Nicola Sturgeon making the NHS the issue of the day in the Holyrood elections. Says if SNP bas a “bold, progressive plan for government with the remobilisation of the NHS at its heart.”
Says the party will:
1) invest more in the NHS 2) “enable more people to get the right support closer to their home. 3) “building and maximising hospital capacity so more patients can be treated more quickly."
Reminder that this campaign isn’t only about independence. Indeed, there are Scots who heartily approve of the job NS does as FM, especially with regards to the pandemic but wish she’d talk about independence less. This is a nod to that. As is fact SNP feel they’re on strong...
...ground on NHS given greater generosity on NHS pay compared to London.
That said, reminder SNP has been in government in Scotland for 14 years. Virtually all public services in the country are in their hands. Whatever their current state, it’s their responsibility.
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The fourth night of violence in Northern Ireland. Petrol bombs thrown at officers in Carrickfergus and a car set alight in Derry/Londonderry.
PSNI have also confirmed they are investigating following loyalist masked marches/protests on Monday afternoon. bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northe…
Loyalist anger over the decision last week not to prosecute Sinn Fein politicians for attending the funeral of republican Bobbey Storey and ongoing tension over the Brexit settlement/Northern Ireland protocol being widely cited as the cause.
There is also an element to this which appears to be around recent police crackdowns on paramilitary groups’ criminal activity.
First, a health warning-constituency level polling is often unreliable. Sample size here about 500.
But if this were to come to pass it would be disastrous for Labour and for Starmer- only the second time a government gained a seat off the Opposition in a by election since 1982.
It would imply the bleeding in the North for Labour has not stopped and the Conservatives have a chance of expanding the electoral map yet further (with no real sign of where the corresponding gains for Labour might come).
And though Starmer’s allies will say that this shows bad things got under Corbyn, Corbyn’s allies will says that’s a peculiar analysis, given Corbyn won Hartlepool- twice.
It would be enormously damaging for Starmer’s personal authority.
The senior Conservative MP Dame Cheryl Gillan has died. She’d been MP for Chesham and Amersham in Buckinghamshire since 1992 and was Welsh Secretary in the Cameron government.
The Prime Minister has paid tribute, saying she was “a great servant to the people of Chesham and Amersham, to the Conservative Party and to the country as Secretary of State for Wales."
He added that she was “always full of wise advice and good humour, she was much loved on all sides of the House of Commons and will be sorely missed. My sincere condolences to her family and friends.”
This, from @Gabriel_Pogrund on Greensill/Cameron/Heywood is completely jaw-dropping.
As is this.
There are clearly questions to be answered about this affair, for both officials and politicians. In the absence of an inquiry (not planned as things stand) if Mr Cameron simply refuses to answer- what then? And what does that say about our political culture?
NEW: Tonight a special investigation I've been working on about working conditions of drivers who deliver for Amazon.
Those we've spoken to present a bleak picture of increased workloads which leave them feeling forced to adopt unsafe (and potentially illegal) working practices.
Drivers tell us they've been given significantly bigger delivery loads as a result of the boom in sales during the pandemic but without extra time to compensate.
As a result, they say that the physical and mental pressure they're under is extreme.
They tell us they've so little time they feel forced to speed, park illegally, can't eat or take a break even though they're on the road for hours on end and even have to urinate in the back of their vans.
Will post more later, for now, make sure you're watching Newsnight, 2245