The Lesley Riddoch Podcast Lesley Riddoch and Pat Joyce

The report into the infected blood scandal has finally been published and it makes for damning reading. It found that this "not an accident", and that the government and the NHS had engaged in "downright deception" over decades.We speculate on whose head will roll as a result of the findings and marvel at the fortitude of survivors and campaigners.
John Woodcock, Baron Walney , former Labour MP , chair of Labour Friends of Israel, and current chair of Purpose Business Coalition and Independent Adviser on Political Violence and Disruption to the UK government has completed his report entitled Protecting our Democracy from Coercion.We ask if given his ties to Israel, fossil fuel companies, and the defence industry whether his independence  can be relied on.
The ICC has applied for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity related to the war against Hamas in Gaza. Alongside the Israeli leaders, the ICC also seeks arrest warrants for Hamas’s senior leadership: Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh. If granted, Netanyahu would be the first Western-oriented leader charged by the ICC .
What has been the reaction of both the UK and US governments? How does the rationale for UK opposition to the decision stack up against international law and its previous stance on Russian war crimes?
The latest polls show a significant lead for Labour in Scotland  in voting intention at the next General Election. However it's neck and neck with the SNP when it comes to Holyrood.
UK Labour has also set out its First Steps for a future Labour government.Will Anas Sarwar simply parrot the Starmer lines or will he make a separate set of Scottish pledges?
What impact will the parachuting of Labour candidates from England into Scottish constituencies have on the electorate?Meanwhile Holyrood has declared a housing crisis.Should this have been foreseen given the homelessness trends over the past six years? Have funding regulations mitigated against non local authority and housing association organisations building social homes?  Will there be over reliance on the "big boy" private building companies? Will "land banking" be tackled seriously?
https://www.ft.com/content/24117a03-37c2-424a-97ed-6a5292f9e92eFor full marketing details of the 23 serviced self-build plots available for purchase at Hall’s Field, Lamlash, Arran see link to the relevant page on the DiscoverArran websitehttps://www.discoverarran.com/latest-news-blog/96-halls-field-self-build-plotsFor the Marketing Document, which is available for download, and/or if you have questions contact sheena.borthwick.aeg@gmail.com. All contacts will be treated in the strictest of confidence.While the SNP has slumped in the polls support for the Greens has gone up by 3%. All this despite the expulsion of 13 members for signing a declaration which said “sex is a biological reality” and called for trans women to be banned from women’s changing rooms.
Signatories also claimed there was a “chilling atmosphere of censure and fear within the party, which affects not only free speech but also free thought”.The party said those who signed the Scottish Green Women’s Declaration were in breach of the party’s code of conduct claiming they'd failed to “maintain political discipline” and breaking rules on “behaviours that constitute prejudice based on sexual orientation or gender identity” and “behaviours that constitute a threat to others”.We examine what the Scottish Green Women’s Declaration actually said and wonder if the expulsions signal a potential party split.https://scottishgreenwomensdeclaration.scot/All of this plus the usual meanderings, listening and viewing recommendations, and the obligatory mention of Dundee United.As promised link to YesWeDidnae surveyhttps://yeswedidnae.scot/


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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.
 


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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/
 


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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.


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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?


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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.


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