Something Rotten in the State of Scotland

There is something rotten at the heart of Scottish politics. Health Minister Jeane Freeman deliberately (in Calton's opinion) misled the Scottish parliament and people with regard to the number of delayed discharge (bed-blocking) patients discharged into care homes since the Covid-19 crisis began. She was forced to apologise and put the record straight after pressure from The Sun newspaper. However she still has the full confidence of the First Minister and, when Jackson Carlaw queried whether anyone else could have confidence in her, he was accused of playing politics in the midst of a crisis. Not something Nicola Sturgeon would ever do, no siree. She's totally focussed on dealing with the Coronavirus threat and if her daily appearances on the telly with not a hair out of place enhance the prospects of a future independent Scotland that is entirely by-the-by.

Accusing the Scottish Tories of being party political was obviously the message de jour from SNP HQ because John Swinney (suitably outraged) used it on Radio Scotland this morning to avoid answering the same question of whether the public could trust a word Jeane Freeman says and Sturgeon was back at it later in an attack on Ruth Davidson, who had dared to criticise the Dear Leader. Nicola is very good at telling us that she is above all these petty considerations and is just getting on with the job. Except that she isn't. Was there ever a Scottish Executive which executed less, and with more moolah from Westminster, than this pathetic excuse for a government? They are still in lockstep with Westminster, except that now they are three steps behind, and they've already had to row back on the stipulation that you only travel 5 miles to visit relatives (once you are allowed to) after a twitter backlash. Now it seems you can go further, provided your bladder has a good mpg.

If it wasn't so serious it would be funny. Scotland's tourist and hospitality industries are facing disaster, we are seeing around 50 excess deaths a week caused by lockdown, not Covid-19, and the First Minister is worried about whether or not you might need to visit the loo if you visit your parents. Maybe she should try treating us like grown-ups. Maybe she and her ministers should also try being honest and straight with the Scottish people they claim to serve. Then we might have confidence in what they say.

On reflection ...

Nicola Sturgeon has been talking a lot about calm reflection since last week's election however, if anyone wants a preview of what that actually means, they only need to watch the recording of today's First Minister's Questions, in which the said FM was aggressive, combative and anything but calm. Not only that but her reflection so far does not seem to have given her any self-awareness or insight as to why she might have lost 21 MPs. Quite the contrary as, without any sign of irony, she accused the hated Tories of exactly the same mistakes she herself has made (no plans, heading over a cliff, one-trick pony, a referendum which no-one wants). The good ship independence has been holed below the waterline but Sturgeon is steadfastly refusing to change course. She has only one mode of operation - angry nationalist.

Ever since the Brexit vote it has become increasingly evident that Nicola Sturgeon is not as smart as her predecessor (who is now back waiting in the wings). Instead of taking time to reflect after the EU referendum, she was straight out of the trap shouting INDYREF2. Her round-trip of Europe achieved nothing except to increase her already large carbon footprint and her ignorant treatment of Theresa May only got her a slap-down. Spilling the beans on a private conversation with Kezia Dugdale has damaged Sturgeon's integrity and her last-ditch attempt to try and win over Corbyn supporters was risible. Ruth Davidson is not "floundering" - she is on a roll which the current leader of the SNP is unable to stop. How long will it be before the SNP decide to replace her with someone more effective? After all, "independence transcends" ...

No Votes for the One-Party State

Calton managed to stay up last night until after the exit polls, which he treated with some scepticism. He went to bed but woke up at 3.30am, by which time Robertson and Sheikh had already gone and Salmond was soon to follow. Calton's joy would have been complete if Wishart, Blackford and Cherry had joined them but it was still a good night - and there's always next time. Which may come sooner than we all expected due to the dire overall UK result (for Theresa May that is - and anyone who likes stability and is in favour of Brexit, like Calton). It was definitely Corbyn's night down south, just as it was Davidson's up north.

What is clear, to Calton, is that the British public do not like the idea of a one-party state. May's biggest mistake was to try and crush the opposition. That did not go down well in England just as Sturgeon's attempts to appropriate the Scottish voice to her party only did not play well in Scotland. It may also be that the British public, being a lot less liberal and PC than politicians and the media would like to think, just don't like bossy women running the show with nobody to oppose them. That is not a view Calton agrees with (he does not have a problem with strong women, as his twitter followers will know) but, sadly, it is out there.

Like it or not, coalition government is here to stay because that is what the public wants. What Ruth Davidson needs to do is learn from the mistakes of Sturgeon and May and not become proud. (And if you want to hear hubris personified, just listen to Sturgeon's speech at lunchtime today.) Strong government is good but so is strong opposition. Sturgeon's acknowledged mentor Alex Salmond successfully negotiated a minority government from 2007-2011. She has been unable to do likewise and has suffered as a result. Will she learn from this? Calton thinks it unlikely. Expect more SNP losses in future.

Humble Pie

Three years ago Calton wrote a post in which he lambasted Ruth Davidson as an "out-of-touch Tory" over her proposals to re-introduce prescription charges in Scotland. How times have changed. Not only are the Tories now the 2nd largest party in Holyrood and the official opposition but their leader has also changed her mind over prescription charging. Well if Ruth has the guts to do a U-turn then Calton needs to summon up the guts to swallow some humble pie. *gulp*

When Davidson was elected leader of the Scottish Conservatives Calton was not convinced they had made the right choice. How wrong he was. She has transformed the Tories into a credible opposition at Holyrood and, indeed, a government in waiting. For some time now Calton has seen Ruth as our next First Minister and he is now not the only one. Sturgeon is on the skids, replaying the same old arguments that lost Salmond the independence referendum in 2014. If she lasts as long as the next Holyrood election (and that is not a given), Davidson is well placed to boot her out of Bute House at that point. It can't come soon enough for Calton.

Scottish Tories - bad for your health?

It's obvious that Ruth Davidson has no idea what it is like to be a poor worker with a chronic health condition. She can afford prescription charges on an MSP's salary. Many low-paid workers can't. It is also a false economy to charge for prescriptions as studies in England are proving - some people there are not going for all the drugs they need due to lack of money and are ending up in A&E as a result, which costs the NHS more in the long run. Prescription season tickets are no help because, if you are short of money, you are hardly likely to be able to find the dosh up front to buy one.

The Scottish Tories are trying hard but until they realise what life is really like for the poor and low-paid, they are not going to make much headway. Promising more nurses is fine but doing it at the expense of free prescriptions is not a vote winner in Calton's opinion. It is the one SNP policy which Calton totally agrees with. At a time when many are feeling the pinch they should not have to choose between food, heating or much-needed drugs. We don't charge anyone for X-rays, MRI scans or CT scans if they need them. We don't charge them for putting a plaster on a broken leg. We don't ask for proof that they are on benefits or otherwise entitled to free treatment before we admit them to A&E so why should we charge for drugs? It's an outdated policy from an out-of-touch Tory. Fortunately the Scottish Conservatives are unlikely to get enough MSPs elected to implement it.

How not to get washed away

The SNP want independence but they want to keep the pound. And the Queen. And the pensions and benefits system, at least for a while, provided they can change it to suit their own agenda. What is the point? The more we think about independence, the more it becomes obvious how intertwined we are with the rest of the UK and how difficult it would be to separate. That is why Calton is planning to vote No next year, even although he believes in the principle of self-determination in general. When it comes to the specifics, it is just too risky, especially in the current economic climate, and it seems unnecessary when we have so many devolved powers, with more possibly on the table. Even the Scottish Tory leader seems to be coming round to that idea, thus provoking the ire of some Conservatives who elected her on the basis of her 'line in the sand'. Looks like the tide has well and truly washed that one away, leaving Davidson looking ever so slightly tottery. Better to build your foundations on a rock, Ruth.

Tories trump Salmond on crime

Calton is getting fair scunnered with the way Alex Salmond keeps blaming other parties instead of answering the question and taking positive action at FMQs. Today he was blaming the Conservative Government of 1993. Who cares who did what twenty years ago? What we want, and what Ruth Davidson was asking for, is action to stop dangerous criminals being released from prison. Politicians may, rightly, not be able to influence parole board decisions but they can, and should, introduce whole life tariffs in Scotland and end automatic early release which makes a mockery of serious crime sentencing. Calton has commented on this issue not long ago - it would be good if the Scottish Government took the concerns of himself and others seriously instead of using the situation to try and score points off the Conservative leader at FMQs. Safe streets are important and so it was the Tories who came up trumps in today's FMQs. They are also doing a good job highlighting the fact that a third of people prosecuted for domestic abuse are let off with a warning. So much for zero tolerance. It's time the SNP got tough on crime.

Would you trust this man with your pension?

Calton cannot see how the First Minister can pledge that there will be no change to the amount of time pension firms are allowed to get their schemes out of deficit in the event of Scottish independence given that he also seems to rule out opting out of EU pension scheme arrangements, due to his continued love-affair with Europe. It was therefore no surprise to find that no details were given on how Salmond intends to protect Scots' company pensions post-independence. Clueless just about sums up the First Minister's attitude and Ruth Davidson is right to highlight the enormous gamble the SNP are taking with the future wellbeing of the people of Scotland. Unfortunately, instead of answering the question and giving us, the electorate, some concrete information on pensions, Alex chose instead to slag off the Tory-led coalition government down south. It's such an obvious tactic it's embarrassing. The upshot is that anyone with a UK-wide company pension would be well advised to vote no next year if they want to hold on to it.

Don't mention the war(s) Alex

Calton does not often find himself in agreement with the Libdems, either north or south of the border, especially when they start claiming that they are influencing the other parties, however Sir Malcolm Bruce has hit the nail on the head in his speech to the Scottish Libdem Conference when he talks about the damaging effect of the current SNP Government on Scotland. Watching a few FMQs is enough to convince anyone that absolute power has corrupted absolutely and the SNP have no intention of answering any questions that don't suit them. Accountability is zero in this majority situation. When the First Minister starts harking back to Iraq in response to questions from Johann Lamont you know he's struggling. He'll be taunting Ruth Davidson with Chamberlain's appeasement next and when he resorts to Churchill's resignation from the Asquith Liberal Government over Gallipoli, the bottom of the barrel will have been well and truly scraped. Oh, for a decent opposition leader to puncture his pomposity! Is it any wonder that Orkney and Shetland are talking about leaving a Scotland run by Salmond?

Plumbing new depths

Alex Salmond plumbed new depths in FMQs today by dragging in the Iraq War in his attempt to deflect attention from the real question of funding for Scottish colleges. Unfortunately Johann Lamont's questions were so wordy the substance got lost in the detail, and, with it, the killer thrust that might have skewered Slippery Salmond. Ruth Davidson and Willie Rennie both made a better fist of it by adhering to the philosophy 'less is more', however even they faced an uphill struggle against the SNP majority. It is understandable that opposition MSPs became rather heated yesterday over the question of corrections to figures and ministerial accountability. It seems to be all too easy for Ministers to make a mistake, go back and correct it later (with or without a 'mea culpa' to the chamber) and think that that is the end of the matter. It also seems that there is one rule for the SNP and another for Labour, given that the leader of the SNP expected his apology for his mistake over college funding to be accepted with 'good grace' but the Presiding Officer has not extended the same 'good grace' to Labour MSP Michael McMahon. Having asked for, and accepted, an apology for his wholly inappropriate outburst yesterday, she subsequently decided that it was not sincere enough because it had been tendered too quickly and has suspended him for a day! McMahon's comment was made in the heat of the debate, he apologised immediately, that should have been the end of it. Instead, it is Marwick, if anyone, who has undermined her position by her heavy-handed actions, in Calton's opinion.

Better never than late

It's good to see that Barclays and Coutts have decided to withdraw sponsorship from the Stonewall awards next year unless the 'Bigot' award is dropped however it beggars belief that they did not know what they were sponsoring this year given that Nationwide, one of last year's sponsors, withdrew after getting serious flak over their involvement. Their move today smacks of damage limitation in the face of a media storm. Stonewall do good work in preventing bullying of homosexuals, however, when they use the term 'bigot' to try and censure the speech of those who don't agree with them, they become the bully. Unfortunately for them, they picked the wrong target in Cardinal O'Brien. Nobody, Calton least of all, would have objected if they'd picked whoever said that gay people should be shot dead but the Cardinal's comments on gay marriage are not in the same category. His comments may be offensive to homosexuals but many people are deeply unhappy with the idea of marriage being redefined and feel that the Cardinal speaks for them. In labelling him a bigot, Stonewall also labels them bigots. Such name-calling only widens the gulf between the two sides of the debate and the fact that Ruth Davidson got booed for objecting to the 'Bigot' award at the Stonewall event reveals the petty nature of some of Stonewall's supporters. Stonewall would do well to dissociate itself from such people.

Sour grapes about rotten apples?

Calton is longing for some sunshine, if only to put an end to all the sour grapes we have been having lately. This time it is an ex-Scottish Tory, Malcolm Macaskill, who, in an interview with the Sunday Herald, blasted the Tory machine as "rotten to the core" and said that the Scottish party was an "inept and morally corrupt" organisation. (This after he received a substantial out of court settlement from them, which the party describes as a 'goodwill gesture'.) It doesn't seem to Calton that there is very much goodwill towards the Tories on Macaskill's side but, rather, the feeling that he was dumped to make way for one Ruth Davidson who now happens to be the party leader. The Scottish Conservatives disagree, citing his failure to disclose business failures as the reason he was bumped off the list. Who is right? Who knows. More importantly, who cares?

Alex - maybe Rupert's just not that into you

It's just as well they call it First Minister's Questions because the opposition leaders certainly weren't getting any answers today when it came to whether or not the First Minister's phone had been hacked. Ruth Davidson suggested that if it wasn't, it was maybe because Rupert had Alex on speed-dial. Calton thinks it far more likely that Murdoch wasn't interested in Salmond's phone conversations. The SNP leader's friendships with the rich and powerful are looking more and more one-sided and Alex is looking more and more like a pathetic lap-dog, in spite of his attempts yesterday to be an attack dog. It will be extremely embarrassing for him if it turns out that News Corp were more interested in his aide, Joan McAlpine, than him.

The buckie stops here

There is so much going on in the news at the moment that Calton hardly knows where to start, however he is pleased to see that the Scottish Tories under Ruth Davidson have decided to support the minimum alcohol pricing bill. As he said in an earlier post, anything that deters people getting tanked up on cheap booze has to be a good thing.

It has also been good, albeit rather depressing, to see some up-to-date economic figures this week. Good, because it stops the SNP hiding behind 4-year old data, depressing because it confirms that Scotland is spending more than she earns, even taking oil and gas income into account. That means that the SNP policy of continuing to spend during the recession is looking even more threadbare. It's very convenient for Alex Salmond to blame Westminster cuts when put on the spot at FMQs - what's he going to do if he does succeed in becoming the leader of an independent nation? Who's he going to blame when the buck stops with him?

English Tories tax the sick

Regular readers of this blog will have realised by now that Calton is not the greatest fan of Alex Salmond, however there is one thing that the SNP has done absolutely right - scrapping prescription charges. All the more so with the announcement yesterday of a rise in the charges the English have to pay to £7.65 per prescription, with corresponding rises in NHS dental fees and other charges. Prescription charges are not a tax on the rich - they are a tax on the sick and should not be part of any caring society. Ruth Davidson take note.

Sack the lot of them

After the childish behaviour displayed by our elected representatives during First Minister's Questions today, Calton thinks we might be better scrapping Holyrood and putting the lot of them on the dole. The thought of that rabble running an independent Scotland is certainly not an attractive one. Yet again, Alex Salmond did not give proper answers to any questions relating to the actual issues raised by independence, such as defence and monetary union, and yet again, Ruth Davidson and Johann Lamont failed to pin him down. The Labour leader was the one who came closest when she said that the First Minister wanted 'independence at any cost'. Quite. Why let the facts get in the way of your ambitions? It took Ms Lamont a while to get to her punchline about Alex Salmond being the 'Fred Goodwin of Scottish politics' but the comparison is apt. Hopefully it will not also be prophetic, for Scotland's sake.

Die another day - maybe

It was nice to see Alex Salmond being forced to answer some questions about what independence would actually mean in First Minister's Questions today. Johann Lamont is shaping up to be a reasonable opponent for Alex, with Ruth Davidson providing good backup. Sadly, neither of them quite managed to pin Alex down as he twisted and turned over the issue of monetary policy. He hid behind the fact that Westminster politicians no longer set the Bank of England interest rate while completely ignoring the fact that they do set the inflation target that the BofE has to meet. Had either Johann or Ruth picked him up on that it would have been a killer blow. Unfortunately neither of them did and so the First Minister lives to fight another day. You're going to have to do a bit better than that, ladies!

Much ado about nothing

Calton listened to the First Minister's speech in Holyrood earlier today and at the end of it, he had to agree with Willie Rennie - it was all 'much ado about nothing'. OK, so we now have a question (although a second one has not been ruled out) and we have agreement that the Electoral Commission will oversee the referendum. We are still getting a bit bogged down in the details rather than concentrating on the 'substantive arguments', as Ruth Davidson calls them. Thankfully, Douglas Fraser has written an excellent article on an independent Scotland's currency options, which confirms the points Calton has made in earlier posts - in particular, Alex where's your bottle.

2012 Wish List - continued

Ruth Davidson has said that nothing is off the table in a review of Scots Tory policies. In the light of that, Calton would like to add the following to his 2012 wishlist:

• The Scottish Conservative Party to provide a credible opposition to Alex Salmond's 'Independence in Europe' policy by putting the case for remaining within the UK and distancing ourselves from Europe. That way, we stand a chance of being able to cut some of the EU red tape which is hampering our businesses. It will also put some clear blue water between the Tories and pro-EU Wilhelm Rennie/Yohann Lamont, thus giving the voter a bit more choice come 2015.
• The Scottish Conservative Party to drop its policy of re-introducing prescription charges. No-one should have to stand in a pharmacy, clutching a much-needed prescription, wondering if they can afford to pay for it, as many hard-working people used to do before the SNP abolished the charges. If money needs to be raised, tax sugary drinks instead.

Calton's New Year Message

It is understandable that both Johann Lamont and Ruth Davidson should choose to use their New Year messages to urge Alex Salmond to get on with the independence referendum. The current uncertainty (and continual sniping at Westminster) is not good and could make international companies jittery about investing in Scotland until they see which way things are heading. However, Calton does not think this year is the time to make such an important decision. In common with fellow-blogger the wee red squirrel, Calton believes that a lot more debate needs to take place around the independence issue before it goes to the people. We also need to wait and see what is going to happen in Europe before deciding whether to go for the SNP's oxymoronical 'Independence in Europe' vision or stay with Cameron's isolationist policies. It is therefore with some reluctance that Calton finds himself agreeing with the First Minister's policy of waiting until the second half of this Parliament before holding the referendum, albeit for different reasons!