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Old 01-12-2016, 08:00
*Sparkle*
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Id like an answer as to why that ****ing idiot Humza the stupid is still transport minister after what I and others witnessed on Monday morning while traveling from train with my partner from the borders. the following sums up completely what incompetent ***** are in charge in Government and at Scotrail.
I'm always wary about using individual events from an organisation to judge the person, never mind minister in charge, but I can't remember the last time I got a "Scotrail" train that ran on time, and didn't have some kind of problem, and this is a variety of routes and times. More often than not, there have been people standing, and for over an hour. Not just the last couple of stops arriving into Edinburgh or Glasgow at rush-hour. The trains just aren't big enough, and you get announcements that they are sorry people are standing for an hour and a half because of rugby, which is apparently unpredictable. This means that if you want a tea or coffee, you need to push past all of the people standing to the far end of the train, because it can't move, and they decided the best place to put it is at the very end. Or there was the time the heating was broken, and there was no tea and coffee. At least that time the over-crowding meant a bit of extra body heat. Or the time when they forgot to put on the platform sign that the train splits in two, so we had people rushing between the parts of the train just as it was due to depart. Not forgetting the train that stopped early, with everyone having to get off and wait for the next train if they wanted to travel further.

The idea that someone should be sacked because a train broke down is ridiculous, but it's apparent that people are fed-up, and that was very much the straw that broke the camel's back. The people thinking it's an over-reaction can't catch the train very often.
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Old 01-12-2016, 08:18
smudges dad
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The SNP excelled themselves today .

They started a Commons debate on Blair misleading Parliament - which was logically over when someone pointed out that Chilcot had reported that there was zero evidence he had. And neither had anyone else. That was defeated by about 400 votes.

Then thy started a second debate on changed retirement ages for females , and the claim that this came as an unfair surprise to the people concerned . This fell apart because they didn't realise that pensions legally are a benefit and terms can be varied, and which also meant that their cunning plan, to raid the National Insurance fund to pay for it, was impossible. The idea had already fallen apart when it became clear that they had only counted the cost for half the period involved. And then we had a long list of things that could be cut to give the pensioners earlier retirement - Trident , Buckingham Palace, Westminste...r That just showed they couldn't balance priorities , and didn't understand that the programmes, they wanted to cut, were being funded over twice to three times, the time period ,and wouldn't fund what they wanted, any year now..

Labour backed the idea , because they didn't want to give the SNP an argument against them, but also had no idea how to find 30 billion plus to pay for it Labour pointed out the SNP could pay extra pensions in Scotland, if they wanted to - which the SNP denied . Labour then voted with the SNP , after saying the SNP figures were rubbish. The Conservatives won the vote by about 60 votes.

It all looking very very amateur , sopabox politics. You wonder why they bother , They are pretending they are the Official Opposition, and constantly trying to make pro-independence points - but its all so badly done , and you wonder if anyone in Scotland is listening.
I'm sure you are aware pensions are a reserved matter and the Scottish Government can't do anything about them. It was interesting to watch part of the debate and to see Conservative MPs washing the floor with Osborne and almost all apart from the minister wanting some improvement and saying the way it was implemented was terrible.
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Old 01-12-2016, 09:53
CoolSharpHarp
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I'm sure you are aware pensions are a reserved matter and the Scottish Government can't do anything about them. It was interesting to watch part of the debate and to see Conservative MPs washing the floor with Osborne and almost all apart from the minister wanting some improvement and saying the way it was implemented was terrible.
Strange that the SNPs white paper agreed with the change of state pension to age 66, albeit with concerns for age 67 and 68.

Pensions are reserved, but the Scottish parliament do now have the powers to create new benefits and top up reserved benefits.
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Old 01-12-2016, 12:12
james_lndsay
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I'm always wary about using individual events from an organisation to judge the person, never mind minister in charge, but I can't remember the last time I got a "Scotrail" train that ran on time, and didn't have some kind of problem, and this is a variety of routes and times. More often than not, there have been people standing, and for over an hour. Not just the last couple of stops arriving into Edinburgh or Glasgow at rush-hour. The trains just aren't big enough, and you get announcements that they are sorry people are standing for an hour and a half because of rugby, which is apparently unpredictable. This means that if you want a tea or coffee, you need to push past all of the people standing to the far end of the train, because it can't move, and they decided the best place to put it is at the very end. Or there was the time the heating was broken, and there was no tea and coffee. At least that time the over-crowding meant a bit of extra body heat. Or the time when they forgot to put on the platform sign that the train splits in two, so we had people rushing between the parts of the train just as it was due to depart. Not forgetting the train that stopped early, with everyone having to get off and wait for the next train if they wanted to travel further.

The idea that someone should be sacked because a train broke down is ridiculous, but it's apparent that people are fed-up, and that was very much the straw that broke the camel's back. The people thinking it's an over-reaction can't catch the train very often.
I agree with every point made in your post, have to admit we don't use the train that much but anyone who says there are not problems is deluded, even First group were better than this lot at running the railway.

If I'm being honest I'm really sick of soundbites and lies from the transport minister, I'm not sure he is even a real man because he appears to be missing the balls to deal with Abellio
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Old 01-12-2016, 12:20
Black Sheep
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I'm sure you are aware pensions are a reserved matter and the Scottish Government can't do anything about them. It was interesting to watch part of the debate and to see Conservative MPs washing the floor with Osborne and almost all apart from the minister wanting some improvement and saying the way it was implemented was terrible.
Can the Scottish Government not give Scottish WASPI women the assistance they need to get through their Pension gap? If it is at all possible then I feel it should be done and would be pointing the way for the rest of the UK to re-think their stance.

Why should Scottish women suffer just to prove a grievance if its at all possible for them to have some system put in place by the Scottish Government.
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Old 01-12-2016, 13:07
anndra_w
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Can the Scottish Government not give Scottish WASPI women the assistance they need to get through their Pension gap? If it is at all possible then I feel it should be done and would be pointing the way for the rest of the UK to re-think their stance.

Why should Scottish women suffer just to prove a grievance if its at all possible for them to have some system put in place by the Scottish Government.
And of course when they don't it's their fault. How predictable.
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Old 01-12-2016, 13:34
Orri
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And of course when they don't it's their fault. How predictable.
Apparently "benefits" due to old age is excluded from their powers.

The same as they haven't yet got the powers to vary the tax bands that would allow them to raise income tax whilst mitigating the effect of doing so on those on lower incomes.
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Old 01-12-2016, 13:57
thms
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I agree with every point made in your post, have to admit we don't use the train that much but anyone who says there are not problems is deluded, even First group were better than this lot at running the railway.
The line you seem to be alluding too in your earlier post, is the new Tweedbank and Waverley line, which is the first new railway line to have been built in the UK for decades. Abellia Scotrail run the trains and Network Rail build and run the infrastructure. There is a £5 billion investment in Scotland for the period between 2014 to 2019, so the train operator and the passengers whilst suffering inconvenience do know that there will eventually be new longer trains, faster journey times and more journeys.

The new Scottish Transport Minister and the new passenger franchise operator Abellio Scotrail are aware of the success of the new railway.

http://www.itv.com/news/border/2016-...rders-railway/

Customers using the Borders Railway will be able to access more than 1,300 additional peak time seats each week from Monday 12 December.
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Old 01-12-2016, 14:31
Orri
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There is a £5 billion investment in Scotland for the period between 2014 to 2019, so the train operator and the passengers whilst suffering inconvenience do know that there will eventually be new longer trains, faster journey times and more journeys.
Sometimes it's not even Abellio's fault but Network rails.

However it's kind of telling that there was a later report showing reps from Abellio in a factory making and refurbishing rolling stock. Some are scheduled for service as soon as next year. No doubt Labour and the other opposition parties will claim credit when they do.
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Old 01-12-2016, 16:36
zarkov
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Apparently "benefits" due to old age is excluded from their powers.

The same as they haven't yet got the powers to vary the tax bands that would allow them to raise income tax whilst mitigating the effect of doing so on those on lower incomes.
Correct. Page 21 of The Scotland Act 2016 -

http://www.parliament.scot/ResearchB...w_Benefits.pdf

Scottish women will just have to suffer. Seems those incredible new powers for the Scottish Parliament don't really cut much mustard. Then again, hearing unionist boasts of the strongest devolved parliament in the world just reminds me of a tallest dwarf competition.
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Old 01-12-2016, 16:43
thms
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I notice yesterday's OPEC agreement to cut oil production, has had the effect of boosting the price of a barrel of Brent Oil to $54.
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Old 01-12-2016, 17:12
smudges dad
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Could the Conservatived in Scotland even try to be an effective opposition?
The Scottish Conservatives have now deleted this page attacking Humza Yousaf because they looked at the wrong page and it transpires he uses the train a hell of a lot.
How do they expect people to vote for them when they are this incompetent.
With Scottish Labour equally incompetent, that leaves only the SGP to be an effective opposition.
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Old 01-12-2016, 17:57
Orri
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Could the Conservatived in Scotland even try to be an effective opposition?
The Scottish Conservatives have now deleted this page attacking Humza Yousaf because they looked at the wrong page and it transpires he uses the train a hell of a lot.
How do they expect people to vote for them when they are this incompetent.
With Scottish Labour equally incompetent, that leaves only the SGP to be an effective opposition.
They also misquote support for the SNP campaigning for independence for the next two years (31%) or perhaps who believe there will be another referendum prior to the UK leaving the EU (31%) with those who want one before then (35%) . They also omit the fact that those figures haven't been adjusted for the un-decided.

https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.ne...s_161129_W.pdf
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Old 01-12-2016, 19:46
Black Sheep
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And of course when they don't it's their fault. How predictable.
I didn't say that, I said that the Scottish Government could look into giving these Scottish women some sort of payment to alleviate them.

If it's within their power, then why not at least consider it?
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Old 01-12-2016, 20:00
Black Sheep
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Could the Conservatived in Scotland even try to be an effective opposition?
The Scottish Conservatives have now deleted this page attacking Humza Yousaf because they looked at the wrong page and it transpires he uses the train a hell of a lot.
How do they expect people to vote for them when they are this incompetent.
With Scottish Labour equally incompetent, that leaves only the SGP to be an effective opposition.
I know, the Greens have some ideas that I do agree with, some I don't but on this one I agree.

https://greens.scot/scrap-the-counci...n-the-petition

I've actually signed that petition too and would seriously consider voting for any candidate that supported this position.

As a green supporter I really do urge you to take another look at this policy over the SNP clone of the Tories one, it really does have some merit I think.
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Old 01-12-2016, 20:07
Black Sheep
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They also misquote support for the SNP campaigning for independence for the next two years (31%) or perhaps who believe there will be another referendum prior to the UK leaving the EU (31%) with those who want one before then (35%) . They also omit the fact that those figures haven't been adjusted for the un-decided.

https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.ne...s_161129_W.pdf
some interesting stats there.

It must be interesting being a fly on the wall at SNP HQ right now given that a third of their supporters don't want to be in the EU.

The biggest headline has got to be the indyref one though. It shows that the SNP maybe have a decade or so before they get the 60% consistency that Nicola says she needs before SHE will call an Indyref.
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Old 01-12-2016, 20:28
Black Sheep
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Correct. Page 21 of The Scotland Act 2016 -

http://www.parliament.scot/ResearchB...w_Benefits.pdf

Scottish women will just have to suffer. Seems those incredible new powers for the Scottish Parliament don't really cut much mustard. Then again, hearing unionist boasts of the strongest devolved parliament in the world just reminds me of a tallest dwarf competition.
They could create a new benefit unrelated to pensions though. And as that benefit wouldn't be classed as a pension, because the women won't be entitled to a pension, this would not break the rules. As long as they don't call it a pension.

A Scottish women's age XXX to XXX allowance or something like that.
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Old 01-12-2016, 20:29
zarkov
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I didn't say that, I said that the Scottish Government could look into giving these Scottish women some sort of payment to alleviate them.

If it's within their power, then why not at least consider it?
It's not.

Scottish women will just have to suffer this injustice along with the rest of the UK. Better Together...
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Old 01-12-2016, 20:37
anndra_w
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I didn't say that, I said that the Scottish Government could look into giving these Scottish women some sort of payment to alleviate them.

If it's within their power, then why not at least consider it?
Cool. Which economic and borrowing powers are you proposing Westminster devolves to raise the extra revenue?
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Old 01-12-2016, 20:59
Orri
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some interesting stats there.

It must be interesting being a fly on the wall at SNP HQ right now given that a third of their supporters don't want to be in the EU.

The biggest headline has got to be the indyref one though. It shows that the SNP maybe have a decade or so before they get the 60% consistency that Nicola says she needs before SHE will call an Indyref.
Arrant nonsense. There's over 40% of those who chose an option who want the next referendum to take place before the UK finally leaves the EU. That has gone down since the legal arguments about how A50 can be triggered and how hard a Brexit it will be. There's no real change in circumstances since the last poll other than that.
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Old 01-12-2016, 21:04
Orri
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A Scottish women's age XXX to XXX allowance or something like that.
That's something they explicitly can't do according to the Scotland Act.
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Old 01-12-2016, 21:22
CoolSharpHarp
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It's not.

Scottish women will just have to suffer this injustice along with the rest of the UK. Better Together...
Strange cause the SNP supported the change and timetable to age 66... see white paper.
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Old 01-12-2016, 22:06
smudges dad
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Strange cause the SNP supported the change and timetable to age 66... see white paper.
As you are well aware, it's not the age but the suddenness and lack of warning when it was done which did not give the women time to make alternative plans.
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Old 01-12-2016, 22:10
Black Sheep
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Cool. Which economic and borrowing powers are you proposing Westminster devolves to raise the extra revenue?
Well as you know Scotland can borrow and of course we already have the power to raise the extra revenue through taxation both direct and indirect.

Much like the Scottish governments alleviateion of the stupid bedroom tax I imagine if the will is there it could be done.

It would also prove to pensioners and folk that are close to becoming pensioners that the Scottish Government and SNP are committed to them which could bring a larger senior turnout for Scottish independence.

I believe it's what we have devolution for, making a difference in Scotland for the people of Scotland.
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Old 01-12-2016, 22:17
Black Sheep
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Arrant nonsense. There's over 40% of those who chose an option who want the next referendum to take place before the UK finally leaves the EU. That has gone down since the legal arguments about how A50 can be triggered and how hard a Brexit it will be. There's no real change in circumstances since the last poll other than that.
I can't help but agree with you that there's no real change since the last poll, or since the last referendum.

That over 30% of SNP voters don't want to be in the EU should be significant though, don't you Think?

The bottom line is that we Scots don't seem to actually want another Indyref and that the SNP don't seem to be listening to that, despite their national listening exercise.

Perhaps their concern lies with remaining in power rather than a true drive for independence. Maybe the SNP elite are prepared to leave the next independence push to the Mahari Black generation?
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