Categories
Sturgeon and SNP – many questions remain – politicalbetting.com
Sturgeon and SNP – many questions remain – politicalbetting.com
There is a very big story to be told but as yet we have very little idea as to what it is. What is extraordinary is that someone who appeared as powerful and very much as part of the furniture as Sturgeon is now being probed in a manner that few could have envisaged a couple of days ago.
0
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
IF (and its a big IF) there is more to this than a simple probe into the SNP's finances, then the damage could be wide ranging. At the moment Mr Murrell has been released without charge, and the matter may go no further. However, the political implications could extend well beyond the Murrell household:
SNP voters 'duped' into backing Humza Yousaf
First Minister election would have ended differently if people had known Peter Murrell's arrest was imminent, argue Kate Forbes' backers
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/04/05/humza-yousaf-legitimacy-under-attack-duped-backing-snp/
More excitable commentators are suggesting the police stayed their hand until the SNP leadership election was out of the way. IF that was the case, rather than a plodding plod, then this has barely begun.
Forbes might do better without the sour grapes, by preparing for another election if Yousaf is as useless as many claim.
https://archive.is/wLYrg#selection-749.0-749.58
A number of Nicola Sturgeon loyalists, including Ian Blackford and Mhairi Hunter, have ignored the breaking news about their party on Wednesday.
https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/comment/sheep-silence-locked-accounts-how-29639216
We don't yet know if Scottish independence is the loser. That 'may' be English wishful-thinking.
I'm used to corruption. It's what politicians and leaders, especially male ones, do. It's in their DNA. Be cynical about the lot of them and I find you don't get disappointed.
A Day of Reckoning is coming. They will be lucky to get 5 seats.
Greens standing in just over 40% of the seats. More than I expect3d.
https://twitter.com/electionmapsuk/status/1643655792275406850?s=61&t=s0ae0IFncdLS1Dc7J0P_TQ
Many English people, myself included, couldn’t care less either way about Indy.
They aren't going to have much of a councillor base going into the next election....
"The UR-77 is a mine-clearing vehicle, and it fires a “line charge” over a relatively short range. That charge is designed to open a path through which other vehicles can pass through a minefield. To do so, it produces a series of explosions that clear an area 90 m long and 6 m wide. On Monday, Ukraine fired one of those charges into what was reportedly a mass of Wagner forces. "
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/4/2161994/-Ukraine-Update-In-Bakhmut-an-unusual-weapon-put-to-use-with-devastating-results
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-65178626
Police still outside the home of Peter Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon this morning. Murrell was released without charge last night - pending further investigation into party finances @GMB
https://twitter.com/NickDixonITV/status/1643847757822558208?s=20
https://twitter.com/AlexTaylorNews/status/1643549628753641474?t=fL0ZyD94xOrBeTXM6fYpZw&s=19
Although the article doesnt say soon.
12 Free range large eggs up by another 25p at Sainsburys to £2.80 yesterday
This is not an English wishful thinking exercise but for very many Scots, my wife included, the union is precious and it will be opinion in Scotland that will decide the future of independence
Theoretically over the next few years Mexican eggs from caged birds can be sold in UK but it is up against more and more supermarkets refusing to sell eggs from caged birds but more importantly the cost factor for Mexican farmers.
There is a high cost for transport and with Mexican eggs about 25% cheaper at present it makes very little business sense for them to ship them to UK when they sell so many to more local markets with cheaper and quicker transport
They might end up in the powdered egg chain but v unlikely in the “fresh” egg chain.
Here's Gove saying that we will not be dropping our standards:
https://twitter.com/cawleym1/status/1643555707881390080?t=EFyCvI9dhsPH8-_Zz8HMVQ&s=19
Farmers: ‘But cheap imports due to lower standards will ruin us’
Govt: ‘But aren’t we great. We got another trade deal’
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/05/robert-f-kennedy-jr-running-president-2024-00090706
I hope you’re feeling duly sheepish.
So we can refuse any trade deal with any country or block to ensure we only have the glorious perfect UK standards or accept that trade deals cannot be perfect.
We have higher standards on certain areas in farming than the EU - would you refuse to be part of the EU because we would have to accept in certain areas that they have lower standards which is unfair on the animals just for a trade deal or do we remain “pure”?
One of the reasons given for the slow Ukrainian advance on Kherson, and the relative ease with which the Russians were able to pull their forces back, was that the Ukrainians had a shortage of the necessary specialist mine-clearing and other engineering support equipment required to support a breakthrough of prepared defensive lines.
The latest US package of support includes additional such equipment. If the coming Ukrainian offensive is to be as successful as hoped, they will need this sort of equipment to support their advance. I do not find this report encouraging.
Although I accept, as with everything to do with the EU, it's imperfect.
I
What does a Romanian (as an example) ‘free range’ hen house actually look like in practice, compared to a Mexican one?
@NickPalmer might be able to confirm.
I am making no comment on who that message should be directed at...
"China to inspect ships in Taiwan Strait, Taiwan says won't cooperate"
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-inspect-ships-taiwan-strait-taiwan-says-wont-cooperate-2023-04-06/
In my ward, as the Greens go for their 23rd consecutive election victory, yet an LD is standing and will likely get sub 5%.
Hens must be provided with next boxes. Adequate perches, providing 15 centimetres of perch per hen, must also be provided. Litter must be provided, accounting for one-third of the ground surface - this is used for scratching and dust bathing."
While caged eggs producing chickens are literally in cages, unable to move around, debeaked.
This may actually be beneficial for consumers. There is a big shortage of free range eggs, so throwing more cheap crap into the supply chain actually frees up capacity for picky consumers.
Not saying I support yet another Tory drop in our standards (liars!!!), but we need more eggs...
Difficult to see what Taiwan could do (or the US would do) if China did move in on Kinmen or indeed Matsu.
There’s a long list of examples of EU law being followed to the letter in the UK, while being totally ignored in other countries.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/apr/06/my-week-with-chatgpt-can-it-make-me-a-healthier-happier-more-productive-person
Bourbon biscuits remain a bargain though. The finest and improbably still among the cheapest.
Will pose a real problem for our Royalist wokefinders. Especially as it isn't possible to blame the Stuarts. King Billy was also in the trade.
"King Charles has for the first time signalled his support for research into the British monarchy’s historical links with transatlantic slavery, after the emergence of a document showing his predecessor’s stake in a slave-trading company.
Buckingham Palace released the statement after it was contacted by the Guardian about the extensive history of successive British monarchs’ involvement and investment in the enslavement of African people.
The Guardian has published a previously unseen document showing the 1689 transfer of £1,000 of shares in the slave-trading Royal African Company to King William III, from Edward Colston, the company’s deputy governor."
What a spanner - doesn't he understand that you can't do that kind of thing? Extraordinarily he claims another 10 such lobbying operations are happening at any given time.
One of the joys of the Major era was buying the Sunday Times (which I used to do) and devouring mega scoops like the last Tory cash for questions scandal.
If I remember that and know you can't ask questions for cash, why don't actual MPs like Mr Mince?
Macron rushing off to meet the chinese communists so he doesnt have to meet the french ones
https://www.lefigaro.fr/politique/depuis-pekin-emanuel-macron-garde-un-oeil-sur-laurent-berger-20230405
While there is a verification issue, it's not as hard as you might think. Basically a supplier will hope to export vast quantitites, and it's not in their interest to be caught out and lose the lot. Farmers (including foreign farmers) don't generally mind if the standard is higher, so long as they can make a good living out of it. Might it lead to higher prices? Maybe - though supermarkets currently treat high-welfare products as niche premium products, and when they become the norm the price comes down.
Being numb to it isn't cynicism its defeatism.
It doesn't have to be this way.
Supermarket buyers won't be allowed to drop their self-imposed welfare standards because it is policy from the top which makes a point of difference. But the parts of the food sector who don't care? No worries mate, send it over.
This isn't a Brexit issue explicitly - we had the horsegate scandal as an EU member. But like so many of these issues Brexit is the accelerant. I know "it isn't all about Brexit so it isn't at all about Brexit" always gets screeched, but usually best to ignore howler monkeys and look at the facts
I slightly query RefUK's approach of essentially sitting out local elections. Candidates in under 10% of wards is pretty paltry, and it seems doubtful many will be elected. UKIP had a lot of councillors at one time (202 elected in this round of elections back in 2015) and, whilst not overstating it, it does offer a bit of a local platform and gets people into the habit of ticking the box. It was a one of many errors by ChangeUK back in 2019 too.
Perhaps Scotland has taught us that there may be consequences for those suspected of pilfering the cash register, and expect a circus bigtop to be erected in the front gardens of suspects when the police come looking for bank statements. Maybe normal service is being resumed.
Or maybe not... how has no one involved in the PPE scandal had a blue tent erected on their lawn?
A diet which won't make you live longer, but it will feel longer.
.....Nick Robinson used it in relation to the Sturgeon affair and attributed it to Sun Tzu. If correct it's quite disappointing.
The charm of the Spanish peasant sitting by the river is a big part of what makes it work. A Chinese philosopher General of the pre-Ming dynasty is something altogether less attractive
Guardians of the Galaxy 3 soundtrack:
“Creep” (Acoustic Version) – Performed by Radiohead
“Crazy On You” – Performed by Heart
“Since You Been Gone” – Performed by Rainbow
“In the Meantime” – Performed by Spacehog
“Reasons” – Performed by Earth, Wind and Fire
“Do You Realize??” – Performed by The Flaming Lips
“We Care a Lot” – Performed by Faith No More
“Koinu no Carnival” (From “Minute Waltz”) – Performed by EHAMIC
“I’m Always Chasing Rainbows” – Performed by Alice Cooper
“San Francisco” – Performed by The Mowgli’s
“Poor Girl” – Performed by X
“This Is the Day” – Performed by The The
“No Sleep Till Brooklyn” – Performed by Beastie Boys
“Dog Days Are Over” – Performed by Florence + The Machine
“Badlands” – Performed by Bruce Springsteen
“I Will Dare” – Performed by The Replacements
“Come and Get Your Love” – Performed by Redbone