The Lesley Riddoch Podcast Lesley Riddoch and Pat Joyce

As the dust settles on the SNP leadership question and the Cabinet reshuffle, the focus now shifts to what policies the Swinney government will pursue. Will it be a simple battle between "Left" and "Right"? Growth has been promised  but what will this mean in practice and will there be a new openness to ideas outwith the usual lobbying  suspects?Change under a changed Labour Party has been the mantra of the Starmer project. This change has been so dramatic that Natalie Elphicke, most definitely not a One Nation Tory, has crossed the floor of the House. A master stroke or a sign that Labour has abandoned all pretence of socialism? Meanwhile ,they've  been outflanked by none other than Suella Braverman on scrapping the two child benefit cap, still support the disastrous "Right to Buy", long abandoned in Scotland, and have no plans to re-open safe routes for asylum seekers. Even their much heralded New Deal For Working People looks like being watered down even further.Anas Sarwar appeared on Good Morning Scotland this morning and was put on the back foot simultaneously opposing and defending UK Labour policies while justifying the parachuting of Labour candidates from the south of England into Scottish constituencies.Rishi Sunak in his keynote speech yesterday launched what looks like his first salvo in his re-election campaign. It went way beyond Project Fear and lurched into Project Panic. It painted a picture of a beleaguered country assailed on all sides by extremists including those 50% of us who support Scottish independence.It was a bad set of results for the parties supporting independence in the recent Catalonian elections. It marked a significant shift in Catalonia’s political landscape, with the Socialists winning big and pro-independence parties losing ground.Lesley analyses the result, it's all a bit more complex than the British media would have us believe, and reflects on what significance they may have in a Scottish context.All this plus the usual malarkey and Eurovision.
 


★ Support this podcast ★

Humza Yousaf officially resigned as First Minister just before noon this Tuesday.John Swinney was elected unopposed as leader of the SNP after Graeme McCormick dropped out. The theatre switched stage to Holyrood where the formality of his ascendancy to FM was played out.We give our reaction to both of these.What will his election to both posts mean for the furtherance of independence?Will he manage to unify his party to fight the General Election?Will it be simply business as usual in terms of party management and government policies?
Sir John Curtice has given his thoughts on 25 years of devolution, and despite the SNP's recent troubles, says it's been pretty positive for them.
Meanwhile the Tories took a real beating in last week's series of English elections. We look at the results and ask what, if any ,extrapolation can be made between them and the looming General Election.
After Dan Poulter's defection to Labour, the impending watering down of its New Deal For Working People, Labour Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves speech to business leaders  was introduced by ex Tory Minister Nick Boles. Boles has been advising other Shadow Ministers behind the scenes. What change will Labour bring in government?Here's the links to the Neal Ascherson and Ian McConnell  pieces Lesley mentioned in the podcasthttps://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/04/the-snp-may-be-laid-low-but-the-call-of-scottish-independence-is-loud-and-clear   https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/24295961.snp-enormous-problem-scottish-business/
 


★ Support this podcast ★

In this bonus episode we focus on the news that the field to become the new leader of the SNP and next First Minister seems to be down to just one candidate as Kate Forbes announced that she would be supporting John Swinney's candidacy.We look at John Swinney's speech and analyse both it and Kate Forbes statement and speculate on the significance of the key points in both.Meanwhile back in Holyrood it was gloves off time as Humza Yousaf, looking liberated by his recent resignation, tore into both Douglas Ross and Anas Sarwar at First Minister's Questions.England and Wales have a multitude of local, mayoral, and Police Commissioner elections today, plus a by-election in Blackpool South. What, if anything, will they tell us about the state of the parties in the run up to the inevitable General Election.All this plus Lesley's knockout blow to Andrew Neil on LBC and references to past World Cups and musicals.


★ Support this podcast ★

One topic and one topic alone in this week's episode. We give our immediate reaction to the resignation of First Minister Humza Yousaf.Why did he resign?Who will be the next SNP leader and First Minister?What next for the Greens and Alba?


★ Support this podcast ★

The past week in Scottish politics has been all about fall outs. Who can speak at an independence rally? Which rally should take precedence? Will the Scottish Greens bail out of the Bute House Agreement over the abandonment of climate change targets and the Cass Review?We ask if these disputes mask the dearth of ideas at government level over how to tackle the fundamental issue of climate change and cloud the necessity of cooperation and unity in the drive for Scottish independence?
The Cass Review has been the focus of much of the media and many politicians. Who is Hilary Cass and what does the review actually say?
Robin McAlpine of Common Weal thinks the news on climate targets is grim but not unexpected. He called for a move away from a free market approach and  put forward ideas that he is convinced would work.https://commonweal.scot/anger-at-dropped-targets-must-lead-to-change/Craig Dalzell also flagged up initiatives from five years ago that would have saved government the recent embarrassment of bad headlines over wood burning stoves.https://commonweal.scot/shedding-light-on-rural-heat/Meanwhile at Westminster the Tories are battering away at getting their Rwanda Bill passed, despite opposition in the Lords, despite the legal implications, the cost, and despite the very real likelihood it wont "Stop the boats". Has it become a totemic Tory policy that they simply can't give up?
Labour have promised to stop the flights if they form the next government but have stuck to an opposition based on cost and its failure to protect "our borders".Sticking with Labour, has Starmer scored an own goal with his statements on English patriotism which he cheerfully conflates with Britishness?
May the 11th and 12th sees a weekend celebration of all things Cunninghame Graham. Don Roberto and Scotland: international perspectives. There’s a day of talks at the Smith Stirling Museum on the Saturday, and a morning visit to Gartmore House, his childhood home , and the island of Inchmahome, place of his burial, on the Sunday.https://donrobertoandme.com/2024/04/04/don-roberto-and-scotland-international-perspectives/And if you listen carefully you might just hear a wee mention or two of the world famous Dundee United winning the Scottish Championship.


★ Support this podcast ★

In this week's episode we wonder if Iran has fallen into the trap set by an increasingly desperate Netanyahu who was seeing Western support for Israel's actions in Gaza ebb away.Israel has long argued that the whole Gaza war has in effect been “a war against Iran” from the start. An Iran which threatened not only Israel but stability across the region and beyond. We also examine the legality of both Israel and Iran's actions and the hypocrisy in particular of the USA and the UK.Germany has been a staunch,almost unquestioning, supporter of Israel over Gaza, and indeed being a major arms supplier. Does the recent ban on entry to the country of Glasgow University rector Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah, who was due to speak on his experiences as a surgeon in Gaza, shine a light on why Germany is facing claims of facilitating genocide at the ICJ?Lesley's Lyme disease health issues lead us into our thoughts on Wes Streeting's latest statements on the role of private healthcare in the NHS. Are we being middle class lefties?
Lesley looks at the recent legislation concerning wood burning stoves and asks if, yet again, it shows the urban centric perspective of the Scottish government.Lesley's latest film Denmark The State of Happiness seems to have touched a very sensitive nerve with a significant number of unionist commentators. We try and get behind their rhetoric to reality.And if you want to see the film and make up your own mind it's available online herehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTJnu6lAhvMplus live at the following venueshttps://lesleyriddoch.com/eventsAs promisedThe Hutters Rally event in Dundeehttps://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hutters-rally-2024-tickets-840277692197?aff=oddtdtcreatorBelieve in Scotland Rallyhttps://www.thenational.scot/news/24247987.believe-scotland-confirms-full-line-up-speakers-hosts/There's also a cheeky wee special offer on a £20 annual subscription to The Nationalhttps://www.thenational.scot/subscribe/?utm_source=x&utm_campaign=SS


★ Support this podcast ★