One thing I really can't stand, as I've said many times before, is when politics, flags and patriotism get mixed up. I don't care who does it, but any party wrapping themselves in a flag and claiming it for themselves just brings me out in hives.So you can imagine that I started foaming at hte mouth this afternoon when I read this from the SNP's official Twitter feed:
Alex Salmond closes conference - lets get a saltire over the constituencies of Scotland#snpconf#snp
The Scottish saltire is for everybody, for all Scots, regardless of age, religion, gender, political affiliation or anything else. It's one of those national emblems that we can all identify with, and which makes us smile when we see it. Loving Scotland is not the sole preserve of the SNP and it's hideously arrogant of them to imply that it is.
Apart from that, the SNP really have lost their way at their Conference in Aviemore this weekend. Even Jeff knows that Alex Salmond is in cloud cuckoo land if he thinks that the Scottish Government can avoid some sort of spending cuts in the years to come. If we have to tighten our belts in our own homes, I don't see why the Scottish Government can't. What's important is that the services needed by those on the lowest incomes are preserved and improved - that's the fairness that voting Liberal Democrat will bring you.
Nicola Sturgeon had to look back to the previous Lib Dem/Labour coalition to find what she called "one of the proudest achievements of the Scotish Parliament" - free personal care. The reason we have that is absolutely nothing to do with the SNP. In fact, Labour on its own would never have implented it either. The reason Scotland is way ahead on this is squarely down to the Liberal Democrats.
She launched her big idea, too - universal health checks for the over 40s. Well, don't we already have these in most surgeries. Certainly mine has people fighting over you to take your blood pressure and check you out. My husband's been hauled in several times for various checks and screenings.
Is that it?
It's unusual to see a Government run so spectacularly out of steam barely 75% of the way through its first term. If that's the best they can come up with for their achievements and future plans, then the sooner they're out of office the better.
