The Lesley Riddoch Podcast

The General Election campaign is well under way and we look at how it's been going both in Scotland and the UK.
Will devolved matters dominate the debate in Scotland. How can the SNP focus voters minds on Westminster issues?
Lesley has particular insights on this after her sojourn in Orkney, Shetland and Caithness.
Can the Tories recover from the shambles of the first week? How will they solve the black hole of missing candidates? Are they focusing all their attention on capturing Reform supporters?
Labour has received backing from big business but can it withstand pressure from UNITE over watering down its New Deal for Working People?
Starmer has also maintained a distinct fence sitting position over the ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant even after the latest Rafa outrage.
However he's been extremely vocal in demanding that the election debates should be head to head with Sunak, excluding all other parties in particular the SNP.
We ask how fit for the rough and tumble of the campaign trail are both Anas Sarwar and Douglas Ross after less than stellar recent media appearances?
Much has been made of the recent Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce survey on Energy Transition. It's safe to say no political party nor either government comes out well. However there are some nuggets not so far covered by either the press or broadcasters contained within it.
All this plus Bambie Thug, fitba( not Dundee United), and the Orkney folk festival.

In this week's episode we wonder if Iran has fallen into the trap set by an increasingly desperate Netanyahu who was seeing Western support for Israel's actions in Gaza ebb away.
Israel has long argued that the whole Gaza war has in effect been “a war against Iran” from the start. An Iran which threatened not only Israel but stability across the region and beyond.
We also examine the legality of both Israel and Iran's actions and the hypocrisy in particular of the USA and the UK.
Germany has been a staunch,almost unquestioning, supporter of Israel over Gaza, and indeed being a major arms supplier. Does the recent ban on entry to the country of Glasgow University rector Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah, who was due to speak on his experiences as a surgeon in Gaza, shine a light on why Germany is facing claims of facilitating genocide at the ICJ?
Lesley's Lyme disease health issues lead us into our thoughts on Wes Streeting's latest statements on the role of private healthcare in the NHS. Are we being middle class lefties?

Lesley looks at the recent legislation concerning wood burning stoves and asks if, yet again, it shows the urban centric perspective of the Scottish government.
Lesley's latest film Denmark The State of Happiness seems to have touched a very sensitive nerve with a significant number of unionist commentators. We try and get behind their rhetoric to reality.
And if you want to see the film and make up your own mind it's available online here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTJnu6lAhvM
plus live at the following venues
https://lesleyriddoch.com/events
As promised
The Hutters Rally event in Dundee
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hutters-rally-2024-tickets-840277692197?aff=oddtdtcreator
Believe in Scotland Rally
https://www.thenational.scot/news/24247987.believe-scotland-confirms-full-line-up-speakers-hosts/
There's also a cheeky wee special offer on a £20 annual subscription to The National
https://www.thenational.scot/subscribe/?utm_source=x&utm_campaign=SS

Labour slumping disastrously in polls just 11 weeks after its General Election victory. The Tory leadership election becoming a who can move far enough to the Right to defeat Reform contest. Have all the SNP's Christmases come at once or should they beware a do nothing, fingers crossed, complacency?
Lesley appeared on Debate Night from Dundee where Kenny Farquharson pushed the need for a settled agreement between the UK and Scottish governments on a mechanism to allow a second independence referendum.
We examine the proposals contained in Glasgow University's "Scotland and the Constitution.Agreeing a Way Forward" report for just such a mechanism based on the Good Friday Agreement and a Northern Irish border poll.
Scotland’s minimum price of alcohol went up on September 30 by 15p, from 50p to 65p. Just how successful has Minimum Unit Pricing been in combating alcohol related deaths?
We ask, "Who is Russell Findlay?" in the aftermath of his election as leader of the Scottish Conservatives.

To find out more about and book tickets for Owning Our Futures-Autonomy Movements in Europe click below.
https://independenceconvention.scot/europes-independence-movements-come-to-scotland#:~:text=Conference%20and%20Ceilidh%20Tickets%20Major%20International

To listen to the marvelous "Hermless" by Michael Marra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F44WfZoIN4
As a proud "Arab" Pat couldn't resist adding this one-Hamish the Goalie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqoGqoFCi2A
If these have whetted your appetite the Michael Marra A Can Of Mind And A Tin Of Think So Book Boxed Set 2024 link
https://assai.co.uk/products/michael-marra-a-can-of-mind-and-a-tin-of-think-so-book-boxed-set-2024?_pos=1&_sid=5d7c312fb&_ss=r

The past week in Scottish politics has been all about fall outs. Who can speak at an independence rally? Which rally should take precedence? Will the Scottish Greens bail out of the Bute House Agreement over the abandonment of climate change targets and the Cass Review?
We ask if these disputes mask the dearth of ideas at government level over how to tackle the fundamental issue of climate change and cloud the necessity of cooperation and unity in the drive for Scottish independence?

The Cass Review has been the focus of much of the media and many politicians. Who is Hilary Cass and what does the review actually say?

Robin McAlpine of Common Weal thinks the news on climate targets is grim but not unexpected. He called for a move away from a free market approach and put forward ideas that he is convinced would work.
https://commonweal.scot/anger-at-dropped-targets-must-lead-to-change/
Craig Dalzell also flagged up initiatives from five years ago that would have saved government the recent embarrassment of bad headlines over wood burning stoves.
https://commonweal.scot/shedding-light-on-rural-heat/
Meanwhile at Westminster the Tories are battering away at getting their Rwanda Bill passed, despite opposition in the Lords, despite the legal implications, the cost, and despite the very real likelihood it wont "Stop the boats". Has it become a totemic Tory policy that they simply can't give up?

Labour have promised to stop the flights if they form the next government but have stuck to an opposition based on cost and its failure to protect "our borders".
Sticking with Labour, has Starmer scored an own goal with his statements on English patriotism which he cheerfully conflates with Britishness?

May the 11th and 12th sees a weekend celebration of all things Cunninghame Graham. Don Roberto and Scotland: international perspectives. There’s a day of talks at the Smith Stirling Museum on the Saturday, and a morning visit to Gartmore House, his childhood home , and the island of Inchmahome, place of his burial, on the Sunday.
https://donrobertoandme.com/2024/04/04/don-roberto-and-scotland-international-perspectives/
And if you listen carefully you might just hear a wee mention or two of the world famous Dundee United winning the Scottish Championship.

For Scotland the men's Euros are over. We try and go beyond the football itself and look at the coverage of Scotland's games ,and if this latest set of defeats at a major competition tells us anything about our Scottish psyche.
If the team lost the Tartan Army definitely won the hearts of the German people. What is so special about Scottish fans?
It was the turn of the Scottish Tories to launch its manifesto on Monday. Rishi Sunak dutifully took a break from Gamblegate( more of this later) to pop up and offer his support to Douglas Ross. Two soon to be departed leaders? We go over it, so you can avoid the pain.
Ross also appeared on Good Morning Scotland and Gary Robertson grilled him on devolution, reserved issues, and the democratic road to indy ref2.
Yet another manifesto launch. This time the SNP's Climate and Just Transition. John Swinney has made a direct plea to Sir Keir Starmer to revisit and reinstate Labour's £28 billion green investment spending plan. Has the SNP managed to square that circle of protecting jobs while tackling climate change?
Meanwhile Anas Sarwar struggled to explain what Great British Energy was and how it would cut bills and create jobs. However we finally had confirmation that it wouldn't generate energy but would be a vehicle seeking to secure private investment. But, and it's a big but, that question over the inefficiency over the National Grid and where and how it could be upgraded to meet Labour's 2030 Net Zero target remains. We discuss.
Hard on the heels of his D Day "gaffe" Sunak dithered, delayed, then finally after days of prevarication withdrew support for two Tory candidates who apparently used inside information to place winning bets on the General Election date. Is this symbolic of the end of days for both Sunak and the Tories?
Everybody to Kenmure Street
Felipe Bustos Sierra (director) is a BAFTA-winning Chilean-Belgian filmmaker based in Scotland, living just a few minutes away from Kenmure Street when the protest against the Home Office detention of two local asylum seekers began. His first feature "Nae Pasaran" (2018) uncovered the true impact of the solidarity of Scottish factory workers for victims of Pinochet's military coup in Chile. As a result of the film's research, the men involved received recognition from the Chilean government and a public monument was erected to commemorate their gesture 40 years later. The film became, on release, the most successful Scottish documentary in UK cinemas. It was nominated for Best Documentary at the BIFA 2019 and won Best Feature Film at the BAFTA Scotland Awards 2018.
Here's the link to the Crowdfunder
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/debasers/everybody-to-kenmure-street
Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560781820130