We must assume Nicola Sturgeon has forgotten to check Experian before setting course towards another independence referendum.
Or maybe she didn’t bother, on the basis that she would know the response she would receive; something along the lines of “are ye aff yer heid?”
Now more than £15bn in hock and rising, Scotland’s economy would already be in intensive care if it could gain access during the coronavirus virus crisis.
The first minister herself has spoken of a jobs tsunami post-Covid-19, while goodness knows what mountain of cash will be required for a new National Care Service.
Still, the EU can always come to our aid as we tell them we’d rather use the Euro than the groat.
Such rebellious talk will, of course, draw the ire of Ms Sturgeon’s staunchest supporters when they read these words.
They refuse to acknowledge that the NHS in Scotland has crumbled under Jeanne Freeman and her predecessor Shona Robison – kept in the job for too long.
They also believe John Swinney has done a marvellous job at education and might also conclude ex-finance secretary, Derek Mackay, did wonders in blowing £97m for two Calmac ferries only to have to step in to rescue a deal which is now a further £100m over budget and three years late.
Rescue? You wouldn’t want him in the financial lifeboat team.
Just as well he’s out of the picture these days.
So, don’t check our credit score, Nicola. You’ll be disappointed.
There is another worrying aspect to all of this.
Were a referendum application granted – unlikely, and therefore feeding into Sturgeon’s “they (the English) dislike us” rhetoric – and an instant Scottish election undertaken, there is no one in the current pack of opposition politicians capable of leading their party to victory.
Scottish politics is not in a good place and the unpalatable truth is that we have been short-changed by devolution.
I suspect that were Donald Dewar, the man who pushed it through, alive today, he’d say: “It wasn’t meant to be like this.”
Sentiment right, but is it time to move on?
This may not be a popular statement to make, but when will “taking the knee” be quietly phased-out?
No right-thinking person would disagree with the sentiment behind this act, seen before every football match, but the message that “Black Lives Matter” has been well and truly underlined since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25 2020, for which a policeman has been charged.
Time to move on?
Name and shame the political bullies
It must take a fair amount of energy and effort to be a bully.
All that shouting and intimidation.
Mind you, most of the ones I’ve encountered usually back down when confronted and challenged.
That’s because they’re either insecure or cowardly – or both.
We frequently see them at work on social media where they normally skulk behind anonymity.
Yet, it is concerning that, according to the FDA union, which represents civil servants, Scottish Government ministers have been the subject of a significant number of complaints over the past decade.
That claim came during a specially convened committee of MSPs looking into the Scottish Government’s handling of complaints against former First Minister Alex Salmond.
The bullying issue, according to the FDA’s Dave Penman, is current.
So, wouldn’t it be an idea to name and shame the tyrants and tormentors in order to allow us to know who does or doesn’t deserve our vote?
This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.
