spending 50p on a stamp is, quite frankly, demonstrating that you don't know what being poor is. OK, it is a bit crass (and lazy) to write a one-line email and then send it round your entire email address book with one click. Calton can see Murdo's point in that regard but, the reality is, even those who are fortunate to have a job these days are becoming reluctant to use Royal Mail to distribute their Christmas wishes at 50p a pop. Even a very modest Christmas card list of 40 names would cost £20! Many people are opting instead to send e-cards or personalised email greetings and either save the money or give it to charity and Calton is wholeheartedly in agreement with this, even although it means that the old eyrie looks a bit bare compared to Christmasses past when you couldn't move for cards falling about your ears. So, please don't be offended if your Christmas greeting from Calton Hill arrives over the internet - apart from anything else, the Barn Owl who usually handles Calton's mail is still recovering from delivering the White Paper!

Standing up for the underemployed

Calton has always wondered how the Office for National Statistics comes up with the figure for the total number of people out of work, given that the only hard measure which we have is the number of people claiming jobseekers allowance, and this is always lower than the total unemployment figure. Be that as it may, it is encouraging to see a fall in the number of unemployed in Scotland, coupled with a rise in the number of people in work. What is not so encouraging is the rise in recent years of the 'underemployed' - those who are in work but not for as many hours as they would like to be, or not using their skills fully. Calton is not convinced that the answer to this is more training - it's not lack of skills which is the problem but a lack of decent, full-time jobs - however it is good to see that the plight of the underemployed has been recognised by the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee at Holyrood. According to the Convener of the Committee, Murdo Fraser MSP, the effect of underemployment can be similar to that of unemployment on both income and the ability to get a job in the future. While there is a limit to what the Scottish Government can do in this situation, cracking down on unscrupulous employers who are moving employees onto self-employed or zero-hours contracts would be a good start. Employees are in a vulnerable position at the moment due to the recession - the government needs to ensure that their rights are protected.

Totally depressing

It's bad enough to have to come back to the city after a wonderful week in the West Highlands without being depressed further by Alex Salmond's announcement today of yet another stupid renewables target. Murdo Fraser is quite right when he points out that the SNP's target is "completely underpinned by wind power. Not only is that an unreliable and intermittent source, but it's led to turbines blighting communities across the whole country." As yet, you can still get wonderful views from the mountains on the west coast without turbines blotting the landscape but for how long? The amount of truly wild land in Scotland is rapidly shrinking and, with it, the attraction for tourists. We are cutting off our nose to spite our face.

In your dreams, Willie

Calton thinks that Willie Rennie is indulging in a flight of fantasy in thinking that "liberalism, not nationalism, will dominate Scottish political landscape in the years ahead", given the way the constituency map of Scotland changed from orange to yellow in the 2011 election. If there is a rich seam of liberal values in Scottish history it did not translate into Libdem votes. The jury is still out on whether the Scots voted SNP because they wanted independence or because they wanted a centre-left party and were fed up of Labour. (Calton suspects the latter.) What is certain is that they didn't want a bunch of Libdems who seemed to be prepared to abandon their principles and go in with any party as long as they were in power.

Murdo Fraser has realised that the Scots Tories need to divorce themselves from the English party to stand any chance of gaining more seats at Holyrood. Calton wonders how long it will take our Willie to come to the same conclusion?

Heading for oblivion

If Calton had been blogging at the time of the Scottish Conservative leadership election, he would have said that the conservatives (small c) had consigned themselves to oblivion, however, even with his far-sightedness, he did not anticipate how quickly this prediction would come true. Just a couple of months later, Ruth What's-her-name's profile is so low her wheel rims are striking sparks off the tarmac. The appointment of Michael Tait, recent winner of the Tartan Bollocks award, as her media director is unlikely to help unless he can invent a personality for her. Annabel Goldie may not have been everyone's cup of tea but at least she had a media presence. Ruth What's-her-name's main achievement since being elected has been to out-grey Mr Gray. Only the candidates for the Labour leadership are less conspicuous. If Murdo Fraser had deliberately planned the demise of the Scottish Conservative Party to make way for his new centre-right unionist party he couldn't have done it better.