Even More SNP Nonsense

June 2, 2018

6 minutes ago, Hasselhoff said:

Don't pretend you would listen to what he has to say even if he did have that qualifications. Ronald McDonald (not that one!) is a macroeconomic expert and you ignore what he says.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_MacDonald_(economist)

Did you know Craig Dalzell from Common Weal who wrote that "how to start a new country" that I think you linked to the other day was a laser engineer? (Apologies if it wasn't you)

If someone researches something properly, accepts corrections and updates their work with the corrections with a note then I don't care what their day job is.

I thought we were talking about Kevin, you're chucking 2 dead cats into the room there Hassy my wee pal.

June 2, 2018

2 minutes ago, Space Mackerel said:

I thought we were talking about Kevin, you're chucking 2 dead cats into the room there Hassy my wee pal.

I'm sure you are smart enough to be able to understand the context of why I mentioned the other two. Anyway, as usual you aren't responding to the points being made, instead just going down pointless tangents to avoid the painful truth

June 2, 2018

1 minute ago, Hasselhoff said:

I'm sure you are smart enough to be able to understand the context of why I mentioned the other two. Anyway, as usual you aren't responding to the points being made, instead just going down pointless tangents to avoid the painful truth

Have you seen what Philip Cross has been up to on Wikipedia? Check it out.

That was your link to Ronald MacDonald. I stay clear of Wikipedia stuff nowadays myself.

June 2, 2018

More nonsense:

https://stv.tv/news/scotland/1417049-books-and-games-given-to-130-000-scots-schoolchildren/

June 2, 2018

14 hours ago, Brighton Jambo said:

Scotland deficit more than three times UK as a whole

Numbers show difficult fiscal position country would face in event of independence

Nicola Sturgeon said improvement in deficit was encouraging © PA

August 23, 2017 10:59 am by Mure Dickie in Edinburgh

Scotland’s fiscal deficit has narrowed but it is still more than three times the scale of the UK as a whole.

Scottish government data in 2016-17, released on Wednesday, showed the notional deficit is still more than 8 per cent of gross domestic product, far above levels most policymakers would see as sustainable.

The data underscore the extremely difficult fiscal situation Scotlandwould be likely to face if it sought independence in the near future — and would have had to contend with had it voted in 2014 to leave the UK.

The Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland figures, known as Gers, estimate Scotland’s net fiscal balance — the gap between public income and spending — at £13.3bn in 2016-17, in large part because of the collapse in North Sea oil revenues.

That is equivalent to 8.3 per cent of GDP, compared with 2.4 per cent for the UK as a whole.

Scotland’s notional deficit in the previous year was £14.5bn, 9.3 per cent of GDP.

Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, said the improvement was “encouraging” as she played down the significance of the data for her independence cause.

She said the data reflected Scotland’s finances “under current constitutional arrangements” and that the underlying economy remained “strong”.

The first minister highlighted a more than 6 per cent increase in onshore tax revenues in 2016-17, the fastest rate in nearly 20 years, noting also Scotland’s surprise rebound in economic growth in the first quarter of this year.

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But opponents of independence seized on the Gers figures, which made clear that Scotland would have faced very tough spending choices if it had become independent in March 2016 as Ms Sturgeon hoped.

David Mundell, the UK government’s Scotland secretary, said the Gers data were cause for concern.

“They also highlight the value of pooling and sharing resources around the UK,” Mr Mundell said. “Being part of a strong UK has protected our living standards.”

The scale of the notional deficit was the result of relatively high public spending in Scotland and the collapse since 2014 of taxes on oil output from Scottish areas of the North Sea.

Scotland’s geographic share of UK North Sea oil revenues rose to £208m in 2016-17, up from the paltry £56m recorded for the previous years, but still far below levels enjoyed before the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.

In 2011-12, revenues from oil in Scottish waters were worth £9.6bn, more than Scotland’s total public spending on education, training and environmental protection.

Ms Sturgeon’s Scottish National party’s claims in 214 that an independent Scotland would enjoy a better fiscal situation were based largely on rosy estimates of future oil revenues.

The SNP has yet to offer a revised fiscal case for independence and economists say there appears little prospect of a big revival in revenues from ageing North Sea fields even if oil prices do recover.

Ahead of the 2014 referendum, the Scottish government made the “authoritative” Gers report the basis of its fiscal analysis for independence, but the growing deficit has prompted SNP figures to since dismiss it as misleading or irrelevant.

Ms Sturgeon said she was not “quibbling about the essence or reliability” of data prepared by her government’s own statisticians. But she echoed party comrades in stressing that Gers was inherently limited by reliance on estimates needed to disaggregate Scotland from the overall UK.

Many indicators are rely on estimates, however, and Graeme Roy, director of the University of Strathclyde’s Fraser of Allander Institute, said even radically changing the estimation methods would not change Gers headline conclusions.

“Gers does provide a pretty accurate picture of where Scotland is in 2016-17,” Mr Roy said. “In doing so, it sets a useful starting point for a discussion about the immediate choices and challenges that need to be addressed by those advocating further constitutional change.”

So Scotland is skint & it if wasny for those nice Tories in England we would be sunk. Better staying in the UK & allowing them to make an arse of us & steal all our natural resources for another 300 odd years.

GTF.

June 2, 2018

Imange what a fully idependent Scotalnd could achieve! This is what they can do DESPITE the Tories.

Record health funding - over £13.1 billion in 2018-19, £4 billion more than when we took office.
Higher passes have exceeded 150,000 for the past three years, and we’re investing record amounts in schools to close the attainment gap. £120 million will go direct to schools this year alone.
Free tuition protected, saving students in Scotland up to £27,750 compared to the cost of studying in England.
Free, high quality childcare has been increased to 16 hours a week for all 3 and 4 year olds – up from 12.5 hours in 2007 – and extended to 2 year olds from low income households, saving families up to £2,500 per child per year in total.
We continue to meet our world-leading climate change targets. We remain well on track to achieve a 42 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
We’ve met our target to reduce youth unemployment by 40 per cent - four years early - and it is now amongst the lowest rates in the EU.
We’ve kept Council Tax down. Bills are lower in Scotland than in England - by £463 per year.
Prescription charges abolished. In England, patients are forced to pay £8.80 per item.
We’re leading the way on fair pay. Over 1,000 organisations are now accredited Living Wage employers - one quarter to the total across the UK.
Almost 72,500 affordable homes delivered, including 50,000 council or housing association homes.
16 and 17 year olds now have the right to vote in Scottish Parliament and local government elections.
To boost jobs and support businesses, we’ve slashed or abolished business rates for 100,000 premises – saving small businesses almost £1.5 billion to date.
Recorded crime in Scotland has reached its lowest level in 43 years.
Scotland, with one of the most progressive equal marriage laws in the world, is second only to Malta in Europe for LGBTI equality and human rights.
We’re standing up for Scottish industry.We have secured a future for Scottish steel, the last remaining aluminium smelter at Lochaber, and Ferguson shipyard too.

A healthier Scotland

The number of staff in our NHS is at a record high - up 13,200 since the SNP came to office.
Patient satisfaction continues to increase with 90 per cent of NHS Scotland patients rating their care and treatment as good or excellent.
Scotland’s A&E services are the best performing in the UK.
We are investing £110 million to support implementation of a new GP contract to support wider primary care reform.
We have brought forward plans for a £5 million expansion of the Golden Jubilee Hospital - the first part of our plan to invest £200 million in a network of elective and diagnostic treatment centres to help meet the needs of an ageing population.
Over £5 billion has been invested in Scotland’s health infrastructure since 2007, including the South Glasgow Hospitals and Emergency Care Centre in Aberdeen.
We’ve kept healthcare local. That means A&E units have been saved, children’s cancer services and neurosurgery units protected, and maternity units kept open.
Nurses in Scotland are better paid than anywhere else in the UK. A nurse in Scotland, at Band 5, is paid between £227 and £312 more than their English counterparts.
We’re supporting the lowest paid workers in our NHS by delivering the real Living Wage. Entry level pay for NHS support staff, Band 1, in Scotland is £1,128 higher than England, and over £1,867 higher than Northern Ireland.
We’re recruiting more GPs by increasing the number of training places from 300 to 400 each year.
We’re training more paramedics, with a commitment to train 1,000 more by the end of this Scottish Parliament term.
We’ve expanded IVF to more families – making access in Scotland the fairest and most generous in the UK.
Scotland has become the first country in the world to implement minimum unit pricing for alcohol.
Our hospitals are cleaner and safer. In over 65s cases of C.Diff are down 88 per cent, and cases of MRSA are down 94 per cent.
We are investing £100 million to improve the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
The risk from cervical cancer for the next generation of young women has been cut by providing the HPV vaccine for girls in second year of secondary school.
Scrapping parking charges at all NHS-run hospital car parks has saved patients and staff around £27 million.
Scotland has the highest number of GPs per head of population in the UK, and we’ve made sure more practices are now open in the evenings and at weekends.
Scotland was the first country in the UK to have a mental health waiting times target, and spending on mental health services in Scotland will exceed £1 billion for the first time in 2017-18.
A record nine in ten people are now registered with an NHS dentist – up from just 52 per cent when we took office.
More funding than ever before is being provided to support carers and young carers, with investment of over £135 million in a range of programmes since 2007.
We will begin the work to allow the implementation of ‘Franks Law’, providing free personal care for those under 65 who are assessed as needing it.
Irresponsible alcohol discounts in supermarkets and off-licences are now banned, and we’ve raised the legal age for buying tobacco to 18.
We’ve banned smoking in any vehicle carrying anyone under 18.
We have made key commitments to limit the promotion of products high in fat, sugar and salt, which disproportionately contribute to ill health and obesity.
We will set a new national aim to halve childhood obesity by 2030.
Everyone who uses social care services can now control their individual care budget through the Self-directed Support Act.
We’ve provided extra funding for Scotland’s veteran charities, and ensured our ex-service men and women receive priority treatment in the NHS and other services.
We will bring forward an Organ and Tissue Donation Bill to introduce a workable soft opt out system of organ donation, after consulting on ways to to further increase organ donation and transplantation.

A smarter Scotland

All children in primaries 1 to 3 – around 135,000 pupils – are now benefiting from free school meals, saving families around £380 per child per year.
We have launched the Scottish Attainment Challenge, and investment in that programme will be £750 million over the life of this Parliament.
Spending by local councils on education has increased in real terms for the past two years - up by £144 million in 2017-18.
More school pupils are now in well-designed, accessible and inclusive learning environments. Between 2007 and 2017, 751 schools were built or refurbished – more than twice as many as the previous Labour/LibDem administrations.
Record numbers of Scots are being accepted to study at university with record numbers from our most deprived communities too.
We have introduced a new £100 national minimum school clothing grant - meaning all eligible families will get the same level of support wherever you live.
The First Minister’s Reading Challenge, which aims to encourage children to read for pleasure, has been opened to all primary school pupils after the success of the initial scheme for primaries 4 to 7.
The Disabled Students Allowance has been protected and bursaries for students have been maintained in Scotland, while the Tories have abolished both elsewhere in the UK.
We’ve expanded the Education Maintenance Allowance in Scotland – now scrapped south of the border – to support even more school pupils and college students from low income families.
We continue to maintain at least 116,000 full-time equivalent Scottish Government-funded college places.
We’re supporting a further £300 million of investment to deliver new campuses at City of Glasgow, Inverness and Ayrshire Colleges. And we’re investing in new campuses for Forth Valley and Fife Colleges too.
We’re providing our further education students with record levels of support of £107 million in 2017-18 - up 32 per cent under the SNP.
The number of full-time college students completing recognised higher education qualifications is at an all-time high.
Full-time college students in Scotland can now benefit from the highest bursary of anywhere in the UK.
Graduates from Scottish universities are earning more than their counterparts in other UK nations.
Taken together, the package of support for university students is the best in the UK – with free tuition; low interest rates for student loan repayments; and a minimum income guarantee of £7,625. And we are committed to doing more.
We’ve introduced a new £20,000 bursary for career changers iming to become teachers in priority science, technology, engineering or maths (STEM) subjects.

A wealthier Scotland

Youth unemployment is now amongst the lowest in the EU.
Scotland is the top destination in the UK, outside of London, for foreign direct investment.
Today Scotland has the highest pay anywhere in the UK outside of London and the South East.
Scotland’s productivity is outperforming the UK as a whole. Since the start of the recession, productivity has increased by 7.6 per cent, while it has grown by only 0.6 per cent in the UK as a whole.
Over 230,000 young people have had the opportunity to undertake a Modern Apprenticeship since 2007. And by 2020, a further 30,000 opportunities will be available every year.
Councils have been enabled to build new homes for the first time in years – with 9,217 council homes delivered since 2007.
15,500 social houses for rent have been safeguarded by ending Right to Buy.
£500 million has been committed to stimulate and support economic growth in Glasgow and the Clyde Valley.
£125 million has been allocated through the Aberdeen City Region Deal to stimulate and support economic growth in the city, alongside an additional £254 million for infrastructure projects in the North-east.
We are investing £135 million in the Inverness and Highland City Region Deal – two and a half times the UK Government investment.
By the end of 2021 we will have committed £1 billion to tackling fuel poverty, and over one million energy efficiency measures have already been installed in almost one million households across Scotland.
We’ve helped people into homeownership through the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, which has kept more than 24,000 households out of tax compared to UK Stamp Duty that it replaced.
Public sector procurement has been simplified, with more small and medium-sized enterprises now competing for and winning public sector contracts.
The number of registered businesses in Scotland has reached 176,400, the highest number on record.
Scotland’s international exports - valued at £29.8 billion in 2016 - are up 44.6 per cent under the SNP.
Scotland’s tourism industry is going from strength to strength – in 2015 spending by tourists in Scotland generated around £11 billion.
We have established Innovation and Investment Hubs in London, Brussels, Dublin and Berlin, and in 2018-19 will open a hub in Paris.
Spending on economic development in Scotland is higher than the UK as a whole – to the tune of £43 per head.
We will invest a further £60 million to deliver innovative low carbon energy solutions, such as electricity storage and sustainable heating systems - to improve energy efficiency as we look to a low carbon future.
We won new powers over tax and social security, and protected Scotland’s budget from a £7 billion cut by the Treasury over the financial arrangements enabling new powers.
We have begun work to establish a Scottish National Investment Bank, committing £2 billion investment over ten years.

A fairer Scotland

All babies in Scotland are now provided with a Baby Box in a bid to reduce infant mortality and help families at the start of a child’s life.
In 2011, we became the first government in the UK to pay the real Living Wage to our staff, including all NHS workers. We have now extended the real Living Wage to all adult social care workers.
We have already ensured that nobody in Scotland has to pay the Bedroom Tax. And we will use new powers to effectively abolish it once and for all, protecting over 70,000 households.
Over 285,720 low income households in crisis have been helped to buy essentials such as nappies, food and cookers through our Scottish Welfare Fund since it was established in 2013.
1.3 million older and disabled people have benefited from free public transport through the National Concessionary Bus Travel Scheme.
Around 77,000 older people in Scotland benefit from access to a wide range of personal care tasks without being charged.
Over half a million vulnerable households in Scotland – including around 184,000 pensioners and almost 78,000 single parents – have been protected from UK Government cuts to Council Tax benefit.
We have passed a Child Poverty Bill which will set targets to end child poverty by 2030, and will establish a new £50 million fund to tackle poverty at a grassroots level.
We have already safeguarded the rights of almost 2,600 of the most severely disabled by establishing the Scottish Independent Living Fund.
We’ve kept Scottish Water in public hands. Customers are now paying less for a better service – charges for the average household bill in Scotland are £42 lower than in England and Wales.
Our new employment support programmes will be on a voluntary basis and will not interact with the UK government’s punitive benefit sanctions system.
Almost 500 companies have signed the Scottish Business Pledge - a voluntary code for companies to commit to policies that boost productivity, recognise fairness and increase diversity.
We are investing £185,000 to help women who have had career breaks back into the workplace, by investing in six Returners projects.
We have passed a new law requiring public bodies to work towards gender balance on their boards - the only part of the UK with such a statutory objective.
We now have Scotland’s first cabinet with an equal number of women and men.
A £300,000 Sports Equality Fund has benefited 14 projects with the aim of increasing women’s engagement in sport.
We are investing in £500,000 in a national scheme to improve access to sanitary products for women on low incomes. And from August sanitary products will be available free in all schools, colleges and universities.
We are working with local councils to end all burial and cremation charges with immediate effect for all under 18s.

A safer Scotland

Since we took office, non-sexual violent crime is down by 49 per cent, robberies are down 60 per cent and handling offensive weapons – including knife crime – is down by 68 per cent.
In Scotland, under the SNP, police numbers are up, while they’ve fallen in England.
The new Scottish Crime Campus provides a focal point for excellence in intelligence-sharing, evidence gathering and forensic science to tackle serious organised crime.
Automatic early release has been ended, meaning that long-term prisoners who pose an unacceptable risk to public safety will serve their sentence in full.
The reconviction rate has been reduced to its lowest level in 18 years, thanks to tough community sentences.
Since 2008, £92 million has been seized from criminals and has been reinvested in community projects for young people across Scotland.
We have passed a groundbreaking Domestic Violence Bill that creates a new specific offence to help tackle domestic abuse. This covers not just physical abuse, but also other forms of psychological abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour.
HMP Low Moss opened in March 2012 and HMP Grampian opened in March 2014, two major parts of our prison building programme.
We are investing almost £30 million to tackle domestic violence against women and girls.
We will create a new criminal offence of drug driving to come into force in 2019 - to tackle a growing threat and make our roads safer.
Access to air weapons has been tightened to improve public safety.
Tackling sectarianism has been backed up with record investment of £12.5 million.
The new Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has been created.
We have made the sharing of so-called ‘revenge porn’ a specific criminal offence, carrying a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment.
Scotland has the UK’s first national action plan on human rights, showing our ambition to be an example of how to realise human rights and tackle injustice at home and abroad.
We have introduced a Bill to the Scottish Parliament to raise the minimum age a child can be held criminally responsible from eight to 12, keeping children out of the court system and reinforcing Scotland’s commitment to international human rights standards.

Investing for the future

We have doubled the walking and cycling budget to £80 million per year.
We have delivered the £1.35 billion Queensferry Crossing.
We’ve connected Glasgow to Edinburgh with continuous motorway for the first time.
Commuters have saved around £2,280 since bridge tolls on the Forth Road Bridge and Tay Bridge were scrapped by the SNP.
Since 2007, £8 billion has been invested in our rail infrastructure.
The Borders Railway, the longest new domestic railway to be built in Britain in over
100 years, has reopened and welcomed over 1 million passengers in its first year.
A £5 billion investment programme in Scotland’s railways up to 2019 will deliver longer, greener trains, new stations, new track upgrades, more seats, and more services.
The first section of our £3 billion project to dual the A9 from Perth to Inverness has been completed.
Construction of the £745 million Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route is underway.
In the South of Scotland we’re taking forward the construction of the Maybole bypass on the A77, making further improvements to the A75 and exploring how to better connect Dumfries and the M74.
With government assistance a new buyer was found for the Ferguson shipyard in Port Glasgow and it has now delivered the first of two new hybrid ferries.
Scotland has now achieved 95 per cent fibre broadband coverage – and we’ll reach 100 per cent superfast coverage by 2021.

Empowering communities

Scotland’s independence referendum was the biggest democratic exercise in Scotland’s history.
We launched a £200,000 Access to Politics Fund to help disabled people stand for the 2017 local government elections. And we will continue the fund for the Scottish Parliament elections in 2021.
Local communities have been given a voice in the planning and delivery of local services - backed up by £20 million of funding - through the Community Empowerment Act.
The Scottish Land Fund has already helped 112 communities across the country to purchase land, with over 500,000 acres now in community ownership. And the Fund has been increased to £10 million per year.
The radical and ambitious Land Reform Act has been passed to transform rules around the ownership, accessibility and benefits of land in Scotland.

A greener Scotland

Scotland has exceeded its target to produce 50 per cent of its electricity from renewables by 2015 - with more than two-thirds of Scotland’s electricity needs met from renewable sources.
Scotland is outperforming the UK as a whole and most western European nations in cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Only Sweden and Finland have achieved greater reductions in Western Europe.
A new Bill will see Scotland continue to have the toughest climate change legislation in the world, as we aim to become one of the first countries to achieve a 100 per cent reduction in carbon emissions.
With the support of the SNP Scottish Government, low carbon industries in Scotland and their supply chains generated over £11 billion for the economy in 2016.
We have ensured that fracking and underground coal gasification cannot take place in Scotland.
Scotland’s household recycling rate was 45.2 per cent in 2016 – up from around 32 per cent for municipal waste in 2007.
Carrier bag use has been reduced by 80 per cent - the equivalent of 650 million bags - in the first year of the carrier bag charge.
To cut waste and keep our beaches clean, we are committed to banning plastic cotton buds and are looking into other ways we can tackle our throwaway culture.
We’ve helped make our communities safer from flooding with investment in flood defences and new measures in the Flooding Act. And we’ve agreed a new 10 year funding strategy for flood protection, consisting of £42 million a year, aiming to protect 10,000 families across Scotland.
By 2021, £21 million will have been distributed through the world-leading Climate Justice Fund, which is now supporting projects in Malawi, Zambia and Rwanda.
We are ensuring the clean, green status of our valuable food and drink sector is protected by opting out of the cultivation of genetically modified crops.

Supporting rural communities

A record £1 billion has been invested in vessels, ports and ferry services since 2007 as part of our commitment to our islands and remote communities, with six ferries added to CalMac’s fleet and two new ferries due for delivery in 2018.
We have passed an Islands Bill that will ensure future laws and public sector policies are ‘island-proof’ and reflect the interests of islanders. to meet the unique needs of Scotland’s islands and empower communities.
Road Equivalent Tariff has been rolled out to all ferry routes in the Clyde and Hebrides network, delivering significantly reduced ferry fares and the highest passenger numbers since 1997.
Residents of Caithness and north-west Sutherland, Colonsay, Islay, Jura, Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles are eligible for a 50 per cent discount on air fares.
With produce output worth around £2.3 billion a year and around 65,000 people directly employed, we work tirelessly to get the best deal for Scotland’s farmers, crofters and growers.
We played a key role in reforming EU fisheries policy to bring an end to the wasteful discarding of fish at sea.
We have begun work towards establishing a South of Scotland Enterprise Agency by 2020 to support businesses, jobs and skills in the region.
With food and drink exports valued over £5.5 billion and 14,000 new jobs estimated to be created in the sector by 2020, we strive to promote Scotland’s top quality produce.
We’ve frozen fares on Northern Isles ferries and, in 2018, we’ll introduce a scheme to reduce fares.
The clean, green status of our valuable food and drink sector has been protected by opting out of the cultivation of genetically modified crops in Scotland.
Scotland’s first National Marine Plan aims to achieve the sustainable development of our seas.
We are investing £6 million in a Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund to help ensure the services and facilities tourists and communities need are provided.

Enabling creativity and sport

Free access has been maintained to our national museums and galleries, which now welcome four million visitors every year.
We are ensuring Scotland is on the centre stage for major events, providing funding for the European Championships 2018, the Solheim Cup 2019 and the UEFA Euro 2020.
Since the SNP government backed the 'Daily Mile' challenge over half a million children in over 3,000 of Scotland's schools now walk or run a mile each day.
98 per cent of primary and secondary schools across Scotland are now providing two hours of physical education a week – up from 10 per cent in 2005.
Since 2007 production spend in Scotland has increased by 200 per cent - in 2018-19 we will double public sector funding for Scotland’s screen sector to £20 million and support the establishment of a dedicated unit for film and TV, based within Creative Scotland.
We have provided £19 million investment in Edinburgh’s major festivals since 2008. We will now add investment through a new five year, PLACE - Platform for Creative Excellence partnership, with £5 million each from Edinburgh City Council and the Scottish Government.
We have invested £25 million in the V&A Museum of Design in Dundee, which will open in 2018.
We are committed to supporting MG Alba, which operates BBC Alba and receives £12.8 million a year from the Scottish Government.

…but there’s still much more we want to do. Together, we will continue to shape a fairer, more successful Scotland.

June 2, 2018

35 minutes ago, Pans Jambo said:

Imange what a fully idependent Scotalnd could achieve! This is what they can do DESPITE the Tories.

Record health funding - over £13.1 billion in 2018-19, £4 billion more than when we took office.

Higher passes have exceeded 150,000 for the past three years, and we’re investing record amounts in schools to close the attainment gap. £120 million will go direct to schools this year alone.

Free tuition protected, saving students in Scotland up to £27,750 compared to the cost of studying in England.

Free, high quality childcare has been increased to 16 hours a week for all 3 and 4 year olds – up from 12.5 hours in 2007 – and extended to 2 year olds from low income households, saving families up to £2,500 per child per year in total.

We continue to meet our world-leading climate change targets. We remain well on track to achieve a 42 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

We’ve met our target to reduce youth unemployment by 40 per cent - four years early - and it is now amongst the lowest rates in the EU.

We’ve kept Council Tax down. Bills are lower in Scotland than in England - by £463 per year.

Prescription charges abolished. In England, patients are forced to pay £8.80 per item.

We’re leading the way on fair pay. Over 1,000 organisations are now accredited Living Wage employers - one quarter to the total across the UK.

Almost 72,500 affordable homes delivered, including 50,000 council or housing association homes.

16 and 17 year olds now have the right to vote in Scottish Parliament and local government elections.

To boost jobs and support businesses, we’ve slashed or abolished business rates for 100,000 premises – saving small businesses almost £1.5 billion to date.

Recorded crime in Scotland has reached its lowest level in 43 years.

Scotland, with one of the most progressive equal marriage laws in the world, is second only to Malta in Europe for LGBTI equality and human rights.

We’re standing up for Scottish industry.We have secured a future for Scottish steel, the last remaining aluminium smelter at Lochaber, and Ferguson shipyard too.

A healthier Scotland

The number of staff in our NHS is at a record high - up 13,200 since the SNP came to office.

Patient satisfaction continues to increase with 90 per cent of NHS Scotland patients rating their care and treatment as good or excellent.

Scotland’s A&E services are the best performing in the UK.

We are investing £110 million to support implementation of a new GP contract to support wider primary care reform.

We have brought forward plans for a £5 million expansion of the Golden Jubilee Hospital - the first part of our plan to invest £200 million in a network of elective and diagnostic treatment centres to help meet the needs of an ageing population.

Over £5 billion has been invested in Scotland’s health infrastructure since 2007, including the South Glasgow Hospitals and Emergency Care Centre in Aberdeen.

We’ve kept healthcare local. That means A&E units have been saved, children’s cancer services and neurosurgery units protected, and maternity units kept open.

Nurses in Scotland are better paid than anywhere else in the UK. A nurse in Scotland, at Band 5, is paid between £227 and £312 more than their English counterparts.

We’re supporting the lowest paid workers in our NHS by delivering the real Living Wage. Entry level pay for NHS support staff, Band 1, in Scotland is £1,128 higher than England, and over £1,867 higher than Northern Ireland.

We’re recruiting more GPs by increasing the number of training places from 300 to 400 each year.

We’re training more paramedics, with a commitment to train 1,000 more by the end of this Scottish Parliament term.

We’ve expanded IVF to more families – making access in Scotland the fairest and most generous in the UK.

Scotland has become the first country in the world to implement minimum unit pricing for alcohol.

Our hospitals are cleaner and safer. In over 65s cases of C.Diff are down 88 per cent, and cases of MRSA are down 94 per cent.

We are investing £100 million to improve the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

The risk from cervical cancer for the next generation of young women has been cut by providing the HPV vaccine for girls in second year of secondary school.

Scrapping parking charges at all NHS-run hospital car parks has saved patients and staff around £27 million.

Scotland has the highest number of GPs per head of population in the UK, and we’ve made sure more practices are now open in the evenings and at weekends.

Scotland was the first country in the UK to have a mental health waiting times target, and spending on mental health services in Scotland will exceed £1 billion for the first time in 2017-18.

A record nine in ten people are now registered with an NHS dentist – up from just 52 per cent when we took office.

More funding than ever before is being provided to support carers and young carers, with investment of over £135 million in a range of programmes since 2007.

We will begin the work to allow the implementation of ‘Franks Law’, providing free personal care for those under 65 who are assessed as needing it.

Irresponsible alcohol discounts in supermarkets and off-licences are now banned, and we’ve raised the legal age for buying tobacco to 18.

We’ve banned smoking in any vehicle carrying anyone under 18.

We have made key commitments to limit the promotion of products high in fat, sugar and salt, which disproportionately contribute to ill health and obesity.

We will set a new national aim to halve childhood obesity by 2030.

Everyone who uses social care services can now control their individual care budget through the Self-directed Support Act.

We’ve provided extra funding for Scotland’s veteran charities, and ensured our ex-service men and women receive priority treatment in the NHS and other services.

We will bring forward an Organ and Tissue Donation Bill to introduce a workable soft opt out system of organ donation, after consulting on ways to to further increase organ donation and transplantation.

A smarter Scotland

All children in primaries 1 to 3 – around 135,000 pupils – are now benefiting from free school meals, saving families around £380 per child per year.

We have launched the Scottish Attainment Challenge, and investment in that programme will be £750 million over the life of this Parliament.

Spending by local councils on education has increased in real terms for the past two years - up by £144 million in 2017-18.

More school pupils are now in well-designed, accessible and inclusive learning environments. Between 2007 and 2017, 751 schools were built or refurbished – more than twice as many as the previous Labour/LibDem administrations.

Record numbers of Scots are being accepted to study at university with record numbers from our most deprived communities too.

We have introduced a new £100 national minimum school clothing grant - meaning all eligible families will get the same level of support wherever you live.

The First Minister’s Reading Challenge, which aims to encourage children to read for pleasure, has been opened to all primary school pupils after the success of the initial scheme for primaries 4 to 7.

The Disabled Students Allowance has been protected and bursaries for students have been maintained in Scotland, while the Tories have abolished both elsewhere in the UK.

We’ve expanded the Education Maintenance Allowance in Scotland – now scrapped south of the border – to support even more school pupils and college students from low income families.

We continue to maintain at least 116,000 full-time equivalent Scottish Government-funded college places.

We’re supporting a further £300 million of investment to deliver new campuses at City of Glasgow, Inverness and Ayrshire Colleges. And we’re investing in new campuses for Forth Valley and Fife Colleges too.

We’re providing our further education students with record levels of support of £107 million in 2017-18 - up 32 per cent under the SNP.

The number of full-time college students completing recognised higher education qualifications is at an all-time high.

Full-time college students in Scotland can now benefit from the highest bursary of anywhere in the UK.

Graduates from Scottish universities are earning more than their counterparts in other UK nations.

Taken together, the package of support for university students is the best in the UK – with free tuition; low interest rates for student loan repayments; and a minimum income guarantee of £7,625. And we are committed to doing more.

We’ve introduced a new £20,000 bursary for career changers iming to become teachers in priority science, technology, engineering or maths (STEM) subjects.

A wealthier Scotland

Youth unemployment is now amongst the lowest in the EU.

Scotland is the top destination in the UK, outside of London, for foreign direct investment.

Today Scotland has the highest pay anywhere in the UK outside of London and the South East.

Scotland’s productivity is outperforming the UK as a whole. Since the start of the recession, productivity has increased by 7.6 per cent, while it has grown by only 0.6 per cent in the UK as a whole.

Over 230,000 young people have had the opportunity to undertake a Modern Apprenticeship since 2007. And by 2020, a further 30,000 opportunities will be available every year.

Councils have been enabled to build new homes for the first time in years – with 9,217 council homes delivered since 2007.

15,500 social houses for rent have been safeguarded by ending Right to Buy.

£500 million has been committed to stimulate and support economic growth in Glasgow and the Clyde Valley.

£125 million has been allocated through the Aberdeen City Region Deal to stimulate and support economic growth in the city, alongside an additional £254 million for infrastructure projects in the North-east.

We are investing £135 million in the Inverness and Highland City Region Deal – two and a half times the UK Government investment.

By the end of 2021 we will have committed £1 billion to tackling fuel poverty, and over one million energy efficiency measures have already been installed in almost one million households across Scotland.

We’ve helped people into homeownership through the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, which has kept more than 24,000 households out of tax compared to UK Stamp Duty that it replaced.

Public sector procurement has been simplified, with more small and medium-sized enterprises now competing for and winning public sector contracts.

The number of registered businesses in Scotland has reached 176,400, the highest number on record.

Scotland’s international exports - valued at £29.8 billion in 2016 - are up 44.6 per cent under the SNP.

Scotland’s tourism industry is going from strength to strength – in 2015 spending by tourists in Scotland generated around £11 billion.

We have established Innovation and Investment Hubs in London, Brussels, Dublin and Berlin, and in 2018-19 will open a hub in Paris.

Spending on economic development in Scotland is higher than the UK as a whole – to the tune of £43 per head.

We will invest a further £60 million to deliver innovative low carbon energy solutions, such as electricity storage and sustainable heating systems - to improve energy efficiency as we look to a low carbon future.

We won new powers over tax and social security, and protected Scotland’s budget from a £7 billion cut by the Treasury over the financial arrangements enabling new powers.

We have begun work to establish a Scottish National Investment Bank, committing £2 billion investment over ten years.

A fairer Scotland

All babies in Scotland are now provided with a Baby Box in a bid to reduce infant mortality and help families at the start of a child’s life.

In 2011, we became the first government in the UK to pay the real Living Wage to our staff, including all NHS workers. We have now extended the real Living Wage to all adult social care workers.

We have already ensured that nobody in Scotland has to pay the Bedroom Tax. And we will use new powers to effectively abolish it once and for all, protecting over 70,000 households.

Over 285,720 low income households in crisis have been helped to buy essentials such as nappies, food and cookers through our Scottish Welfare Fund since it was established in 2013.

1.3 million older and disabled people have benefited from free public transport through the National Concessionary Bus Travel Scheme.

Around 77,000 older people in Scotland benefit from access to a wide range of personal care tasks without being charged.

Over half a million vulnerable households in Scotland – including around 184,000 pensioners and almost 78,000 single parents – have been protected from UK Government cuts to Council Tax benefit.

We have passed a Child Poverty Bill which will set targets to end child poverty by 2030, and will establish a new £50 million fund to tackle poverty at a grassroots level.

We have already safeguarded the rights of almost 2,600 of the most severely disabled by establishing the Scottish Independent Living Fund.

We’ve kept Scottish Water in public hands. Customers are now paying less for a better service – charges for the average household bill in Scotland are £42 lower than in England and Wales.

Our new employment support programmes will be on a voluntary basis and will not interact with the UK government’s punitive benefit sanctions system.

Almost 500 companies have signed the Scottish Business Pledge - a voluntary code for companies to commit to policies that boost productivity, recognise fairness and increase diversity.

We are investing £185,000 to help women who have had career breaks back into the workplace, by investing in six Returners projects.

We have passed a new law requiring public bodies to work towards gender balance on their boards - the only part of the UK with such a statutory objective.

We now have Scotland’s first cabinet with an equal number of women and men.

A £300,000 Sports Equality Fund has benefited 14 projects with the aim of increasing women’s engagement in sport.

We are investing in £500,000 in a national scheme to improve access to sanitary products for women on low incomes. And from August sanitary products will be available free in all schools, colleges and universities.

We are working with local councils to end all burial and cremation charges with immediate effect for all under 18s.

A safer Scotland

Since we took office, non-sexual violent crime is down by 49 per cent, robberies are down 60 per cent and handling offensive weapons – including knife crime – is down by 68 per cent.

In Scotland, under the SNP, police numbers are up, while they’ve fallen in England.

The new Scottish Crime Campus provides a focal point for excellence in intelligence-sharing, evidence gathering and forensic science to tackle serious organised crime.

Automatic early release has been ended, meaning that long-term prisoners who pose an unacceptable risk to public safety will serve their sentence in full.

The reconviction rate has been reduced to its lowest level in 18 years, thanks to tough community sentences.

Since 2008, £92 million has been seized from criminals and has been reinvested in community projects for young people across Scotland.

We have passed a groundbreaking Domestic Violence Bill that creates a new specific offence to help tackle domestic abuse. This covers not just physical abuse, but also other forms of psychological abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour.

HMP Low Moss opened in March 2012 and HMP Grampian opened in March 2014, two major parts of our prison building programme.

We are investing almost £30 million to tackle domestic violence against women and girls.

We will create a new criminal offence of drug driving to come into force in 2019 - to tackle a growing threat and make our roads safer.

Access to air weapons has been tightened to improve public safety.

Tackling sectarianism has been backed up with record investment of £12.5 million.

The new Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has been created.

We have made the sharing of so-called ‘revenge porn’ a specific criminal offence, carrying a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment.

Scotland has the UK’s first national action plan on human rights, showing our ambition to be an example of how to realise human rights and tackle injustice at home and abroad.

We have introduced a Bill to the Scottish Parliament to raise the minimum age a child can be held criminally responsible from eight to 12, keeping children out of the court system and reinforcing Scotland’s commitment to international human rights standards.

Investing for the future

We have doubled the walking and cycling budget to £80 million per year.

We have delivered the £1.35 billion Queensferry Crossing.

We’ve connected Glasgow to Edinburgh with continuous motorway for the first time.

Commuters have saved around £2,280 since bridge tolls on the Forth Road Bridge and Tay Bridge were scrapped by the SNP.

Since 2007, £8 billion has been invested in our rail infrastructure.

The Borders Railway, the longest new domestic railway to be built in Britain in over

100 years, has reopened and welcomed over 1 million passengers in its first year.

A £5 billion investment programme in Scotland’s railways up to 2019 will deliver longer, greener trains, new stations, new track upgrades, more seats, and more services.

The first section of our £3 billion project to dual the A9 from Perth to Inverness has been completed.

Construction of the £745 million Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route is underway.

In the South of Scotland we’re taking forward the construction of the Maybole bypass on the A77, making further improvements to the A75 and exploring how to better connect Dumfries and the M74.

With government assistance a new buyer was found for the Ferguson shipyard in Port Glasgow and it has now delivered the first of two new hybrid ferries.

Scotland has now achieved 95 per cent fibre broadband coverage – and we’ll reach 100 per cent superfast coverage by 2021.

Empowering communities

Scotland’s independence referendum was the biggest democratic exercise in Scotland’s history.

We launched a £200,000 Access to Politics Fund to help disabled people stand for the 2017 local government elections. And we will continue the fund for the Scottish Parliament elections in 2021.

Local communities have been given a voice in the planning and delivery of local services - backed up by £20 million of funding - through the Community Empowerment Act.

The Scottish Land Fund has already helped 112 communities across the country to purchase land, with over 500,000 acres now in community ownership. And the Fund has been increased to £10 million per year.

The radical and ambitious Land Reform Act has been passed to transform rules around the ownership, accessibility and benefits of land in Scotland.

A greener Scotland

Scotland has exceeded its target to produce 50 per cent of its electricity from renewables by 2015 - with more than two-thirds of Scotland’s electricity needs met from renewable sources.

Scotland is outperforming the UK as a whole and most western European nations in cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Only Sweden and Finland have achieved greater reductions in Western Europe.

A new Bill will see Scotland continue to have the toughest climate change legislation in the world, as we aim to become one of the first countries to achieve a 100 per cent reduction in carbon emissions.

With the support of the SNP Scottish Government, low carbon industries in Scotland and their supply chains generated over £11 billion for the economy in 2016.

We have ensured that fracking and underground coal gasification cannot take place in Scotland.

Scotland’s household recycling rate was 45.2 per cent in 2016 – up from around 32 per cent for municipal waste in 2007.

Carrier bag use has been reduced by 80 per cent - the equivalent of 650 million bags - in the first year of the carrier bag charge.

To cut waste and keep our beaches clean, we are committed to banning plastic cotton buds and are looking into other ways we can tackle our throwaway culture.

We’ve helped make our communities safer from flooding with investment in flood defences and new measures in the Flooding Act. And we’ve agreed a new 10 year funding strategy for flood protection, consisting of £42 million a year, aiming to protect 10,000 families across Scotland.

By 2021, £21 million will have been distributed through the world-leading Climate Justice Fund, which is now supporting projects in Malawi, Zambia and Rwanda.

We are ensuring the clean, green status of our valuable food and drink sector is protected by opting out of the cultivation of genetically modified crops.

Supporting rural communities

A record £1 billion has been invested in vessels, ports and ferry services since 2007 as part of our commitment to our islands and remote communities, with six ferries added to CalMac’s fleet and two new ferries due for delivery in 2018.

We have passed an Islands Bill that will ensure future laws and public sector policies are ‘island-proof’ and reflect the interests of islanders. to meet the unique needs of Scotland’s islands and empower communities.

Road Equivalent Tariff has been rolled out to all ferry routes in the Clyde and Hebrides network, delivering significantly reduced ferry fares and the highest passenger numbers since 1997.

Residents of Caithness and north-west Sutherland, Colonsay, Islay, Jura, Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles are eligible for a 50 per cent discount on air fares.

With produce output worth around £2.3 billion a year and around 65,000 people directly employed, we work tirelessly to get the best deal for Scotland’s farmers, crofters and growers.

We played a key role in reforming EU fisheries policy to bring an end to the wasteful discarding of fish at sea.

We have begun work towards establishing a South of Scotland Enterprise Agency by 2020 to support businesses, jobs and skills in the region.

With food and drink exports valued over £5.5 billion and 14,000 new jobs estimated to be created in the sector by 2020, we strive to promote Scotland’s top quality produce.

We’ve frozen fares on Northern Isles ferries and, in 2018, we’ll introduce a scheme to reduce fares.

The clean, green status of our valuable food and drink sector has been protected by opting out of the cultivation of genetically modified crops in Scotland.

Scotland’s first National Marine Plan aims to achieve the sustainable development of our seas.

We are investing £6 million in a Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund to help ensure the services and facilities tourists and communities need are provided.

Enabling creativity and sport

Free access has been maintained to our national museums and galleries, which now welcome four million visitors every year.

We are ensuring Scotland is on the centre stage for major events, providing funding for the European Championships 2018, the Solheim Cup 2019 and the UEFA Euro 2020.

Since the SNP government backed the 'Daily Mile' challenge over half a million children in over 3,000 of Scotland's schools now walk or run a mile each day.

98 per cent of primary and secondary schools across Scotland are now providing two hours of physical education a week – up from 10 per cent in 2005.

Since 2007 production spend in Scotland has increased by 200 per cent - in 2018-19 we will double public sector funding for Scotland’s screen sector to £20 million and support the establishment of a dedicated unit for film and TV, based within Creative Scotland.

We have provided £19 million investment in Edinburgh’s major festivals since 2008. We will now add investment through a new five year, PLACE - Platform for Creative Excellence partnership, with £5 million each from Edinburgh City Council and the Scottish Government.

We have invested £25 million in the V&A Museum of Design in Dundee, which will open in 2018.

We are committed to supporting MG Alba, which operates BBC Alba and receives £12.8 million a year from the Scottish Government.

…but there’s still much more we want to do. Together, we will continue to shape a fairer, more successful Scotland.

And all that with 8.7% real cuts in spending.

Looking forward to the England and Wales figures.

June 2, 2018

Война и миръ not once but twice in the space of an hour or so. Not only that but in large text for the hard of hearing.

I am certainly not quoting it again as not everyone has 200mbs internet access but most of what is listed could have been achieved by our erstwhile Regional Councils - within the U.K. and with a considerably better working relationship than the current Scottish Government.

June 3, 2018

37 minutes ago, Thunderstruck said:

Война и миръ not once but twice in the space of an hour or so. Not only that but in large text for the hard of hearing.

I am certainly not quoting it again as not everyone has 200mbs internet access but most of what is listed could have been achieved by our erstwhile Regional Councils - within the U.K. and with a considerably better working relationship than the current Scottish Government.

“Erstwhile regional councils”

June 3, 2018

2 hours ago, Space Mackerel said:

And all that with 8.7% real cuts in spending.

Looking forward to the England and Wales figures.

I totally never noticed how perfect it is in Scotland, cos it is rubbish. But now you point out that everything is perfect, I believe you .

June 3, 2018

4 minutes ago, AuldReekie444 said:

I totally never noticed how perfect it is in Scotland, cos it is rubbish. But now you point out that everything is perfect, I believe you .

Its just as shit down there, some posters on here think it’s nirvana though.

That’s why down South they voted Brexit to get rid of the “establishment” and make changes.

They had the balls to do it. I actually admire England and Wales for their courage.

June 3, 2018

1 minute ago, Space Mackerel said:

Its just as shit down there, some posters on here think it’s nirvana though.

That’s why down South they voted Brexit to get rid of the “establishment” and make changes.

They had the balls to do it. I actually admire England and Wales for their courage.

UK.

June 3, 2018

10 minutes ago, AuldReekie444 said:

UK.

Divided Kingdom these days, even North England are fed up.

Keep beating that drum though.

June 3, 2018

6 hours ago, Pans Jambo said:

So Scotland is skint & it if wasny for those nice Tories in England we would be sunk. Better staying in the UK & allowing them to make an arse of us & steal all our natural resources for another 300 odd years.

GTF.

I was asked to post the article so I did. You clearly think you know better than the FT so rather than rant at me take it up with them. I am going to guess you are one of those who are paranoid the media is all anti independence.

June 3, 2018

1 hour ago, Brighton Jambo said:

I was asked to post the article so I did. You clearly think you know better than the FT so rather than rant at me take it up with them. I am going to guess you are one of those who are paranoid the media is all anti independence.

The hardcore have been lashing out wildly since the Austerity Report came out the other week.

June 3, 2018

2 hours ago, Brighton Jambo said:

I was asked to post the article so I did. You clearly think you know better than the FT so rather than rant at me take it up with them. I am going to guess you are one of those who are paranoid the media is all anti independence.

Well the BBC, ITV, Daily Mail, Mirror, Sun, Record, Scotsman et-al are blatantly pro-Scottish Independece are they not???

Paranoid though eh... :facepalm:

Edited June 3, 2018 by Pans Jambo

June 3, 2018

3 hours ago, Pans Jambo said:

Well the BBC, ITV, Daily Mail, Mirror, Sun, Record, Scotsman et-al are blatantly pro-Scottish Independece are they not???

Paranoid though eh...

Edited June 3, 2018 by Brighton Jambo

June 3, 2018

Scottish Sun is pro snp/independence as is the Sunday Herald. Just like the oddity (re Brexit) of the Daily Mail being pro Brexit and the Mail on Sunday being pro remain. Who am I to suggest a cynical ploy to sell papers!! :laugh:

June 3, 2018

6 hours ago, pablo said:

The hardcore have been lashing out wildly since the Austerity Report came out the other week.

I cant make up my mind as to whether the SNP were brave or stupid to allow the report to come out.

Most SNP voters I know (and there are a few) want independence as "freedom from Westminster" - which is fair enough but they rarely defend the financial reality of Independence. This SNP report points to the harsh realities and those who still want "FREEDOM!!!" - live in a dream world.

June 3, 2018

16 minutes ago, lost in space said:

I cant make up my mind as to whether the SNP were brave or stupid to allow the report to come out.

Most SNP voters I know (and there are a few) want independence as "freedom from Westminster" - which is fair enough but they rarely defend the financial reality of Independence. This SNP report points to the harsh realities and those who still want "FREEDOM!!!" - live in a dream world.

Regretfully I agree, there is nothing positive about independence calls, it is 90% anti-English, though of course this is denied, but that'll be Westminsters fault too.

The latest finance reports are very scary, it is inevitable that Socttish tax will go up even more, though the blame will be cast south, even though down south there is no tax increase. We need to stop the freebies up here.

June 3, 2018

Too many posters hung up on the SNP. It won't matter what they say, do or present it will get rubbished and for that alone they must be doing something right. They are after all the largest anti establishment vehicle. It's Westminster that needs to change and that will never happen. Why not give Scotland the purse strings for a decade and if it fails we've proved we cannot run the economy. Can't do much worse than any of the other jokers.

No anti English sentiment or shouts of "freedom!"

June 3, 2018

The idea of the SNP being anti establishment is quite frankly laughable. They're a centre ground party of austerity.

How they managed to hoodwink lefties in to standing alongside Nationalism was pretty genius though.

I suspect that relationship will be coming to an end over the next few years now.

June 3, 2018

Well said Pablo!

June 3, 2018

15 minutes ago, pablo said:

The idea of the SNP being anti establishment is quite frankly laughable. They're a centre ground party of austerity.

How they managed to hoodwink lefties in to standing alongside Nationalism was pretty genius though.

I suspect that relationship will be coming to an end over the next few years now.

In your mind and Stuart Lyon's. The relationship has been coming to an end for a while according to the haters. Just imagine if they had the media on their side even a little balance.

Still the biggest anti establishment party and I would go for a small c Conservative Scottish party if we ever achieved independence not one like the morons Ruth and May infest.

June 3, 2018

11 minutes ago, Roxy Hearts said:

Too many posters hung up on the SNP. It won't matter what they say, do or present it will get rubbished and for that alone they must be doing something right. They are after all the largest anti establishment vehicle. It's Westminster that needs to change and that will never happen. Why not give Scotland the purse strings for a decade and if it fails we've proved we cannot run the economy. Can't do much worse than any of the other jokers.

No anti English sentiment or shouts of "freedom!"

“Anti-Establishment”?

Perhaps - if casting whichever party is in power at Westminster as “hated” is being anti-establishment. It was Labour’s turn for 3 years, then it was the Tories, then we had a resurgence of Labour when it was thought that Corbyn might succeed. Sadly, for a significant proportion of nationalists, hatred doesn’t end with politicians.

“Patriotism is where love of your own people comes first; Nationalism, where hatred of people other than your own comes first.” (De Gaulle)

“Give them 10 years” - they have had 11 already and, a few administrative successes apart, they have achieved very little.

The Council Tax freeze - choosing to reduce spending rather than modify tax (and then top that up with Small Business Bonus Scheme). That is “austerity” as it is currently defined in the U.K. and it happened here 2 years before the Tories came to power.

The truth is is that they have had levers all the time they were in power and those powers and levers have increased steadily over the 11 years. The inconvenient truth is that they have been running scared of implementing them for fear of negative business impacts or fear of creating an electorally damaging comparison with England.

It took a decade to get to the point where pressure to vary income tax was implemented and they had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to make even that relatively small change.

June 3, 2018

3 minutes ago, Thunderstruck said:

“Anti-Establishment”?

Perhaps - if casting whichever party is in power at Westminster as “hated” is being anti-establishment. It was Labour’s turn for 3 years, then it was the Tories, then we had a resurgence of Labour when it was thought that Corbyn might succeed. Sadly, for a significant proportion of nationalists, hatred doesn’t end with politicians.

“Patriotism is where love of your own people comes first; Nationalism, where hatred of people other than your own comes first.” (De Gaulle)

“Give them 10 years” - they have had 11 already and, a few administrative successes apart, they have achieved very little.

The Council Tax freeze - choosing to reduce spending rather than modify tax (and then top that up with Small Business Bonus Scheme). That is “austerity” as it is currently defined in the U.K. and it happened here 2 years before the Tories came to power.

The truth is is that they have had levers all the time they were in power and those powers and levers have increased steadily over the 11 years. The inconvenient truth is that they have been running scared of implementing them for fear of negative business impacts or fear of creating an electorally damaging comparison with England.

It took a decade to get to the point where pressure to vary income tax was implemented and they had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to make even that relatively small change.

Great post, it’s the classic SNP dilemma. If they truly utilised all their devolved powers and made Scotland a flourishing vibrant economy/society then people people could say why risk independence when the status quo is so successful. So instead they fail to utilise their devolved powers preferring instead to keep things pretty average and challenging in the hope that the discontent and relentless attacks on Westminster lead people to vote yes in protest. The latter strategy is so transparent and not working surely they should now consider the former.

June 3, 2018

1 hour ago, pablo said:

The idea of the SNP being anti establishment is quite frankly laughable. They're a centre ground party of austerity.

How they managed to hoodwink lefties in to standing alongside Nationalism was pretty genius though.

I suspect that relationship will be coming to an end over the next few years now.

:rofl: :rofl:

June 3, 2018

2 hours ago, Roxy Hearts said:

Too many posters hung up on the SNP. It won't matter what they say, do or present it will get rubbished and for that alone they must be doing something right. They are after all the largest anti establishment vehicle. It's Westminster that needs to change and that will never happen. Why not give Scotland the purse strings for a decade and if it fails we've proved we cannot run the economy. Can't do much worse than any of the other jokers.

No anti English sentiment or shouts of "freedom!"

It is not a matter of people being hung up, it is the oain of seeing our economy slowly going down the toilet. For example the building idustry in Soctland is so diminished teh big ocntractors are disappearing one by one.

June 3, 2018

1 hour ago, The Real Maroonblood said:

Laughing in the face of adversity.

A truly British characteristic.

June 3, 2018

2 minutes ago, Trapper John McIntyre said:

Laughing in the face of adversity.

A truly British characteristic.

:lol: :lol:

June 3, 2018

6 hours ago, pablo said:

The idea of the SNP being anti establishment is quite frankly laughable. They're a centre ground party of austerity.

How they managed to hoodwink lefties in to standing alongside Nationalism was pretty genius though.

I suspect that relationship will be coming to an end over the next few years now.

The SNP may well be what you say they are, but to many it would seem that they are a means to an end, I.e. Independence.

i mean, where are all these lefties going to go if they stop voting SNP? Greens, perhaps? SSP? I doubt that. Labour? Hmm...

Whilst I can see why unionists find this amusing, particularly Tories who have an inflated opinion of their party's strength, don't they see that a splinter in the SNP benefits the Tories least?

Again, the conflation between yes voters and the SNP is writ large in this schadenfreude. Not to mention that should independence occur, who is to say that the findings of the growth commission would be enacted? By anyone?

June 3, 2018

5 minutes ago, Boris said:

The SNP may well be what you say they are, but to many it would seem that they are a means to an end, I.e. Independence.

i mean, where are all these lefties going to go if they stop voting SNP? Greens, perhaps? SSP? I doubt that. Labour? Hmm...

Whilst I can see why unionists find this amusing, particularly Tories who have an inflated opinion of their party's strength, don't they see that a splinter in the SNP benefits the Tories least?

Again, the conflation between yes voters and the SNP is writ large in this schadenfreude. Not to mention that should independence occur, who is to say that the findings of the growth commission would be enacted? By anyone?

You are right, the SNP/Yes intersection is not the entire extent of Yes Voters. If, however, you were to measure SNP support in other elections against Yes in the referendum, you will see a very close correlation.

Is it not fair to suggest that the Growth Commission findings are casting an independent Scotland’s economic future in the best possible light (without resorting to falsehood)? Why, then, would the thrust of the findings not be implemented?

June 4, 2018

On 22/05/2018 at 11:45, SpruceBringsteen said:

The Sturge and Co, VILE CYBERNATS and Yoons alike all need to wipe the spittle from their mouths, break out a deckchair and relax.

Once Brexit fails to improve the life of Barnsley Brian, he'll soon set his cross eyed sights elsewhere. Scottish independence won't be won by Scottish votes.

2 hours ago, Barack said:

England seemingly on course to seek independence from the UK, as disillusioned voters share their unhappiness...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-44142843

June 4, 2018

7 hours ago, Thunderstruck said:

You are right, the SNP/Yes intersection is not the entire extent of Yes Voters. If, however, you were to measure SNP support in other elections against Yes in the referendum, you will see a very close correlation.

Is it not fair to suggest that the Growth Commission findings are casting an independent Scotland’s economic future in the best possible light (without resorting to falsehood)? Why, then, would the thrust of the findings not be implemented?

I guess my point was whilst these lefties many become disillusioned with the SNP, it doesn't follow that they are disillusioned with Indy.

second point, absolutely, don't disagree with your reasoning there, however it pre supposes an SNP government post independence.

June 4, 2018

5 hours ago, SpruceBringsteen said:

June 4, 2018

3 hours ago, Boris said:

I guess my point was whilst these lefties many become disillusioned with the SNP, it doesn't follow that they are disillusioned with Indy.

second point, absolutely, don't disagree with your reasoning there, however it pre supposes an SNP government post independence.

Re the last point, what I was trying to say is that a post-independence government of any hue would be constrained by the same limitations as those outlined by the Commission.

It may be that alternatives are out there that might paint a rosier picture or, indeed, circumstances might change but the country would have to get there first and the only Party with any chance of attaining that objective is the SNP. Without a better “sell” than that contained in the report, it will remain beyond reach.

It is no longer a short term objective, instead it really is a “generational” issue - decades away. Do the more strident advocates have the patience? It doesn’t seem so.

June 4, 2018

1 hour ago, Thunderstruck said:

Re the last point, what I was trying to say is that a post-independence government of any hue would be constrained by the same limitations as those outlined by the Commission.

It may be that alternatives are out there that might paint a rosier picture or, indeed, circumstances might change but the country would have to get there first and the only Party with any chance of attaining that objective is the SNP. Without a better “sell” than that contained in the report, it will remain beyond reach.

It is no longer a short term objective, instead it really is a “generational” issue - decades away. Do the more strident advocates have the patience? It doesn’t seem so.

Perhaps, you do have a point.

Equally, Brexit etc, it doesn't look too rosy in the UK.

Either way, we're goosed!

June 4, 2018

Why is the GDP of similar sized independent countries like Ireland, Norway and Denmark etc. Much higher than Scotland Despite having oil etc.?

Never understood how that happens...

Edited June 4, 2018 by Pans Jambo

June 4, 2018

Obviously the over 65 English population are way less likely to have non English ancestry and have any conflict about identity. The BBC even highlight this fact with their photo. Absolutely nothing to do with Brexit.

Edited June 4, 2018 by JackLadd

June 4, 2018

10 hours ago, SpruceBringsteen said:

:jjyay:

June 4, 2018

On 27/05/2018 at 07:01, ri Alban said:

There is nothing negative that outweighs the realisation of the recovering of Scotland from the coma it's been under for 300+ years. Nothing! The rest is all bs from biased agenda making.

?

Yep, as long as we can all shout "Freedom" from the rooftops it doesn't matter if we have no money. Brilliant.

June 4, 2018

27 minutes ago, Wham Bam Austin McCann said:

?

Yep, as long as we can all shout "Freedom" from the rooftops it doesn't matter if we have no money. Brilliant.

Or we can have no money and be quiet, like just now. Great.

Has the Scottish economy been deliberately engineered as such so that it can't leave the UK should it wish to? Genuine question, because IMO, there is no reason why Scotland couldn't survive on its own. I suppose when it comes to recalibrating the economy to one of a nation rather than a regional economy, that's where the tough love starts.

June 4, 2018

1 hour ago, Pans Jambo said:

Why is the GDP of similar sized independent countries like Ireland, Norway and Denmark etc. Much higher than Scotland Despite having oil etc.?

Never understood how that happens...

In the case of Ireland, Corporation Tax is one reason (see below).

These countries may have higher GDP and other indicators may also differ - have you considered all of these in the round. A comparison of cost of living between Dublin and Glasgow is included below.

Other factors to consider are healthcare costs, overall general taxation levels, unemployment levels. Would you like Norwegian levels of taxation?

June 4, 2018

1 hour ago, Thunderstruck said:

In the case of Ireland, Corporation Tax is one reason (see below).

These countries may have higher GDP and other indicators may also differ - have you considered all of these in the round. A comparison of cost of living between Dublin and Glasgow is included below.

Other factors to consider are healthcare costs, overall general taxation levels, unemployment levels. Would you like Norwegian levels of taxation?

Nope. Just GDP. The total turnover. Not interested in what it costs to rent a flat or whatever.

Come on. You know the real answer...

June 4, 2018

21 minutes ago, Pans Jambo said:

Nope. Just GDP. The total turnover. Not interested in what it costs to rent a flat or whatever.

Come on. You know the real answer...

The low tax already mentioned is the biggest reason as was already explained.

1 hour ago, Thunderstruck said:

In the case of Ireland, Corporation Tax is one reason (see below).

If you have a look at the historic GDP figures for Ireland you can clearly see the impact of the lower tax policy started in 1987

ireland-gdp.png?s=wgdpirel&v=20180418144

What do you think "the real answer" is ?

June 4, 2018

3 hours ago, Boris said:

Or we can have no money and be quiet, like just now. Great.

Has the Scottish economy been deliberately engineered as such so that it can't leave the UK should it wish to? Genuine question, because IMO, there is no reason why Scotland couldn't survive on its own. I suppose when it comes to recalibrating the economy to one of a nation rather than a regional economy, that's where the tough love starts.

Westminster want it both ways. If it's good they take the credit and not good it's the Scottish Government, well the SNP(forgot, need to bash them).

June 4, 2018

2 hours ago, Pans Jambo said:

Nope. Just GDP. The total turnover. Not interested in what it costs to rent a flat or whatever.

Come on. You know the real answer...

Turnover is for vanity, profit for sanity but only cash is reality.

You can can have a high GDP and still have a country where quality of life is comparatively poor, a country where costs are high - costs such as rents, food, travel and healthcare. A country where personal taxation is high and services expensive. It is the cash in pocket that matters not some economic measure.

Do do you have any notion of the differences between factors such as cost of healthcare and cost of living in the countries you quote. I suspect not.

June 4, 2018

4 hours ago, Boris said:

Or we can have no money and be quiet, like just now. Great.

Has the Scottish economy been deliberately engineered as such so that it can't leave the UK should it wish to? Genuine question, because IMO, there is no reason why Scotland couldn't survive on its own. I suppose when it comes to recalibrating the economy to one of a nation rather than a regional economy, that's where the tough love starts.

It’s the “tough love” part that has been the elephant in the room.

It is quite a turnaround in 4 years from when we were all going to be thousands of pounds better off by voting for independence (or independence-lite if truth be told).

Now, the “Growth Commission” has pointed to the elephant but, even so, the die-hards (including ministers) remain in denial.

This “tough-love” - poorer services, higher taxation, higher unemployment - who is going to suffer most? If it is the poor, the elderly, the infirm and the young, some of the nats who profess a social conscience really do need to have a long, hard think about this.

This is not any defence of the position we find ourselves in at present under the low growth in public spending that passes for austerity in the U.K. This we know about but a future that, by most sensible reckoning, will be worse than this - is that really what we want to inflict on Scotland?

June 4, 2018

2 hours ago, Roxy Hearts said:

Westminster want it both ways. If it's good they take the credit and not good it's the Scottish Government, well the SNP(forgot, need to bash them).

I see it as totally the opposite. SNP claim any good news is down to their stewardship of Scotland and anything bad is Westminster's fault.

Most of the changes recommended in the growth commission can be implemented without being independent. We should focus on them.

Andrew Wilson seems to be operating in an echo chamber regarding this report. Kevin Hague has tweeted him directly with questions he would like answered. Why can't the guy that wrote the report over several years confidently respond to someone who has only a few weeks to take it all in?

https://mobile.twitter.com/kevverage/status/1003590885748207621

Edited June 4, 2018 by Hasselhoff

June 4, 2018

2 hours ago, Roxy Hearts said:

Westminster want it both ways. If it's good they take the credit and not good it's the Scottish Government, well the SNP(forgot, need to bash them).

But that is exactly the same as the SNP, when it goes well for Scotland they claim credit and when it doesn’t they blame Westminster. That is the very essence of politics.

Even More SNP Nonsense

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