Slorance widow: ‘No answers’ received from Sturgeon
Louise Slorance, widow of Andrew Slorance, says Sturgeon is not being honest about the real cause of his death in December 2020.
Nicola Sturgeon wrote to me 15 minutes before FMQs. I replied the same day. I still have no response to my letter…Myself, his children, family and friends, deserve better, we deserve answers…[It is] fruitless [to send her a letter]. I have had no contact regarding Andrew since this letter despite the assurance made by the FM that I will be kept updated. Since the circumstances around Andrew’s death became public, I have not received any answers to my questions regarding what happened at the QEUH from the Scottish Government or NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
Scottish Government spokesman:
Ministers have been awaiting details to update Mrs Slorance and will be writing shortly. The NHS Lothian Peer Review has been examining the care and treatment received at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital as well as the communications Mrs Slorance and the family received from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. We expect the findings of the peer review to be shared with the family in the near future. We have offered to meet with Mrs Slorance to discuss the care provided to Mr Slorance and remain committed to doing so.
Lifts Omicron restrictions
During her First Minister’s statement in Holyrood, Sturgeon says that, as of Monday, January 24, the restrictions brought in just before Christmas to stem the rate of Omicron infections, will be lifted. This means an end to one-metre social distancing, the three-household limit for indoor meetings and nightclubs will be able to reopen. The intended extension of the use of vaccine passports has been cancelled but they will still be retained for large events. She says Omicron infections peaked the first week of January and along with hospital admissions the numbers are now dropping.
[I am] cautiously optimistic that we are turning the corner on this Omicron wave.
Sturgeon: Johnson using ‘cheap, populist policies’ to distract from scandals
Sturgeon says Johnson of attempting to create populist policies to distract public outrage away from his recent scandals. Johnson has allegedly launched “Operation Red Meat”, which includes plans to scrap the BBC License fee in five years time and to use sonic weapons against small boats in an attempt to send illegal immigrants back into French waters. Government ministers have denied that the policies were created to divert from the Prime Minister’s travails. Sturgeon:
While everybody will have different degrees of criticism of the BBC, to try to jettison the BBC to save his own skin, it’s unedifying. It’s beneath the office of Prime Minister and all it does really is underline this feeling that Boris Johnson is not just himself damaged irreparably, in my view, but he is bit by bit undermining and damaging the institutions of the country and the institutions that support our democracy and that’s why it’s got to stop. A line has to be drawn under this and it’s now up to the Tory Party to decide what’s more important – protecting Boris Johnson or acting in the wider interests of the country…I think there is such a fundamental issue of trust and integrity now around the Prime Minister and the responsible thing for him to do, to allow the focus to be back where it needs to be, would be to resign from office.
Sturgeon also compared her behaviour to Johnsons, climing that she that she would have resigned had the Jamese Hamilton inquiry found any evidence of breaking the ministerial code been found.
Welcomes record £700m offshore windfarm lease auction
Sturgeon comments on the Scottish Crown Estate’s largest-ever auction of permits to construct offshore windfarms. £699.2 million was raised for 17 separate offshore energy projects off the east, northeast and northern coast of Scotland, to companies such as Shell, BP, SSE and Scottish Power. The developments – a combination of floating, fixed and mixed turbines – are estimated to produce almost 25,000 megawatts of energy.
It’s really hard to overstate how significant and important today’s announcement is for Scotland’s energy, environmental and economic future. This gives us the potential to meet our own energy needs from renewable sources. It’s going to position Scotland as a major exporter of green energy, green hydrogen as well – and delivers massive economic benefits as well as the revenues that will flow to the Scottish government. The estimate is that for every gigawatt of power generated from these projects in due course, there will be a billion pounds of investment in the supply chain and that has the potential to create thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of jobs. So, as we make this transition to net-zero to meet the climate emergency, this helps ensure Scotland can do that in a fair and a just way that creates new jobs to replace those in oil and gas, for example, which we are in the process of transitioning away from. This is perhaps one of the biggest, most significant days in terms of Scotland’s energy and industrial future that we’ve had in a very, very long time. Really exciting
Brown: Irish independence led to 50 years of austerity
In a podcast interview called Finding Common Cause Online, hosted by Our Scottish Future, Brown talks about 50 years of austerity and division after Irish Independence.
He also says that although Ireland was now financially better off, a great deal of its wealth was insecurely based on offering lower rates of taxation than other countries a situation that could change quite easily.
‘People who hold office in the Conservative Party are honour-bound to support the Prime Minister’
Speaking in Parliament, Rees-Mogg says
Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland are equal, fundamental parts of the United Kingdom, without which there is no United Kingdom. Our great history, our great tradition, our success as a nation has been built on this union. How did we, as small country, as small island off the coast of the European continent, become one of the great empires in the world? Very often thanks to the work of people from Scotland…This is something celebrated on this side of the house. Something we glory in, as our great shared joined history, our history of kinship, of ties of blood, of ties of involvement in each other’s lives. Now, I would say in respose to his absolute point: People who hold office in the Conservative Party are honour-bound to support the Prime Minister.
https://twitter.com/Jacob_Rees_Mogg/status/1481956813763399682
Sturgeon: Rees-Mogg comments show ‘utter contempt for Scotland’
In response to Rees-Mogg calling Ross ‘a lightweight’ and ‘not a big figure, Sturgeon says his comments reflected the contempt with which English Tories hold Scotland itself. Ross had called on Johnson to resign after he had eventually admitted to attending an outdoor party, months after rolling out emergency pandemic legislation to make such parties illegal. Sturgeon observed:-
These might be personal insults directed at the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, but actually they say something much deeper about the Westminster establishment’s utter contempt for Scotland. If they can’t even show basic respect for their own colleagues, what chance do the rest of us have? The fact is Westminster thinks Scotland doesn’t need to be listened to, can be ignored, and now we’re being told we have to thole a Prime Minister that his own colleagues think is not fit for office.
An added benefit of being independent is that we will no longer have to put up with being treated like something on the sole of Westminster’s shoe.
‘Firm intention’ for exam go-ahead
In response to a question from Shirley-Anne Summerville, Sturgeon says it is her “firm intention” that senior students at secondary schools will sit exams this year. Due to the pandemic, for the past two years, Highers and other formal qualifications have been unable to take place, with pupils instead given grades based on their teachers’ assessment of performance.
Given we’re still living through a global pandemic, contingencies are needed in education as in all other aspects of life right now. Our firm intention this year is that exams will go ahead…If education is further disrupted, because of developments in the pandemic, than additional support will be provided for those studying for exams. The second contingency is that if public health advice says it isn’t safe for young people to come together to sit exams in the traditional way, then we go back to a situation akin to the last two years where we would have teacher judgment coming to bear instead of exams.
Rees-Mogg: Ross is a ‘lightweight’
When told that all 31 Scottish MSPs have called for Boris Johnson to resign, Rees-Mogg calls Ross ‘a lightweight’ and cites Alister Jack as someone of more importance in the party.
The Secretary of State for Scotland, who is a big figure is very supportive of the Prime Minister. Douglas Ross has always been quite a lightweight figure.
Ross: Sturgeon failing Scottish businesses
At First Minister’s questions, Ross accuses Sturgeon of treating Scottish businesses like an afterthought after still failing to pass on Westminsters rescue cash that was supposed to have been in place before Christmas. The Scottish Government’s advice on covid restrictions over Christmas had led to a huge reduction in footfall over the festive period and consequently many businesses have had to borrow huge sums of money just to survive.
Not a single penny of funding we were promised has reached businesses. Can she give a precise time-scale on when this money will be paid a month after it was announced? First Minister, this has happened time and time again. The SNP are quick to demand more money from the Westminster government but very slow to get it out to the business that need it.
Extends covid passport rules
The new rules will require attendees to provide proof of having had two vaccine injections plus the booster jab in order to get into nightclubs and large events. Whereas, until now, event organisers were only required to check the passports of twenty percent of attendees, from 24th January that will be raised to fifty percent. Those who have not as yet had a booster jab can instead provide proof of a same day negative lateral flow test. Sturgeon also says she will look at “extending the scope of covid certification to other venues” which has been widely interpreted that she will even impose them on pubs and licensed premises.
Scotland Tonight: How do we learn to live with Covid?
Sturgeon is interviewed on Scotland Tonight, where she suggests the Scottish Government was planning for a long-term shift away from extensive curbs.
Sometimes when you hear people talk about learning to live with Covid, what seems to be suggested is that one morning we’ll wake up and not have to worry about it anymore, and not have to do anything to try to contain and control it. That’s not what I mean when I say ‘learning to live with it’. Instead, we will have to ask ourselves what adaptations to pre-pandemic life – face coverings, for example – might be required in the longer-term to enable us to live with it with far fewer protective measures.
I would say that, but for the protective measures we introduced before Christmas and but for the very responsible behaviour of the public, I think we would be in an even more challenging situation right now…Some of our projections pre-Christmas have not quite come to pass because we’ve managed to mitigate to some extent what the Omicron wave would otherwise have presented for us.
“How do we learn to live with covid? That’s [a question] the Scottish Government is thinking very carefully about”
In the First Minister’s first interview of the year, she talks about the current covid restrictions.
Watch the full interview at 10.40pm on #scotnight pic.twitter.com/80jIPDum1G
— ScotlandTonight (@ScotlandTonight) January 10, 2022
Leitch doubts effectiveness of Sturgeon lockdown
Leitch confirms that Sturgeon’s stringent lockdown measures, which have financially affected Scottish football clubs and nightclubs, have made no difference to the spread of Covid. Scottish football is losing £2 million per week in lost revenue whilst Scotland maintains a similar level of infection to England.
If you want to do the comparison, Northern Ireland’s number is much higher than ours. Wales is higher. England and Scotland is very similar. We were lower than them, now they’re catching up a little bit.
Despite this, he maintains it is correct to continue in a similar manner on the basis that the weekly figures are just a snapshot and that in the longer term, Scotland will begin to see the benefits.
Should we still be protecting the public from these case rates if they are just going to go anyway? I think ‘yes’ is the answer to that. I think the protections reduce the size of the wave and potentially also elongate the wave to allow more people to get vaccinated and spread the hospitalisations and intensive care cases out over a longer period.
Announces end to 10-day isolation period
Sturgeon announces that Covid isolation periods will be reduced from 10 days to seven, so long as people have a negative peak flow result to show for it. This is despite pouring scorn a week earlier on a journalist who had asked whether she would consider this very option.
Ferguson’s: Hair to step down
Ferguson’s announces, that after two years at the company, Hair will step down as turnaround director. He spent two years as turnaround director. He will be replaced by Tydeman in February. Chairman Alistair Mackenzie:
[It is] the right time to welcome a permanent and longer-term leader…The board and wider team at Ferguson Marine extend our thanks to Tim Hair for his leadership, expertise and commitment over the past two years. It has been challenging, not least because of a global pandemic, but he has implemented a series of important changes, systems and controls and built an experienced and skilled team to strengthen the business and establish a solid footing for growth.
Says ‘at least 50%’ of his tweets are made on the toilet
Musk says ‘at least 50%’ of his tweets are made on the toilet
At least 50% of my tweets were made on a porcelain throne
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 22, 2021
Salmond: Sturgeon’s Cambo stance will ‘sink independence’
Salmond compares Sturgeon’s opposition to the Cambo oil field to Mrs Thatcher’s abandonment of coal mining communities, saying it will sink the case for independence and cost the SNP tens of thousands of votes.
The consequences could be far reaching, and not just for the SNP but for the whole independence movement….It would be akin to Margaret Thatcher, having closed the pits, then campaigning for votes in the old mining areas of Cowdenbeath and Kelty…For the leader of the independence campaign to casually cast aside that card represents a stunning step backwards.
He says Cambo should be licensed on condition it is a zero carbon development:
Without it, then it is not just farewell to tens of thousands of north-east of Scotland votes for the SNP. Much more seriously, it’s Mossmorran no more, Grangemouth no more, St Fergus no more – and independence no more.
Hancko: Kamara booing had ‘no racist undertones’
Hancko says booking of Kamara had no ‘racist undertones
There were no racist undertones at the game. The club also told us that the delegate did not write anything about it in his report of the match after the game too. It came to our notice that Kamara was whistled after he got a red card, but any player from Rangers would have been whistled if they had got sent off too. I’m strongly against racism, but I think it’s been unnecessarily blown up on their part.
‘Nuclear power has to be part of the mix’
Relauncing his “Green Labour” campaign on board an electric-powered bus in Glasgow, Sarwar says that nuclear power should be part of effort to tackle cliate change.
I think we have to be honest about future opportunities and I think nuclear power has to be part of the mix. I’m not saying nuclear power has to be the priority, or the lead..,The idea that we can shut down industries, and instead import energy – it’s not good for security, it’s not good for jobs and it’s not good for affordability.
He also says the public will not welcome increased energy bills:
I want to take the public with us, I don’t want to sacrifice jobs, and I think that means having a credible energy policy. If we are saying to the public you are going to get green energy, and avert the climate crisis, but it means your bills are going to go up, it means you’re going to lose your job, but it’s price worth paying – we’re not going to keep the public with us.
Sturgeon sends message of support to Godley
Sturgeon tweets her support to Godley.
Sending love and strength
Sending love and strength @JaneyGodley https://t.co/b5JZgtGJST
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) November 19, 2021