Category Archives: Politics

This Month’s Oxter Award

Posted on August 30, 2011 by davidsberry

It’s the traditional political Silly Season when major politicians and those that hound them are generally off on some sun-baked beach, August is a month we have to cast about to find a decent candidate deserving opprobrium. Yet, there in Hootsmon on … Continue reading →

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All Roads Lead to Lisbon

Posted on August 27, 2011 by davidsberry

Since spending probably my best summer ever as a 23-year-old waiter in the Algarve, I have had a soft spot for Portugal, its people and especially its fading-grande-dame-but-still-a-babe capital, Lisbon. Down for just a week for my first visit in … Continue reading →

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Subtle as a Ram Raid

Posted on August 19, 2011 by davidsberry

The Hootsmon has its faults but today’s piece from David Maddox on government debt could not be more timely, coming, as it does, on the back of the worst day for the FTSE for three years. To say that investors … Continue reading →

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Nothing New Under the Sun

Posted on August 18, 2011 by davidsberry

Young whippersnappers with no memories of the sixties may think that ‘new’ politics—in which politicians live from spin and from answering any question but the one asked—derive from the Blair government and from hidden spin doctors like Alastair Campbell, forever … Continue reading →

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Not Such a Zoo: Still a Jungle

Posted on August 14, 2011 by davidsberry

In the August 2nd blog Are We Nuts Overpaying Monkeys?, some harsh views were expressed about senior council officials in general, although care was taken not to explicitly refer to any council and certainly not to impugn any individual. Nonetheless, … Continue reading →

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Hall of Shame: Update I

Posted on August 13, 2011 by davidsberry

On July 19th, we published our consolidated Hall of Shame list of those councillors in Scotland we felt had brought real shame to their public calling by improper, ignoble or otherwise reprehensible actions—whether they had admitted it or whether this … Continue reading →

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Being Blacked Out

Posted on August 8, 2011 by davidsberry

Regular readers will be used to controversy here—and I hope they believe it’s never just for the sake of it. But even those should hold on to their hats as we’re about to test tolerances in 21st century Britain. Only … Continue reading →

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Standard & Poor Says: Standards Are Poor

Posted on August 6, 2011 by davidsberry

As a amateur observer of things economic, it’s hard to feel bad when you’re proved right but I derive no pleasure in having predicted the present fiscal tumble in which stock markets have lost 10% in value and the mighty … Continue reading →

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Are We Nuts Overpaying Monkeys?

Posted on August 2, 2011 by davidsberry

There has been considerable agitation by public service unions on both sides of the border that workers are being hit severely by Westminster’s austerity programme, whether by pay freeze/cut or benefit loss (especially pension) or even loss of their job … Continue reading →

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The Lion in Us All

Posted on August 1, 2011 by davidsberry

After the eternal navel-gazing of Hackgate, I was delighted to find a real discussion kicked off by Pete Wishart’s article on Britishness in Newsnet Scotland. His open queries came immediately under sustained attack from people whose position seems more like … Continue reading →

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