Another side of Lesley Riddoch

What I would have said about Brown if there had been time.

A few thoughts on Gordon Brown’s “weighty” speech yesterday that couldn’t be crammed into the discussion on last night’s STV Scotland Tonight programme. 

1. Play it again Sam – despite all the big billing for Gordon Brown’s “re-entry” speech, the points he made were not detailed, precise or new. In a speech at the Edin Bookfest in August 2012 Gordon first said Scotland was stronger pooling resources with the rest of the UK  and a week later at the festival of politics 2012 he warned of a ‘race to the bottom’, where social conditions would differ across the various parts of Britain. That’s nine months since we first/last heard all of this and no real advance. How on earth did all the press (including me) forget we’d already had Gordon’s re-entry to the indyref debate last year?? Maybe, it was so un-momentous and easy to forget? Maybe we accord far too much air time to Big Old Boys on the basis of status (whatever that actually is for a political leader with such a chequered career). Either way it’s genuinely disappointing a guy who could easily have brought big new dimensions into the indy debate didn’t bother. Instead – banging on about his Scottish credentials when no-one was questioning them – Broon sounded like an occasional visitor to Scotland drawing attention to his OWN preference for a career at Westminster not Holyrood.

2. Further devolution or not? In an interview with Bernard Ponsonby, Brown hinted of further devolution but wouldn’t specify. He talked about fiscal autonomy (which he opposes) and fiscal equalisation (or pooling resources) which he supports. But what is fiscal equalisation apart from the status quo where a devolved parliament relies on handouts from the centre instead of raising and being responsible for its own tax and spend policy? I’d love to have asked fellow Scotland Tonight guest Simon Pia for a definition of fiscal equalisation.

3. There is no #unitedwithlabour website – just a hard to find via google page on the Scottish Labour website. There’s a You tube film there with 233 views when I looked which talked a lot about Labour’s role in setting up the NHS, post war housing etc. It’s very back to the future, slightly sentimental and general. Of course this is also true of some SNP/Yes stuff. But since there is just ONE video representing the direction of this new group it needed to be stronger. Also where was Alistair Darling at the United with Labour launch? I cant be bothered with personality politics and so didn’t raise the point in the limited time we had last night. But these two guys don’t talk since Darling criticised Brown in memoirs Back from the Brink saying the former PM could be “brutal and volcanic” and had released “attack dogs” on him for daring to warn the coming recession would be the worst for 60 years. It makes you wonder why others should unite with labour if these two cabinet minister colleagues can’t bury the hatchet. What indeed is the whole rushed #unitedwithlabour project about? It’s not as if #bettertogether is so full of Tories that it actively poses a real headache for Labour members. You sometimes wonder if Alistair Darling is the only spokesperson bettertogether has. Surely one truly beefy campaign is better(together) than two?

4. Gordon talked about “equal rights for everyone no matter which community you live in” within the UK – wot about the overheated south versus the economically baltic north? According to analysts Wealth Insight – quoted by the FT last week -- London has a quarter of a million dollar millionaires – that’s 1 in 29 Londoners! Yes – that’s amazing. Development in London is going on apace (Crossrail is biggest construction job in UK tho to be fair new Forth Crossing is 2nd biggest) – so it seems like the Crucible of the financial crisis is getting the lion’s share of the economic growth. This is a deep seated flaw in the over-centralised UK economic model that damages the north of England probably more than Scotland. House prices in top London districts are rising by £27 every hour of the day and night so outsiders haven’t a hope in hell of affording to move down and cash in. Without a proper regional policy across the whole of the UK (England must be Europe’s most centralised state) how can there be “equal rights for everyone no matter which community you live in” as Gordon Brown claims?

5. This is not just to lay into Broon. 2/3s of Scots want the two governments to negotiate (fat chance) the campaign leaders debate directly with one another asap (fat chance) and TV and radio to broadcast as much lively but non-partisan opinion as possible (some chance but not fast). Any chance of that both sides or will Alex Salmond just hang out for another year to get a gig with David Cameron?

6. So that’s it – no more free passes for Broon just cos he was once a Prime Minister. No more smiling politely while he gives another repeat performance. Opinion polls suggest Scots currently back the union, so the lack of dynamism and vision from the likely “winners” in 2014 is just too depressing. Must do bettertogether

How bank “security” makes you less secure

It all started innocently enough yesterday when I tried to use a new mobile phone app to pay for parking in Edinburgh. I tapped in the location code only to be told my bank had declined the transaction. The third time a transaction has been declined in three days. On those other occasions I was sitting at home with a computer and could see a dedicated bank number to call and clear things up. I did that fairly easily and was told that a popular thing to do when someone steals a credit/debit card is to buy a flat screen TV online from Curry's. And that – with my own card – was the transaction I'd been attempting. OK – I understand. But standing on the street yesterday it was a different matter. I looked on the back of the "offending" card and called the number imprinted there. Hanging on for ten minutes I discovered it's now the wrong number and tried the new number given hanging on for another five-ten minutes to finally get a human. I then managed to fail security – not on my business card but on my related Lloyds TSB personal account (how biz owners who don't have personal accounts get through "security" in an emergency I've no idea). Sadly since I couldn't recollect the precise sum of my last supermarket bill, couldn't name my overdraft limit (happily its many years since I've been overdrawn) couldn't say who last paid money into my account or who was the recipient of a £68 direct debit, I was stuffed.

Workfare racket undercuts low paid staff

Today's Sunday Post column in full

Three cheers for Cait Reilly. The 24 year-old Birmingham lass finished a geology degree last summer but couldn't find a paid job. Instead of lounging around at home, she got up, got out and found herself voluntary work at a local museum where she hoped to build a career using her science skills. So far, so good.But then the government stepped in to "help." Cait could either "volunteer" for work experience -- 30 hours a week unpaid labour at Poundland -- or lose her weekly £53.45 Job Seekers Allowance. Nice. Cait stuck Poundland for two weeks before calling time, getting legal advice and taking her case to court. Never mind David and Goliath. Cait took on the full might of David Cameron's government – and won. Speaking outside the court she said; "I don't think I'm above working in shops. I now work part-time in a supermarket. It is just that I expect to get paid for working. If government (workfare) schemes helped young people into jobs they wouldn't have to force us to attend." Quite.

Women on the frontline

Today's Sunday Post column in full.

Should supporters of equality rejoice that women can finally take combat roles in the American military? Actually, 14% of US forces are already women, 152 female soldiers have been killed and a quarter of a million gals have completed tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Last week's announcement was simply catching up with reality. It's a bitter-sweet victory at best -- like watching boxer Nicola Adams win boxing Olympic gold in a sport that invites brain damage. Still equality is just that -- the right to be involved in every aspect of life (skills permitting).Some say women are physically weaker than men – try saying that to the world's epic female long distance runners. But perhaps women are emotionally "weaker" – more likely to empathise with the enemy, not sufficiently detached to kill and therefore bound to spoil the macho squaddie atmosphere necessary to turn men into killing machines?

Snow stuff

Sunday Post column in full (written before the weekend's tragic avalanche deaths in Glencoe)

The Beast from the East and the Pest from the West. You'd hardly think we were talking about the gentle, white fluffy stuff of childhood dreams. Yet we seem to fear its arrival more than the flu. What's going on? Well the prospect of a whiteout sells papers. A London-based tabloid used the Beast headline two months ago. And even though sub-Arctic conditions didn't materialise, it was the most viewed story on the newspaper's website. Are we so scared the winter from hell could be about to return? Cmon – you know which winter I mean. In 2010 snow and icy temperatures meant pipes froze, cars slithered, schools closed, hedges died, tree boughs snapped under tonnes of snow and transport basically ground to a halt. I visited a friend on Skye and was cheerfully stuck there for a fortnight. Trains were cancelled, jack-knifed lorries brought the M8 and M80 ground to a halt for days and the army was drafted in. A Scottish Government Minister had to resign, TV pictures were beamed around the world and let's face it – our stranded, snow-locked nation looked like a right bunch of helpless charlies. It wasn't exactly our finest hour.

Cruel to be kind with exercise-shy – try it out on Simon Burns

The "do as I say not as I do" tendency described in this Sunday Post column (6.1.13) is aptly demonstrated by the Rail Minister who's just revealed he doesn't use the train to get around. Its not that his £80k private limo is easier and nicer it's only ....... Oh c'mon. The day chaps like Simon Burns can winkle themselves out of flab-promoting, exercise-inhibiting, taxpayer-funded luxuries like door-to-door personal limos, Tory politicians can suggest docking benefits from folk who don't use gyms. And I take the point made by one tweeter about the lazy use of "fat cats" in the former heading on this piece. Gone.

Chubby Brits who refuse to attend exercise classes could have their benefits cut –in a bright new money saving idea from Westminster Council. Yip the folk prosecuted for selling council houses to potential Tory voters in the 1980s are back -- with another supremely bad idea. Charitably, you could say they have noble intentions. Improving fitness and losing weight will save an estimated £1.5bn from the NHS budget and since English councils are set to take over public health provision in April anything that tackles obesity is good news. So Westminster's barmy plan goes like this. GPs will prescribe swimming and fitness classes, smart cards will monitor claimants to make sure they use leisure centres and folk on benefits carrying a bit of pork but not swiping into a weekly yoga, weights or Zumba class will find their housing and council tax benefits cut. I suppose it does sound effective – in a dictatorial kind of way. But I'll bet this won't claw back a penny on forfeited benefits because doctors will simply refuse to become the "fat police." And it won't save NHS treatment by reducing the collective weight of the nation -- because threat never brings about lasting change.

Let's face it - we live in a couch-potato culture where TV ads encourage everyone to snack, grab supersized takeaways and regard outdoorsy folk who walk or cycle as car-less losers and boring keep-fit fanatics. We also live in a world of recession and redundancy where optimism is hard and motivation even harder. Eminently sensible people like the rotund English Communities Minister, Eric Pickles and our very own (how shall we put it) cuddly First Minister have dietary and exercise "issues". If they can't change their lifestyles, why should others with less support, status and motivation find it easier? Heavens to Betsy - hard-pressed folk in work already waste squillions joining gyms they never visit. Are there enough gyms to cope?

The Fifth Bridge?

Today's Sunday Post column in full

What should the new Forth Bridge crossing be called? Mindful of the public outcry after Incredinburgh (c'mon, it was better than Paintthetownredinburgh) the Scottish Government's decided to share the load this time by involving the public. Already suggestions – daft and predictable --have been pouring in. Nessiebridge, the Midge Bridge, Rab C Nesbridge and Kevin "Forth" Bridges are cheeky contenders. The royal lobby's strong with the Queen Elizabeth Jubilee Bridge and the Duchess of Cambridge Bridge. Disnae exactly roll aff the tongue though – nor is it very Scottish. Kate's also Countess of Strathearn -- but we've already got a Bridge of Earn elsewhere.

Sporting greats then? Sir Chris Hoy, Andy Murray and Scottish Grand Prix legends Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart are all on the list together with Billy Connolly, Sir Sean Connery and the Post's own Lorraine Kelly. The Sherlock Holmes Bridge gets a look-in – commemorating Edinburgh-born Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – along with William Wallace and Robert the Bruce. This is fast becoming a list of favourite Scots.

Europe & Scotland – all shook up

Today's Sunday Post column in full

It's been the political version of the Hokey Cokey. You put Scotland in, Scotland out. In, out, in, out, shake us all about. The Europe Union has brought the independence debate alive in the dozy days before Christmas. Unbelievable – because the E-word normally sends voters straight to sleep with lower turnouts than council contests and guaranteed anonymity for winners. Barrsosogate, though has put Europe back on the map.

The SNP's currently on the back foot over a letter from the EU Commission President to a Lords Committee suggesting an independent Scotland would have to reapply for EU membership. Nationalists claimed the letter was imagined or even fabricated by journalists when Their Lordships postie failed to deliver. It turned out the "letter" from Jose Manuel Barroso was initially just a draft – but days later someone in Brussels found a stamp and the Dear McJohn was duly dispatched to the Other Place and published in full by Scottish newspapers. Oer.

Nicola Sturgeon had to brazen it out at Holyrood. She'd previously insisted an independent Scotland would immediately take up EU membership and inherit all the UK's existing opt-outs without any need to negotiate or reapply – a claim repeatedly backed by Alex Salmond. Now she concedes an independent Scotland would have to renegotiate terms with Brussels -- opponents say that endangers a UK rebate, hammered out by Mrs T decades back, worth £135 a year per British household by 2014. On the other hand, all are agreed EU has no mechanism to expel 5.2 million existing members -- especially members who want to stay.

Great nursing needs more than a smile

Sunday Post column in full.

"He died with the dignity of a battery hen. He died of cold -- he died from people who didn't care. I should have stood in that corridor and screamed - where are the nurses?" You'd need to be made from stone not to respond to Ann Clwyd. The veteran Welsh MP's description of her husband's last days in the flagship University Hospital of Wales was harrowing, detailed and painfully honest. Tony Blair's former envoy to Iraq named and shamed Cardiff hospital staff in a brave and emotional Commons speech. Fighting back tears she told MPs how she found her tall, 73 year-old husband Owen Roberts squashed against the bars of his hospital bed with an oxygen mask so small it cut into his face. His lips were dry and his body cold from a fan in an adjacent bay. The MP repeatedly asked for help – none was given.

Owen finally died of hospital-induced pneumonia. The big question is whether this appalling treatment is commonplace or exceptional.

Who should be next BBC Director General?

Sunday Post column in full – posted early cos there seem to be big delivery problems in my neck of Fife this week!

Will the BBC nightmare ever end? Last weekend George Entwistle resigned as boss after flawed child-abuse investigations by the flagship current affairs programme Newsnight. The Director General's attempt at damage limitation seemed "honourable" enough till news of his million pound pay-off emerged -- twice the amount specified in his contract. Suddenly BBC Trust Chairman Chris Patten seemed more out of touch than the man who'd just quit and senior BBC managers started "stepping aside" faster than dancers at a ceilidh. The only light at the end of the tunnel -- Lord McAlpine quickly agreed £185k in damages over the mistaken accusations of child abuse. But just as one part of the shambolic BBC saga closed down another opened with a poll showing trust in BBC journalism below 50%, the arrest of former BBC Radio 1 DJ Dave Lee Travis over sexual offences un-related to Jimmy Savile and the reference to "recent events covered in the press" during Friday's BBC Children in Need celebrations. It's a mess that shows no signs of going away.