Tony

@BlackIslePMD Polling says so.

Reading that last sentence carefully, what's the evidence that no other party would "put Scotland first"? In what sense is that an exclusive claim to the SNP rather than say Scottish Green Party, or others? Words matter, and causal use of absolutist language needs to stop.

For a’ that, an’ a’ that, It’s comin yet for a’ that, That man to man, the world o’er, Shall brothers be for a’ that. From my family to yours, Happy Burns Night. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Bayern Munich are bigger than any NFL team. Munich is a very wealthy city and they have over 400,000 members, yet their season tickets start at €175. That's less than the cost of attending a single NFL game. People like this will never get it.

@AdmiralFallow Great gig at QM on Friday.

To all who came and supported us on our final two dates of the UK tour in Dundee and Glasgow, THANK YOU! Both shows felt very special and we really appreciated you being there. AFx

@RachelB81861032 @SamCoatesSky Clueless. "Severely mentally impaired" kids, some with sensory, behavioural and life limiting conditions to be put at risk to save a few quid. Maybe start looking at real waste in public services rather than picking on kids who are disabled and their families who are struggling

@SamCoatesSky Ban the use of taxis to transport school children, if a parent has a mobility vehicle it must be used to transport the child. LAs will buy a small number of second hand minibuses to replace taxis. Collections will start earlier to maximise No of kids transported per bus

Budget 2026 early assumptions - my scorecard Here is my current assumptions for the shape of Budget 2026 scorecard on November 26. At this stage I have more confidence in the components of the black hole, than the measures that may fill it, but we will update. Drawn up with some assistance from the Resolution Foundation - but errors / judgements are mine. All discussed on Politics at Sam and Anne's podcast. The size of the black hole £10 billion - forecast downgrade, comprising of lower future productivity offset by upgrade to wage growth £2-4 billion - Debt interest costs, depending on the window picked by the OBR £10 billion - Existing policy turns: winter fuel allowance, welfare / PIP uturn, fuel duty freeze rollover £5 billion - More spending on lifting two child cap, help for energy bills and help for NHS England redundancy payments £5-10 billion - Extra headroom above £9.9bn Total: £32-39 billion How could Rachel Reeves fill it? £5 billion - Reducing unallocated departmental spending in 2029/30 £8 billion - Freezing personal allowance £4 billion - Close CGT loopholes on people moving abroad and after death £2 billion - Higher rate council tax band £2 billion - Get Limited Liability Partnerships to pay NI £1-2 billion - Higher gambling taxes £1 billion - Raise higher rate income tax Total £23 billion How to fill the rest? The debate is between one big measure or lots of little measures. The Resolution Foundation has explored putting up income tax and simultaneously reducing national insurance. This means for most employees their tax bill doesn’t change. But the self employed are paying more and pensioners pay more, along with landlords who pay more because income tax is paid on rental income not national insurance. This raises £6 billion.

@thehill Does this apply to the commanders in chief?

WATCH: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the U.S. military’s senior-most officers that he no longer wants to see “fat generals and admirals” or overweight troops. trib.al/ADFb7w6

@MartinSLewis @itvMLshow Hi, I have a 13 year old son with profound learning disabilities and special needs, he will need 24 hour care for his whole life. I'd like to provide for him after my wife and I are gone, but not sure where to start. As a topic there seems to be much info out there.

Do you or your children have questions about young people's finances - whether student finance, car insurance, or anything else sfor those in their teens & 20s. If so that's what tomorrow's @itvMLshow is about, so just post your Qs suggestions here and the team will collate :)

Today marks the start of #OrganDonationWeek - an issue very close to my heart. At any given time, 500 people in Scotland are waiting for a transplant. Today is the perfect time to share your wishes with your loved ones. Confirm your decision here: organdonation.scot

'Where does this end? Is it too much to say, blood on the streets?' @AndrewMarr9 reacts to Reform's plan to abolish indefinite leave to remain.

There is no such thing as a "disability register" benefits are due to those who meet the gov. criteria according to needs and are not condition dependent. Not only is this guy a right wing loon, he is positively dangerous and without a clue. Voting for him, makes you the problem

Nigel Farage "There are those that deserve help, but there are many that do not." Nigel Farage plans to get rid of disability benefits for anyone that isn't Stephen Hawking. You have been warned.

The right-wing assaults on the rights of children and all people who have autism, ADHD, AuDHD and other special needs keep growing, and that's especially worrying for all those who know, care, teach and value such people for who they are and what they can do.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/08/3…

I reckon the leading contender for an eventual Trump/Zelensky/Putin summit is Turnberry.

COUPLE GRAND SAVED >£100,000 lost This tender was scored 50% on price & 50% on things like quality, sustainability, systems, education and community wealth building. In 2021, we won the schools milk contract on this framework. The price difference between us and the competition was small, but our quality score was higher. With no playground diesel fumes, no single-use plastic waste and a school education plan, we scored well and won. But in the 2025 tender, weirdly, the quality score given to us dropped, despite us offering the same benefits (and in some areas, even more). Then Müller undercut us using their Big Dairy budgets and we were scored down, and out. Here’s the kicker: if our quality score had been at the 2021 level, we’d have drawn on points - even with Müller’s price push! That’s a bit odd and we did raise it with EAC - but 'nothing to see here', apparently. So how much did the council save by scoring us lower? On paper, the saving is £6,500 a year. Not nothing, but here’s the rest of the bill: Recycling costs: Although it’s hard to estimate, Single-use packaging COULD add £2000 - £5,000 a year to the council’s waste bill depending on how the packaging is managed, less if the milk is poured from supermarket jugs instead of little individual milk cartons, but still cash out of the public purse. Jobs lost: Two local job roles gone, £50–55k removed from the East Ayrshire economy in wages, plus ~£5k less in NI contributions for public services. Müller already closed their Ayrshire depot years ago, causing redundancies and shifting operations to Glasgow - so these jobs aren't being replaced. Local milk value: £61,000 a year lost for our farm and the co-op of organic family farms we support. That’s over £100,000 stripped from our community each year, replaced with diesel fumes in playgrounds and a prayer that milk cartons make it into recycling, instead of landfill or incinerators. Oh, and any profits go to.… 🥁a German owned company. We respect the council’s decision, but we don't agree with it. We certainly had no god given right to win the contract again and we 100% get that. However, if it was another local organic dairy, with similar values who pipped us, we'd have humbly congratulated them and been grateful that we led the way with East Ayrshire by our side, to begin a local food resurgence. But instead, a juggernaut and weird points allocation prevailed. Being honest we've loved working with EAC for the past four years – it literally could not have gone better, and the passionate people behind the scenes were so incredibly supportive.  We’re really grateful for the opportunity we've had. But this decision, these numbers and that impact tell a different story. So, what about organic milk – the contract said it absolutely had to be an organic milk supply.  Our small dairy had that guaranteed. Can BIG DAIRY guarantee the same in a volatile world of organic milk supply? We'll cross that bridge tomorrow...

@OrkneyUncovered @plyons45 Ay(e), caramba!

Old Man of Hoy.

Let’s be clear: Statehood for the Palestinians is a right, not a reward. The only realistic, just, and sustainable solution is two States – Israel & Palestine – living side-by-side in peace. I urge the international community to take urgent & concrete steps to make it real.

@garydg7 Now that brings back memories, especially that gazebo you can just make out in the castle!

@garydg7 Was on that very ship 6 weeks ago. Cracking day for it.

First visitor of the year ❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

The UK euthanasia bill will put thousands of disabled people at risk. Many of the people we most love. This must be stopped. Write to your MP!

No matter how many times you cut disability benefits, severely disabled people still won't be able to work