Newsweek Scotland: behind the headlines
Post categories: News, Newsweek Scotland, Politics
|14:30 UK time, Friday, 25 May 2012
It's been a week of sunshine and relaxation and I expected the SNP to take some credit for it when they launched the referendum declaration...but instead they were in a dark cinema while speaker after speaker went on about the "new inspirational Scotland". I was shouting: "It's outside now, if you just go and look..."
If only they'd known the weather would be so good they could have been on Calton Hill or the plain beneath Stirling Castle in a great outdoor party bathed in sunshine. Does that tell us that the Yes Campaign isn't as confident as they say? I mean, if they don't trust the weather, what do they believe about Scotland?
As you'll gather I'm not a fan of staged events of this kind. I've seen too many of them over the years. They become trite and repetitive and you have to pan-handle a lot of grit to find a glint of gold. We become panners ourselves tomorrow with Lorraine Davidson, Gerry Hassan and Murray Pittock assessing the campaign launch and the likely Unionist reaction. (We saw confirmation of that at the weekend when Johann Lamont made explicit Labour's intention to argue for no new powers and instead to urge more use of existing ones - and no Devo Max option)
We go behind the headlines of the Beecroft Report which suggested making it easier to sack workers and removing benefits like paternity leave to examine if Britain is alone in thinking that a boss class hammering the staff really is the answer to recession. What did David Cameron think a millionaire venture capitalist was likely to tell him? To make life more difficult for company directors? We hear from Charlie Dannreuther that a structured and regulated labour market is key to economic success and works outside class-ridden Britain.
We have Clive Stafford Smith who is suing the British Government and former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw over the UK's involvement in rendering two Libyans back to Col Gadaffi who had them detained and tortured. It shines another light on the Labour government's enthusiasm for fostering a relationship with Gadaffi even though, by their own policy, he must have been the mastermind of the Lockerbie Bombing, if Megrahi was guilty.
We'll find out what's happening about nuclear weapons in Iran (if there are any). It seems Britain is taking advice about a pre-emptive strike. Rosemary Hollis will guide us.
And we look at inventions after the death of the man who invented the tv remote control. (I wish he'd put a homing device on it so I could find the damn thing).
Enough of sitting in here writing this stuff. I'm going out into the sunshine. Maybe I'll bump into Alex Salmond.
Comment number 1.
At 07:41 26th May 2012, Macleoid wrote:Has there been any mention of Gaelic with regard to the question(s) being Bi-lingual Gaelic and English on the Referendum Ballot papers? Was there any Gaelic material or speakers or supporters yesterday when the launch for the Yes Campaign took place in Edinburgh?
Complain about this comment (Comment number 1)
Comment number 2.
At 08:54 26th May 2012, sid_ts63 wrote:Lorraine Davidson - ex labour party spin doctor -impartial? who can't say first minister or even Mr when talking about "Salmond" the total hatred is there for all to hear I'd be surprised if she could even spell impartial
Sid
Complain about this comment (Comment number 2)
Comment number 3.
At 09:21 26th May 2012, bencruachan wrote:sid_ts63. Being aware of Lorraine Davidson`s back ground, I thought she made a fair attempt of impartiality. Did not understand Gerry. But then, I never do!
The comments regarding a long drawn out campaign.....when you have a 99% hostile media to Scottish Independence then it will take some time to counter the deceit promulgated by that media given the pro independence lack of media support. Two years should just about do it. We do control cyber space after all!
Complain about this comment (Comment number 3)