I'm Spartacus!
Alex Salmond's friends and critics (including those who occasionally move from one camp to the other) are wont to try to define their man, to pin him down.
Is he statesman? Is he passionate patriot? Or economic calculator? Is he mischief-maker? Is he ballad singer, manqué?
Today, facing first minister's questions, he offered his own answer.
Turning to Annabel Goldie, he declared: "I am Spartacus."
Spartacus? You know, the novel? Turned into a film by Stanley Kubrick? Starred Kirk Douglas as the eponymous hero? Spartacus.
Today's movie was a rerun. Swinney 2: the FM Strikes Back.
Each opposition leader pounced, understandably, upon the apology delivered by the finance secretary for failing to disclose to parliament the condition of the Tartan Tax (none too healthy.)
Revolt leader
Iain Gray wanted Mr Salmond to apologise too. He duly shared in the (limited) contrition offered by his colleague.
Then Annabel Goldie had a go. Sorry wasn't enough: Mr Salmond should abase himself before the people of Scotland.
Which prompted Mr Salmond's Spartacist statement.
You remember the scene in the film, I am sure, where, one by one, the slaves declare that they are Spartacus in order to confuse the Romans in their search for the leader of the revolt.
Mr Salmond was, I think, identifying himself closely with the actions taken by his finance secretary.
Either that or he thinks he is Kirk Douglas.
Whichever, there were some pretty angry opposition legions in the amphitheatre today. They sense weakness and, again understandably, pursued it.
Lots of money
In response, Mr Salmond made three broad points. Yes, the state of unreadiness of the tartan tax should have been disclosed to parliament.
But the issue could be traced back before 2007. And it would have been wrong to spend money, lots of money, on sustaining a tax which was not going to be used.
Against which, opposition leaders - entirely rightly - stress that was a decision which should have been placed before parliament.
It was Holyrood's call.
Where does this go now? Again rightly, to a committee investigation in order to establish the facts. Culpability, perhaps, but primarily the facts.
Also to an investigation by the former Presiding Officers, David Steel and George Reid? Maybe: Alex Salmond says he will study the request from Labour and the Liberal Democrats (not, in this one, joined by the Tories.)
But maybe not. There have been three such referrals, each covering Mr Salmond himself, on the constitutional grounds that he rules on the ministerial code - and, therefore, has nobody to rule with regard to him. He has been exonerated on each occasion.
Committee hearing
From his remarks, Mr Salmond does not appear to feel that a ministerial code question arises. His opponents dissent.
Perhaps it is an issue which might be encompassed within the committee hearing.
So, while the heat of the issue may abate somewhat, the issue has not vanished.
Next up, in the same vein, the Calman report with its plans to alter Holyrood's tax powers, extending the proportion of income tax under devolved control.
Mr Salmond said he was seeking urgent talks with both the prime minister and the Scottish Secretary to discuss the implications.
Intriguingly, he also noted in passing that, while he could not disclose any details, he knew what was in the Scotland Bill to be published next week. And what was not.
A suggestion, perhaps, that certain of the tax powers proposed in the original Calman Commission report may not survive into the UK Government Bill?
PS: What happened to the slaves who supported Spartacus? Crucified, every one.
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~37~RS~)
I'm 
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Appologies?
I would like Mr Gray to appologise for the Iraq war - I'll not hold my breath!
labour isn't working!
C McK
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afternoon, has anyone seen the secretary of state Mr Moore? no didn't think so, he has done his job. no one in Scotland talking about the cuts ,no one really talking about the calman changes. everyone balling and shouting about a tax no one was going to use accept Patrick Harvey from the greens and surely now even he cannot be serious now we know how much westminster will charge us for the privelage.
by the way those costs are are but loose change in comparison to the charges westminster will charge for "calman" and the "loss" of the tartan tax will pale into insignificance when we get to see the list of powers they will remove from the Scottish government with "planning" top of the list.
you have been warned.
Sid
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If gray and his sidekick on the Lib dem benches were so incensed, why didn't they force a vote of no confidence ? Were they perhaps afraid that it could end up with an election before they got some funds together or were they just scared that the electorate would bury them.
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I'm Spartacus
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Brian,
Why not present the truth, rather than presenting the Labour line.
The truth is Labour allowed this to lapse, and there is an ongoing dispute about why Scotland should foot the £7 million bill.
And another thing, I assume that Scotland will be getting a share of the £8 billion that is being invested in Englands railways?
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The 'anger' from the Labour benches seems disingenuous to me. I think they're more delighted by the situation than angry. It's another chance to give the SNP a good kicking.
We know that the tax powers lapsed in 2007 because the current Scottish Secretary made that information public. The question is, why did previous Labour Scottish Secretaries not do the same? I find it difficult to believe that they didn't know, and I find it difficult to believe that they didn't pass on the information to their Holyrood contingent.
This could have been nipped in the bud before it ever became an issue if previous Scottish Secretaries had done something about it and called the SNP to account while there was still time to resolve the issue. For some reason they have failed to do so, and I'd like to know what that reason is.
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"PS: What happened to the slaves who supported Spartacus? Crucified, every one."
Just because Alex aligns himself with John, does not actually make him Sparticus! In fact it suggests as it was John who made the decisions which Alex was briefed about, that it is actually John who is Sparticus.
And Alex by his statement, is standing fully in support of Johns position.
I am not presently aware of any form of Slavery in the SNP, so there will be no slaves harmed. Unlike those in the Unionist parties, particularly those in Labour, who slavishly follow their Westminster Leaders Instructions.
Or perhaps your closing statement in this article a Wish, Brian???
Perhaps you should be concerned about slavishly following your Masters orders??
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You know.
This worries me, voters who don't delve to deeply will read these headlines and be horrified. Never wondering that the power to raise and lower tax was/will/never would be used, was let slip under a previous administration, would've costed an arm an a leg, would've been changed anyway with the shipwreck wating to happen that is Calman and that the notion a power that they may have voted for has been lost when it has not, the process for which was never fit for purpose in the first place.
If there is one thing that'll let Labour back in, it'll be stupidity born of misinformation from the media abley demostrated by the utterly fatuous headlines on this website.
Even if Labour were on the receiving end of this kind of propoganda, I'd cringe and refuse to jump on the bandwagon.
At worst, Swinney and the SNP failed to inform parliament about an inevitable thing happening, they could've had all the votes and debates they wanted, HMRC would've done exactly the same thing reagrdless.
Its just unfair and disingenuous on the part of the opposition in general and hypocritical on Scottish Labour in particular.
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"Whichever, there were some pretty angry opposition legions in the amphitheatre today. They sense weakness and, again understandably, pursued it."
Hahaha... you really like your comedy Eh Brian?
Factual correction first, a Roman Legion varied in size throughout the history of ancient Rome, with typically complements of 4,200 legionaries and 300 equites (horses to you). Legions were composed of a number of Cohorts, in turn Cohorts were made up of 6 Centuries (typically 60 to 100 men).
The opposition can only just about manage a Century in number, so stop pathetically trying to big up the opposition.
Secondly, the only weakness is that of the opposition. They continually kept asking Salmond to appologise, which I heard from his continually and they had nothing to say on the waste of £7 million and nothing to go for other than their repetitive requests for an Appology (which Salmond gave)! The Unionist weakness is their fear of an early election.
At least the SNP can now get their budget through without a whimper. They know the Unionist opposition will not stand in the way for fear of that early election.
Weakness Brian? I see weakness... it is all around the SNP benches, not on the SNP benches!
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I am Spartacus
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I'm now pretty convinced that the opposition parties are primarily made up of people that have difficulty in tying their shoelaces.
The time that these vindictive, narrow minded, parochial and patronising little people are wasting on this topic far outweighs it's relative importance.
They are utterly pathetic.
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No, I am Spartacus
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9.
Here here. Fear is holding back the oppositions lack of vote of no confidence. Fear that an early election will show them up as having no policies, fear that the Fib-dems will be obliterated and the tories too.
Fear is what drives the unionist in every case. Strike fear into the voter that independence will be a disaster but yet give no reason as to why the Union is best for scotland. In these hard times people want hope, not more fear and it'll only work against the unionists. and for that i'm thankful.
Bring it on.
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As for crucifixion there should be a long list starting with Scottish
secretaries who feel it is their job to throw dirt, HMRC staff
that extort money for old rope, HMRC IT staff who take 2 years to
do some income tax changes that were made law more than a decade ago,
politicians who chase advantage and not policies...
The list is long, many qualify, and of course the former
leaders of the SPT who think football matches are essential
training to running the Glasgow Transport system, remind me
which party they were drawn from ?.
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It is blatantly obvious that Salmon and his torag separatists despise Scotland and the Scottish people. They do have a liking for Norway so I suggest that’s where they go. The St Andrews flag must be left here where it belongs and they can take that upside down Aids Awareness thing. That would be freedom.
PS. Take SNLA as well.
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The focus on a tax no one has ever used, no one wants to use, and is probably about to be abolished is astonishing! This is a story created by politicians and packaged to create self-importance, which sums up most of the political class and media North and South of the border - they are all self-justifying and hollow.
The political mood is becoming more radical. A similar mood to the anti-Thatcher and poll tax protests is returning in Scotland. I predict that this will be in full swing by the Scottish elections.
The challenge is, will any politician have the gall and strength to meet this new mood, and out of it create a new Parliament. The MSM is weak and watered down in comparison to the anger that is beginning to bubble in communities across Scotland. The press, in the reality of their falling subscriptions, have less and less legitimacy as opinion formers, and are infact afraid to cover the issues of real importance. of the press each and every individual in Scotland will have the ability to transform the election outcome this May - by discussing the real challenges, door to door, street to street, and with friends and family.
Do not be put off by hollow drivel, which few care of or listen to. The election next May will not be settled on Megrahi speculation, or discussion of an unused tax system. It will take place as anti-Westminister sentiment grows and grows; as the realisation that there is no mandate for this Government's actions in Scotland sets in: that is the reality for the future months of Scottish politics.
I believe people are waking up. And the people always wake up before the press.
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No, sorry. I am Spartacus!
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15.
WOW! you're right, i'm convinced. What have i been thinking? your resaoned and balanced argument has swayed me to rethink my nationalistic leanings. How could i have been so foolish for so long
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I am Spartacus.
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So hear we go again, it’s all a conspiracy against us NAsTies, why not look at something else, if only we had independence etc etc.
Face up to the issue here, NAsTy Mr Swinney lied to your democratically elected representatives. And, NAsTy Mr Sammond said that was OK. What was the lie? To tell your democratically elected representatives that he was not using a PARLIAMENTARY power, when he had made a decision not to pay the service charge. That’s a bit like NAsTy Mr Swinney not renewing your Gas service plan and lying to you about it.
It was not his decision and he lied, he should go. NAsTy Mr Sammond defended it he should be very contrite or go as well.
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How many times does the FM have to apologise? Alex Salmond and John Swinney could stand outside Holyrood in sackcloth and ashes and it still wouldn’t make any difference to the opposition.
Iain MacWhirter puts this manufactured stramash into perspective.
http://tinyurl.com/2br3ftc
“The world held its breath yesterday as conflict erupted between North and South Korea; Ireland braced itself for civil unrest as its government imposed a crushing austerity budget; and higher education and school students took to the streets and occupied universities over tuition fees.”
And “Holyrood spent the afternoon rowing over the unspent cost of collecting a tax, the Scottish variable rate (SVR), that no-one intends to raise and is about to be abolished. Cover up? Abuse of power? Grow up.”
And “The greatest act of political sabotage since devolution, according to Andy Kerr. Get a life.”
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#16 it wisnae me , afternoon well spotted a very good post I think you are correct re the tide finally turning and I agree it is going to take some very special people to lead from the front but it's happening because the story's in the MSM are becoming more ridiculous by the day you can smell the fear.
"Bring it on" as someone once said
proud to be Spartacus
Sid
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#15 hi have you been on the caffeine ?
Ms Bailey and her mates would love a wee chat with you .
Sid
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No, I am Spartacus
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Im surprised Jack Mconnel let it lapse as his favourite policy was to send our money back to his london masters in return for a lardship.
Apparently Andy Kerr wants this to go away now, has he something to hide.
You bet!!!
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Are you trying to get rid of me? I'm having to sign in every time.
Earlier caught the BBC's take on the SPT scandal. It seemed to have missed something out on the news item. Can't figure out what that was.
Oh. Yes!
I've figured it out. The news report made no mention whatsover of the LABOUR COUNCILLORS deeply involved in the troughing.
I have been referred before. On occasion I have conceded that perhaps there was some justification for it, however slight.
I had a contribution to the last topic removed for no reason I can think of,except describing Kenstor's suggestion(#30)that the Gathering somehow cost us £8.5million as "absolute, laughable rubbish".
On an event run by a private comapny that lost £600,000 the SG put in £160,000 and independent analysis accepts that it was worth £38million to the Scottish econpmy.
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No; I'm Kirk Douglas' son!
#20 redkilliefan: No, it's not; no he didn't; no he didn't; no he didn't and no, he should not. You need to try to see it as an issue of timing, not as an issue on it's own but why attempt that hard task when you can accent the capitals and beat someone with a stick who you just happen not to agree with?
It's no coincidence Murphy didn't mention this. It also is no coincidence Moore released it when he did. Its called politics and how to do-down your main opponents when you need to sneak something through without being noticed. Having friends who shout about it to distract observers helps.
Regardless of what the "issue" is, the MSM will shout because of who it is directed towards & not care who is really at fault...it doesn't sell papers or raise ratings.
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Iain McWhirter hits the nail on the head...
A hoo-haa about an unpaid fee for an unused facility to collect a tax that no party intended to use?
Who cares?
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10. minuend
I am Spartacus
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“The greatest act of political sabotage since devolution, according to Andy Kerr. Get a life.”
yes Labours sums spokesdperson Andy Kerr does seem to drivel utter nonsense, whats worse is we are forced to give this man a very lucrative undeserved salary and big fat expenses.
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15. Iamthecat
Silly person!
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#15, Iamtheprat wrote: "It is blatantly obvious that Salmon and his torag separatists despise Scotland and the Scottish people. They do have a liking for Norway so I suggest that’s where they go. The St Andrews flag must be left here where it belongs and they can take that upside down Aids Awareness thing. That would be freedom."
1. Salmon?
2. Sepratists? (What like... Germany, Italy, Argentina, USA, Brazil, Japan, China, Australia, Nigeria, Toga, Peru, Canada etc etc... need I go on?)
3. Torags? For saving Scotland upwards of £7 million... eh? ok?
4. Telling Scots to get out of their own country? Well, that's a new take on Sectarianism/Racism that I have not heard before!
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How are the SNP proposing to collect the Local Income Tax and do they know what the cost would be of the IT system required to make this happen?
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A number of hints have been dropped by AS and others that the real issue goes back before the 2007 election.
That is to say, that the position which JS inherited after the election was already obviously known to the civil servants and therefore (I assume) to the previous Administration, as they liked to call themselves.
That suggests the Joke McConnell, Tam McCabe and Slavish Scott would also be aware of the position!!
Does that maybe explain why Jim Murphy, weedougiealexander, et all have been so obviously posted missing on this matter??
And then there's that weeratmichaelmoore who will surely now never be elected to political office again!!
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Where's my post gone. It was awaiting moderation a few minutes ago and now it's gone completely.
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I am Spartacus.
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As with all things Holyrood, the SNP are being judged to higher standards and with more rigour than ever was the case with the unionist parties in power.
Was this Michael Moore's idea, absolutely not, he's not bright enough for this. Nor are his unionist chums in labour and tory parties in Scotland.
This has whitehall civil servants mitts all over it. Anything negative that can be laid at the door of the SNP up to May 2011 will be highlighted at strategic times to take the focus off cuts. unionists, will be aided and abetted by their pals in broadcasting.
The SNP must keep its nerve and focus on unionist cuts and council tax freeze.
If Andy Kerr had a brain cell -
-
-
-
it would be lonely!
C McK
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Is the title of Brian's piece - I'm Spartacus! - supposed to be taken as Mr Taylor allying himself with the First Minister and his precedessor (and, before that, his successor) as SNP Leader?
And is there some question of copyright lying at the heart of his decision to contract the ubiquitous "I am Spartacus!"?
What happened to the slaves who supported Spartacus?
They're a' deid...
And therein lies a lesson, we're all a long time dead, so we shouldn't dither over matters as important as the future of our nation.
Whether it is one year from now or, just possibly (if I keep off the pies), eighty years from now, I do not want to go to meet my maker still hoping that the future will being re-independence of the Scottish nation.
I WANT a 'Tartan Tax' - a tax payable only by the people of Scotland - because I want taxation of the Scots, by the Scots, for the Scots, in an independent Scotland!
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39. Spartacus
Splendid! Indeed you are. All hail Spartacus
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snp flagship policy: local income tax.
so, how were they going to implement it without the hmrc svr system?
or, was it the usual story, that like so much else, they had no intention of introducing it anyway.
spartacus! walter mitty more like.
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#40.Calum McKay wrote: "The SNP must keep its nerve and focus on unionist cuts and council tax freeze.
If Andy Kerr had a brain cell -
-
-
-
it would be lonely!"
& if he had 2, he would be a plant!
The SNP can shout from the rooftops but few shall choose to listen. Few choose to attempt to understand the motives behind these "issues". The SNP by its very reason for being, cannot hide its motives.
The media can please itself these days...ably abetted by their enemy's enemies!
Ultimately, these stories shall always be "high-profile", until the media's mindset is changed. The SNP can merely keep plugging away & try not to give them the ammunition. They've been very good at this so far but there will always be slips like this...it is better to release this now, rather than have it a month before the election, so it could have been worse!
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I think you'll find that I, in fact, am Sparticus!
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Brian,
To quote a former Labour leader:
'It's time to move on'
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kenstor, the unionist puppets in holyrood were ordered to vote lit down by their london masters,doh.
Do try and keep up.
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44. gt-cri
"& if he had 2, he would be a plant!"
If they found 3 he must of had cosmetic surgery.
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#34. deadgoatsociety:
Good question! One of many...do you suppose it would involve a £7 million IT system; £12million system or £19million system and/or a £50,000pa subscription to HMRC?
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20. At 4:04pm on 25 Nov 2010, redkilliefan wrote:
It was not his decision and he lied, he should go. NAsTy Mr Sammond defended it he should be very contrite or go as well.
Whos decision is it ?.
And did he lie ?. I dont think that he did. Its like saying we
wont use the tractor on the road this year and not mentioning that
the road tax was not redone, its not a lie, its an omission. The
question is, is it a big enough and relevant enough omission to be
punished. Is everyone queuing up to take the tractor to market?.
Its not like he dipped his hand in the SPT cash till, snorted coke
with the underworld or sold prime council land to family friends at
knock down rates, mind you not all of those are resigning offences
unless you do them twice.
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43. At 6:05pm on 25 Nov 2010, kenstor wrote:
snp flagship policy: local income tax.
I seem to remember that the HMRC gave a flat refusal. Said that the
Scottish Government would have to set up an entirely new computer system
for that. Refused to share data, so duplicate collection etc.
Pretty much a show stopper.
On the other hand it would make sense, for effciency, for the
HMRC to seperate the running of Scottish taxation from the rest
of the UK... or does that look too much like a nation building
move to be allowed.
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They're a' deid...
but we can still rise again and be a nation again
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Self evidently the opposition believes it runs the country and not the Scottish Govt.
According to the BBC they "backed a Labour motion urging the government to bring forward longer-term plans as far ahead as 2015, while the final vote on the Scottish government's one-year, £28bn budget plans themselves will take place in February."
So Gray thinks Darling was wrong to propose a one year budget or is he just being opportunistic?
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#48. ai_gin_ray:
Aw come-on, that would immediately elevate him to the level of Westminster! There's already been precedents...must remember to look for the operation scars! ;-)
& just for deadgoatsociety; the costs (estimated) of council tax collection:
"The estimated cost of council tax collection by Scotland’s local authorities for 2007/8 was £35.697M. In addition, the cost of council tax valuation was estimated to be £11.27M."
From SOLACE Scotland. Can't find mre recent figures, which are likely to be higher in later years.
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"Each opposition leader pounced, understandably, upon the apology delivered by the finance secretary for failing to disclose to parliament the condition of the Tartan Tax (none too healthy.)"
"Understandably"! Is this the BBC being the mouth piece of certain unionist parties again? Labour and the Lib Dems knew about the system already as the SNP inherited it from them. Are you going to highlight Alex Salmonds letter yet or will we continue to suffer from totalitarian censorship?
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PS: What happened to the slaves who supported Spartacus? Crucified, every one.
Didn't the Roman Empire eventually fall apart Brian?
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Never mind Spartacus.....free Brian.
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Vakov 2000
"Are you going to highlight Alex Salmond's letter yet or will we continue to suffer from totalitarian censorship?"
There is about as much chance of that as Andy Kerr completing the two times table.
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Didn't the Roman Empire reward collaborators with money and titles too?
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59. Vakov2000
"Didn't the Roman Empire reward collaborators with money and titles too?"
And had overstretched armies fighting abroad with shortening (affordable) food supplies and infrastructure groaning from a lack of maintenance.
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I'm not Spartacus by the way though people do keep mistaking me in the street for Julius Caesar and it's getting slightly annoying.
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61. Vakov2000
Beware the Ides of March:)
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Look out for back stabbing bar stewards?
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It's difficult trying to follow this story from furren parts, but as far as I can gather the story so far is -
Tax varying powers which no one wants to use, and which the Unionist parties intend to change under the Calman proposals anyway, would have taken somewhat longer to implement than originally envisaged - had anyone decided that they did want to use them after all, which they didn't. It also transpires that the Scottish government would be charged an excessive amount by Westminster if it were to make use of these powers, setting a dangerous and costly precedent for the payment of future services provided by Westminster. The previous Labour/LibDem administration allowed this situation to arise, and Labour was in control of the Westminster end of the negotiations until the May election, however it appears that no one in Westminster Labour bothered to inform their Scottish colleagues about it. It also appears that the Holyrood Labour front bench suffers from a form of collective amnesia about anything that happened during their time in government. (Perhaps some things are just too traumatic to remember.)
The saga has been gleefully seized upon by the Scottish media (when their attention can be diverted from the pressing matter of football referees) who in their usual entirely unbiased way are using it as a stick with which to beat their favourite bogeyman. Now we have days of faux outrage about something that was never going to happen anyway, conveniently providing a smoke screen for the clowns who created the mess in the first place.
But it's all John Swinney's fault because he was guilty of not officially informing Holyrood that the previous administration was a shower of incompetent numpties who couldn't negotiate the return of the deposit on a ginger bottle.
ps. I'm Spartacus. And so is my dog.
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I'm Spartacus...
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#59 here is a list of examples
Jack McConnell Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale
Helen Liddell Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke
John McFall Baron McFall of Alcluith
Tommy McAvoy Baron McAvoy
John Reid Baron Reid of Cardowan
Des Browne Baron Browne of Ladyton
Micheal Martin Baron Martin of Springburn
All good Scotish Labour Champagne Socialist Party members to the last man and woman, never let your principles get in the way of a seat in the House of Lords.
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I am Sparta !!!!
on the historical theme, I see the historical blogger going by the title " jaunty with judas" we know what happend to him too
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Chan eil sibh! Is mise Spartacus Brian!
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The SVR nonsense is just political prestidigitation . While we are being distracted by this the Accounts Commission report on the SPT expenses scandal is released. This report has found there to be "serious deficiencies" amoungst the senior officials of the SPT.
Glasgow Labour Councillor Alistair Watson was SPT's chairman.
South Lanarkshire Labour councillor Davie McLachlan, was vice chair.
appointed by Stephen Purcell, Ron Culley was chief executive.
This Labour quango was involved in some serious troughing at the Scottish taxpayers expense. I just thought it was worth the highlighting, as the "joke's on you" "Scottish" news mentioned the report, but noticably fail to mention the political nature of the persons involved. I think it is very worth reporting this.
I am not Kirk Douglas, but I am Spartacus.
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69.
Well said.
It,s a well known fact the the media is run by biased labour controlled
muppets.
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Just noticed what I thought was an interesting comment from the start of JS's statement yesterday.
“I judged that to come to parliament while those discussions were underway would breach the confidentiality the Secretary of State, amongst others, had requested.
Why would the SoS request that JS keep the negotiations confidential and then release his own statement breaking the requested confidentiality?
Or is this the previous SoS asking to keep the negotiation quiet? (if so I hope he was polite and said please).
Also, who would be the others asking for the same confidentiality?
I wonder if any of them are actually employed in the Scottish Government or are these all individuals from a foreign and remote country trying to remotely control the workings of the government of this country?.
Assuming that the discussions have been going on for 3 years does this not imply that the bosses of all three main international parties are involved in trying to destabalise the Scottish Government. Gordon must have known what his cabinet members were up to wouldn't he? He would have asked for reports about what he had been up to during the last week - ie. 'I have tooken away the pretendy places tax program aff their wii and telted them tae shut up, Cool ur what? I said Simple Simon said tae be quiet so they'll no ken it was me'.
Similarly David and Nick would also be asking at cabinet meetings what their chosen SoS was up to during the working week? Surely? in a respectful sort of way obviously.
Did nobody from any of these cabinets think it important to tell their monitors up here in the wastelands or was that also part of the 'confidentiality' scheme? Obviously if they had let them know, it would not have been the surprise it seems to have been for them. Or are they just pretending to be shocked to the core.
Either all 3 of the international monitors are very good actors because of their shocked expressions (unlikely) or they are upset (very upset in one obvious case) because they have just figured out how far out of the loop of their own parties workings they really are. Listen for a very big penny dropping (not one of these new fangled modern pennies but a good old 1/240th of the pound sized one - listen carefully, you might just hear a few bounces and then that kind of quickening rolling noice I so loved when a wedding car was leaving in the good old days - scrammy!).
Out of view, out of mind, hopefull soon out of job.
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#69 X_Sticks
Indeed, also the Calman comission travesty roles on unscrutinised by the 'Scottish' press. Never mind....look at the shiny shiny.
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72. ScotInNotts
Aye, the hugely expensive unionist Calman report. The Scottish taxpayers pay again for Westminster to wangle a way to take more tax from us, while reducing the powers of our parliament. Who was it that said, "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."? Abe Lincoln? Well, we are finally reaching the third stage. The unionist panic is palpable (I almost typed painic - Freudian slip?). We are no longer fooled, and no longer amused. Time to reclaim our independence.
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73. X_Sticks
George W said Joking - but in half earnest?)
"You can fool some of the people all the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11839934
It's going to hake a lot more than a re-branding! ROFL :)
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#Iamthetartanspartacus and BTW name of Mr Salmond's Twitter account?
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Was the finance minister right not to tell parliament about the blood money demanded by Westminster. No. was he right not to pay YES YES YES YES.
The comments made by the author of this blog in brackets at the end of some of his phrases indicate bias and opinion viz.:
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Each opposition leader pounced, understandably, upon the apology delivered by the finance secretary for failing to disclose to parliament the condition of the Tartan Tax (none too healthy.)
Revolt leader
Iain Gray wanted Mr Salmond to apologise too. He duly shared in the (limited) contrition offered by his colleague.
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It is not the job of a BBC political editor or reporter to give or make opinion. It is the job of the BBC to seek out and report opinion.
As afar as i,m concerned the BBC has the right to show as much anti SNP opinion as they want, if it is said by others. However it is not within their remit or mission statement to give opinion and as such i fully intend to complain about these bracketed comments which turn a report, into an opinion.
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Was the Labour party at the forefront of this attack not the very same Labour party who have crippled the British economy, then fled from power with billions blindly committed to defence contracts including aircraft carriers which will not even see active service on completion, and whose Scottish branch themselves 'mothballed' Holyrood's tax-varying powers from the year 2000??!!
Shameless!
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61. At 8:38pm on 25 Nov 2010, Vakov2000 wrote:
"I'm not Spartacus by the way though people do keep mistaking me in the street for Julius Caesar and it's getting slightly annoying."
Sorry if I'm being dense, but is this an allusion to Lord Ferrers' (in)famous schoolboy ditty about "greasers" being blown "right across the street"; or to Robert Graves' description (in the guise of Claudius) of JC as "every man's woman and every woman's man"; or, possibly, to something else entirely?
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"What happened to the slaves who supported Spartacus? Crucified, every one."
Bye bye Brian!!!!!
Never ever trust a unionist Boss.
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