Boris is nothing but bad news
The appointment of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister might boost the cause of independence – but I am not celebrating.
One look at the right-wing extremists and chancers he’s installed in his Cabinet tells you all you need to know about the type of politics this habitual liar and conman wants to force on Scotland.
Looking back over previous occupants of Number 10, it’s incredible that the UK has been reduced to having someone so shallow and sleekit occupying what is the highest office in the land.
Harold Wilson rose from working class beginnings to lead the Labour party to four general elections victories, keeping us out of the Vietnam War, setting up the Open University, and outlasting all his political opponents.
Clement Attlee inherited a country bankrupted and wrecked by war, yet managed to set up our social security system, the NHS, and began the process of rebuilding a shattered economy.
Both believed in the power of people and government to change society for the better.
And they did.
Today we have a man in Downing Street who last year coined in nearly £1 million in outside interests, all the while continuing to bank his MP’s salary, and who can barely keep track of which colleague he’s most recently stabbed in the back.
His idea of negotiation with the EU is to shout louder, bluster, and wave his fists angrily.
Meanwhile the rest of the world looks at him as a clown completely out of his depth.
We should all fear the consequences of the no-deal Brexit he and his cronies seem hell-bent on pursuing.
Empty shelves in the shops. Shortages of medicines. Ports turned into lorry parks.
This isn’t scaremongering.
It’s the UK Government’s own analysis of what crashing out of the EU will do to our economy and society, to say nothing of the hundreds of thousands of jobs wrecked in weeks.
The decline of Number 10 mirrors the decline of the UK.
It’s time for Scotland to begin detaching ourselves from both.
Paisley is on the map again
It was fantastic for Paisley to be hosting top class sport once more, this time the Under-19 Women’s European Championship final on Sunday.
Congratulations to the winners France on their victory over Germany to lift the trophy.
Scotland’s successful hosting of the tournament again showed the potential we have to take on the bigger sporting occasions and showcase ourselves to the world.
We might not quite be able to host a World Cup or Olympics, but Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games and last year’s European Championships showed the massive enthusiasm to see the best and the bravest on home soil.
And I know our friends overseas would be delighted to come back to Scotland and the fantastic reception they’ve received when coming to these shores.
It’s time to tackle deadbeats
I spoke in Parliament last week about the problems with the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) – and tackling absent parents who try to hide their wealth and avoid their responsibilities towards their children.
Speak to any MP and they’ll tell you one of the biggest areas of casework they deal with is child support cases, where the system has let parents – on either side of the equation - down time after time.
It shouldn’t take the intervention of an MP to get things done.
The CMS must work for all parents to make sure children get the support they’re entitled to – and deadbeats trying to dodge their duties have to be pursued properly for the money they owe.