Radio Scotland, a political carve-up - Colin Campbell
I have raised before the dubious integrity of Radio Scotland's Friday phone-in programme Headlines. From a mere numbers point of view its
audience ratings are probably as low as for any of that station's serious output, but nonetheless the programme is supposed to be an opportunity,
on a par with Radio 4' s Any Questions, for ordinary callers to raise and comment upon political matters of the day--as far as they affect
Scotland.
We all know that there are four main political parties in Scotland which, in order of popular support, are Labour, SNP, Tory and Lib Dem. On
Radio 4's Any Questions, where in England there are only three main parties, they invariably have at least four panellists; thus showing that such a
number is perfectly reasonable to handle on the air. On Headlines there are only ever three panellists and one of them is often of a supposedly
non-political nature. As a direct consequence of this editorial policy it is never possible to have the views of each of the four main parties
represented on the panel; and this deprives the programme of any sense of balance or indeed intellectual frisson. This alone would be reason
enough for extending the panel to include all four strands of opinion; but what is much worse is that the present arrangements are used to further
distort any sense of fairness: by apportioning seats on the panel on a discriminatory basis. In its early years Headlines used to be dominated,
week by week, by Labour panellists in one guise or another. At the same time the SNP and Lib Dems got a look in on an alternative weekly
basis. I remember feeling (almost) sorry for the Tories who seemed to be getting a short ration of appearances. At that time the third panel place
was nearly always given to an 'outsider'. What has happened now appears to be the direct result of Tory pressure for instead of being made to
languish in the wings they share weekly with Labour a regular seat on the panel bench. For the SNP and Lib Dems the situation has worsened so
that in order to allow 'outsiders' to appear now and again they are restricted to appearances on less than an alternate weekly basis. Now this, in
my view, is plain political skulduggery being exercised by courtesy of Radio Scotland.
On a number of occasions I have telephoned the programme to question the continuing bias displayed in the allotment of panellists--a bias which
seems to reflect, not the state of politics in Scotland, but what BBC Scotland would prefer that state to be. Habitually I get nothing more than a
polite acknowledgement of my call.
There is absolutely no plausible reason why Headlines should not have representation each week from each of our four main parties and the only
explanation that we can deduce from the present arrangements is that BBC Scotland's well known Labour bias persists but that its producers
have succumbed to pressure from the Government, or the Scottish Tory party, to allow them to have equal representation with Labour --and to
hell with everyone else. Headlines has become, in my view, the most blatant and undisguised attempt that BBC Scotland has ever made to
misrepresent the political climate in Scotland by denying full access to the constitutional debate between Independence and the Union. I have
promised to take the case to the Director-General of the BBC in London--since BBC Scotland's standing is, by its own choice, of mere regional
stature--but if readers themselves feel like joining the struggle: Headlines is on Fridays, at 1 pm, (lines open at 12.30) and the number to ring is
0500 969800 and it's free!
Editorial - Union Without Honour
When the Scottish constitutional question was first raised with John Major in the Commons--after he had toppled Mrs Thatcher -- he made the
memorable comment that it would be sad if Scotland 'decided to leave the United Kingdom'. Having thus displayed his profound ignorance of
the constitutional nature of the United Kingdom--which, of course, would cease to exist as a unitary state should Scotland regain her
independence--his error has now been compounded by the deputy prime-minister, Michael Heseltine, in his recent gaffe about the value of
Scots 'in the English cabinet'. But before we get too hot under the collar about such historical ineptitude in high places we should perhaps ask
ourselves if, in a contemporary de facto sense, they are not right and are simply telling us the way things are as they see it-- whether we like it or
not. What has happened is that, with the demise of Empire and the abandonment of Commonwealth in favour of Europe, only the English with all
their visible institutions still intact, can continue to dream of the UK as still having the influence of a major imperial power. When, after the Suez
debacle, the US Secretary of State declared that 'Britain has lost an Empire and hasn't yet found a role' great umbrage was taken in
Whitehall but of course he was right, as events have shown.
Mrs Thatcher's Falklands War was a desperate and nearly catastrophic gamble in old-style gunboat diplomacy whose undeserved success
spawned that latterday English jingoism which still sweeps the playing fields of Europe to the disgust of all beholders. In the Gulf War, backed up
by American involvement, one autocratic regime (armed by Britain) was backed against another autocratic regime--also apparently armed by
Britain--not for any reason of moral imperative but for sheer national self-interest in preserving access to Gulf oil. Once this precious commodity
was safeguarded the human cost to the Kurds and Marsh Arabs, in leaving them to the vengeful mercies of Saddam Hussein, became a bearable
price to pay for 'stability' in the region.
Any residual sense of Britannic honour that might have remained from the days when an identifiable United Kingdom took on tyrants, against the
odds, in the cause of freedom was utterly dissipated by Messrs Major, Hurd and Rifkind early in the Bosnian Crisis. By seeking to prevent the
UN Security Council from ordering early intervention in that war their names will go down in history as being among those directly responsible,
by default, for the subsequent barbaric ethnic cleansing, mass murder and slaughter of innocents that the UN's final grudging intervention, under
NATO's banner, has at last halted. Their shame is our collective shame and the stain on Britain is now ineradicable.
In Scotland we are to all intents and purposes ruled by England's political Establishment whose predominant reason for wishing us to remain
within the Union is one of national aggrandisement coupled with access to our natural and human resources. The concept of a United Kingdom
as a great God-given force for good in the world has long since been torpedoed by the ignorance, selfishness and lack of statesmanship of
latterday politicians still suffering from delusions of grandeur. The measure of their
concern for anyone other than the English--sorry 'British' nation is summed up by more of Mr Major's and his aides' words:
"We are only in the European Union for what we can get out of it".
It could surely be only the most starry-eyed of Scots who would not now admit that all today's evidence shows that English politicians view the
Union with Scotland in exactly the same light.
'London Levy' holding Scotland back
SNP leader Alex Salmond MP has mocked the Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke for his bullish assessment of the Scottish economy.
He told the Scots Independent -
"What Ken Clarke knows about the Scottish economy could be written on the back of a cigarette paper. UK economic policy is devised by and
for London and the south east of England, with no reference to Scottish interests-- which is why Scotland has under-performed within the Union.
"A look at the only other hydrocarbon rich economy in northern Europe--Norway--shows how London rule has held Scotland back. Since
1979, Norwegian economic growth has been 2.9 per cent per annum, compared to 2.0 per cent in Scotland. This means that Norwegian GDP
has grown by over 20 per cent more than Scottish GDP since 1979.
"The SNP's "Towards a Better Scotland" programme details how a Scottish economic strategy could deliver higher economic growth than is
attainable within the Union.
"It is the Kenneth Clarke's 'London levies' which are holding Scotland back. Scotland is more highlv taxed than the rest of the UK.
paying an extra £10 per taxpayer per week into the London exchequer.
"Higher business rates in Scotland amount to a 'London levy' of a massive £1.5 billion paid by Scottish businesses since l990. The Chancellor's
own petrol tax hikes amount to a 'London levy' of £150 per annum on Scottish motorists. And over £100,000 million of North Sea revenues
have been taken from Scotland since 1979--the biggest 'London levy' of all.
"Instead of being sucked dry by London, Scotland needs an independent Parliament so that Scottish resources can be invested in the Scottish
economy."
Pensioner's Package in an Independent Scotland
by Kay Ullrich (SNP Social Security Spokesperson)
Scottish pensioners are now among the worst-off in Europe. This in a wealthy wee nation like Scotland, is nothing short of a scandal. The elderly
population represents a major part of Scotland's future. By the year 2021 over a million Scots will be of pensionable age -- almost a quarter of
our population. This presents a challenge to Scottish society in terms of social justice provision -- a challenge which can only be met with
independence in Europe. The Scottish National Party has the will to meet the challenge. We aspire to a standard of living and a quality of life
which will bring our elderly population the same comforts enjoyed in other comparable European nations. In our recently published and fully
costed Budget document "Towards a Better Scotland", we have outlined a ''Pensioner's Package" designed to address the needs and aspirations
of the elderly. We have budgeted for these proposals so that they can be
implemented in the very first term of an independent Parliament .
An increase in State pensions is of urgent importance and commensurate with our aim of bringing Scottish pensions into line with the European
average. We will immediately increase pensions by £5 per week for a married couple and £3 per week for a single person. Thereafter, we will
continue to increase pensions until Scottish pensioners are as well off as their European counterparts. In another measure to put money into
elderly pockets, we will abolish the unfair standing charges on gas, electricity and telephones.
I have described Scotland as a ''wealthy wee nation'', but we all know that it is also a ''cold wee nation''. It costs at least 30% more to heat your
home in Nairn than it does in Nuneaton. The SNP is pledged to the introduction of a Cold Climate Allowance, paid automatically during the
months of December through to March, to all those in receipt of State Retirement Pension, Income Support, Family Credit and Housing Benefit.
The weekly amount will be £11.15 per week in Northern Scotland and £7.40 per week in the South. In this, the most energy-rich nation in
Europe, fuel poverty amid fuel plenty is an obscenity that will no longer be tolerated. In addition we will immediately reduce VAT on fuel
from 8% to 5% . The SNP has spent the last 20 years trying to raise the issue of fuel poverty in Parliament. We never expect support from the
callous Tories, but we should surely have received the support of the Labour Party--but in each and ever occasion that we have proposd a Cold
Climate Allowance or indeed, a reduction of VAT on fuel, the Labour Party, Scots members included, have to their eternal shame sat on their
hands and abstained. Only with Independence can Scots pensioners receive fuel justice in their fuel-rich country.
Means testing of the elderly for residential care is a scandal of growing proportions. More and more elderly people are having to face the
heartbreak of selling the family home in order to pay for their residential care. They are having to suffer the indignity of means-testing for a service
that was previously provided from their contributions. The Tory Government have 'moved the goalposts' and at a stroke, reneged on a promise
made when people started paying their contributions to the Health Service. We
propose to abolish means testing of the elderly who require long-termcare. This will be an immediate priority in the first term of an independent Parliament.
The Scottish National Party's commitment to pensioners is firm, clear and will never waiver--we believe that people who have worked hard all
their lives, who have put their share into the public kitty, deserve dignity and comfort in their old age. We are unequivocal: we will raise the
standard of living of our elderly citizens to the standard of decency enjoyed elsewhere in Europe -- and unlike our Unionist opponents, we are
prepared to show exactly how we will pay for it. The truth is--for the old, as well as the young, Scotland's future depends on our
Independence in Europe.
Seirbheis Nagraveiseanta Regraveidio A-Nis - Alasdair MacCaluim
Tha mi duilich ach tha agam ri sgrìobhadh mun Ghàidhlig a-rithist! Carson a tha mi duilich? Uill, ann an Sprantis (Esperanto) thuirt cuideigin mar
fhealla dha "Esperanto estas la lingvo kiun oni lernas se oni volas paroli pri Esperanto". That sin a' ciallachadh "'S e Sprantais an cànan a dh'
ionnsaicheas tu ma tha thu airson bruidhinn mu Sprantis". Bho àm gu àm bidh mi a' smaoineachadh gur e an aon rud leis a' Ghàidhlig. 'S e rud
cunnartach a tha seo. Ro thric cha bhi cuilbh agus programman anns a' Ghàidhlig a' bruidhinn mu rud sam bith ach a' Ghàidhlig. A dh' aindeoin
seo tha mi a' sgrìobhadh mun Ghàidhlig a-rithist am mios seo a chionn 's gu bheil mi cho feargach leis a' BhBC.
Tha sinn air mòran chluintinn mun t-seirbheis ùr Gàidhlig a tha tòiseacheadh anns a' Ghearran. Mar a tha fhios agaibh, chan eil ach uair a
thìde de Ghàidhlig air an rèidio gach latha air a' Ghalltachd. Tha seo air MW. A dh' aithghearr, bidh làn sheirbheis Gàidhlig ann am
meadhon na h-Alba agus bidh a h-uile program Rèidio nan Gaidheal ri fhaotainn ann an Glaschu, Dun Eideann 7c. Bidh Rèidio nan
Gaidheal aig a' mhòr-chuid de dh' Albannaich. A dh' aindeoin seo, na èisdibh ri daoine a tha ag ràdh gur e "seirbheis nàiseanta" a tha seo. Chan
eil i nàiseanta idir.
Bidh na programman Gàidhlig air MW a' stad a dh'aithghearr. Air an adhbhar sin, cha bhi Gàidhlig sam bith anns na haiteachan far nach
eilcrainn-sgaoilidh FM. A-rèir mapa a rinn a' BhBC fhèin, cha bhi rèidio Gàidhlig ri fhaotainn anns na Criochan, Dun Phris 7
Gallghaidhealaibh, Taobh Tatha no anns a' mhòr-chuid de Roinn a' Mhonaidh no Fiobh. Nàiseanta? Cha channains gubheil. Tha seirbheis nàiseanta againn mar thà
air MW ged nach eil ach uair a thìde ann gach latha.
'S e th' anns a' Ghàidhlig ach cànan Albann a tha cudromach do dh' Alba gu leir. Bha i air a bruidhinn air feadh na h-Alba linntean air
ais. An-diugh tha fileantaich agus luchdionnsachaidh air feadh na duthcha fhathast agus tha iad ag iarraidh rèidio Gàidhlig. Tha rèidio air leth
cudromach do luchdionnsachaidh gu h-àraidh an fheadhainn a tha a' fuireach anns na h-àiteachan far nach eil mòran Gàidhlig. Bidh mòran
dhaoine air taobh a-muigh Alba ag èisdeachd ri Gàidhlig cuideachd air MW. Cha bhi e comasach dhaibh seo a dhèanamh ann an ùine nach bi ro
fhada. Bidh an t-sèirbheis ùr sgoinneil airson nan daoine aig am bi i. A dh' aindeoin seo, cha bhi i math gu leòr airson na h-Alba no na Gàidhlig.
Tha feum air rèidio Gàidhlig air feadh na dùthcha, fad na h-uine. Mur a gabh seo a dhèanamh an dràsda, feumar uair no dhà a thìde a chumail air
MW gus an gabh e dhèanamh. Cùmaibh a' Ghàidhlig beò, cùmaibh a' Ghàidhlig nàiseanta!
Ma tha sibh ag iarraidh seirbheis naiseanta, sgriobh gu:
Seamus Boyle,
Ceanard Rèidio BBC na h-Alba,
Slighe na Ban-Righ Mairead
(Queen Margaret Drive),
Glaschu G12 8DG.
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