NOU that the silly season is aa but by, commentators an journalists o aa sorts can luik forrit tae gettin their teeth intil some rael news. Insteid o fillin oor papers wi the kindae gyte nonsense (Diana re-hashed yet agane!) that we hae seen in the last month or sae.
Nicola Sturgeon hus promised a swatch o new laws an legislation that cuiver a wide reenge o badly needit changes. Ae exaumpil wid be “Frank’s Law”, nemmed fir former fitba star Frank Kopel, an whit sees free personal care nou gien tae thaim unner the age o 65 wha are copin wi dreidfu condeetions sic as dementia.
A bit lik Macbeth’s witches, ah’ll get the crystal ball oot an hae a bit luik intil the near future ... !
Ah wunner gin the SNP wull be takkin tent o global warmin issues in the new session o Pairliament? The friens an family ah wrote aboot in this verra page a few weeks syne, wha we steyed wi oan oor holiday in Florida, hae been battenin doun the hatches as they tholed a haimmerin frae Hurricane Irma. Donald Trump is oan record as a climate chainge denier but aiblins the wuins that hae wrocht sic havoc in the Keys micht e’en be strang enow tae mak that man chainge his mind!
Here at hame, Scotland lik ither kintras is makkin a play tae phase oot the nou auld farrant internal combustion engine. Ettlin tae see the back o petrol an diesel caurs bi 2032 (ambeetious bi ony staundarts!) an muives tae see the A9 transformed intil Scotland’s first fully electric heichwey! Gien that Scotland hus 25 per cent o Europe’s potential renewable energy oan tap, thair nae raison why ony o these proposals cannae become realities.
Kintras lik Norway hae humongous sovereign wealth funds (theirs is currently $960 billion!!!) that they hae hained frae their oil businesses. Oors wis hijacked bi Thatcher tae bale oot 1980s Britain, o coorse! But better late as nevir, the SNP’s norrie o settin up a national investment bank tae gie business growth a heize bi providin lang-term capital is juist the kindae common sense ploy that wid hae Adam Smith grinnin lik a Cheshire cat! Mony a mickle maks a muckle an aa that!
Aye, but it aa needs tae be peyed fir, ah hear ye’se threip! Sae agane, the norrie o pitten a penny or twa oan income tax widnae fash me ava. The Facebook fraternity hae bin bellin this cat, an maist fowk, it seems, are canty wi a modest rise in wir taxes that cuid weel see Scotland haein an extra £1bn in wir coffers in a year or sae. O coorse Labour micht girn that they’d aareadies suggestit this, but when ye’re no in pouer ye can say onything! An nae dout gin we dae manage tae hain a nest egg it’ll be Labour’s idea. Success hus mony faithers!
Teachers an nurses, wha hae bin short chainged bi Tories an Labour fir years, micht see a much-needit an realistic pey rise gin thon Draconian one per cent public sector pey cap is finally liftit. Mind, this (south o the Border) smacks o Tory desperation; gie the warkers mair breid an circuses gin yer Brexit Bill is deid in the watter! Buy time, gin ye can! An gin this wis a Tory idea in Scotland thair nae dout they wid load ony new pey deals intil “efficiency savings” an “reform of public services”. Aye, right! Privatised health care onybody!?
The proponed new education bill micht see heid teachers bein gien mair freedom tae mak their ain deceesions instead o bein ham-strung bi bureaucratic nonsense at ilka turn! Let the teachers teach. They’re the yins best placed tae decide whit happens in their schuils. No some oot o touch inspector.
Ah daur say we aa micht hae oor ain weesh leet fir legislative changes!? Whit wid yours be!? Fir masel, wi ma abidin interest in the welfare o patients an staff in oor NHS, ah wid dearly like tae see the creation o a fully independent health regulator in Scotland. Ah’d like tae see mair accountability frae thaim in charge o oor NHS boards, an public awards an accolades gien tae whistleblowers in baith public an the private sector. Fewer honours fir thaim wi their snouts in the troch – an mair genuine recognition fir oor society’s true heroes!
Thair nae lack o forward thinkin frae the SNP. Scotland hus bin at the cuttin edge o modren day enlichtenment thinkin; gay mairriage, or the smoking ban. This raft o new proposals an legislation kythes the SNP are mair as capable o gleg, energetic government an that thair is nae lack o veesion or drive in the pairty. Naysayers an critics wull nae dout be dismayed that the “Tartan Tiger” is aince agane roarin its defiance at the Maybot’s weak, unstable an daily failin Westmonster government! Haud forrit!
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