Posts Tagged Westminster

Talking about Immigration

By John Patton on 02/11/2022 / blog, news, politics / 4 Comments

Yesterday, I had lunch in a little cafe in the Tollcross area of Edinburgh; it was clean, hospitable and offered an affordable menu. I had vegetable soup and bread with a coffee; it was delicious; without asking, I was brought a little jug of water, laced with a mint leaf by the waitress; I finished with a coffee and some excellent carrot cake. As I paid, the owners, a very pleasant couple, engaged in friendly conversation and I learned that they were from Turkey and enjoyed living in Edinburgh.

DECLINE AND FALL OF SCOTTISH LABOUR

By John Patton on 13/05/2015 / blog / 1 Comment

The seeds of last Thursday’s decimation at the Polls of Scottish Labour were germinating long before the 2014 Referendum. Worried by the rise of the Nationalists in the Seventies, the late John Smith, one of Labour’s sharpest thinkers, saw critically limited devolution as the solution. His prodigy,

SNP, Sinn Fein and Home Rule

By John Patton on 08/05/2015 / blog / 2 Comments

For nearly one hundred years, the Constitution, has been the predominant issue in every election, fought in Northern Ireland, even at Council level, where there is a wearying, unionist pre-occupation with flags and emblems. The results of the Election in Scotland have ensured that independence has shot

Nigel Dodds or Nicola Sturgeon?

By John Patton on 27/12/2014 / blog / Leave a comment

Andrew Rawnsley, the respected Observer columnist , suggested a couple of weeks ago that Nigel Dodds could well decide who the next UK Prime Minister will be. Nigel who, you may well ask – are there two of them. Dodds is second in command in the DUP

Alex Salmond – A Burning Issue

By John Patton on 09/11/2014 / Uncategorized / 2 Comments

The eccentric people of Lewes in Sussex burned an effigy of the First Minister, Alex Salmond, on Bonfire Night last week. Various media apologists assured us that this was just good fun and that many other ‘weel kent’ faces have suffered a similar fate on previous occasions.

Johann escapes from Jurassic Party

By John Patton on 26/10/2014 / blog / Leave a comment

For many people, the most startling revelation to emerge from Johann Lamont’s dramatic resignation was her enforced silence by Labour at Westminster from voicing any criticism of the ‘Bedroom Tax’ because Ed Milliband had yet to form an opinion of it. We are talking here about

The Trouble with Women

By John Patton on 16/07/2014 / blog / Leave a comment

The Tory spin machine has been in overdrive, trying to convince us that women have arrived and in future will be treated as equals to male colleagues and receive promotion on merit. We know in reality that the cabinet re-shuffle was about presentation for the next election.

Fraught Relationships

By John Patton on 26/03/2014 / blog / 1 Comment

I love the continuing commitment of French cinema to a quality and tasteful aesthetic. The camera lingers, allowing the viewer to imbibe landscape and beyond. BBC4 this week screened ‘You will be my son’ in its consistently excellent, Sunday night continental series . Set in a successful