You take the high road and I’ll take the low road …

They say travel broadens the mind. It gives you time to recharge and reflect and allows you the ability to take in the world from a new perspective.

Wherever I wander I always come back to Scotland but this time it feels different. I feel a stronger sense of purpose now. It’s now mid June and already there have been fantastic public displays of support for independence in Stornaway, Galashiels, Glasgow and Oban . The media didn’t report them very well but by stealth independence is becoming a normal tangible element in our lives and it is not going away.

The vote in the EU elections turned the map of Scotland firmly ‘remain’ but more importantly gave the Parties not supporting independence a real shock. The Tories only managing 11.6% of the vote and Labour at 9.3% being all but wiped out due to their ambiguous stand over Europe. SNP got 37.7% and Green Party 8.2% , that’s a pro- independence /EU % vote of 45.9%. Add in the Lib-Dems pro EU but not pro Indy at 13.8 thats staggering 59.7 % for remain. ( usual stuff about rounding up numbers)

In contrast the same vote in England was the total opposite. You could not get a clearer polarisation of opinion. But still the Tories and Labour lost spectacularly. The runes have been cast in the Tory leadership elections and Boris Johnson is odds on favourite to the U.K. Prime Minister to be imposed on us.

Looking after the bare necessities -aka Day Job

There continues to be progress made in the ‘day job’ as far as more effective and efficient government delivery in Scotland in fact the whole Brexit mess doesn’t inspire any confidence in Westminster to govern anything either on time or late

‘Failing Grayling’ and the ferry scandal

Millions have been wasted already on Brexit and in the final analysis it is likely to cost much more than coming out was supposed to save.
England are not protecting the most vulnerable in society instead austerity and its delivery agent , Universal Credit are literally killing people off.

For years now the Scottish Government has been softening the blow by canny use of local resource to shouts of ‘unfair’ ‘why have the Scots got free prescriptions ‘ and the like.

We have free prescriptions because we voted in a government that tries to meet the needs of all its people.

Rising homelessness in England and the push to get higher rents in the cities is literally ripping communities apart. There are now press stories about council procedures to deal with ‘tented encampments’ in many parts of England.Homeless people, casual workers without a roof have the option of paying a fine to get their confiscated tents back. Seriously, read the article its like a dystopian ‘Grapes of Wrath’ scenario that is totally preventable and its happening in 2019 in parts of the UK.

Scotland by comparison has a number of important strategic plans and targets which are ambitious but achievable and designed to address the root causes of poverty and disadvantage in areas like child care, family support and housing.

To do this justice however we can no longer make do with juggling with what Westminster gives us back from what we put in to the ‘Union’. Our underlying economy is strong and would thrive untied to a U.K. economy which has been mismanaged for decades. We do not need the Trident nuclear weapons system but instead can build on the pillars established by our government over the last 10 years. A strong sustainable renewable energy sector, tourism, bio-technology, a booming research sector are all waiting to grow but part of that growth is how to make the economy inclusive and work for all sections of society in contrast with our neighbours who seem content to widen the gap between rich and poor.

This means there is a place for what many people dismiss as gimmicks because they do not see ‘the whole of the moon’ and are missing the big picture.

The young family with the baby box, the girls and young women encouraged to academic success also includes access to free sanitary products. The older people and families suffering chronic illnesses from our own industrial past getting support with prescriptions and cut price travel. It’s called looking after people and building communities, not tearing them apart. There is no progress if we don’t take all our people with us. Wait that rings a bell? For the many maybe, something, something. We will work on a catchy slogan.


Instead of complaining that Scots get things for free people should ask why their political system is so broken that their government cannot meet their needs. It is not difficult it is a matter of setting priorities and listening to the people.

George Foulkes, Baron Foulkes of Cumnock really means the current government are over performing and its making him and his mates look like a bunch of chancers- G

The phrase the Labour Party is a busted flush in Scotland probably gives them more credit than they are due. Continuing the family card game analogy they are more like the ‘Scabby Queen ’ or ‘Donkey’ of modern Scottish politics.


From a once proud socialist tradition that once embraced ‘Home Rule ‘ they could not even spell Keir Hardie the founding Fathers name correctly on their conference display.


Reduced by a previous leader to encouraging their remaining supporters to vote Tory what is left of the party has lost its roots in Scotland . Indeed frequently now at first Minister questions it’s local branch leader in Scotland regularly fails to differentiate what is a reserved power to Westminster and what is devolved to Scotland. The hope is that if the untruths are repeated often enough an obedient media will pick up and report it as true. Nicola Sturgeon has recently invited him to join in the real governance of Scotland and see things for what they really are. That would mean ‘ Coming over from the dark side’ of politics and giving up the privileges they have been promised and seen passed on to their ‘elder statesmen’ .

Many of us made the transition from Labour in the late nineties and later when the warmongering Blair had run his course and passed the bloodstained baton to Gordon Brown. Earlier we had been told ‘things can only get better’. They didn’t . They will not now be any better now with Labour. The rest is history as we all remember the famous ‘Vow’ and the promised super federalism, whatever that meant at the time.

A new bar has been set in Scotland and it’s too high for old style Labour to scale. It’s a politics of participation and with people’s assemblies we can have a grown up discussion about what a new Scotland should look like. Not what politicians tied to a failed Westminster think we deserve.

It now too late to stop the waves of independence from splitting us from Londons pull for good. Like we always say we don’t hate English people we just want good neighbours not masters. We are well past the point of no return and any claw back of powers would be seen for what it would be, subjugation.

Begging from the King

A different political set up in England is brewing post Brexit. It’s not likely to see any miracles from Labour in fact more likely is a longer period of entrenched right wing politics evidenced by rising hate crime and racism blaming others for the systemic failure.

So for those of us who ‘turned’ from Labour towards independence in the late 90’s we have not been sitting on our hands. Many more joined between then and 2014, and still more from then til now. A grass roots Yes movement has been building independent of any party but also importantly we have been building the foundations of a small socially just, outward looking, internationally respected, confident and economically successful nation.

It’s been going on quietly for a decade and the launch party when it comes is going to be amazing. Hope to see you there.

You take the high road and I’ll take the low road …

Something for the May Day weekend……

The May Day Bank Holiday weekend is upon us and traditionally there are May Day marches to commemorate International Workers Day and Spring. This Saturday sees the first of the bigger All Under One Banner Independence marches. Although Stornoway ‘stole a march’ on Glasgow last weekend. There will be some friendly rivalry between Edinburgh ( salt and sauce) and Glasgow ( salt and vinegar) over who can get the most people taking part but its the Union that will have had its chips at the end of the day.

Plenty of routes to assembly point such as subway to Kelvinbridge and just follow the crowd.

The march will leave Kelvingrove Park at 1.30 and All Under One Banner have put out a call for volunteer stewards. Please answer the call if you can by approaching an existing steward.

The requirements for being a volunteer steward are very simple and joining the team will in no way hamper your enjoyment of the big day with donning a Hi-Viz vest and following simple instructions all that will be asked of you. You do not need any experience whatsoever (even though naturally any previous experience either voluntary or in a professional context is obviously good) as full guidance will be given on the day via Steward briefings running every 30 minutes from 12.00 am, 12.30am, 1pm, as we approach the 1.30pm prompt start time for the March.

All Under One Banner

This is a family friendly march and people are encouraged to bring flags including flags of their country of origin to show we are altogether in the struggle for independence as all Scots old or new. A mark of previous marches has been the great turn out from older people and people with disabilities who know what it is like to suffer Tory austerity and dehumanising DWP assessments.

The procession route is:
Kelvingrove Park; Kelvinway; Gibson Street;Eldon Street;Woodlands Road
Sauchiehall Street;Pitt Street;West George Street;Blythswood Square (S)West George Street;Nelson Mandela Place ( shout Amandla! passing through here); West George Street;George Square;High Street
Saltmarket;Glasgow Green

The march organisers facebook page is Here to check for any changes.

Many thousands of people will walk the whole march while others may meet marchers at the Glasgow Green Rallying point. Remember to bring your flags, dugs are also very welcome! Its going to be massive so bring a peece, sun screen and a bottle of juice, but because its May there could be hailstones!Lol.

Check AUOB pages for details of other scheduled marches near you……


Last weekend saw the SNP conference in Edinburgh being virtually ignored by the main stream media. Not only was it massive for a political party conference in Scotland, it was huge in terms of both size and content. The speech Nicola Sturgeon gave was world class. It set the week off to a great start and the Tories and the media were really showing their fear of our determination.

This weekend will see the Scottish Tories conference in Aberdeen. It will have mainstream media coverage even though it will be tiny by comparison. Potential future Tory leaders will be paying Aberdeen a visit although Ruth Davidson, that super mum returning from maternity leave that the media have been fawning over all week is playing down Boris’s visit.

Although Gove and other Tory ‘stars’ will grace the conference Boris Johnson will also be up campaigning helped by his pal local MP Ross Thomson. Ross will no doubt be showing Boris all his favourite fiddling venues in Union Street and we don’t mean the ones Robbie Shepherd likes.

One thing is for sure the Tories have taken a beating in the English local government elections and Ruth Davidson did not pick a good week to return to politics. But with most of the state media on her side she can still say and do what she likes and the media will report it as if she is the First Minister.

This is why marches like tomorrow are so important.They burst the media bubble and show the people of Scotland mean business.

Sunday will also see the more traditional workers day march in many places. Thousands of trade unionists and supporters will march through Glasgow to celebrate the international workers day. Organised by Glasgow Trades Union Council this celebration looks to reach out to all those striving for justice peace and equality in our city. This year theme is on young people as they face the brunt of unjust austerity enduring insecure low paid employment, zero hour contracts and cuts to educational services.

Enjoy your May Day Bank Holiday Weekend .

Tomorrows march will be covered by Independence Live , indylive.Radio and Yes Scotlands Future

Peace Love and Scottish Independence!

Indylive.radio can be listened to online —-> here

Team Yes Scotlands Future

Support Indylive.Radio -Peace, love and Scottish Independence

This week saw a new arrival on the Indy Media scene. Indy Live Radio was launched and for all of us who complain about the biased and downright boring mainstream media this should be a thing to celebrate.

Many a morning in the past I have listened to radio on the way to work or at home and felt moved to switch off just before ‘Call Kaye’ came on to discuss some banal BBC Scotland take on the state of Scotland. It usually has a distinctive, SNP-bad sub plot and is designed to set people up to undermine any positives about Scottish society and to sow the seeds of doubt and fear into people.

It is constant.The output on BBC Radio Scotland is dominated by news and ‘opinion’ until about 1.00 p.m. when it starts to ‘loosen up’ and you get the occasional arts programme and god forbid the odd track of music is played. (Thanks Janice!)

By contrast switching from BBC Scotlands output to a national BBC channel like Radio 2 it is like Scotland is a country under occupation. Turgid stories are churned out about the latest manufactured FOI driven ‘crises’ in NHS Scotland when we know we have some of the best health care and the most dedicated health care staff on the planet.

It’s like a more subtle version of the Lord Haw-Haw and Tokyo Rose propaganda broadcasts from Germany and Japan during the second world war.

Meanwhile over on Radio2 its all ‘Happy’– Pharrel Williams or ‘I feel love’– Donna Summer. Then you come home from work midweek to find that Orwell’s 1984 has become a reality and ‘compulsory sport’ is on the television and its English Premier League.Prime time evening television.

It makes us so angry………

Why shouldn’t we have a little fun now and then?

Well now we can and we will be supporting an independent citizen media broadcast outfit at the same time.

Do not expect adverts or even regular chat from a DJ or presenter. You will hear track lists of music. Pretty good uplifting stuff too.Its a good mixture. Occasionally there will be guest speakers on talking about indy related topics. Its very new and they are still testing everything out but its well worth supporting.

By having a PRS licence the station can play music all day long. The technical stuff is below but it is very easy to connect. You can either listen on-line on your laptop or computer, or you can download an app for a mobile phone and listen anywhere.

This ability to take Indy friendly media with us anywhere we go is vitally important. Building up a network of Yes facebook pages, Live streaming events, Twitter feeds and now radio broadcasts will assist our movement to not only connect with each other but reach out to a wider audience. Yes people should keep all their apps on their device handy in one place. This is how we will connect with people.

This is how we will win independence by sharing information over networks we have created ourselves.

Technical bit.

Indylive.radio can be listened to online —-> here

Simply bookmark the link to keep returning. OR you can download the app from the Google Store or Apple Store for free by searching for Indylive radio

Once downloaded you can take it with you anywhere……its important, get it now.

You can maybe comment on suitable playlists for an Indy radio station. Here are few for starters.

‘Kiss this thing goodbye’ – Del Amitri

‘Living on a prayer’ -Bon Jovi

‘Let me go’– Avril Lavaigne

‘Iron Sky’ Paolo Nutini

‘Cap in hand’– The Proclaimers

‘Son I voted Yes’– Stanley Odd

The Yes Movement needs to lighten up and you all need IndyLive Radio in your lives.

No more crabbit faced BBC Tokyo Rose in the mornings for me…..go on give it a go and tell your pals and get it shared!

Let’s get their listening figures boosted.

Peace,Love and Scottish Independence.

#PLASI

Labour still isn’t working for Glasgow and has left a poisoned legacy

The closure of the Legacy hub on Springfield Road Dalmarnock has been on the Scottish news. The Peoples Development Trust (PDT), the organisation managing the hub has gone into receivership. It is a high profile building part of the Commonwealth Games legacy in the local area and also houses a GP surgery and a dental surgery.

The media coverage has been interesting. A small but vocal protest took place on Sunday and many of the children and young people who use the child care and youth work provision were there as part of the protest.

The coverage today however is very interesting in one respect. It is what main stream media has left out of its reporting that is the most important thing..

Any community based organisation will struggle to make a go of things but this one has its roots in Glasgow City Council pre-2014 when the Commonwealth Games came to that part of the city and the local councillors were in charge also took some nice paid jobs for themselves and their relatives and friends. Frank McAveety was the leader at the time.

It seems the press reporting today have forgotten a whole swathe of history associated with the management of the building. They only had to look into their own archives to find the evidence.

The opening of the Legacy Hub in Dalmarnock ex-Councillor Kucuk  second from right

A £3.5 Million Commonwealth Games legacy project is embroiled in nepotism claims over a string of posts occupied by a local Labour councillor’s friends and family.
The project was overseen from the beginning by the People’s Development Trust (PDT), a charity that runs the Hub and which hired Kucuk as the £35,000-a-year regeneration manager. Another Labour councillor, Maureen Burke, also declares a paid job at the Trust.
Kucuk took up her post in 2011 and her cousin Alan Kennedy was appointed to the P.D.T. board in the same year. He left in July 2014 and his son Robert joined the board weeks later. Kucuk’s husband is also working at the Hub.

Calton Jock March 2016

It seems the alternative citizens media have a better record of reporting on this issue as Calton Jock a local blogger reported as far back as 2016 highlighting nepotism and cronyism gone mad in the East End Regeneration area which was on the receiving end of millions of pounds as part of the Commonwealth Games preparations.

It looks like the building was ‘run into the ground’ by a succession of relatives and friends appointments all stemming from Scottish Labour. In November 2015 this Evening Times article called it out.

Board positions linked to the Dalmarnock Legacy Hub were filled by relatives of Glasgow Calton councillor Yvonne Kucuk, whose husband also works at the centre.
A cousin of Labour’s other ward councillor, George Redmond, also works at the Hub while another relative used to sit on the board.

Glasgow Evening Times , 22nd November 2015

The article also said ‘Kucuk was elected to the council in 2012 and is reportedly thinking of making the step up to Holyrood.’

If the main stream media wanted to something more ‘in depth’ about the buildings closure all they had to do was a google search ( other search engines are available) to reveal a series of articles in the Herald, Evening Times and BBC Scotland websites.

It has been local bloggers who have reported on this more accurately and consistently.

“There is a general concern that Labour treats Glasgow as its personal fiefdom, where friends get positions and jobs and not in a transparent way. “It is the councillor’s dual role in this project that is concerning.
You should be a local councillor, or part of the development project. Or, you should have the development role and not be the local councillor. A sensible person would surely conclude that you cannot do both roles. It is about public perception.

SNP MSP John Mason .

The Legacy Hub, located in the shadows of the Emirates arena in the east end, benefited from £3m from the Scottish Government and £1,295,000 from the B.L.F., while Glasgow city council sold land to the Trust for £1. Around £840,000 of the award was to part-fund the Hub’s construction and £455,000 was for four years’ operating costs.

The Big Lottery Fund (B.L.F.) called in outside help after reviewing how its £1.3m award for the multi-purpose Dalmarnock ‘Hub’ had been spent.The quango subsequently launched a review to examine whether its funding had been used in line with its grant agreement. The probe escalated after the B.L.F.’s internal audit department contracted Mazars, one of Europe’s largest accounting firms, to carry out checks.

Another citizens journalist blogger A Thousand Flowers reported on the subject in August 2016. Read the small print in both the Calton Jock and Thousand Flowers posts for the real juicy bits linked to the jobs in building firms and the £500,000 golden hand shakes for outgoing Regeneration Manager.

So, What is the story Morning Glory? It is dig a little deeper. Do your own research or you would be left with a hollow story in todays press that says little of the background and is lamely pointing the finger at the incumbent Council leadership which is the SNP. Main stream media write all of their stories as ‘SNP bad’ stories as a default position and do not do the research.

We call that lazy journalism. We hope the building gets some kind of reprieve for the sake of the users of the building but Scottish Labour need to take most of the blame.

Mon the citizen journalists!

Team Yes Scotlands Future

Yes Scotlands Future social media activists

This is the full text we supplied to the National newspaper for the article about the readiness of the Yes movement in the article printed this morning.

Yes Scotlands Future are a collective of activists on social media who have been active since before 2014.

Our Mantra is positivity, good humour and above all understanding the manipulation and bias in mainstream media.

The Yes movement has been like a group of planes flying in a ‘holding’ pattern above Scotland since 2014.

Some have crashed and burned already, or fallen out with each other, but many have gone on to develop a strong network built on trust , friendship and a common belief in a better Scotland.

There will always be “egos” in any movement but we try to sidestep those and just get on with it.

The Brexit shambles has exacerbated things and made people impatient but it has also revealed the true nature of the union, it is broken beyond repair.

The people who share posts on our pages are ordinary Scots looking to get involved. There is still a role for pages like this to help put information in front of people to help them argue the case for independence.We just need a date to land safely and get a move on.

Team Yes Scotlands Future

The Hills are alive…….

New Year, new chances to sell the electorate of Scotland an old party, the Labour Party.

Its a party that when in power in Glasgow City Council they spent £2.5 million on legal fees to fight women from getting an equal pay award.Richard Leonard, branch leader, was then a full time official for the GMB

The current council have just agreed a deal with the representing agents on a payout to settle the cases.

Labour however are using the media to put out messages of support for the women who have won the case against the City Council, now an SNP administration. It’s as if the past is being rewritten.

The agreement has been reached and as full time official his role in the past campaign is now slowly revealed to not to be so much as ‘organise, agitate and win’ and more like ‘sell out, discriminate , capitulate and lose’.

Questions can be asked of him in the process of setting up an arms length external organisation (ALEO) to allow the council off the hook over equal pay claims, and the discriminatory way a mens pay award was prioritised even though they were doing the same job as the women.

Why the GMB under his leadership didn’t resolve this over 10 years ago raises a whole series of questions. Since the change of administration further reorganisation has occurred to address this.

In the midst of all the Brexit overkill of the week this story seemed to strike a cord with some of our page followers who made some of the following very pertinent comments.

  • Labour spent 2.5m fighting against the Glasgow women’s pay claim between 2007 – 2017.
  • SNP under Susan Aitken took a year & a bit to sort out Labours appalling mess.
  • No mention on any bbc news that it was labour who shafted these women, took them to court and all sorts, and was SNP Glasgow council who fixed it
  • Labour have the temerity to congratulate the women they previously sued. Pathetic.

……..and most poignantly of all,

  • Their time wasting also saved them money from poor souls like my mum who didn’t live long enough to get their fare share!

Many people also pointed out that little is known about the role of Richard Leonard in this long running and bitter equal pay dispute and that more should be shared so that more people understand the background. Most of the press coverage still glosses over the role of Labour’s leader and former GMB full timer, Richard Leonard.

Not content with congratulating women equal pay campaigners they had previously tried to take to court, Scottish Labour now seems to be getting its geography a bit mixed up.

This weeks Scottish Labour Party Political Broadcast raised a few eyebrows among the geologists and geographers among us. It looks like Scottish Labour got someone in ‘Head Office’ to do the donkey work for them as they promoted Richard Leonard’s vision for Scotland but the image wasn’t Scotland it was actually Snowdonia in Wales.

Top photo-Labours visual representation of Scotland. Bottom photo Tryfan Mountain Snowdonia

The broadcast finishes by restating the now familiar line,

” Labour will rebuild Scotland for the many not the few”.

only slight problem with this is the non existent record of house building by Labour when they held office.

The ‘buildings’ that they were associated with were paid for by costly PFI deals which reports say are costing local councils and other bodies a staggering £30 billion and are now subject to structural checks such as Oxgangs Primary, one of 17 schools closed due to safety concerns.

In its defence Labour says the video was shot using different parts of the UK to reflect Labour as a UK party.( Code for Scotland is not a priority for them. Which will be why Jeremy Corbyn doesn’t mention Scotland in his speeches, only ‘regions and communities’)

Scottish Labour, Scottish Tory- same old story.

Richard Leonard local branch leader has also made a name for himself at Scottish First Minister Questions by asking about subjects that were not covered in the devolution settlement. So much so that various Yes pages rushed to point out what was in the Scottish Parliaments gift and what wasn’t. Murdo Fraser of the Scottish Conservatives has done the same.

Reserved powers in the right hand column are often deliberately misquoted as being powers held by Edinburgh – cut out and keep to remind people of how they are being tricked! (Scot Gov now has some limited powers over Social Security)

This confirms the view that nothing has really changed since the ‘Better Together’ campaign in 2014 when Labour, Tories and Liberals united to oppose Scottish Independence.

In public, especially when the media are present all Unionist politicians display a deliberate ‘blurring’ of what is and what is not a devolved ‘power’ of the Scottish Government. Broadband and railways are old favourites for this ‘party’ trick by Labour and their Unionist pals.

Instead of ‘talking up’ Scotland and showing a respect for democracy and the electorate they rely on a complicit media to help them to lie to the public and create an untrue perspective that the Scottish Government is responsible for a whole range of things it is not.

We have have heard this all before we hear you say. This is true but now more than ever the people who live outside the ‘bubble’ of politics are still being lied to and manipulated on a daily basis. We need to communicate this to them.

Labour’s Kezia Dugdale famously encouraged supporters to vote Tory in marginal areas and now with Jeremy Corbyn we have have seen an outbreak of ‘ pretend socialism’ which will now try and spin the well worn line- ‘Vote Labour to keep the Tories Out’.

“While Richard Leonard might talk a left-wing game, he’s an enthusiastic supporter of housing the UK’s nuclear arsenal just a few miles from Scotland’s biggest city – and he now needs to explain his position on Brexit and whether he supports the Tories’ plans to rip Scotland out of the single market.”

Derek MacKay

Jeremy Corbyn on the other hand has been a life long CND activist against nuclear weapons but now seems to hold opposite views and it is okay for these weapons of mass destruction to be housed on the Clyde.

Be sure to have this detector with you at all times.

Team Yes Scotlands Future

With the sound of Labour bullshit……..

Tis the season to be deceitful…..

While everyone is celebrating this is the time of year Unionist parties have already prepared their press releases to take advantage of the lack of stories in the media, hoping that some of their ‘spin’ will make the headlines as fact.

In the case of Scotland that will not be a problem there is a willing press pack in radio, print and TV media eagerly awaiting stories which can help to undermine the Scottish Government, and the Scottish Parliament.

Like a broken record (remember those 12 ” bits of plastic you put on a record player) these press releases get stuck in the same message that the SNP are not doing enough to prevent austerity. They usually highlight issues that you would expect such as pensioner poverty , low pay and the increased use of food banks. All sounding quite normal ground for a political party to cover. But when you take a closer look you see them for what they are, thinly veiled lies and spin.

Take Richard Leonard for example, we do not know if he wrote this himself but his piece in The Scotsman on 21 st of December is a classic example of seasonal deceit. The headline screams at you:

Why are working Scots living in poverty? The SNP refuse to help

source here

He starts out talking historically and ends up talking hysterically.

‘I joined the party over 35 years ago’.

So that would be the 1980’s then just after two back to back Labour governments of Harold Wilson and James Callaghan heralded in 11 years of Margaret Thatcher. Another 13 years of Labour Governments were to come in the shape of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. We point this out as Richard seems to get all heated up about Labour and positive and practical things it could do to eradicate poverty. In the 24 years of Labour Governments since Wilson’s 1964 government they have had 5 chances in government to do something about it and little has changed. And they want us to vote Labour to let Jeremy Corbyn govern us.Assuming he would win if there was an election?

“Oh, what a tangled web we weave…when first we practice to deceive.”

Walter Scott,Marmion

So why are Scots living in poverty? Let us answer his question for him by using the well worn phrase , ‘It is the economy stupid’. Here is a standard overview of the UK economy right now and its recent history. A history Labour conveniently forgets when blaming others for their own continued failings.

UK Economy – overview:

In 2008, the global financial crisis hit the economy particularly hard, due to the importance of its financial sector. Falling home prices, high consumer debt, and the global economic slowdown compounded the UK’s economic problems, pushing the economy into recession in the latter half of 2008 and prompting the then BROWN (Labour) government to implement a number of measures to stimulate the economy and stabilize the financial markets. Facing burgeoning public deficits and debt levels, in 2010 the then CAMERON-led coalition government (between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats) initiated an austerity program, which has continued under the Conservative government. However, the deficit still remains one of the highest in the G7, standing at 3.6% of GDP as of 2017, and the UK has pledged to lower its corporation tax from 20% to 17% by 2020. The UK had a debt burden of 90.4% GDP at the end of 2017.

The UK economy has begun to slow since the referendum vote to leave the EU in June 2016. A sustained depreciation of the British pound has increased consumer and producer prices, weighing on consumer spending without spurring a meaningful increase in exports. The UK has an extensive trade relationship with other EU members through its single market membership, and economic observers have warned the exit will jeopardize its position as the central location for European financial services. Prime Minister MAY is seeking a new “deep and special” trade relationship with the EU following the UK’s exit. However, economists doubt that the UK will be able to preserve the benefits of EU membership without the obligations. The UK is expected to officially leave the EU by the end of March 2019.


In 2008 it was Labour’s Gordon Brown who presided over the banking crisis admitting he did not do enough to regulate the finance sector. What followed was Conservative imposed austerity starting with the Cameron government ( including an alliance with the Lib Dems).

Here is the rub.

Government programmes like austerity are set out at Westminster not Edinburgh and run for years.At the time it was Labour, in opposition at Westminster who abstained and did not not put up any kind of fight against the imposition of austerity.

That leaves us with two main conclusions, one Richard Leonard is lying to the Scottish public as the programme of austerity which sets the block grants for years to come were in effect supported by Labour.

Secondly, he disrespects the Scottish public because he thinks we are stupid enough to belief this rubbish.He consistently repeats it at every opportunity especially now at the end of the year when editors will be very willing to use any press releases they can get. Nothing but deceit and disrespect for the people of Scotland.

The Scottish Government took positive and practical steps to mitigate the introduction of austerity measures as early as 2014. This was in response to the UK Government introduction of the ‘removal of the spare room subsidy’, more commonly known as the “bedroom tax”. The ‘mitigation’ continues and has come to the point using the limited powers of devolution the people on benefit have been involved in large scale consultations to help design a rights based Scottish Social Security system- but he says the SNP ‘refuse to help’. 

Note also at this point after the 2014 referendum the ‘Vow’ and the promises of ‘substantial new powers’ were made to the Scottish people, remember ‘as close to federalism as you can get?’

Being deceitful is a prerequisite for Labour Party leadership. You have to call out the lies every time you hear them repeated because they will just keep on saying them.

Gordon Brown being deceitful in 2014 by promising us things he could never deliver.