In this week's episode,the SNP 2021 Holyrood election manifesto launch,the STV leaders debate,two surprising reports by Cambridge and Oxford academics on Scottish independence, and the smell of sleaze in Whitehall.
Show Notes
The Holyrood election campaign is nearly at the half way mark and today,Thursday, saw the launch of the SNP manifesto.
We give our immediate reaction to the headline proposals.
STV hosted the second leaders debate and it was a very different affair to last week's BBC effort. Who were the winners and losers?
Ciaran Martin,now of Oxford University, was the senior civil servant who negotiated the Edinburgh Agreement in 2012. He's now written a new paper analysing the the potential approaches the current Tory government mignt take to a future Scottish independence referendum with some surprising conclusions.
Almost simultaneously Michael Kenny,Jack Sheldon and Philip Rycroft, of Cambridge, have published their paper questioning not only Boris Johnson's version of unionism but also the commitment of the UK state to the union itself.
It's back to the future, for those of us who remember the sleaze of the end days of the Major government, as David Cameron and ex civil servants find themselves mired in a lobbying scandal involving Greensill Capital. Will Johnson be able to limit the damage by focusing any inquiries on Cameron?
All of this plus our thoughts on the death of Prince Philip,Lesley's memories of Shirley Williams, and some groundbreaking sporting moments.
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What is The Lesley Riddoch Podcast?
Scottish politics dissected from a left, pro-independence stance. Each week, award-winning broadcaster and journalist, Lesley Riddoch chews over the week’s news with former media lecturer and Dundee United fan, Pat Joyce. If you like intelligent, quirky chat about Scottish society and culture, and Scottish, UK and international politics analysed from a Scottish perspective; this podcast is for you.