Common Cobble

@BBCScotlandNews Turkeys say Christmas is a bad idea. Retailers rip off the public and capitalise on poverty.

Retailers criticise SNP's 'gimmick' food price cap promise bbc.in/4csufK3

If this is true, the PM should’ve told Parliament at the earliest opportunity, not waited for the media to force the truth out. His failure to do that alone is surely a breach of the ministerial code.

I think this is underestimating Reform and overestimating the Tories but if the Greens only end up on 11 with their current high tide they should clear out their campaign apparatus. They simply do not know how to get their vote out.

@BethRigby If he did not know it’s because he deliberately did not ask, which is completely unacceptable for the leader of the country.

NEW: Anger in No 10 tonight - am told by a source that neither the PM nor his advisors were told, over a series of months, that Mandelson had been granted security clearance against the recommendation of UK security vetting. That suggests this information was held in foreign office and not shared. Big Qs now about the PM misleading the House. I am told the PM had been asking Qs about vetting and not been told this information while giving statements to parliament. Told this week PM had been trying to get answers about what happened since Tues night - Guardian got ahead of story. The critical point is that the minister has to have ‘knowingly misled’ the House, and clearly No 10 saying tonight the PM was not aware. I understand the PM had been intending to update the HoC as soon as No 10 had established facts, which they have been doing since Tues. So expect to see the PM come to HoC on Monday to correct the record I asked PM on March 16 whether he has misled the House when he said due process was followed. This is what he told me BETH RIGBY: On the Mandelson files, your national security adviser said the process was quote, weirdly rushed, and Mandelson was appointed before developed vetting had been complete. You told MPs in the House of Commons that due process was followed. Is there a possibility that you have misled the House when you said that? KEIR STARMER: No, and the independent adviser looked at that very question. I think on Thursday or Friday of last week, and answered it very robustly, that the process had been followed. The process wasn't strong enough. And amongst the changes that I intend to put into place is the fact that you can't announce someone until the vetting is finished. It wasn't an individual decision in the Mandelson case, that was the process. Well, you only have to look at that. in the light of the appointment, to realise that that needs to change. But on due process, the process that was there was followed, the problem was the process wasn't strong enough, but ultimately, it was my mistake and I have apologised for that and quite right to.

A completely unsustainable claim.

I don't post on here anymore but it's disappointing a Labour MSP has suggested I am a liar for reporting what his party strategists have told me. It is a fact, simple arithmetic, that Anas Sarwar cannot be first minister without unionist parties, including Reform making it so.

This silk‑covered mannequin weighing just 700g was launched into the stratosphere as part of an artistic project. The artists and scientists behind Mission Taroni took inspiration from an experience felt by astronauts when they see Earth from space, known as the overview effect. The project took place in November 2025 and footage of it was released in March 2026. 🎧 Explore more about the overview effect and looking back at Earth from space: bbc.in/3OfjwLd

EXCL: Peter Mandelson failed his security vetting clearance but the decision was overruled by Foreign Office to ensure he could take up his post as ambassador to US - a Guardian investigation by @PaulLewis @Direthoughts & me theguardian.com/politics/2026/…

@ScottishLabour Who is advising you? Sarwar is not popular. He’s spent two days embroiled in a row about cosying up to Reform. Amplify Labour, not Sarwar. This is such poor communication.

To put community safety first, vote for a Scottish Labour government on May 7. Only one party can beat the SNP and deliver change. scottishlabour.org.uk/manifesto-2026…

For 20 years, the SNP has failed to get the basics right - including keeping our communities safe. This is why we need change. scottishlabour.org.uk/manifesto-2026…

Thank you to @lucethornton for helping shine a light on Clare Turner’s story and our Crowdfunder in the @DailyMirror. Clare is terminally ill. She shouldn't be left fearing a painful death while Parliament delays. Read, share and donate if you can: mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/i…

@stats_feed Far far away from everyone.

If you had unlimited money, where would you live?

New Hungarian PM says Orban government was using taxpayer money to fund US pro-Trump activist group CPAC lbc.co.uk/article/new-hu…

@heraldscotland In order to combat this Scottish Labour have promised nothing at all. 4D chess.

Hitting out at the SNP manifesto, Labour’s deputy leader Jackie Baillie insisted: “After 20 years of failure, Scotland knows SNP promises are not worth the paper they are written on. “The SNP still hasn’t delivered on the pledges in their last manifesto – or their 2007 one for that matter.” She added: “If you want to know what dishonest John and the SNP will really deliver, look at their record – our NHS in crisis, schools declining, crime rising, 10,000 children homeless, and roads covered in potholes.” 👇 𝘐𝘔𝘈𝘎𝘌: 𝘑𝘦𝘧𝘧 𝘑 𝘔𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭/𝘎𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴

@ikeijeh Gare du Nord looks like a regional airport inside for the most part. This is idealised nonsense.

We're told Liverpool St. must redevelop because its current infrastructure's inadequate for UK's busiest station. Yet Europe's busiest station, Paris Gare du Nord (2.5x bigger) is expanding with its historic fabric intact. Why? Because Paris prioritises heritage & London doesn't.

@paulhutcheon So was the end of the death penalty, the foundation of the NHS, the Good Friday Agreement. Shall we do nothing for the poor because it might be difficult?

If the SNP wins the election, this policy will be dragged through the courts for years. x.com/theSNP/status/…

@lewis_goodall Hilariously Anas Sarwar thinks he’s copying this, he simply forgot the part where you actually have a workable policy.

Best communicator on the left anywhere in the world right now. And it’s just how he’s saying it- he actually has something to say.

I’m not sure ‘he’s only interested in helping the SNP’ is a wise line when the accusation is you are desperate to block them at any cost. Most voters would much rather stop Reform than the SNP, so why is Sarwar - the leader of a supposedly social democratic party - only after the SNP?

The green room-gate saga continues… @AnasSarwar hits back at @Malcolm_Offord again branding suggestion they had a conversation with no minders/aides present “nonsense” - after being pressed on the issue. @LBCNewsScot

I don’t think any likely government should promise to never increase income tax over the course of a Parliament. The SNP will win the election, so why restrict yourself?

@DPJHodges It would be very apt for Labour to hand Farage a stick to beat the leader with throughout the campaign by electing a man so closely linked to corruption and sleaze. Knowing them, they will rationalise that surely this time it will be different…(it won’t).

Whisper it. But Wes Streeting is doing a good job as Health Secretary, and Labour MPs are starting to notice. Was a narrative that his proximity to Mandelson had killed his leadership chances. I'm not so sure.

Swinney has already announced several policies that go well beyond anything @ScottishLabour have offered. Why would anyone centre-left or left vote for Sarwar’s party?