The Lesley Riddoch Podcast Lesley Riddoch and Pat Joyce

A bumper episode featuring Rishi Sunak, the Rosebank oilfield, the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election, and Robin McAlpine.The numerate among you will note that's four not three Rs but why ruin a good podcast title over arithmetic?Rishi Sunak seems assailed on all sides at the Conservative Conference in Manchester. Farage hob-nobbing with Priti Patel, Liz Truss re-emerging with her 60 "Growthers", and northern Tory mayors not at all happy with the rumoured cancellation of HS2.We look at this plus the lurch even more to the right with Mark Harper embracing conspiracy theories on 15 Minute Cities.While abandoning HS2 looks on the cards the UK government is hell bent on going ahead with the development of the Rosebank oilfield.Lesley demolishes the misinformation surrounding this disastrous decision.We give our first impressions on Robin McAlpine and Common Weal's Direction-A realistic strategy for achieving Scottish independence.The paper makes much of activist action and a significant example of this is Chain of Freedom on October the 14th.To find out more and take part follow this linkhttps://chainoffreedom.scot/There's also discussion on the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election.All this plus, for those who've missed it, the return of the interrupting delivery driver, and Ryder Cup reflections.


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Rishi Sunak was spooked, after a leak, into announcing his roll-back from Net Zero measures. This resulted in condemnation, not just from political opponents and environmental groups, but from within his own party and industry.We look at what might be behind this and ask if this is a last throw of the dice to stave off electoral disaster.Talking of disasters and Sunak he claimed yesterday that he was shocked to discover the runaway costs of HS2. Is he holding the poison chalice of a 2009 Labour vanity project that's gone too far to cancel?Lesley spoke to the Electoral Reform Society about the structure of Scottish local government. How democratic is Scottish local democracy?If you want to contribute to the consultation on Democracy Matters Phase 2 follow the link below https://www.gov.scot/publications/democracy-matters-phase-2-consultation-local-governance-review/Much has been made about the Unionist and Labour Party links of Unison's head of local government, Johanna Baxter, in the light of the union going ahead with three days of strike action after Unite and GMB called theirs off. Is too much of Scotland's politics being seen through an independence prism?The DCA in Dundee will be screening Jane McAllister's movie To See Ourselves this evening at 6pm Tickets are still available athttps://www.dca.org.uk/whats-on/event/to-see-ourselves-qandaAll the screening dates can be found on the website- 
 https://toseeourselves.film/see-the-filmYou can also find links here: https://linktr.ee/newlicht 



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This podcast extra features our conversation with Robin McAlpine.Robin is a Scottish campaigner who was the Director of the Common Weal think tank from 2014 to 2021. He previously worked as a journalist, and was the first director of the Jimmy Reid Foundation. In an earlier political incarnation he  worked as a political researcher for Labour MP George Robertson.He's currently Head of Strategic Development at Common Weal.Our starting point was Sorted  based on 10 years of policy work by Common Weal, covering all aspects of public life. Common Weal says , "Sorted is about what's possible. It's a handbook for a better Scotland. A vision for a shared future in an independent Scotland."Sorted was a jumping off point for a fascinating,wide ranging discussion with Robin,brimful of ideas and passion.Copies of Sorted can be purchased by following this link
https://commonweal.scot/shop/publications/sorted-a-handbook-for-a-better-scotland/


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We certainly cover a lot of ground in this week's episode.Kicking off ( pun definitely intended) with the retreat by Richard Turfitt on the draconian proposed restrictions on travelling Scottish football fans. The consultation document resulted in almost unanimous consensus in opposition right across the political spectrum.The decision by the Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain that it would “not be in the public interest to prosecute drug users” possessing drugs within a consumption room were one to be created." has also sparked surprising agreement among political parties with even the Scottish Tories supporting the ruling and the establishment of a pilot scheme in Glasgow. However Suella Braverman and the UK government seem set against the idea. Will this lead to a Scottish Tory rebellion?The Conservatives staved off a backbench revolt,led by Alok Sharma, on maintaining the ban on on-shore wind farm developments. However the latest auction of offshore licences proved a predictable disaster.One of several facing an increasingly chaotic UK government sailing in the face of expert and public opinion.This followed on from the report by the Commons International Development Committee on the unintended consequences of the Illegal Migration Act,which we explore.There has also been vehement and complete opposition to the Northern Ireland Troubles Legacy and Reconciliation Act from all Northern Ireland's political parties, the Irish government, victims' families and civic groups. Is the act a cover up for the so called "Dirty War"?Meanwhile there's trouble at t'mill or at least the TUC Congress 2023 with Unite leading the campaign for Labour not to roll back on workers rights and public ownership. The level of trust in an incoming Labour government might be judged by the motion passed calling for employment law to be devolved to Scotland.However, it does appear from all that's coming out of Labour HQ that all this has fallen on Blairite deaf ears.If you're interested in the "Break Up of Britain" conference memtioned by Lesley you can find out more and book tickets herehttps://thebreakupofbritain.net/https://www.tickettailor.com/events/thebreakupofbritain/936799All this plus reports back on Lesley's Thrive tour, house sitting adventures, and Pat's technical demands.


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Humza Yousaf delivered the SNP's Programme for Government for the next parliamentary year and we give our immediate reaction to the major proposals he outlined.Lesley was a speaker,and marcher,at the Edinburgh  Believe in Scotland rally last Saturday. She talks about what it was like,the significance of the First Minister's attendance,and why it was about so much more than the numbers.Sir Keir Starmer has just completed his Shadow Cabinet reshuffle and what appears to be the completion of his purging of any vestiges of the Labour left. Where does this leave Scottish Labour?Rishi Sunak has also been rearranging the deckchairs on his own personal Titanic as the row over RAAC looks like another nail in Tory electoral hopes.Lesley's Thrive tour continues.If you fancy popping along here's a list of upcoming events https://www.luath.co.uk/thrive-tour


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Lesley's back frae film making in Denmark and the first part of this week's episode are her hame thochts frae abroad. Not giving the game away too much but safe to say she loved what she saw and reflects on what Scotland can and should learn from our Nordic neighbour.One of the other benefits of being away and so busy has been her non exposure to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. So she missed the online stooshie over what exactly Kezia Dugdale said about Scottish independence at the Edinburgh Book Festival. Being one of the other guests at that event Lesley sets the record straight.Yet another Land Reform Bill is about to be presented to the Scottish Parliament.Will it "turbocharge land reform" as Michael Russell claims it needs to? Lesley argues in her latest article in The National that land ownership and local democracy are not only the key to a fairer Scotland but are absolutely essential to creating confidence in independence.


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