He’s No’ Awa’ Tae Bide Awa'

Nicola Sturgeon is now leader of the SNP. I’ve read in the media that she is more popular, within SNP circles, than Alex Salmond and this bodes well for the future. My MSP, John Swinney, is now Deputy First Minister.

It will come as no surprise to many of you that I like Alex Salmond and have great respect for the man, although I dislike some of the policies he has introduced during the SNP’s time in government.  He’s an astute politician, a superb orator as well as being a clever and intelligent person.  Not many politicians today carry all these attributes.

When he announced he was standing down as First Minister and leader of the SNP in September, my first thought was he must be retiring from the political scene.  Silly of me I know, but where would he go?  Then he gave the answer on Question Time; or rather gave the Dimbleby the hint.

There is a rumour floating round Scotland that he is considering standing in Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey for next May’s Westminster elections. Currently this seat is held by LibDem Danny Alexander who will be defending a large majority of 8,765.

An early rumour suggested he intended to stand in Gordon, where the LibDem Malcolm Bruce, who had a majority of 6,748 at the last general election, is standing down and Gordon covers the Aberdeenshire East constituency represented by him at Holyrood. However, the LibDem candidate for Gordon is a former journalist, Christine Jardine, who has no public profile and senior SNP members are rumoured to have stated ‘Alex wants a scalp. He won’t get that in Gordon and he has a pick of any seat’.

The SNP has not yet chosen its candidates for next May’s election.  Alex Salmond will, almost certainly, not contest his old Banff and Buchan seat as it’s already represented by the party’s Elidh Whiteford.

In Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, Danny Alexander’s main challenge came from Labour in the 2010 general election.  But the Holyrood seat of Inverness and Nairn is represented by the SNP’s Fergus Ewing, who won in 2011 with a massive majority of nearly 10,000 and SNP strategists believe they can therefore challenge Danny Alexander next May.

The LibDems are relying upon the result of the Independence Referendum, when around 60% of voters voted No, to keep Alex Salmond from gaining a seat from them. Some of the quotes around: ‘He’s something of a spent force’. ‘People used to see him as invincible but that’s not the case now’.

So now we’re entering the general election campaign. David Cameron insists the austerity measures must continue. Not good news for the less financially secure in our society.  We can but hope that the weather continues to be mild and thus heating bills are kept low enough to avoid many falling into debt.

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Red Lines

There's an article in today's Herald which clearly shows the stupidity of the unionists.

It appears the Lords Economic Affairs Committee has suggested the Westminster and Holyrood parliaments should publish their 'red lines' for independence talks before next year's referendum.  A sensible idea and one that many Scots have been calling for in recent months in the hope that distinct divisions would provide much more detail.

However, Danny Alexander says no pre-negotiations:

"We have been clear we will not 'pre- negotiate' the terms of independence before people in Scotland have had their say in the referendum.

"To do so would require the Government to act on behalf of only part of the UK."

The Scottish government said its position on "all these issues will be set out before and in the White Paper'. 

It's well documented that the Westminster parliament, as well as Holyrood, has been making preparations in case the Scots vote Yes, so why are they so loathed to share the information with the people who live here?  Is it bloody-mindedness or something more sinister?

Perhaps it's a bit of both but it's also insulting to Scotland. The voters here can't decide on the score until they've seen both team's red lines.

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Alex Salmond's Position Is Secure

Somehow I have an overwhelming desire to throw something at the television whenever Danny Alexander appears.

Often I've pondered on my dislike of the Libdem MP and only today I realised what irritates me.  Apart from his immaturity - which can be excused perhaps - it's his inability to express himself without avoiding a direct question and his obvious effort to stick to his pre-prepared script regardless of any question.

Johann Lamont has a similar style although I couldn't possibly accuse her of being immature, except in verbal debate.

Both are poor speakers but that deficiency doesn't make a poor politician.  Not all politicians are orators and the public understand for some it's a struggle to look comfortable in front of television cameras. Some take lessons, at taxpayers expense, yet improvement isn't always noticeable.  Iain Gray springs to mind and the Labour politician David Miliband who spent £7,000 on 'speech' lessons.

What does make a poor politician is one who pointedly insists on ensuring those who disagree with them are ridiculed.  The truth doesn't matter as long as they manage to get their insults recorded.

This past week, along with Danny Alexander, the leaders of the unionist parties have all criticised the character of the First Minister.  Their efforts were feeble and they only resulted in displaying how professional and competent Alex Salmond is when in the scrutinising eyes of cameras.

Yesterday I had a telephone conversation with a tory-voting friend and it was a more pleasant occasion than usual because for the past four weeks I had lost my voice (no sniggering please) but the third course of antibiotics seem to be solving the problem.

During our chat I asked what she thought of Ruth Davidson's performance at FMQs last week. 'Horrendous' was the reply. We discussed the 'legal advice' issue and both agreed it wouldn't cause Alex Salmond any long-term damage. "The public really aren't interested in politicians' petty squabblings and childish insults," she insisted.  I agree, although I don't think Jackie Baillie's latest nonsense should go unchallenged by the Scottish Government.  Telling the public that the removal of Trident would cost 11,000 jobs, when a Freedom of Information request by the Scottish SND revealed only 520 jobs at the Clyde Naval Base were directly dependent on Trident is lying. Surely?

We both said details of how an independent Scotland would survive enough to have the social policies and economy Alex Salmond desires were far more important.  Let Danny Alexander and his ilk continue to fill our screens with their soundbites, but none will produce a knockout blow on the First Minister - unless his economic proposals for an independent Scotland leave room for ambiguity.  We need clear details backed by international economists and figures which can be understood and verified by the voter.

I'm not a gambling woman but I would bet that, at present, Alex Salmond's position is safe in the hands of an opposition who are third rate by comparison.

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LibDem Sloppiness

These days party conferences are so stage-managed, I find them difficult to listen too. Viewing hours of them on television is surely too much to ask of the most loyal supporters.

However I do keep up to date with proceedings and was very disappointed that, at the LibDem luv-in this weekend, Danny Alexander misquoted Churchill during his desperate efforts to label anyone who disagrees with him "enemies of growth".

“We’ll never let the anti-European isolationists or nationalists frustrate our national interest. They are the enemies of growth”.

What is "the central national purpose"?  Sounds too much like a Common Purpose product to me and I have no time for CP ideals.

The LibDems are extremely pro-EU, particularly their leader Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander.  Of course both men have, in the past, made an excellent living from promoting themselves as EU enthusiasts.  Before rising to the dizzy heights of PR man for the Cairngorm National Park for a year from 2004-2005, Danny Alexander's job was to plug the EU: Director of Communications, European Movement 1996-99, Head of Communications, Britain in Europe 1999-2004. His background is PR not finance and his comment about the SNP was soundly ridiculed by John Swinney on yesterday's Politics Now programme.

However, it was his misquote which doesn't stand up to the weakest scrutiny:

"Sadly, eurosceptics on left and right fail to understand Winston Churchill's central insight that sharing sovereignty strengthens influence and isolation weakens us.


Actually Churchill said:

"We see nothing but good and hope in a richer, freer, more contented European commonality.  But we have our own dream and our own task.  We are with Europe, but not of it.  We are linked but not compromised. We are interested and associated but not absorbed."

Churchill did not advocate 'sharing sovereignty' - quite the contrary.

Sloppy speech writing from Danny Alexander in a foolhardy effort to show the LibDems are a party to be taken seriously. How can anyone take them seriously when they can gain a foothold in government, both in Westminster and Scotland, only by default?

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This Man Is So Politically Stupid

There's no organisation anywhere in the world quite like the Crown Estate.  That's its boast on its website where it also states the board members are appointed by Buckingham Palace.

The assets of the Crown Estate, dates back to 1066 and have a sordid history of plunder, treason and murder, yet we ignore the reasons how monarchs through the ages gained their money.  Now, although still belonging to the monarch and inherent with the accession of the throne, it's no longer the private property of the reigning monarch and can't be sold by him/her.  The monarchy, in return for an annual grant, surrenders surplus revenues to the Treasury.

Its one of the largest property owners in the UK with a portfolio worth £7 billion.

The marine estate includes over half of the UK's foreshore, tidal riverbeds and almost all of the seabed within the 12 nautical miles limit, including rights to all minerals but excluding hydrocarbons.

The Scottish government wants its fair share of the profits from the marine estate, particularly since Scotland has two-thirds of the UK's coastline.  Surely, now there is a devolved parliament in Scotland, it's only common sense to give the nation the earnings from their part of the marine estate?

But no.  Danny Alexander - how did this man ever become so powerful? - announced in a speech in Stornoway, a new fund which would, using Crown Estate profits, give help to coastal communities.  Charities and community groups are expected to benefit and will receive half the Crown Estate's marine revenues in Scotland which amount to £4 million a year but are likely to rise to around £40 million by 2021.

John Swinney, the Finance Secretary responded:

"... by accusing the Treasury of try-ing to “buy off Scotland’s coastal communities by offering them only 50% of their own resources” and said “this paltry announcement does not go nearly far enough”. source

Danny Alexander admitted the move was not to halt the SNP plans when he said:

"No, not at all. This is some- thing I have been committed to for some time. I started discussing the work here last summer. This is an attempt to set out a policy I care about and the UK Government is committed to. The SNP have put forward a proposal and we are considering it but this is a better way forward for the communities in Scotland.”


So Danny Alexander has had this new fund in planning while the Scottish government have made, what I would think are several, efforts to gain what rightly belongs to Scotland.  Where's Dave's coalition mantra of 'transparency and openness'?

What does that say about the Westminster government and the political astuteness of Danny Alexander in particular?

But that's not the end of the story.  Danny Alexander stated the fund would be administered by the Big Lottery.  I have experience of applying for Big Lottery funding and it's a very time consuming task which does need some legal input. Is it right that communities have to compete for money which could be distributed far more easily by simple arithmetical calculations?  I think not.

It's also shameful that Danny Alexander's fund will only proffer 50% of the actual income from the Scottish marine estate although, to be fair, highland communities are delighted because they've had no financial payback from their work.

Am I angry?  You bet and I would like to think that Alex Salmond and his government will use the arrogance of Danny Alexander saying he'd had the idea in mind when he's had several meetings with the Scottish government and not uttered a word.

Do I believe him?  Of course not.  He's stupid and has shown that David Cameron's 'respect' agenda is a lie. The man's a stool pigeon of Westminster's coalition government.

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More Coalition Arrogance

George Osborne's Budget announcement of a £10billion windfall tax on North Sea oil companies is causing problems, not least to Danny Alexander, who represents a constituency in which many oil related workers reside.

Some of Mr Alexander's colleagues have called for his resignation after it was reported he boasted to a group of 100 businessmen that the windfall tax was his idea. Not a smart move from Mr Alexander.

George Osborne, when being questioned by the Treasury Selection Committee (a lengthy video worth viewing) on last week's Budget defended the decision to up the oil taxes by 12% saying: "It's perfectly reasonable and the rate was still significantly lower than in Statoil's native Norway".  Do I believe him?  No.  The Chancellor doesn't even know the amount of duty the Treasury receives from a litre of petrol.

In this area of Scotland there are many whose livelihoods depend on the oil industry and the massive tax hike has created anxiety among them.  Statoil and Centrica have postponed projects and Valiant are reviewing a large investment.

Osborne's decision to inflict this tax upon the industry is wrong.  It's only recently that the oil price increased and if the unrest in North Africa and the Middle East settled, it's likely the price would drop below $100 a barrel (35 gallons).  Oil companies don't make investment decisions based on the current price but make longer term assessments.  Today's projects are much more complex from those in the early days of exploration and they are more costly in development charges.  The gradual increase in the oil price in the past few years has encouraged the large companies to look at investing in more complicated exploration but this windfall tax has created instability in the sector.

On Tuesday night, in the House of Commons, the government won a vote on the tax hike by 334 to 13, with two prominent Libdems MPs voting against.  Both represent constituencies in Aberdeenshire. The vote shows their indifferent attitude towards the industry.

Today Chris Hulme will meet with oil and gas firms to discuss the tax.  I doubt if Mr Hulme will make any concessions even if someone mentions the stupidity of Mr Alexander.

To upset the oil producers to this degree - for the sake of 1p on a litre of petrol - is foolish and ill-conceived. These giants are nearly as influential as bankers and should be treated with respect.  After all, it's North Sea oil which has been keeping UK Plc afloat for the past 30 years.  The Scots treat the industry with respect why can't the Westminster government?

I suggest the coalition's respect quota is kept completely for the bankers.

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Oh Danny Boy

Nick Clegg really needs to take some urgent action to sort out his MPs. The new Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, has been found to have done a 'Hazel Blears' - avoiding paying capital gains tax when he sold his taxpayer-funded second home at a profit.

There is no suggestion that Mr Alexander has broken any tax laws but he has used a loophole in the tax system for personal financial gain.

In the first televised leaders' debate Mr Clegg said: "There are MPs who flipped one property to the next, buying property, paid by you the taxpayer, and then they would do the properties up, paid for by you and pocket the difference in personal profit."

I don't expect he was aware one of his bright young things had done exactly that.

Time for the libdems to get their own house in order before they start legislating for a reduction in our standards of living.

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The New Alexander on the Scottish Scene

I'm definitely getting old. We now have a Scottish secretary who looks younger than my own offspring and I've never heard of him until now. He's only been a name on election results.

Danny Alexander, 37, has been the MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey since 2005. Five years as an MP qualifies you to command a nation these days. How times have changed.

He's a career politician. He has no knowledge of business having worked for the lies of the Britain in Europe campaign and the Cairngorm National Park. His claim to fame could well be that he's very acquaint with government grants and he thinks Europe is the bees knees.

Allegedly he was responsible for the libdem's election manifesto which stated that the libdems wished to abolish the post of Scottish secretary. I heard him on Newsnight Scotland last night, attempting to justify the policy by saying the libdems wanted an office for all the devolved parliaments/assemblies, which would mean amalgamating four offices into one. Will he give up Dover House after Jim Murphy's expensive refurb? Not in the now confirmed five year term of this parliament. I mean, who would want to leave such luxury?

It will be interesting to see how the relative unknown Mr Alexander copes with Alex Salmond and now of course the labour party. He isn't renowned for being a warm person. Maybe it's time he upped his temperature because he'll need to be on form.

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