Notice board North-east Tories must now be howling at the moon
l Professor Fiona Skillen will give a lecture focusing on the development of women's football in Scotland from the 1880s to the outbreak of World War Two, at 5.30pm tonight at Augustine United Church in Edinburgh. See Eventbrite to book a free place.
l Glasgow and West of Scotland Historical Association will hold their next meeting at 10.30am sharp on Saturday at Kelvinside Parish Church, Saltoun Street opposite Hillhead Library. Dr John Clark will be giving a presentation titled ‘'From the Long Wood to the Hill Head – Napoleon and Glasgow''. Arrive early for tea/ coffee/home baking. Free event, all welcome.
l The Radical Independence Campaign (Edinburgh branch) are hosting a public meeting on Scottish Independence and Internationalism from Below at 7pm on Wednesday, March 13 at Augustine Church, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh. There will be speakers from the campaign against the arms trade, SNP trade union group, and Ukraine Solidarity Campaign.
l Lesley Riddoch is touring with her new film Denmark: The State of Happiness. There are screenings at 7pm on Friday, March 15 at Adelaide Baptist Church in Glasgow; 1pm on Saturday, March 16 at Erskine Arts; and 6.30pm on Thursday, April 4 at Cameo Cinema, Edinburgh. For full tour dates and to book see lesleyriddoch. com/events.
l Screenings of To See Ourselves, Jane McAllister's documentary about the 2014 independence referendum, are taking place at 7pm on Friday, March 15 at Ayr Town Hall; 7pm on Saturday, March 16 at CCA, Glasgow; 6.30pm on Friday, March 22 at Strathearn Arts, Crieff and 2pm on Sunday, April 7 at Cameo Cinema, Edinburgh. Each screening will be followed by a Q&A with the director. For details of how to buy tickets see toseeourselves. film/see-the-film
DOUGLAS Ross, MP for Moray; Andrew Bowie, MP for West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine; Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland; and Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West must all be howling at the moon right now, having been left out in the cold in the Budget.
They have been screaming from the top tenement windows that the windfall tax was stopping development in the north-east.
They were even pooh-poohing Labour’s plan to increase the windfall tax by a few points, saying that would cost thousands of jobs. Right enough, so were the industry experts, predicting 20,000 to 40,000 up to 100,000 in the full oil and gas industry (direct and supply chain).
Oh! But their coup de grace was delivered by Jeremy Hunt, who stated that the oil and gas windfall tax would be extended till 2029 rather than, as they had been pleading for, be rolled back.
It was interesting that neither Mr Ross nor Mr Bowie was available for a post-Budget interview, their place being filled by John Lamont, MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, not a known oil and gas production area. Mr Ross has an excuse; he has childcare issues.
The message is that not even Scottish Conservatives can influence Westminster governments.
Can it be any clearer?
Alistair Ballantyne
Angus
LAST week the Office of National Statistics published the 2023 UK statistics on trust in political parties. Only 12% said they trusted parties, the lowest since records began in 1983. I expect and hope that the figures would be rather better for a Scottish sample – but not by much.
This shouldn’t just be brushed aside. If we are to achieve such a fundamental change as independence, we need public trust. Voters need to believe that what is on offer is not just another scam. Sometimes short-term pain is worth accepting for the sake of long-term trust.
It was so embarrassing watching one of our SNP MPs trying to justify opposing the oil company windfall tax that I had to press the off switch. I know how difficult the job of an elected member can be. I know the pressure in a tight election situation to appease the loudest voices, in this case the oil companies and their lobbyists creating public panic on jobs. But if you give up on integrity, don’t expect there will be no cost.