Printable View
Conversely, if it doesn’t really matter then it’s odd that the rules enforcing the almost iron grip on quashing open dissent were deemed necessary? :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by CropleyWasGod
Someone, somewhere in HQ at the SNP must’ve felt it was important?
I was talking generally about all parties.Quote:
Originally Posted by LewysGot2
If they think it's important, so be it. I just don't see that it's all that important to the voters.
What makes you think I read that rag….it’s full of crap along with the Telegraph and the NationalQuote:
Originally Posted by grunt
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-63904942
Much to agree with in here. I think the SG will need to start thinking about some of these options. I think public opinion is very much with the workers and I don’t see it changing. Better to get ahead of things and get deals done. And I think it’s also the right thing to do.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quote:
Originally Posted by Berwickhibby
Well you're getting your fake news from somewhere, and the DM was a possible source. Obviously not, since you don't read it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Berwickhibby
I thought higher taxes in Scotland was project fear !Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozyhibby
Who said that?Quote:
Originally Posted by Skol
Within our current set up, we have two choices. Either put up taxes to pay for our services or cut those services. I’m confident the public will want to keep their services. It’s just unfortunate the UK govt will pocket the increase in NI that flows from any new pay deals paid for by Scottish taxpayers.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That was a yes campaign standard response.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozyhibby
On a more serious note, some of the taxation could be problematic for the SNP if it started to hit middle earners more than it does now.
The wealth tax in particular if it hit people who are asset rich and cash poor cou led be problematic and you would need to work out how to actually direct it to people when they have the money. I,e on sale of a property or starting to take private pensions. Taxing those assets before they are realised would be difficult for many people.
I doubt they have the power for the wealth one anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by Skol
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
We don't.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozyhibby
You’re ferry, ferry persistent.Quote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
It remains about the same amount that baroness Mone seems to have plundered with her visit to the PPE trough. Offset that then move onto the rest of the blown / disappearing offshore Billions?Quote:
Originally Posted by WeeRussell
Sent from my SM-A750FN using Tapatalk
Did the greens not have a wealth tax in their manifesto? I agree though it’s not likely to be one available under current arrangements.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozyhibby
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...90c0a264e3.jpg
New SNP front bench at Westminster.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
They did, but it was very wooly lacked any detail.Quote:
Originally Posted by Skol
A MILLIONAIRES TAX
With the wealthiest 10% of Scots holding almost half of the total wealth, the Scottish Greens believe that we need to proactively tackle the profound structural economic inequality that holds back the economy.
We will therefore seek to introduce a 1% annual wealth tax for millionaires. This will be a tax on all wealth and assets above the £1m threshold, including property, land, pensions, and other assets. Such a tax would only apply to the wealthiest 10% in society, with an average household in Scotland owning approximately £233k in assets.
While the ideal would be a UK or Scotland wide wealth tax, this would require UK government consent. If that is not forthcoming, as might be expected, then we will explore the possibility of empowering and supporting Scottish local authorities to introduce wealth taxes within their own areas.
Quote:
Originally Posted by James310
Anyone remember the 60’s and 70’s with the labour government taxing the rich till they squeak. 95 pence in the pound top rate of tax.
What happened , brain drain it was called. A huge chunk of the nations talent simply moved abroad.
Its a hell of a lot easier to move now a days so any wealth tax should be considered carefully.
Is that the Jim McColl that claimed he hadn't signed a contract?Quote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
Workforce fears Scots fiasco ferries won't ever sail | HeraldScotlandQuote:
Originally Posted by WeeRussell
If that guy ever wrote a positive article about Scotland I think the world just might explode. He's seriously negative. Also, the sheer brass neck to mention in his negative press article the comment from the worker that the constant negative articles in the press are hard to bear.Quote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
Quote:
Originally Posted by greenginger
I'd like to see the Gov introduce a form of wealth tax instead of basing things on income. IHT here is a joke and needs completely re-thought out.
No idea how it would work in practice though. If it was simple, there would be countries doing it effectively.
Very difficult to do. We should though tax dividend income at the same level as income from work. We can introduce luxury goods taxes so that the wealthy pay more and also tax houses worth more than £1m much more heavily. There are lots of small ways to get the rich to pay more without a wealth tax.Quote:
Originally Posted by WhileTheChief..
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
And a wealth tax doesn't have to be 95%.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozyhibby
Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk
Whether or not folk see these stories as a deliberately negative towards the Scottish government (and I guess they're easy enough to shrug off when the SNP probably doesn't rely on votes from the small islands population), it's fair to say you'd be mighty hacked off if your livelihood on the islands depended on the current fleet being fit for purpose, as this hotelier points out:Quote:
Originally Posted by grunt
Uist ferry sails in daylight only due to radar fault - BBC News
Its obvious a wealth tax doesn’t need to be 95% but there is a tipping point where the country loses more tax revenue than it gains if the rate is too high and the threshold too low.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kato
Sure, but I think that when the gap between the haves and the have nots is getting in increasingly wider, we need to be a bit sceptical about the narrative that any such tax would lead to a brain drain.Quote:
Originally Posted by greenginger
If the rich folk are smart, they'll suck up 1% or so knowing that in some way it's likely to come back to them anyway rather than tear their lives up and move abroad to avoid the tax.
Fortunately there are other ways to get to the Uists, the Mallaig to Lochboisdale one is not the best way to get there, in my opinion.Quote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
Would need to be less than 1% in order to not change behaviour. Could still bring in a fair bit of money.Quote:
Originally Posted by greenginger
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Which is presumably why the Scottish Govt is trying to do something about it rather than carping from the sidelines.Quote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
Trying and failing dismally.Quote:
Originally Posted by grunt
https://news.stv.tv/scotland/nhs-sco...union-confirms
64% in favour of accepting latest offer...
Well done to all sides for getting it done.
Wonderful news. We’ll done to the SG and the unions in getting round the table. Strikes would have been a nightmare. Hopefully deals can be done now with other sectors. [emoji1696][emoji1696][emoji1696]Quote:
Originally Posted by Moulin Yarns
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Jackie Bailey will be delighted. 😂Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozyhibby
Pretty good offer, brilliant news. Puts down the idea that workers are holding governments to ransom and demanding 12% ect. Hopefully scot gov actions pressure uk gov, but I'd doubt it
Was raised in Westminster by Steven Bonnar.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stairway 2 7
I know the headline will be enough to prevent most on here bothering to read this, but McKenna's piece about the changing of the guard strikes me as more insightful than most:
Nicola Sturgeon's authority is starting to ebb away | HeraldScotland
A shufty through his twitter timeline (aside from all the Celtic guff) makes it pretty clear what his motivation is: he's obviously picked the GC side in the ongoing GRA battle of the culture wars.Quote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
The beginning of the end for NS has been going on for about 5 years now.[emoji849]
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The GRA battle doesn't strike me as the dominant feature of the article? Or his criticism of Mhairi Black tied in to that?Quote:
Originally Posted by JeMeSouviens
Maybe you should stand for Parliament and do better?Quote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
Its not really a pretty good deal for everyone though, up to band 4 it's a good deal but for staff above band 4 not so great, while I appreciate we are lucky to be getting a pay rise in today's climate I will get about a 4% rise, not really that goodQuote:
Originally Posted by Stairway 2 7
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozyhibby
Just read about that as well. Good to see some positive news for a change.
:top marks
https://twitter.com/conor_matchett/s...7oszzzpmEI4uGQ
What a strange take on things. Surely all Scots are relieved?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Conor Matchett is a Grade A moron.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozyhibby
Absolutely a relief to see the threat of ambulance strikes withdrawn, but there's no credit being handed to the SG:Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozyhibby
Unison’s health committee chair Wilma Brown said her union’s vote was “not a win for the Government – it is a warning”.
“It was far from a unanimous decision and many of the NHS professional grades feel badly let down,” she said. “Almost half of Unison NHS staff voted to reject this latest pay offer, and many who did vote to accept, did so reluctantly.”
Scotland strikes: Ambulance staff and some NHS workers call off action as unions accept Scottish Government pay deal | The Scotsman
I might just stick to carping from the sidelines :wink:Quote:
Originally Posted by grunt
I respect the unwavering strength of your support for the SNP/SG but there's simply no defending the ferries fiasco. It's a monumental f***-up that merits a barrage of criticism.
They got a deal done though, yes?Quote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Probably the poster more than the headline for me, if I’m perfectly honest.Quote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
Unison seem quite happy with the Scottish govt on Peston tonight?Quote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
https://twitter.com/itvpeston/status..._sg61SQtp76qtA
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That's the national Unison Gen Sec. @HH' s post is quoting the position from the Scottish health branch of Unison. She is right though, any reasonable Gov would negotiate with Unions to reach a compromise and avert industrial action. Would hope the SG are making the same progress with the Teachers unions. Unison may be the largest national public sector union but in terms of workforce membership the EIS has the largest % of members afaik, or at least used to, this might have changed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozyhibby
EIS still carries immense clout and has left many a government floundering, not just the SNP. This is the first time we've seen teachers striking in Scotland for 40 years though. SG will need to work harder to avert the barrage of strikes scheduled for January but the anger which accompanied the instant rejection of the most recent pay offers underlines how little respect they have for Somerville's capabilities. Hard to imagine she could have been less impressive than Swinney but she's making a good stab at it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Santa Cruz
Try contain your excitement just a little bit.Quote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
If the army are going to be performing the role of strike breakers in the English NHS, what budget does that come from? The health or defence budget?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Positively tumescentQuote:
Originally Posted by Ozyhibby
I have a pal who's an EIS rep. They have about 85% of teachers in Scotland. He's not a happy chappy (and is an Indy supporter, so no axe to grind there). They took 2.2% last year with promises of a much more substantial rise this year and a further 90 min/week reduction in class contact time. SG dragging its feet big time on both.Quote:
Originally Posted by Santa Cruz
The 85% figure highlights the power the EIS holds. The bigger the membership the more cards a Union holds v any Gov when it comes to negotiations. Probs the reason no compromise has been reached yet. The EIS will now in my view not settle for anything less than the NHS Union members accepted yesterday. That then causes further division within workforces, as the school support staff did not receive the same deal. It really would be simpler to have one pay increase award applied to all public sector workers, it would be fairer and take away division within workforces which leads to a them v us atmosphere amongst professional/non-professional staff.Quote:
Originally Posted by JeMeSouviens
https://twitter.com/bbcjamescook/sta...xzKSvxOHKfX_HQ
Shows the importance of yesterday’s deal. We need to get the NHS back up to speed.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
will there be any extra costs in the military assisting the NHS ? Don’t think they’ll get a pay rise or overtime.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozyhibby
That seems to be a significant reduction in contact time. Don’t they want to spend time in the classroom?Quote:
Originally Posted by JeMeSouviens
They are not doing what Scottish taxpayers pay them to do though are they? If the army is to become part of health care provision in England then surely there should be Barnett consequentials for Scotland?Quote:
Originally Posted by greenginger
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It's a budget tool, not a current account. Are you seriously suggesting that a situation, say, where the army was called into help search for a missing child in England there should be a funding transfer to Scotland? Or vice versa?Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozyhibby
Absolutely not but this is planned use of the army in industrial relations. That’s not the same as searching for missing kids.Quote:
Originally Posted by archie
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Obviously there will be some added costs for redeployment, accommodation, feeding etc but it will be minimal compared to agency workers.Quote:
Originally Posted by greenginger
What's the difference?Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozyhibby
I wouldn’t be giving credit to any employer no matter who they are who let their workers down so badly they were forced to take strike action. This has been a warning.Quote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
https://twitter.com/alextomo/status/...xzKSvxOHKfX_HQ
What is different?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
You think I want to see ongoing school closures? Teachers certainly don't - and speaking personally when you work closely with ASN kids on a daily basis you see the impact that a lack of structure, even for a couple of days, can have on them. The EIS are correct to force the SG's hand on this. As has been pointed out by others on this thread there's been a trail of broken promises which have brought things to this sorry pass.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozyhibby
You explain this very eloquently, and thank you for helping these kids out. But one of the demands of the EIS noted above was a significant reduction in contact time. I'm not being awkward here, but I don't understand the call for less contact time.Quote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
Afaik it's just to allow them to get the other stuff they have to do: planning, reports, marking, etc. done within their contracted hours.Quote:
Originally Posted by grunt
Still take plenty home to work on unpaid though. @HH will be able to answer, am I right in saying the lesser paid PSA's don't get the same non-contact time but do the bulk of one to one learning and support with ASN pupils, or have I picked this up wrong?Quote:
Originally Posted by JeMeSouviens
Yes, it's easy to imagine teachers 'just' teach when in fact they have for far too long been 'time poor' (compared to numerous other countries) when it comes to finding space to 'plan, prepare, mark and correct' within their contracted hours. Within primary schools in Edinburgh, for example, the gravitation towards play-based learning entails (ideally) a weekly update/evolution of the play zones, which is a significant extra layer of responsibility. The SG proposal was (I think) for teachers to have 90 minutes per week non-contact time to allow them to make headway with lesson planning etc rather than take a stack of work home with them. As far as I'm aware this has not yet been rolled out effectively despite assurances the capacity and resources were in place for it, hence one of the reasons the EIS are fed up.Quote:
Originally Posted by JeMeSouviens
The (chronically underpaid) PSA's lot can be variable depending on the school or their relationship with a teacher. Some schools are good at making time for additional training and some teachers utilise a PSA to maximum effect by creating a true team environment. As you say, though, it can too often be the case that they are seen as a handy way to offload disruptive kids or those with ASN. I've mentioned it earlier in the thread but the SG's 'presumption of mainstream' approach plays a significant part in this IMHO as we have seen a big increase in children attending mainstream schools who would be unlikely to have previously done so. Another well-intentioned (or, if you're of a cynical bent, cost-cutting) initiative for which the resources simply aren't strong enough.Quote:
Originally Posted by Santa Cruz
http://search.electoralcommission.or...oans/AL0559123
A bit odd? The CEO of the SNP, Nicola Sturgeons husband Peter Murrell, personally lends the SNP party over £100K.
Do CEOs normally lend money to their employer. Normally the other way round isn't it?
Nothing to see I assume.
An interest-free loan of £107,620...seems a very specific sum.Quote:
Originally Posted by James310
Who knows? Has the £600k independence war chest fund 'woven through' the accounts needed a top-up? I doubt 'sleekit' Murrell would be forthcoming with an explanation. IIRC the last time anyone asked to see the books he made it so awkward half the finance committee resigned.
The police investigation remains ongoing despite being started in 2021.Quote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/s...hform-26967273
0762 he's a Hibby after all. I think he's also donated £1875 some time ago. ⏰Quote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
Quote:
Originally Posted by James310
Desperate.Quote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
I wonder whose accounts you'll read this in ...
"During the year, the immediate parent company xxx, paid the company a total of £125,457 (2020; £Nil)."
CEOs and directors lending to their employers is actually very common. For many organisations, it can be their only or main source of finance.Quote:
Originally Posted by James310
Surely not that common for a political party with as many members as the SNP? Though I suppose it is the family business in a way. :greengrinQuote:
Originally Posted by CropleyWasGod
It’s a clear sign that Murrel doesn’t know how UK politics works. Your supposed to be filling your own pockets, not putting your own money in. This is the beginning of the end for Sturgeon.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
You've rather narrowed the search criteria there.Quote:
Originally Posted by marinello59
Possibly.:greengrinQuote:
Originally Posted by grunt
Impressive amount of words in that article without a single allegation?Quote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Meanwhile, the literacy attainment gap reaches record levels:Quote:
Originally Posted by JeMeSouviens
Nicola Sturgeon ‘has flunked education gap pledge’ | Scotland | The Times
I can only read the first few pars of the Times story due to the paywall, but the Record goes into more detail:
Scotland's gap between richest and poorest pupils remains above pre-pandemic levels - Daily Record
Somerville's attempts to put a positive spin on this are pretty lame. She seems well out of her depth.
And of course it would be a strange day indeed in Scotland if there wasn't fresh ferry woe:
'A joke of a service': Fury as Uist ferry remains sidelined | HeraldScotland
Ironic to see the Scottish Tories complaining about "murky" funding of political parties when they refused to release the official report into Russian donations to the Tory party.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozyhibby
"Fury" as one guy complains to the Herald.Quote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
I'd you believe the right wing media people are always in a fury, "blasting" at people (whatever that means) and usually a tiny baby step from incandescence. Never about Torys theiving though, never ever.Quote:
Originally Posted by grunt
Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk
I'm pretty sure there are still 2 ferries and flights to the uists. Oban to barra and a short hop to eriskay or Uig to Lochmaddy, plus flights to benbecula. They aren't cut off.Quote:
Originally Posted by grunt
Yep bold Boris and his visits to his mates mansion the ex KGB operative while Foreign secretary without security detail wtafQuote:
Originally Posted by grunt
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moulin Yarns
SShhh! you'll spoil all the unionist guys glee at right wing press anti SNP agendas. :greengrin
I see the original source of the story is Stuart Campbell of Wings Over Scotland.Quote:
Originally Posted by grunt
One thing seems clear. Murrell can't be short of cash.
Desperate.Quote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
Well, if it’s from the self proclaimed Rev from Wings over Bath …it must be True 🙄 another class one pr1ckQuote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
Not read the report but wasn't there the biggest decrease in the gap in literacy and numeracy since they started recording it?Quote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
Just an observation, not a criticism.Quote:
Originally Posted by grunt
Quote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
Sorry but I just spat out my coffee.
That's a good one, right enough
:faf:
Just an observation, not a criticism.Quote:
Originally Posted by grunt