SATURDAY November 30 is St Andrew’s Day. It is now 17 years since the passing of my bill in the Scottish Parliament to introduce a bank holiday on November 30 (or the following Monday if November 30 is a Saturday or Sunday).
Unfortunately that does not oblige any employers, not even the bankers, to give their workers a day off.
The only direct effect of any bank holiday legislation is to allow the postponement of a financial transaction until the following working day without incurring a penalty. That used to be the traditional way of facilitating a national holiday but that tradition seems now to be largely ignored, especially in the private sector.
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The public sector is not much better. The Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament recognise the St Andrew’s Day holiday but only four out of Scotland’s 32 local councils follow suit.
I applaud the annual STUC St Andrew’s Day March against Racism and Fascism but the trade union movement could and should do more to gain wider recognition of a St Andrew’s Day holiday.
Local councils should also do more by granting a holiday for school children and council workers on or around St Andrew’s Day.
Such measures would help to ensure that there is one very special holiday in the year when the people of Scotland can celebrate our patron, our national identity and our membership of the international community.
Dennis Canavan (former MP/MSP)
Bannockburn
IT’S an interesting development, appointing Kate Forbes to head up a new government investment unit as a so-called “investment champion”.
What I hope for is that it has nothing to do with the Freeports created by the UK Government. Or even the so-called UK Investment Zones.
I was also concerned about any links with Scotland’s own National Investment Bank. It’s good to see that it appears to be working well for Scotland, given the brief paragraph in The National’s article about all the the above. £1.4 billion worth of investments has to be good so far, surely?
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I note that the Scottish National Investment Bank (launched by the Scottish Government in November 2020) invests public money in businesses and projects that help address persistent, long-term challenges facing Scotland. There does seem to be some form of link with Kate Forbes’s new post, where “the Bank has been set three missions by the Scottish Government to guide its activities. These missions focus on addressing the climate crisis, transforming communities, and scaling up innovation and technology.” Very much in line with those of Kate’s missions.
Although Rachel Reeves advocates growth as a cure for filling in the so-called black hole deficit left by the Tory government, her methods seem to be proving just the opposite, given all the subsequent comments from the business world and public authorities.
Kate wants to see Scotland’s own businesses taking part in this enterprise, including their represented investment communities. I wish her well and hope that she can create something that will lift Scotland to a better place through business investment ready and able to support an independent Scotland.
Alan Magnus-Bennett
Fife
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I THINK that the SNP should spike Sarwar’s guns by announcing at the budget that the Scottish Government intends to resume fuel payments as soon as Westminster takes the humanitarian step of reintroducing the universality of the payment. And provides the Barnett consequential to fund the payment.
M Ross
Aviemore
AS winter approaches, a lot of political heat has been generated around the Labour government in Westminster cutting the Winter Fuel Payment (WFP). Unfortunately none of this political heat will help our poor pensioners in Scotland keep warm.
I’ve heard of politicians changing like the weather, but changing with the weather is a new act. Slither forward Labour in Scotland’s Anas Sarwar, with his head birlin like a wind vane in a storm. His signature move is changing political direction whatever way the wind blows.
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With more pirouettes than any skater from Dancing on Ice, he managed to spin his way into what can only be described as a ridiculous situation. He and his skating partner Jackie Baillie performed a silent film act, failing to criticise the Reeves cut, keeping quiet in case they annoyed their political masters judging from London. Proving it’s a difficult act to stand up for Scotland with no backbone and skating on thin ice.
With poll figures dropping like the temperature, the first flurries of snow signalled yet another U-turn from the ever nimble Mr Sarwar. Not content with trying to buy votes by announcing he’ll re-introduce the WFP in Scotland, if he wins in 2026, he’s now doubling down on his duplicity by trying to force a vote at Holyrood to reverse a policy all the new Labour in Scotland MPs voted for.
I would hope the Scottish public will remember his shambolic performance and give a very low score when asked to judge at the next election.
Paul Malloy
via email
READING that Scottish Secretary of State Murray venturing to Malaysia and Singapore on a trade mission, I was wondering if a chaperone is require just to make sure that it is “trade” he is speaking about and not the “Union”.
Ken McCartney
Hawick
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