Sturgeon’s Dilemma
Tens of thousands of Scots took the streets of Glasgow at the weekend to march for independence to remind the powers that be in Westminster we are not giving up on getting out of the union!
However our demands for independence are certainly not plain sailing and now Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon may have to juggle our dreams of independence while pushing for a second EU referendum.
Noel Dolan, her former chief fixer and right-hand man in the Scottish Government for nearly a decade reckons the focus of the Scottish National Party should be on Brexit and not the aftermath.
So far the only party to push for another Brexit vote are the Lib Dems but I’m not sure if Dolan is right. After all what will happen in a second vote if Scotland yet again overwhelmingly registers to remain in Europe? We’ve been totally ignored so far by Theresa May and her Brexiteers, so what will change?
However both Keith Brown, the Economy Minister and front-runner in the SNP’s deputy leadership contest and Kevin Pringle, who was former FM Alex Salmond’s chief spin doctor, believe a Brexit vote should be a priority.
Sturgeon is under pressure to try again for a second independence referendum and as a reminder around 35,000 gathered in Glasgow on Saturday to demand independence. It was the largest rally of its kind since we lost the 2014 vote but far from being down and out the independence movement is once again building in momentum.
Not a long face in sight!
I used to enjoy a flutter on the horses – not that I was ever any good – but I do wish I had put a pound or three on the chestnut filly Billesdon Brook which romped home at Newmarket’s 1000 Guineas the other day with odds of 66-1.
She became the biggest-priced winner in the history of the famous race, first run in 1814, and was ridden by jockey Sean Levey who glided through the field to win the race by one and three quarter lengths.
Apparently she has 23 owners! All friends, and calling themselves the Pall Mall Partners, they are proof that you don’t have to be a multi-millionaire or Arab sheikh to win big in flat racing. And I bet they’re all considerably richer thanks to a few bets on the rank outsider.
Get well soon, Sir Alex
Sir Alex Ferguson remains in a “serious condition but recovering” after emergency surgery in a Manchester hospital to stop a bleed on his brain. Arguably the greatest football manager of all time, he has united rival football fans in the northern city and beyond in wishing him a speedy recovery but the next few days are critical.
The 76-year-old legend who had a successful soccer career in Scotland before joining Manchester United as manager in November 1986 had amassed 38 trophies, including a record 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups and two Champions Leagues.
Now he faces the ultimate test: one of survival and I’m sure you will all join me in wishing him well.
Foxy Bojo appeals to Trump
I see Boris Johnson jetted out to Washington to appeal directly to US President Donald Trump not to scrap the Iran nuclear deal. So how did he grab the attention of a president who has the attention span of a water gnat? He appeared on Trump’s favourite morning TV show!
Yes, the UK Foreign Secretary went on Fox & Friends begging Trump through the medium of TV not to “throw the baby out with the bathwater.” He did get to meet the new Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and stressed that the Iran deal must be kept.
Trump has rubbished the deal publicly, privately, through the social networks and beyond. In fact to anyone who will listen he reckons the deal brokered by the previous White House incumbent is “insane.” Now we will all have to wait until the May 12 deadline to see if Bojo’s television appearance has had any impact on Trump.
BBC switches off to Corbyn victory
My days – or rather nights – of sitting through the wee hours until daybreak watching election results unfold are more or less over. I prefer a good night’s sleep and then sit back and enjoy the analysis of who won what, why and where.
And so for England’s council elections I opted for a good night’s sleep and woke to listen to the BBC Today programme on Radio Four. it was obvious from snatched conversations as I whizzed around getting ready for the day that Labour must have had a bad night.
Switching on BBC TV, the analysis was similar and so I went on to the BBC’s website to try and check the statistics. Not one of the mainstream media, including the BBC, picked up on the real story of the day … UKIP had sunk without trace bar three seats.
I then ventured in to Twitterland and discovered through journalist, political analyst and commentator Owen Jones that far from suffering a humiliating defeat, Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour had recorded its biggest win in London since 1971 and gained 77 additional council seats throughout England.
BBC switches off to Corbyn victory
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