Rab Bruce's Spider

by Rab Bruce’s Spider   Mastodon: @RabBrucesSpider1@Mastodon.Scot BlueSky: @RabBrucesSpider.Bsky.Social     If you’re not dismayed by John Swinney’s latest plan for turning Scotland into a normal, self-governing country, you maybe missed the detail. Or perhaps John Swinney is relying on the fact that most people don’t fully understand how the Holyrood voting system works, and he’s hoping to gain another 5 years as First Minister without actually having to do anything about gaining independence.   Swinney has said that a majority of SNP MSPs at the Holyrood elections next year will be the latest mandate for independence because the Westminster Government could, apparently, not resist the clear will of the Scottish people. Let’s put aside the fact that Westminster is famous for ignoring the will of the Scottish people on a whole range of topics, let alone independence, and focus on the practicalities of gaining a majority of SNP MSPs.   First, ...

by Rab Bruce’s Spider   Mastodon: @RabBrucesSpider1@Mastodon.Scot BlueSky: @RabBrucesSpider.Bsky.Social     What a shambles in the House of Commons. Keir Starmer has essentially pulled the PIP section of his latest attack on disabled people, although he managed to get his Bill passed despite it including provisions to remove the Health Benefits part of Universal Credit, a feature which will still cause a great deal of harm to many people but which even the Labour rebels seemed to think was acceptable. I know my voice will make no difference, but I want to put on record that I do not think this is acceptable at all.   As for the PIP changes, they have not been cancelled; they have merely been deferred, although I have a feeling they might be quietly dropped in a few months’ time.   Yet again we see Captain U-Turn realising at the last minute just how dreadful his social policies are. Keir Starmer is often accused of being a Tory at heart, and ...

by Rab Bruce’s Spider   Mastodon: @RabBrucesSpider1@Mastodon.Scot BlueSky: @RabBrucesSpider.Bsky.Social     I read an article on the STV newsfeed this morning which seemed to gleefully celebrate the fact that around one-third of Scots believe crime is increasing in their area. I wondered what could have caused this perception since crime has been decreasing over the past couple of decades, with the rate of solving crimes increasing.   Looking at the various statistics, it is true that there has been a slight increase in crime rates in Scotland but that is largely because crime fell during Lock Down when it was harder for people to go out to commit crimes. So, although there has been an increase, the levels of reported crime are still lower than they were before Lock down.   It is also true that some types of crime are on the increase. We all know that fraud, especially online fraud, is a growing danger, but that is a worldwide phenomenon, and...