Re: POLLING DAY AS IT HAPPENS: TELEGRAPH TV LINK

**Lamplighter** Fri May 29, 2015 9:14 pm

The Orcadian Online
First Minister set for Orkney meeting

Friday, May 29, 2015, at 3:21pm

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during her visit to Orkney in August 2014.

Orkney Islands Council will host the Convention of the Highlands and Islands on Monday.

The twice-yearly Scottish Government meeting will bring leaders from across the Highlands and Islands together with Scottish Government Ministers, including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Deputy First Minister John Swinney.

On the agenda will be issues such as the Our Islands, Our Future initiative, digital connectivity, energy, transport and land reform.

The meeting rotates around all Highlands and Islands local authority areas and was last held in Orkney in the autumn of 2010.

Council Convener, Steven Heddle, will represent the OIC at the meeting and make the opening remarks.

He said: “It is a great honour for us to host this meeting, particularly given that six Government Ministers have elected to attend – including the First Minister – the most that have ever attended.

COHI is a very worthwhile opportunity for leaders from the Highlands and Islands across the whole public sector to get together with the Scottish Government to tackle the issues and opportunities that we face as an area.”

**bb1** Fri May 29, 2015 9:20 pm

That's good, LL - a bit more edifying and positive than this ongoing debacle.

You know, if you'd asked me to predict which constituency a scandal like this would erupt in - one involving Ambassadors, let's not forget - Orkney and Shetland would have been last on my list.

**Lamplighter** Fri May 29, 2015 9:28 pm

bb1 wrote:That's good, LL - a bit more edifying and positive than this ongoing debacle.

You know, if you'd asked me to predict which constituency a scandal like this would erupt in - one involving Ambassadors, let's not forget - Orkney and Shetland would have been last on my list.

Very quiet, restful place, the Islands are the backwater of Scotland, not given to protests. My son says it's an absolute shock to everyone. Would you like me to post up items of interest from The Orcadian which I read each day? LL

**bb1** Fri May 29, 2015 9:32 pm

By all means, LL, always interesting to know what's going on in the rest of the world. smile

I can well imagine how your son, and the other locals, feel, the whole thing is staggering. And I can't even attempt to guess what is going to happen, I have never known a situation like this before.

**Lamplighter** Fri May 29, 2015 9:34 pm

bb1 wrote:By all means, LL, always interesting to know what's going on in the rest of the world.

I can well imagine how your son, and the other locals, feel, the whole thing is staggering. And I can't even attempt to guess what is going to happen, I have never known a situation like this before.

Happy to oblige. My son is actually in LA at present, but is going back to the Orkneys any time soon as he will wish to vote for a new MP if required. LL

**bb1** Fri May 29, 2015 9:47 pm

I am sure he is thrilled at the thought of a by-election, with all the hoopla and media circus it will bring - NOT. Orkney and Shetland just are not the sort of places you expect these things to happen - I have seen a good few people commenting that Jo Grimond must be turning in his grave.

**bb1** Fri May 29, 2015 10:55 pm

**bb1** Sat May 30, 2015 4:39 pm

Pics from today's protest:

https://twitter.com/hashtag/carmichaelmustgo?src=hash&vertical=default&f=tweets

POLLING DAY AS IT HAPPENS: TELEGRAPH TV LINK - Page 16 CGQzcMZXEAA9wwy

POLLING DAY AS IT HAPPENS: TELEGRAPH TV LINK - Page 16 CGQzcMZXEAA9wwy

Nice flag, LL!

**lily** Sat May 30, 2015 4:58 pm

Good for them!

**Lamplighter** Sat May 30, 2015 5:04 pm

Nice flag indeed. And that is St Magnus Cathedral, in the Orkney capital, Kirkwall. I was christened there. LL

**lily** Sat May 30, 2015 5:42 pm

Lovely, LL. hug

**bb1** Sat May 30, 2015 6:01 pm

It's just about the most unlikely spot in the whole British Isles for political uproar to break out.

**lily** Sat May 30, 2015 6:18 pm

What a horrible sign of the times?

**bb1** Sat May 30, 2015 6:21 pm

Or a good one, that the locals (and others) are so outraged they are trying to do something about it?

**lily** Sat May 30, 2015 6:45 pm

Of course, Bonny. I was thinking about all those corrupt politicians all over the place. Hopefully it is all coming to an end....

**bb1** Sat May 30, 2015 7:22 pm

I hope this goes all the way to court, Lily, but I will be surprised if it does, because I simply do not believe Carmichael did this off his own bat.

I suspect Mundell, our sole Tory, is involved as he was working closely with Carmichael, and that the breadcrumbs lead all the way to Downing Street.

The Tories don't have that much of a majority, remember, and can't really afford a scandal so early in the parliament.

I can see Carmichael standing down, with a secret promise of a cushy seat in the Lords once the fuss has died down.

**lily** Sat May 30, 2015 7:27 pm

Amazing....... Shocked

**bb1** Mon Jun 01, 2015 1:22 pm

http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/scottish-politics/sturgeon-pledges-more-devolution-to-scotlands-islands.1433152885

Sturgeon pledges more devolution to Scotland's islands
Monday 1 June 2015
The First Minister has pledged to empower communities with more devolution to Scotland's islands.

Nicola Sturgeon said a consultation on plans for greater autonomy for island areas would be published this summer, with responses helping to inform a future Islands Bill.

She made the commitment to council leaders and officials at a meeting of the Convention of the Highlands and Islands (COHI) in Kirkwall, Orkney.

Ms Sturgeon said: "We have previously committed to looking at devolving more autonomy to our islands and decentralise decision-making to those who live and work in these unique parts of Scotland. We want to work to make our islands stronger and let them flourish.

"We are bringing through the Community Empowerment Bill, which will enable communities to be more involved in local decision-making.

"The forthcoming consultation will build on this and empower our island communities - it's the perfect opportunity for ideas to be shared and considered before any decision is made on their future."

Last June, former first minister Alex Salmond launched a prospectus on more powers for Scotland's island communities in the event of Scottish independence.

Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme, Ms Sturgeon said: "Our determination, our commitment, to empower our island communities was not contingent on those areas voting Yes.

"There were things that would have been possible for us to look at had the country as a whole voted Yes.

"Some of these things are not possible given that Scotland didn't vote to be independent but we want to make sure that we take forward as many of these ideas as we can."

She added: "We're very serious about devolving as much power as possible down to local communities so that we put the power into the hands of people in local communities to grow their economies and to take the decisions that are right for them.

"We want to look at how we give councils in Highland and island communities more ability to take decisions that determine conditions in their own areas."

The First Minister said this included a commitment that all income from leasing the seabed around islands would go to local communities following the devolution of powers over the Crown Estate to the Scottish Parliament.

She said a consultation will also take place across Scotland on the long-term arrangements for managing Crown Estate assets.

Liberal Democrat MSP for Shetland Tavish Scott called for island communities to be given full powers over Crown Estate revenues.

He said: "The SNP agreed with the Smith recommendations of devolving full powers to the islands. Either the First Minister doesn't know the detail of the agreement or she is reneging on the Smith Commission.

"Power doesn't come in the form of a cheque handed to communities, it comes by being able to write the cheque.

"Surely the First Minister would agree that the best people to steward the Crown Estate resources around islands like Shetland are the people who live there?

"SNP ministers must bring forward meaningful plans to devolve powers to island communities, otherwise we can only assume that the SNP remains stuck in its centralising ways."

I think the LibDems would be well advised to keep their traps shut about EVERYTHING right this minute..........

**bb1** Tue Jun 02, 2015 11:56 am

Former LibDem leader Charles Kennedy has been found dead:

http://news.sky.com/story/1494645/ex-lib-dem-leader-charles-kennedy-dies-aged-55

which, sadly, is not really a surprise to anyone - he had a severe problem with alcohol, and was obviously drunk once or twice in debates during the recent election.

However - my blood pressure went through the roof earlier today when I heard former LibDem MP Lembit Opik opining thus:

Former MP Lembit Opik said there were concerns about his health after he lost his seat and whether he was properly supported.
He said: 'I was thinking 'Charles Kennedy has to get into the House of Lords, he has to have that institutional support'.
'It would have been support for him but it's too late now. There was no support for him in his last days. I really was concerned this was going to happen'.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3106879/Former-Liberal-Democrat-leader-Charles-Kennedy-dies-aged-55.html#ixzz3btumn1ij
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

In the world most of us inhabit, middle-aged men that lose their job because of drink are liable to find themselves in the gutter in Cameron's caring, sharing NuBritain. Unless they are former MPs, of course, in which case they get rewarded with a cushy seat in the Lords, and £300 a day plus expenses, courtesy of the taxpayer.

The arrogance and sense of entitlement to privilege is astounding.

Alex Salmond's view, in the same piece, is rather more realistic:

Alex Salmond said that Kennedy was 'taken from us by an illness that he had that eventually defeated him'.
He added: 'Charles had an addiction - an alcohol problem. And that’s what unfortunately and tragically has consumed his political career and robbed us of an outstanding talent.
'The House of Commons probably is the worst place in the world for somebody with an alcohol problem, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s when Charles went into the House of Commons. You are talking about being far, far away from home, many hundreds of miles from home, in convivial company, with easily available cheap alcohol.
'He has been taken from us by an illness that he had that eventually defeated him'.

**bb1** Tue Jun 02, 2015 5:13 pm

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/alistair-carmichael-facing-sleaze-probe-over-memo-leak.1433245837

Alistair Carmichael facing sleaze probe over memo leak
Tuesday 2 June 2015
Lib Dem former minister Alistair Carmichael is facing a formal sleaze probe over the leaking of a memo intended to damage SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon.

Parliamentary standards commissioner Kathryn Hudson has launched an investigation into whether the Orkney and Shetland MP broke the Commons Code of Conduct.

Following a Cabinet Office leak inquiry, the ex-Scottish secretary admitted last month that he allowed his special adviser to release a record of a private conversation in which Ms Sturgeon allegedly said she wanted David Cameron to remain Prime Minister.

The commissioner's office said her investigation is focused on Paragraphs 10, 14 and 16 of the Code of Conduct.

Paragraph 10 states that members should "base their conduct on a consideration of the public interest, avoid conflict between personal interest and the public interest and resolve any conflict between the two, at once, and in favour of the public interest".

Paragraph 14 requires that "information which Members receive in confidence in the course of their parliamentary duties should be used only in connection with those duties. Such information must never be used for the purpose of financial gain".

Paragraph 16 warns MPs not to "undertake any action which would cause significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons as a whole, or of its Members generally".

There had been speculation that the commissioner might not be able to take the investigation on because the memo emerged during the election campaign - when Mr Carmichael had ceased to be an MP.

However, his special adviser Euan Roddin told the Cabinet Office leak inquiry that he provided the memo to the Daily Telegraph on April 1 - raising the possibility that discussions had taken place beforehand when Mr Carmichael was still a member.

A Lib Dem spokesman said: "Alistair has always been clear that he would co-operate with any investigation that was undertaken. That remains the case. He will co-operate in full with the standards commissioner's investigation."

The LibDems really did drink from a poisoned chalice when they got involved with the Tories.

**bb1** Tue Jun 02, 2015 10:26 pm

**Sabot** Wed Jun 03, 2015 8:34 am

bb1 wrote:

This is so true. No one ever had a bad word to say about him with regard to him as a person.

**bb1** Wed Jun 03, 2015 10:36 am

It's a great shame, Sabot. It's no secret that Mr Kennedy had troubles with alcohol for a long time, and I doubt if some of his 'friends' helped much either, if they actually thought that paying him £300 a day to be far from home in a place with cheap drink was going to help.

My opinion only, but I suspect he was disillusioned with the way his 'side' has been conducting itself over recent years, especially in Scotland over these two appalling campaigns - he was never associated with dirty tricks. He lost his father during the election campaign, then lost his seat - not really because of anything he'd done, but because of the way his party had been behaving.

A very sad story all round.

**bb1** Wed Jun 03, 2015 11:21 am

I generally find Frankie Boyle irritating, and frequently offensive, but this piece is well worth reading:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/01/david-cameron-moriarty-downing-street-radical-thatcher

‘They abolished the Human Rights Act” sounds like the first sentence of an Aldous Huxley novel. The Conservatives actually campaigned on a manifesto pledge to get rid of human rights and people voted for it. As electoral choices go, it’s not far off choosing to be ruled by a dry, whispering voice taunting you from an antique mirror.

Yup. And this...

We can see the mileage Boris Johnson has got out of playing the fairly simple character of a sort of pissed-up dandelion.

As I frequently say, Never trust a Tory!

**bb1** Wed Jun 03, 2015 12:20 pm

It's all happening in your homeland these days, LL:

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/cow-used-to-lure-rampaging-bull-after-man-trampled.127894741

Cow used to lure rampaging bull after man trampled

Jody Harrison
Reporter
Wednesday 3 June 2015
A MAN was trampled by a runaway bull which also charged at a woman in her 70s in Shetland's capital.

Police spotted the bull leaping over a wall at Tesco on Lerwick's South Road on Tuesday evening and followed it down the street to the Clickimin Centre.

Quick-thinking officers brought a cow to lure the bull into a walled garden, where the man was charged. They were then able to guide the animal into a trailer.

Neither the man or the woman were seriously injured, but were taken to hospital as a precaution.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: "The bull was escorted to a walled garden, where officers were able to take control of it. A man in his 40s was charged and stood on while they were trying to get it into a trailer. He was also taken to hospital.

"They brought in a cow to settle it down and it was taken back to its farm."

Very civilised - using a coo as a lure is a vast improvement on using the bull as target practise, as tends to happen elsewhere when they drop in on Tesco.

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