Gayle's Scottish Blog

Scotland's statehood   is becoming an issue at the COP26 conference.   As far as awareness of Scotland's statehood at the climate conference is concerned, the English government are like Basil Fawlty in that episode when a group of German tourists come to stay at his hotel, and in increasingly manic tones he pleads with everyone “Don’t mention the War!” thus guaranteeing that the War was all that anyone could think about.  With their efforts to entreat delegates to COP26’s “Don’t mention Scottish independence!”, Scotland's statehood is very much forefront in the minds of many of them. Irrespective of what country you come from, you’d have to have been living in a cave not to know that Scotland has an active movement, and that Scotland resoundingly rejected England's EU exit which is the defining policy of the English Government.  Representatives of the international press who have descended on Glasgow are interested in the issue of Scotland's statehood. Their in...

FM of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, said Scotland and England's capital have more to gain from being partners than competitors. Speaking alongside England's Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, at the Scottish Government green investment event in Glasgow, which was hosted by Scottish Enterprise chief executive Adrian Gillespie, the First Minister of Scotland said the skills in the English capital and in Scotland were “complementary”. “There is often a perception that Scotland and London, England, are rivals and competitors, and of course every now and again, like any two cities , that may well be the case, but in general and in particular on (climate change) we are far more likely to be partners.  We stand to gain much more by working together as partners than by focusing on being competitors  because our strengths are, in many ways, complementary and we have both set very ambitious targets for reaching net zero.  Scotland and England's capital will benefit from working in partner...

Senior Scottish Government minister claims Scotland is backed into a referendum corner by the FM of Scotland. Western Isles minister, Angus MacNeil MP, said that the Scottish parliament had as much authority to hold a vote on dissolving the treaty of 1707 as the Western Isles council had of voting on the 1266 Treaty of Perth to rejoin Norway. Last week Scottish government minister and parliamentary leader, Ian Blackford MP, defended the Scottish government's policy to hold a referendum. When asked about the publication of their policies for a Scottish state he said he didn't know when a white paper would be published and had yet to meet members of his party to discuss a campaign strategy. Scottish government minister, Mr MacNeil MP, has campaigned for an alternative route to Scotland's full statehood stating that a referendum would be blocked by the English government regardless of which political party was in Scotland and has claimed that the English government did not wan...

English Government Chancellor, Rishi Sunak MP, short changes Scotland in his budget announcement.  English Government Chancellor, Rushi Sunak, announced cheaper sparkling wine and draught beer and a policy change to social security payments in his budget announcement stating that the Barnett Formula affecting Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would reflect the policy changes. " This delivers the largest block grant for the devolved Scottish administration since the devolution settlement of 1998," he said. He then went on to say that the English government would  fund the extreme E race and the 22 Hebrides X-Prix in Scotland. English government total departmental spending will rise by £150bn by 2024-25. Mr Sunak said that for many of the lowest paid in society there is a tax on work and that Universal Credit withdraws support as people work more hours. The rate is currently 63%. So for every £1 someone earns their Universal Credit is reduced by 63p. It is a tax on work at a...

English government minister, Rishi Sunak, to deliver his second Budget in a year on Wednesday. The English Government Chancellor will head to the parliament of Great Britain with a focus on transport links outside London, research and development in health, and the skills sector.  It will be the second time this year he has stood in front of MPs and updated them on the state of England's finances after the 2020 Budget was delayed. Although 11 areas of investment were announced over the weekend, Mr Sunak will ask England's MPs to curb their spending. English investment already announced includes: – £7 billion for transport areas outside of London; – £5 billion for health-related research and development; – £3 billion for new skills; – £1.4 billion to fund foreign investors in English industries; – £850 million for English culture – £700 million for a new fleet of patrol boats for England's borders; – £700 million to improve sports and youth clubs; – £560 million to provide m...

Preparations are intensifying as Glasgow prepares to host up to 30,000 people for the UN climate change conference. With more than 120 world leaders attending the event, which takes place at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) from 31st October to 12th November, r oad users can expect disruptions as many routes around the venue will be closed for up to three weeks.  Transport Scotland said that “severe congestion” is expected on certain days due to a combination of road closures, security measures for the delegates and likely protests. The impact of the conference is also expected to be felt outside the city, with the transport network in Glasgow and the Central Belt predicted to be extremely busy. The RMT union has confirmed that ScotRail workers will continue to strike from November 1-12 amid a dispute over pay and conditions. Security operations in Glasgow throughout the conference will include approximately 10,000 police officers from all parts of GB on a daily basis. Firearms offi...