Alex Calls for Chilcot Six Years Late

Angus Robertson versus the Hawks

PA

Angus Robertson knows how to do things

He wanted to know if the PM would seek a UN resolution should he decide to bomb the bejesus out of Syria.
This was a straight question to which only a straight answer would do. So Mr Cameron said no because the Russians would only veto it.
Mr Robertson pointed to a new poll out today showing only 15% of Brits in favour of blitzing Syria.
Mr Cameron said: “My job, frankly, as Prime Minister, is not to read an opinion poll, it’s to do the right thing to keep this country safe.”
Having dismissed the views of the nation Mr Cameron trotted off to do some more prime ministering unencumbered by public opinion.
But he would do well to remember the public’s current opinion of Tony Blair.
He might not then be quite so keen to ignore it.

Poll shows Independence wins

Scotland would vote for independence in a second referendum, new poll finds

The STV/Ipsos MORI poll gives the 'Yes' camp a nine-point lead

• Jon Stone, Chris Green
• @joncstone
• Wednesday 2 September 2015
• 111 comments

4K

Supporters of a Yes vote in the Scottish independence referendum in Edinburgh in September 2013. Andy Buchanan/AFP/Getty Images

Scotland would vote for independence if a second referendum on leaving the UK was held tomorrow, according to a new poll.
The Ipsos MORI poll for the STV channel found that a would-be ‘Yes’ campaign would have a nine-point lead over the ‘No’  camp.
53 per cent of Scottish voters would vote ‘Yes’ while 44 per cent would vote ‘No’, with three per cent undecided which way they would vote, the survey suggests.
This poll marks the first lead for leading the UK since the last referendum.
Half of those surveyed said they would like to see another referendum in the next five years, while 58 per cent said they would be in favour of another vote being held within ten years.
The poll is thought to be the first to show a majority for independence among all those questioned. It was described as “pretty all-round sensational” by SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon.
The results of the survey may increase the pressure on Ms Sturgeon to include the promise of a second referendum in the SNP’s manifesto for next year’s elections. She has previously said that another vote would only be held if there was a “material change” in the country’s circumstances.
Derek Mackay, the party’s Business Convener, said: “We warned the Tories that support for independence would only grow if they continued to ignore Scotland’s voice – and this poll proves that, as people question Westminster’s ability to represent Scotland’s interests at all.”

Read more

• Sturgeon won't rule out another referendum
• Scotland will spend £100m to 'mitigate harm' of welfare cuts
• Sturgeon urged to make SNP position on independence clear

The findings come the day after the Scottish Government announced its programme for the final year of parliamentary time before the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections.
Ms Sturgeon announced a number of new policies including new rent controls for areas where housing costs are rising fast.
Some polls during the Scottish Independence referendum campaign suggested that the ‘Yes’ side might triumph, though it ultimately lost by 45 per cent to 55 per cent in favour of staying in the UK.

Wish to leave the Union? Join the SNP

Made in America

Who is responsible for the wars in the Middle East, and who created the refugee problem?
Who is casting Russian President Putin as the bogey man? Who is using the media and the politicians to spread disinformation?

Scotland Rejects Austerity

• 5

Nicola Sturgeon clashed with Labour’s leader Kezia Dugdale

Sturgeon promises strategy to mitigate Tory tax credit cuts

November 6th, 2015 - 12:30 am Andrew Learmonth

 5 comments

NICOLA Sturgeon has promised to introduce a “credible, deliverable and affordable” plan to mitigate any cuts to tax credits made by the UK Government.
The SNP leader made the commitment during First Minister’s Questions yesterday lunchtime in a fractious exchange with Labour leader Kezia Dugdale.
Sturgeon said the Scottish Government would keep up the pressure on George Osborne to “drop his plans for tax credit cuts”. She also accused Labour of missing the point.
“It is all too typical of Scottish Labour that, just when the pressure on George Osborne is building across the UK, the party eases up on the Tories and attacks the SNP instead. It seems that old habits and old friendships die hard,” the First Minister said.
“We will keep up the pressure on the Tories to drop the cuts altogether and, if they do not completely reverse them, we, as a responsible Government, will introduce credible, deliverable and affordable plans to protect low-income households, just as we did on the bedroom tax.”
During her speech at Scottish Labour’s conference last week Dugdale made a commitment to restoring any money lost by families affected by George Osborne’s plan to cut the UK’s tax credit bill by £4.4 billion. This would be funded, the Scottish Labour leader, said through higher tax and by refusing to abolish air passenger duty (APD).
In a debate in the parliament on Wednesday, Social Justice Minister Alex Neil said that the Scottish Government would be able to use new tax and welfare powers coming to Holyrood to top up lost tax credits.
Dugdale said the First Minister’s plan was a “vague assurance” and asked her to guarantee that “every family will receive the same entitlement from the Government as they do now”.
The First Minister did not make that guarantee but repeated her earlier answer that any solution brought by the government would be credible and affordable.
“I say to Kezia Dugdale that the detail of this matters to the families out there who are affected. One of the details that matter most is how the tax credits policy would be paid for.“
APD, Sturgeon said, “would not be available when Kezia Dugdale was required to pay for the tax credits policy.” The First Minister then said Dugdale had already promised to spend “that money on education. So in the space of 24 hours Labour managed to spend the same sum of money twice over. I say in all seriousness to Kezia Dugdale that that is basic incompetence and, frankly, the people of Scotland deserve better.”
Dugdale said: “Yesterday in the House of Commons the Prime Minister told working families they would just have to wait and see what happened next. Today in this chamber, the First Minister is saying exactly the same thing. I have listened to Nicola Sturgeon very carefully, I have listened to Alex Neil very carefully on the TV last night.
“Both have said that they will ensure that the income of those in receipt of tax credits won’t fall. But that sounds a little like the Tory argument that higher wages will automatically make up the difference.
“So can I ask the First Minister again – under the Scottish Government’s proposal, will every single family receive the same entitlement from the Government as they do now?”
Sturgeon responded: “I am not quite sure what it is that is difficult to understand. I don’t yet accept that these cuts will take place because there is pressure building on George Osborne to reverse them.
“So I think right now that is where we should be, united, in making sure the pressure stays on the Tories.”

The National View: FM’s commitment to mitigating effect of Tory cuts is welcomed