Today’s story in the Scotsman, as well as, following Scottish Exile makes me ask myself is the new immigration policy for the U.K. (really England) back door racism.

Money has always played a part in our immigration policy for non-Eu citizens for years but now the new £30,000 skills based policy appears to be stopping Scots from returning home with their families.

I have a fair bit of experience with the Home Office and I can tell you that even 15 years ago that was garbage so I can’t imagine what people are going through now. The average wage in Scotland is a paltry £24,000 so below the threshold, years ago the threshold was still around £20,000 if I remember correctly.

The U.K. Government have even admitted that nationality is no longer important

So actually being Scottish makes no difference now, that can’t be right but then we know how much regard us Scots get in the United Kingdom. The Scottish Government have said

Reading the Exile Scot blog I have to ask myself how much the Scottish Government are doing for those with health problems but married to Scots, is our policy that we only fight for healthy people who can work, that doesn’t sit well with me at all. If a person is married to a Scot, that’s enough and they should have the right to remain, or return, and receive the same care. The Scotland I want is a compassionate one, not one based on money.

So I have to ask myself, is U.K. immigration policy back door racism, maybe even against Scots? That thought definitely both disgusts and frightens me, it’s more reminiscent of the history of the Nazi Party I was taught in school than what I hoped this country stood for. Maybe we should all be concerned.

I haven’t done a survey for a while so thought I would give another one a go. I appreciate it’s not scientific and just a bit of fun but if you want to take part please do, I’ll leave it open for a week then post the results.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScqy0xl0mgQeBQtRTAAMg-YmyQbWO3OVdahid5esU0Yf5Y-bw/viewform?usp=sf_link

 

 

It appears that the BBC Scotland channel is failing to attract many viewers, anyone surprised?

Seemingly The Nine has slumped to less than 9000 viewers per day. Now I have never watched BBC Scotland, I gave up on the BBC a long time ago and swore to myself it’s not a channel I’ll watch that much anymore other than the Parliament channel. I’m not surprised though that this channel is failing.

It’s only on a few hours a day, the programmes don’t look all that great and the budget is pretty small by tv standards. For me this was an attempt by the BBC to put Scots, disgusted by its behaviour, from the Indy ref, the blanking out of Scottish politicians, the aggression in interviews with the SNP and soft touch to unionists to Saville and liar Marr back in their box.

I think they hoped that by giving Scots a few crumbs from their London table that we would go away and stop slating them and their right wing British agenda, well they were wrong. I don’t think they will be surprised by these low figures, it will give them an excuse to cancel the channel, they can then blame Scots for not watching and push the narrative that Scots want British tv.

The simple fact though is that control of the BBC in Scotland needs to be devolved but it won’t be. There is no larger a political broadcaster pushing propaganda than the BBC, they actually make Fox News look sane. We have terrible media in this country, especially around news and current affairs. STV Scotland Tonight started well but pretty much just mirrors the BBC now in my opinion in its bias coverage. Sky News is shocking with like of Kay Burley, ITV and Channel Four not much better.

So is anyone surprised by the figures and will anyone care if it goes to the wall, I won’t.

Nicola Sturgeon has said that the “inclusive case for independence” capable of securing victory at a second referendum” has still to be built by the YES movement .

Now I appreciate that this is a Herald article but Nicola goes on to say allegedly “the independence movement must learn the grave errors of the Brexiteers” who alienated rather than persuaded those who disagreed with them”. Now the Herald feel that this indicates that her comments about the need for further work appear to make it unlikely that she will announce a second referendum date when Holyrood returns from recess next week. I must admit I tend to agree with this based on the comments and it tally’s with my own feelings that indy2 is going to get kicked further down the road. Now that should make the SNP Spring Conference next weekend very interesting indeed as people are restless, or some people are.

Andrew Wilson wrote in the National voter concerns still had to be addressed authentically and over time, and warned Yes supporters against counter-productive spleen venting. He also said the Yes side needed a crystal clear vision of future relations with the UK. Andrew goes on to advocate reflection and hard graft, rather than a dash for the polls, he said the YES camp had ” to consider the lessons of 2014, and all that has happened since, in some detail”. Andrew also says “We only get the chance to build a different future if we win. To win we need to persuade. To persuade we need to learn the lessons of recent history – September 2014, June 2016 and every sorry month since. 

If Andrew is correct what have the SNP been doing since 2014 to learn the lessons?

What I am asking myself though is this the ground work to try to make any disappointment of a further delay in indy2 easier to stomach, are the SNP going to let the current mandate to run out and secure another one over a longer period which would have to be 2021/22 elections? For myself this is playing with fire and taking the YES movement to the brink, possibly outright rebellion with the SNP. How could that actually impact on the future elections? Could the SNP lose their mandate if say many switch Green which could result I suppose in a unionist Holyrood and the end of indy2 possibly in my lifetime. Everyone knows my views on the strategy being used right now, it won’t work is my view, we can’t win an independence referendum if we don’t fight one but I fear the worst right now and will definitely try and watch some of the conference next week and especially Nicola’s address.

I must admit I fear the worst given what has been coming out in drips this week, I really hope I’m wrong. What are your thoughts?

Now that it seems the U.K. will have to take part in the EU Elections in May one of the things I have been asking myself is should I, or should I not vote in any EU election?

Now Mayhem can cancel the elections up to a day before if she can get her awful deal agreed but that looks unlikely to say the least. So we will spend over £100,000,000 putting the elections on and we could be out of the EU just months later. Total farce.

But let’s assume we have to take part, is there any point in voting. It will be funny if England sends UKIP or Farages new party to the EU in great numbers punishing Labour and the Tories. Or remain voters could send some of the equally awful Change U.K. candidates to the EU. In Scotland Scot Goes POP thinks the SNP can get 4 out of the 5 seats, is that a good or bad thing.

I’m in two minds if I should vote or just spoil my paper. I’m not sure if it helps the Indy cause or not as I have always thought the SNP fighting to save England from itself by backing a so called people’s vote a mistake anyway. I did vote SNP the last time even though I have never been a fan of Alyn Smith at all for the Morth East, I find him to be a bit full of it and he has never replied to any of my questions on twitter, serious questions not silly ones. I suppose I could go Green but not sure. Spoiling my paper is certainly something I am considering as not voting would be alien to me as voting is so important or at least expressing a none of the above.

What are others thinking, are you going to vote if there is an EU election?

Yesterday at the Scottish Cup semi final between Aberdeen and Celtic the stain of sectarianism again tarnished Scotland.

This season has seen a huge rise in sectarianism at football matches. We have also seen items being thrown at players, flares being let off inside of stadiums and fighting and stabbings after the last Old Firm game between Celtic and Rangers. Enough is enough.

It’s also not a coincidence that this escalation happens the season that the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act was stupidly repealed as a result of James Kelly Labour MSP (the really thick MSP of the Scottish Parliament) and against the wishes of most people in Scotland.

I appreciate there have been many blogs on this subject by far better bloggers than I but it has to end now. This behaviour is a stain on Scotland and makes us look like apes to the rest of the world. It’s bad enough that Brexit has unleashed the rascists and bigots all over the U.K. but enough is enough. The SFA and the football clubs won’t act, they tinker around the edges with bans and closing parts of stadiums, well it’s not enough. If they won’t act then it’s time the Scottish Government did and brought in a law around strict liability. Stadiums should be closed at the offending grounds until people get the message, no less.

So polls over the last few days have Labour ahead of the Tories by as much as 6% resulting in headlines like the Telegraph.

Apparently Jeremy Corbyn is heading towards 10 Downing Street as the Tories would lose up to 60 seats if a general election was called soon.

The Independent reports

The problem with all of this is I just don’t believe it. Even though the Tories are messing up Brexit, and could lose some voters to the nut job right wing parties, it does really stretch the imagination to think that voters in England will back Corbyn’s Labour.

Labour are all over the place on Brexit, they are hemorrhaging votes in Wales and are all but dead in Scotland. Like the Tories they have a civil war going on and would also face a very hostile media in England were an election called. While is Scotland many have seen through the bullshit of the mainstream joke of a media, have they in England.

Throw in the fact that many in England appear to have shifted to the right, or even far right, it isn’t that difficult to believe Labour might actually lose votes also to the nut job right wing parties. Labour also have zero policies other than confused mess or Tory light, Corbyn is even more disliked than Theresa Mayhem. Only 20% of voters thought Corbyn would be a good PM compared to 29% for Mayhem.

Does anyone actually believe Labour can win? Not me.