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Torcuil CrichtonPMQ blog
Posted by Torcuil Crichton at 2:50pm on Wed 26 Nov 08
Big Scottish presence through the entire half hour of Prime Minister’s Questions today. We, the media, rarely record it but on each occasion there is a death in the armed forces in Afghanistan or Iraq, and it is almost on a weekly basis, the leaders of each party pay tribute to the fallen. Today it was Marine Alec Lucas, from, Peebles, who was mentioned by both Gordon Brown and David Cameron.

David Cameron is pretty fluid at PMQs and may have won his set but it was Gordon Brown who dominated the session, raising a laugh for once and trashing the Tories with another lecture on economics.

The Scots dominated in the questions too, if only because the Conservatives have been asking the same questions - did the Prime Minister cause boom and bust - for the last three weeks.

Following on from his peroration on Newsnight John McFall, chairman of the Treasury select committee, rose to ask the Prime Minister to get all the bankers in the land into a room and bang their heads together on starting to lend money. "You need to get them into a room and collectively and simultaneously ensure that they resume that lending," said Mr McFall, reflecting the parliamentary anger on this issue. Dennis Skinner punched a clenched fist into an open palm for those of us who are hard of hearing.

It was Ian Davidson, Glasgow South West, who delivered the punch of the day - claiming the "rich kids" on the opposite side didn’t get how serious the situation is."Would you agree that it is easy for those who have been born with a silver spoon in their mouths not to want to do anything, and that real people want some action taken," said Mr Davidson.

"Will you tell us what you are doing internationally with other countries to get us out of this crisis?"

This gave Gordon Brown an opportunity to mention, in passing, that the G20 will meet in London on April 2 and one Barack Obama will be present.

Off the subject of economics Tom Clarke, (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) asked about troop deployments in the Congo. When Siobhain McDonagh (she has Scottish friends) rose to ask a question it was only confirmation that the Labour troops would now die in ditch for the Prime Minister they had written off less than six months ago.

Mark Lazarowicz,(Edinburgh North and Leith), rose to complain about credit card cheques, "the most pernicious ways of trapping vulnerable people into debt", and the Prime Minister said the Business Secretary would look into it.

No intervention from the SNP but Angus Robertson (Moray) has his teeth into this U-turn on duty on whisky - up to 8% but now down to 4% so he’ll be having a go at Alistair Darling (Edinburgh South West) in the ongoing debate on the PBR.
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Posted by: spagan at 3:58pm on Wed 26 Nov 08
Think the "rich kids" are on both sides Torc. Does Ian Davidson think any of his peers (sic) aren't?
You really need to do something to stimulate debate on the blogs and on the Herald's new "site".
It appears to have fallen off its perch, this Norwegian Blue of a once famous paper.
Just as an example of its "ceased to exist" - please note that you still have Douglas Fraser as a Blogger!?!
See if John Mennons is still on the Herald's books? He'll be a fair age by now, but at least he promised to report on “subjects so interesting to the nation ......" !?!
Currently your various sites are getting fewer visits than an Icelandic Bank.
Slainte Mhor
Posted by: George Laird at 7:11pm on Thu 27 Nov 08
Dear All

It seems that after I have gone on a sabbatical from posting on the Herald, it turns out that Wilhelm has followed me to the The Spectator!

Does that boy have any ideas himself?

As an aside I see that the new comments site is struggling to get people to post on it. For example if you look at the Scotsman site, it is simply teaming with people posting, one thread has 350 posts on it!

350 posts!

Herald stories

"Council set to cut hundreds of staff"

Zero.

"Scotland Being muscled out of it"

Eight, some by the same poster.

Finally, Charles McGhee and Alf Young, the business of business is business.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
Posted by: Observer at 9:37pm on Thu 27 Nov 08
I am now one of the 350 on the Scotsman, because posting here is a waste of time.

Wilhelm on the Spectator ? Gee, he's branching out....
Posted by: George Laird at 2:45pm on Fri 28 Nov 08
Observer wrote:
I am now one of the 350 on the Scotsman, because posting here is a waste of time. Wilhelm on the Spectator ? Gee, he's branching out....
Dear Observer

I said I was off to the Spectator and he has obviously followed me there.

It is pre modded but the language used can be quite robust more so that what was flung about here before the cold dead hand of censorship.

I am still on sabbitical from the Glasgow Herald at present.

I see the new comments site is still a dead duck. Obviosuly I am glad someone is coining in money but in the current economic climate I would hold off buying the 42" plasma tv this xmas just incase the job losses follow.

Finally, one of the reasons I haven't posted as regular is that I am not prepared to have my legitimate claims about Glasgow University operating a secret policy of discrimination censored because Charles McGhee knows that old wino Muir Russell.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
Posted by: Observer at 9:44pm on Fri 28 Nov 08
Well, I don't know about the Spectator, but the New Statesman is open for business if you want to join in commenting on the utterly ridiculous Rob Brown(who he?) story.
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SCOTTISH POLITICAL EDITOR
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