That's the sound of hundreds of Scottish Labour activists facepalming you can hear in the distance, by the way

Just gimme a normal poll. A normal poll will do. Just lots of them, rather than one a week

Another day in Scottish Politics and another, er, *questionable* MRP poll

Maddening lack of devolved polling this election season

I'd blame Keir Starmer

The implication, of course, is that this is the case with *all* developed vetting and that there could be several high profile appointees/diplomats/officials etc. who have failed vetting and nobody knows!

I imagine a similar fight to the one won by Scot Gov over Minimum Unit Pricing

Has nothing to do with actually being a response to the global resource crisis, and is instead mere grist for the grievance mill. It's even acknowledged in the manifesto that UK Gov will likely block it via the IMA

Has nothing to do with actually being a response to the global resource crisis, and is instead mere grist for the grievance mill. It's even acknowledged in the manifesto that UK Gov will likely block it via the IMA

Round the corner from this there is currently locals complaining about new flats being proposed on a, er, hotel car park.

Allegedly because it will overlook some flats, unlike the multi-storey buildings either side of the flat car park.

Gove's education reforms the last thing that really annoyed people but was pushed through anyway, actually delivered as intended, and was vaguely successful.

Imagine if we had had and listened to equalivant of HS2 opposition in Victorian England? We wouldn't have a rail network!

Governments, both local and nationally, have forgotten that sometimes the right thing to do is piss people off.

Saw more posters/campaign signs in Ullapool than I have in the whole of Edinburgh or any of Glasgow

SNP culture of secrecy & cover-up must come to an end AFTER just two full weeks of Holyrood’s election campaign proper, the SNP are already mired in controversy and scandal. Perhaps it’s not a shock a party with 20 years in power is struggling to cont…

COLUMN: The SNP's culture of secrecy & cover-up must end.

They have perfected their approach - of deny, delay, distract - into an art form of pointing at shiny things away from the glare of the party's failure to reckon with misconduct among their own

www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/1614660...

Scottish Information Commissioner similarly struggling. They have a few of my appeals from FOIs submitted in 2022 still outstanding

"Insignificant" in the UK sense - in a local and subnational sense, the total opposite

It's got far more to with vibes and not being seen by North East workers as Thatcher Mk.2 than to UK-wide economic prosperity/energy security.

SNP/Lab/Con all have something to lose with this decision locally

Thanks - very useful background, appreciate it

Really interesting read, thanks Alistair

I wonder your view, though, whether the Scottish Government's decision to release its legal advice RE: Salmond judicial review has lowered (or not!) the bar on what constitutes a sufficient public interest justification for release?

A squarely batshit poll that appears to live somewhere between total fantasy and outright delusion.

Reform's Scots candidates exposed as members of racist conspiracy group DOZENS of Reform UK Holyrood candidates are part of campaign group where members spread racist conspiracy theories and branded Muslims a “cancer” and “invaders”. We can reveal as many as 15 MSP-wan…

EXCLUSIVE: MORE than a dozen Reform UK Holyrood candidates are part of campaign group where members spread racist conspiracy theories and branded Muslims a “cancer” and “invaders”.

www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/1607076...

UK considers FOI clampdown as requests soar Moves to tighten system likely to be met with resistance from campaigners

Make no mistake that any weakening of FOI is an attack on all of our civil liberties, and would be a clear example of democratic backsliding.

It is clear that the government is now seriously considering an attack on your right to know.

www.ft.com/content/2c34...

Back at work today after six weeks of sick leave

Any stories, tips, or the usual generalised abuse, drop me a DM, an email, or get in touch on WhatsApp

Someone I spoke to yesterday was really critical of the Churchill criticism from Trump on the basis the Pres was making the link as he views this conflict akin to WW3 - a fair take and something generally people, er, don't fancy living through

Edinburgh's tram network a fascinating example of this now - once an SNP/Labour wedge nationwide, still locally viewed negatively by some due to total cock-up of first route, extension since quietly finished and plans for more due to go ahead, with oppo relegated to moaning on Facebook

The only thing it is useful for is to blunt the SNP's preferred framing of the election as a referendum on Starmer, in the hope it refocuses the campaign on the SNP's domestic record. It's fundamentally a campaign strategy Hail Mary

The SNP's failure to a) modernise the case for independence, and b) coherently argue for it, remains the most self-defeating failure of their time in office since 2014

If you still can't answer Qs on pensions/currency in a way that people can see the trade-offs, you're just not trying hard enough

SNP in particular still in thrall to Sturgeon's worst habits of solving problems that weren't actually problems (e.g. named persons, offensive behaviour at football, gender - not saying not important to someone, but wouldn't have moved the dial even if they weren't mucked up as badly as they were)

In short, if they win they'll inherit a very difficult demographic, tax, and benefits challenge having committed themselves to changing none of it. Which I'm sure will work perfectly.

they currently should about weekly in parly. Had they not done that, they could, you know, argue that maybe free prescriptions shouldn't be handed to well-off folk, but they can't.

Instead it's just chat about 'waste' and their main NHS offer is cutting the number of health boards to three...