The murder of Sir David Amess. Controversy over constituency boundary changes. GP crisis.
Show Notes
The tragic murder of Sir David Amess has once again thrown into stark relief the potential dangers faced by MPs and MSPs when carrying out public duties. We try and get behind the circumstances behind this awful event and examine the role elected officials play within their constituencies and what,if anything,can be done to ensure their safety.
The results of a review of UK parliamentary consituency boundaries certainly got the leader of the Scottish Tories,Douglas Ross, all het up. However he might just have a point when the proposals are looked at more closely. But beyond this present controversy are there underlying problems with the electoral system?
The UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care,Sajid Javid,has defended the government’s decision to publish league tables for family doctors, but denied that it amounted to the “naming and shaming” of GPs.Surgeries which fail to provide appropriate “access” will be listed in league tables – with patients given a new right to demand face-to-face appointments. Although not applying to Scotland there is a narrative developing across the UK "blaming" GPs for the crisis in Primary Care. How fair is this?
It was the 100th anniversary of the birth of poet, author and dramatist George Mackay Brown on October the 17th. This,and the delivery of the Tay Whale sculpture to Dundee,provided the opportunity to visit his poem The Year of the Whale,in the light of the past week's events.
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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.