The journalist Kevin McKenna wrote recently about his take on Jim Murphy’s pitch to regain the votes of “Glasgow Man”. I’ve been thinking about that a wee bit this past week as I’ve been chapping doors in various neighbourhoods in Glasgow. I always enjoy having conversations with the voters I meet, finding out what’s led them to their political views. Often, it’s through their own experiences as much as what’s featured in the media. I’ve spoken to both men and women in the past week who have shifted in their views, some over a short period of time, some over the past ten years. The vastRead More →

Thursday 29 January 2015   SNP MOVE TO SCRAP POLL TAX CLEARS MAJOR HURDLE   The SNP’s move to abolish outstanding Poll Tax debts cleared a major hurdle today as the Scottish Parliament voted in favour of the move at stage one.   Following a surge in voter registration during the referendum, several councils began to indicate that they would use the new data to pursue ancient unpaid poll tax debts. The Scottish Government has acted to prevent this move which would act as a barrier to democratic participation by introducing the Community Charge Debt (Scotland) Bill.   Commenting, SNP MSP Mark McDonald said:  Read More →

The pre election silly season is upon us. The main parties are too scared to offer policies that you might want them to actually keep if they get elected, so let’s aim for the lowest common denominator………………DRINK. Are they really being serious? Our government is being bombarded by campaign groups to somehow make the people look after themselves. Over indulgence in all food groups, “healthy drinks”, snacks and alcohol are all having a detrimental effect on the public purse via increased use of A&E facilities, social care in the communities, mobility allowances and other payments made to people who struggle with normal day to dayRead More →

How amusing. The party that was joined at the hips with the Tories all through the Referendum and told Scots to say ‘No Thanks’ is now to be the party that wants you to say YES. Yes for Scotland? Bit late for that. Scottish Labour’s new leader, Jim Murphy and his cadre of campaign chums have realised, rather too late, that those traditional Labour voters (190,381 to be precise, well kind of), who voted Yes on 18 September 2014 are not returning to the fold as expected on 7 May 2015. How very dare they! So Jim’s, or is it John’s, or maybe Blair’s responseRead More →

Readers will be aware that at the end of 2014 I handed the Flag in the Wind over to Margaret Hamilton, so this is my first contribution as a Compiler. Very sorry to see Andy Murray losing the final of the Australian Open, and am still aghast at the publicity given to his fiancee swearing, as it is not uncommon nowadays to see ladies swearing in public. A few years back I was in the stand at Easter Road – a freebie, and I got it that week as Hibs were playing Dundee. There was a middle aged lady in the row in front, wellRead More →