Oh Nicola! We’re not as green as we’re cabbage looking! ???????

Thank you for your concern, Urmstongran, but we'll probably cope. Why do you think that those of us who live in Scotland are commenting on a foreign government if we say anything about Mr Johnson and the UK government? Very odd.

Coastpath ?

I don’t WIWYA. I think we should all be allowed to comment on anything we like.

volver you have an awful lot to say about Boris and the Tory government! I never say ‘butt out you don’t live here!’.

And there you have it in a nutshell. UG displaying her total ignorance of the political situation in the UK. She seems to think that the Westminster UK Government does not govern the whole of the UK and that we, who live in Scotland should have no opinion or right to criticise its policies and actions. It is certainly true that Scotish MPs have little or no influence at Westminster, because the much larger contingent of England based MPs outvotes them at every turn.

Nor does she understand that the devolved parliaments have very restricted powers (which can be rescinded if the UK Government so decides) or the ability to invoke quantitative easing or borrow money.

So many false assertions - eg 'rise in Ferry Fares' Of course there is as fuel prices soar, but no knowledge that Scottish Ferries operate on Road Equivalent Tariffs. i.e the cost will be in line with the cost incurred if you were able to drive there in a car. Nor that e.g. the Isle of Skye is now linked to the main land by a toll free bridge, whilst retaining a ferry connection to the Outer Hebrides. I could go on all day with examples, but suffice to say Uniformed opinions are not worth consideration

"We are better together?" What? From a Brexiter? Very weird.

Wheniwasyourage

Thank you for your concern, Urmstongran, but we'll probably cope. Why do you think that those of us who live in Scotland are commenting on a foreign government if we say anything about Mr Johnson and the UK government? Very odd.

Thank you for your concern, Urmstongran, but we'll probably cope

Presumably you don't live on one of the islands which are having problems, Wheniwasyourage?

According to my nephew's friends, they aren't coping very well at all and are fed up.

I don't live on an island, Callistemon21, and I know that those who do are definitely fed up. However, there are those who want to get their knives into the SNP government from outwith our borders. I don't see that they can contribute much when it comes to sorting out the ferries mess. That is surely up to us and our votes.

A thought for St George's Day:

"The enemies of Scottish Nationalism are not the English, for they were ever a great and generous folk, quick to respond when justice calls. Our real enemies are among us, born without imagination."

R.B. Cunninghame Graham

It seems to me that whatever huge projects we undertake in this country, we spend huge amounts on feasibility studies then the projects usually always end up years late and way over budget.

Some countries just get on with it!

www.infrastructure-intelligence.com/article/aug-2018/watchdog-says-queensferry-crossing-value-money-and-was-well-managed

www.turnerandtownsend.com/en/projects/va-dundee-museum-scotland/

I typed always then changed it to usually but didn't delete the always

It happens more often than not.

paddyann54

The Independence movement is grass roots led,Nicola Sturgeon is only doing what we asked her to do by calling for another referendum.If you have ever seen the marches you'll know there are rarely any politicians present .The SNP mandate clearly stated it would fight for Independence ..because thats why we VOTED for them.
You really need to get over your hatred of a woman
who is our ELECTED representativeUrm .
This is just another case of England(not all) telling us what we can and cant do .
Please focus on your own disfunctional leaders ,Didin't Mrs May lose lots of names on a list of WM paedophiles ? Go shout about that or the money Bojo has wasted on his Garden Bridge and Water cannon etc etc etc .

100% what paddyann54 just said.

But sometimes not.

I just like to point out when people are running the country down without justification.

Here's some more...

www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/tidal-renewable-energy-turbine-electricity-generation-scotland/?msclkid=86837d9cc31411ec90782665cbd13288

www.offshorewindscotland.org.uk/#:~:text=Two%20of%20the%20largest%20offshore%20wind%20projects%20in,wind%20array%20in%20the%20world%20is%20now%20operational.?msclkid=abd61f3bc31411eca3fcacee37abb31b

The road equivalent tariff that slashed prices had unintended consequences…. not properly thought out by the Scottish government… It caused a boom in tourists … great, but it means that islanders find it very difficult in the summer to get off the island with their cars at short notice because it it fully booked. So if you have a last minute hospital appointment you can’t get over to the mainland hospital. Why are islanders not given some sort of priority booking for emergencies. I know all about the problems of getting to Arran as I have relatives there. They had to go over to the mainland a day early for the hospital and stay in a B and B … then a further night in the B and B. before they could get a ferry home. It seems now because there is only one ferry operating that islanders are at least getting some priority. It beats me why the islanders of Scotland have been continually voting in the SNP as this has been ongoing for years. Don’t get me started on the Arran ferries …It’s a shocking situation.

I agree with you @Urmstongran

volver

But sometimes not.

I just like to point out when people are running the country down without justification.

Here's some more...

www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/tidal-renewable-energy-turbine-electricity-generation-scotland/?msclkid=86837d9cc31411ec90782665cbd13288

www.offshorewindscotland.org.uk/#:~:text=Two%20of%20the%20largest%20offshore%20wind%20projects%20in,wind%20array%20in%20the%20world%20is%20now%20operational.?msclkid=abd61f3bc31411eca3fcacee37abb31b

I wasn't talking about Scotland in particular but the UK as a whole.

Some countries just get on with building the infrastructure needed.
We need a by-pass. They'll dither about it for years, listen to all the objections, by the time it might be built it will have quadrupled in price and probably doubled again by the time it's finished.

I wasn't talking about Scotland in particular but the UK as a whole.

I know that Callistemon but I couldn't think of any successful English projects. I'm sure I would if I lived there. The Aberdeen by-pass will take some beating for being late and over budget

The Second Severn Crossing - who knew there was a train running underneath it?

Oh, Portillo and that train!! ??

Yes, I never knew until we watched Michael Portillo although we used to go and watch the progress of the building work.

Callistemon21

The Second Severn Crossing - who knew there was a train running underneath it?

I did, I went under the Severn as a child on my way to visit relatives in Cardiff. I was very excited at the thought of going under the water.

And when does the Scottish media ever have the temerity to criticise anything the Blessed Nicola and her minions say? The Times Scotland section seems to be the only outlet these days that dares to point out the assorted failures and money pits - ferries, Prestwick Airport, Bifab, new hospitals, falling education standards-which Ms Sturgeon once insisted was the issue she should be judged on but let’s forget that now, the politicised Civil Service, the missing £600, 000 etc etc. I could go on but the Scots with chips on their shoulders will just rubbish everything I say. If you just divert to saying Johnson is worse it still doesn’t excuse the SNP government for its ineptitude. And by the way I’m married to a Scot and we live on a Scottish island.

Do people honestly think we are sitting here in Scotland and that the press is somehow being leant on to only report positive things about the Scottish Government? Do people think we are living in glorious oblivion, unaware of anything except unicorns and ice cream?

Some recent Herald headlines : Jason Leitch “misrepresenting law” to defend Nicola Sturgeon’s facemask slip.; Davidson: make Sturgeon pay for 15 years of failure; Sturgeon denies “cover up" over missing key ferries document; outcry as SNP exclude media from local election launch. Then there’s a letter; How can anyone still have faith in Nicola Sturgeon?

Some recent Scotsman headlines : Scottish Land, the SNP and the Green, Green rip off; What Ferrygate tells us about how the SNP treats its friends; Nicola Sturgeon defends putting IndyRef into local election manifesto.

Some recent Dundee Courier headlines : SNP running out of culprits for mess it has made and may decide Nicola Sturgeon’s day is done; Nicola Sturgeon’s NHS crisis is a threat to COP26; Sturgeon is no giant, she’s just surrounded by pygmies; Nicola Sturgeon is a COP26 hypocrite; Sturgeon urged to drop ‘triple whammy of anti-driver taxes’

It’s not the Scots with the chips on their shoulder. Not the Scots with the persecution complex. It’s just so blooming insulting that anyone thinks we are so naïve that we are just following on like little Scottish sheep.

Obviously you're not volver and I respect your point of view but there plainly are a lot of people who vote based on emotion rather than cold hard economics and experience of current Scottish government. It's the only explanation I can think of.

Voting SNP is not the same as voting for independence.

Wanting independence is not the same as believing implicitly in every word that comes out of Nicola Sturgeon's mouth, or every policy the SNP have. Most Scots that I know are perfectly well aware of that.

The best way to not have an SNP government, if that is what you want, is to vote for independence. Because it really is that important to people; if the SNP are the only mainstream party in Scotland offering its people independence, people are going to vote for them. Some people are able to see past economics and vote for the country they want us to be, not just for affluence.

Some of us are willing to give things up for independence and the country we want. Others just want an easy life.

Would you be happy for those explanations from Conservative voters who just do not want a Labour Government in Westminster Volver ?