Tag Archives: radio scotland

My experience on the Big Fat Debate

Yesterday, I travelled across Scotland to a very windy Prestwick to take part in Radio Scotland’s Big Debate, hosted by Gordon Brewer. There was a big audience in the warm and welcoming Monkton and Prestwick Church Hall. My fellow panellists were Conservative MSP John Scott, SNP MSP Chic Brodie (who used to be a Lib Dem), Herald journalist Alison Rowat and former Labour MP for Glasgow South Tom Harris. Tom has a bit of a reputation for courting controversy and being a bit of a bruiser, so let me ruin that slightly by letting you know that he was showing us photos of his very cute dog before we went into the hall. He would say I started it by showing a photo my husband had sent me of my dog, and he’d be right, but still. He’s actually a good bloke, despite having been Misogynist of the Week on my blog a few years back. He’s a fellow Whovian, so can be forgiven almost anything. Well, maybe not all his gratuitous attacks on the Lib Dems…

It was a lively hour and, unusually, we managed to fit in five questions:

Donald Trump

It’s always good to have a go at the obnoxious, racist, misogynist American billionaire, but what if his investments are creating hundreds of jobs locally, as they are in Ayrhsire? Should they be boycotted? My view was that, much as I wouldn’t go anywhere near them, it should be an individual choice, not a matter of public policy. I added that although I hadn’t signed the petition (for the reasons I gave the other day), it was in some ways heartening to half a million people show a bit of solidarity with Muslims. After all, there have been too many reports of hostility towards them recently. In the aftermath of the Paris attacks, a friend of mine was walking down the street and moved aside to let someone pass. She got a whole load of rudeness in return: “I don’t thank your kind” was the horrible response.

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Talking Tim on Radio Scotland

Yesterday, I went on the Stephen Jardine show on Radio Scotland to spill all Tim Farron’s secrets and discuss his prospects with Stephen and John Crace from the Guardian. Sadly, I didn’t quite get through all of them, but that at least means I have them for another time.

You can listen to it all here from about 1 hour 18 minutes in. Do feel free to laugh at me criticising the party’s election messages for use of too many body parts and then using two myself in fairly quick succession.

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Reviewing the papers on Radio Scotland’s Crossfire

Driving to Glasgow at 6am on a wintry Sunday morning was slightly scary, especially for someone who really doesn’t do Winter, but that’s what I did to take part in the review of the Sunday papers on the Radio Scotland programme Crossfire. I was on with former Herald editor Murray Ritchie and Cat Boyd from the Radical Independence campaign.

Obviously we talked about some bloke deciding he wants to stand for the Westminster Parliament he claims to revile.  Former Special Adviser Sam Ghibaldan on Sunday Politics Scotland and I both made the case that Salmond’s victory is far from assured.

I raised …

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