One of the reasons I prefer writing over speaking in public is that my gob doesn’t have a backspace key. However, I am not known for my silence or unwillingness to express an opinion so when I was invited to take part in a new podcast about Scottish politics, I jumped at the chance.
On Thursday, just after the Scottish Budget was announced, I spent an enjoyable half an hour talking over the issues of the day with the hosts Andrew Jackson and David McColgan.
I don’t think I said anything too embarrassing but have a listen to try and find something.
We talked about the Budget and I said that we really need to have an honest debate about tax and the level of tax we need to sustain decent public services.
A Scottish MSP has come up with a Private Members’ Bill to help streamline the regulation of funfairs. I was immediately worried about health and safety but apparently it’s more about the different charging regimes for each local authority. I am fairly untroubled by this as I’m quite into the idea of local government charging according to its needs. I’m also comfortable with the idea that somewhere like Edinburgh, with its massive Christmas market, say, charges a whole load more than, say, Elgin.
We also touched on Ruth Davidson’s comments about seeking a Westminster seat and the election in Alabama.
I screwed up slightly at the end when put on the spot but I said that although there were a few chinks of light, things were still very bleak on the Brexit and populism fronts and we needed to work very hard to combat those sorts of things in the next year.
Anyway, you can listen to the whole thing here. There were no rows, tears and tantrums, just a bit of thoughtful discussion.
Politics Galore! A Scottish Politics Podcast Ep.4 is out now! In a bumper Christmas ‘cast before our holidays we talk #ScotBudget #ScottishBudget w/ @caronmlindsay of @scotlibdems and interview @KirstyRegan @newsdirect On iTunes, PocketCast, Soundcloud https://t.co/b87VwXCTrF
— Politics Galore! (@PolGaloreScot) December 14, 2017
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social
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3 Comments
We have been waiting for years for the Scottish parliament to use its powers to vary the rate of income tax, initially decided by a Labour leader with a constituency in England.
So how does the SNP pluck a turkey? What do they need to do to get the support of the Scottish Greens? Would Scottish Liberal Democrats be in support? or possibly both?
The SNP appear to have been sensible by making a series of small changes, some up some down. Assume that Scottish Tories are opposed to all increases.
Reminds me, there was a lib dem related thing that amused me on Breaking the News (which I, as a Sassenach, have to get by podcast): “There’s been a lot of chat about how the Scottish parliament isn’t using all it;s powers to the full, and it’s true, because WIllie Rennie can bend spoons”
I don’t think that’s actually true….