Tag Archives: civil service reform

Tomorrow sees the deadline for nominations for local elections in England and, like many of you, my nomination papers are with my local District Council for inclusion on the ballot on 4 May. We take on a serious responsibility, especially for those of us with prospects of victory, as representing our communities is not to be taken lightly, regardless of the level and scale of that position. But, whether you’re a target seat candidate, or an incumbent, or even just a name on a ballot paper, thank you in anticipation of what you’ll be doing over the next thirty-one days.

It’s been a testing few weeks for the Scottish Nationalists, with a leadership contest which exposed the philosophical divides within their ranks, and a new Leader who has attracted much ad hominem criticism from, it must be said, the usual English media suspects. I don’t pay enough attention to Scottish domestic politics to really know whether or not Humza Yousuf is up to the job, but he has a huge challenge on his hands following on from Nicola Sturgeon, whose leadership transcended the ideological question marks within SNP ranks.

I’m an agnostic on Scottish independence (sorry about that, Caron) as I respect the notion of self-determination. I’ve always said that independence comes with a price in terms of “blood and treasure” and, if Scots are allowed to make a properly informed decision and vote to go ahead, then so be it. That said, one does wonder if the SNP would long survive a victory given the loss of the one obvious factor which currently unites them.