Busy night tonight, so not much opportunity for blogging. Just off to a Conservatives Abroad reception - strangely held in this country - followed by dinner with Sir Patrick Cormack, followed by a debut appearance on Newsnight Scotland, where I shall be defending the honour of the English. I think. So if you happen to be north of the border (or in Berwick) do tune in at 11pm. I've got a particularly nice tie on today (passes sick bag...).
UPDATE: Much enjoyed the appearance. You can see it HERE until 23.00 on 20 Feb. The piece starts about 14 minutes in.
"dinner with Sir Patrick Cormack" - remember not to eat the peas with your knife dear old thing...
ReplyDeleteDoes Scotland have its own Newsnight?
ReplyDeleteCan't imagine there's much on it...load of stories re. nepotism and how "x is the biggest/bset in Europe!"
Hope you're wearing one of your bright ties Iain, better for keeping the viewers awake!
Big Andy
Sky channel 990 I think!
ReplyDeleteDid you get on the drink?
ReplyDeleteDefending the English regarding what?
ReplyDeleteIf I was Tim Ireland I would consider my nose well and truly rubbed.
ReplyDeleteIs his blog still going btw?
Good for you Iain..If it is Kirsty Wark relax..She rarely does her homework..she normally just wings it.
ReplyDeleteDefending the English against the Lord, Iain is on the new programme Battling Against Christ. Maybe :)
ReplyDeleteIt would be good if you could put forward including England in any referendums on further devolved powers to Scotland or Scottish independence.
ReplyDeleteNewsnight Scotland takes the London feed until about 11pm. Then in the last 20 minutes its opts to a Scottish studio with Gordon Brewer normally as the host.
ReplyDeleteHopefully when we are getting some scottish topics it means we dont need to here about english and wales crime figures or your nhs waiting lists and so on. Many of these things are not relevent to us in scotland. Also it means the english audience need not be forced to endure some of our stuff.
The scottish 20 mins usually covers two topics - mostly things like Wendygate and her dodgy donations... scottish budget, government, donald trump golf resort or commonwealth games, any topical issues that haven't got sufficient analysis elsewhere. Having a minority government has made our current affairs programs more intersting here... and depending on parliamentary mathematics its means snp, lib dems, labor, tories, greens and our independent MSP are all important voices tackling matters issue by issue. nowadays i make a point on switching on at 11pm and only pop on the first part if theres some particular topic or panel of guests i want to see.
There are allegations that unionist gremlins who didn't like scotland getting its breakaway segment of the program always try to cock-up the changeover to the opt-out! Sometimes Paxman has been cut off midsentence or maybe is allowed to finish his piece late or the london studio is still playing some video clip when we should have already switched to scotland.
A warning to Iain... that if they mess up the handover to BBC scotland its usually the scottish bit that the interviews get squeezed. I hate it when they have a good debate but run out of debating time. Our host normally gives us the next days papers... starting with the Scotsman and the Herald. IMO the change has made newsnight much more relevant to scots and pretty enjoyable. Aside from parliament it is one of the best places to see scottish government ministers and shadow opposition figures being held to account.
Iain - the stuff about Berwick is the Jocks trying to steal England's oil and gas by bribing the residents of Berwick on Tweed with their own (i.e. English) money.
ReplyDeleteIf pushed on the issue ask them if they will allow Shetland to return to Norway or to seek independence ....(which would take most of the Oil and Gas away from Scotland ).
So not much on then...
ReplyDeleteBig Andy
Wa hey. Jock debut for Iain.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant performance.
A new union. That's what's needed. Four nations in equal harmony with shared institutions.
That's what is needed.
PS. Nice suit.
ReplyDeleteWhere'd you buy it?
You spoke SO well, Iain. It was a very interesting programme.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to the day that there's a
ReplyDeleteNewsnight Buckinghamshire, paid for by the Scots and every now and then featuring a Scottish Blogger defending the Scots.
(for "worried about iain")
ReplyDeleteI eat my peas with honey
I've done it all my life
It makes the peas taste funny
But it keeps them on the knife*
*© Spike Milligan
New blog design is good on the eye.
You don't do much Scottish commentary - what's you slant on Bendy Wendy?
P.S. Your tie was barely visible!
A consummate and proffesional performance Iain.
ReplyDeleteIt exposed the fear mongering of the obvisously Labour lackey pretending to be an academic as the paranoid he was.
The only people who try to raise an ethic spectre are those who just can't see Labour as another political party.
You exposed that false paranoia brilliantly by stamping on it with a style that showed no stamping.
Labour will be so pissed off their fear mongering is getting no traction and people can see the national/constitutional debate in calm and rational terms instead of the hysterical bullshit Labour has been attempting.
Excellent performance Iain.
ReplyDeleteYou avoided all the pitfalls.the Labourites in Scotland would have wanted you to walk into.
They will be so pissed off that they look so OTT.
Iain you must learn that Labour wants Tories to be ranting right-wingers who sneer about the Jockos.
ReplyDeleteYou were far too rational and made the pseudo-leftie university type look like a dribbling Marxist with no evidence to back up his barking assertions.
You've really let down all those people who expected you to be some kind of stereotypical Empire loyalist.
In future you must ape the Spitting Image puppet of Enoch Powell otherwise people might think the Tories are serious about winning an election.
I have just spent ten frustrating minutes trying to track down the web version of Newsnight Scotland, with no luck.
ReplyDeleteThe big story tonight, north of the border is Tommy Sheridan. His wife and her dad and three cronies have been arrested on suspicion of perjury after winning substantial damages against the News of the World for defamation.
How is Lord Archer these days?
Another story you may have missed:
According to the BBC:
New regulations making it easier for people on lower incomes to declare themselves bankrupt will come in to force in April.
The regulations will apply to those on the minimum wage and with assets of less than £10,000.
(In Scotland you cannot go bankrupt unless you are declared insolvent which means years in a debt trap)
I am sure some pillars of society will have something to say about that.
If Newsnight have their own "Newsnight Scotland", why the fuck do we have to put up with Kirsty Wark?
ReplyDeleteiain's appearance is here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/
player/sections/newsnight_scotland/
only available for about 24 hours until it is replaced by wednesday night's version
Rush is Right, yes I didn't allow your two comments through because they were potentially libelous. your third one was deleted because you used the F word.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Skip.
ReplyDeleteDouglas Robertson has researched the dilemma of ex-pat English.
He cites the fact that Scottish people assume we resident English are short term visitors.
This happens to me all the time. I was sitting enjoying my lunch on the quayside in Port Seton when the woman in the seat next to mine started throwing her unwanted chips at the seagulls. Immediately hundreds of birds appeared and started swooping her and me. I said "I am trying to enjoy my lunch and I don't want it pooped in, can you please stop feeding the seagulls" Her only reply was, "I LIVE here".
They have a problem with racism North of the Border.
I entered a shop on the Royal Mile once - I don't think the shopkeeper was aware I was there- and he was having a conversation with someone about burning English holiday homes.
This is a shame. As Iain alluded to on the piece, the SNP have wiped their face, more than wiped their face and could turn Scotland into a great country. They just have to get rid of that chip on their shoulders about the English.
Anonymous 11:26 PM
ReplyDeleteActually it was Billy Bennett (author and chemist - to the cognoscenti). Milligan was quoting him.
Well, i live in Jockland, and yes, there is an anti-English sentiment- but i have an anti-Scottish sentiment! The trick is never let the buggers have the last word! I remember me auld Scots granny who lived in England returned to Scotland on holiday and was listening to an anti-English tirade by her sister-in-law. 'Shut up you silly moo' was her response. My usual comment to any Jock doing the same is 'Well if you feel that way all of you vote SNP and f'k off. We won't miss you at all'! That does the trick. As with any programme 'made' in Scotland it has echoes of 'Naked Video's' 'Outer Hebrides Broadcasting Corporation' (ie) shi*e)! Mind you all that didn't stop me voting SNP: i) Alex Salmond is fab, ii)Labour & their Libbie rimmers are appalling!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 12.07 said...
ReplyDelete"If Newsnight have their own "Newsnight Scotland", why the fuck do we have to put up with Kirsty Wark?"
Scotland also has its own "Sports report at 4.30 on a Saturday.
Why the f&** does BBC1 England have to sit through Scottish League Division 3 results (TOTAL league attendance c5000+ some displaced sheep), whilst ignoring the Blue Square Conference results - where Oxford Utd ALONE have been getting 4,783 average home attendance this year?
Anonymous 12.07 said...
ReplyDeleteWhy the f&** does BBC1 England have to sit through Scottish League Division 3 results
Little wonder you choose to remain anonymous when you display such ignorance. British Broadcasting Corporation has become BBC England according to you! Oh dear!
I didn't realise that Newsnight gave football results. [This thread is about Newsnight and Iain's EXCELLENT performance after all!] They certainly don't in Bonnie Scotland.
You don't have to tell us what happened in 1966. We get that and the Hand of God rammed down our throats constantly.
Have a nice day anonymous!
Oh gosh! It was the silly 'Tone made me do it' etc. who wrote the ignorant piece. No change there then.
ReplyDeleteCaught the beginning of this. Found it a bit boring to be honest, the 'distant cousin'/'new born' analogies from both sides really didn't do it for me.
ReplyDeleteIMHO Berwick would be better Scottish. No tuiton fees, free care for the elderly, free prescription charges and little to lose.
And don't get me started on the Barnett formula...
The academic made one very good point in that he referred to the English in Scotland as "a hidden minority"- certainly they are the largest minority. Ditto the Scots in Ebgland are probably England's largest minority.
ReplyDeleteHe also tried to bring in the matter of sectarianism: an issue mainly in the central belt and more related to large scale Irish immigration in the 19th century.An interesting but not appropriate parallel.
You came across as rational and thoughtful but I am sure they did not introduce you as a Conservative but more as a political commentator.