Paul

"and Shabana Mahmood who did NOT resign"

Couple of important clarifications about this: - the 20 hour work rule does not apply to elected office in local or devolved positions - the changes to the law that made running for Scottish Parliament on a student visa possible were backed by the Conservatives

RE: @scottishgreens ScottishGreens MSP Q Manivannan and those with limited right to remain in the UK. We don’t all see all bills that go through Parliament. The thing that worries me here is that there are some journalists whose job it is to cover the workings of parliament and they are making it seem like the MSP has done something wrong or that they must have been untruthful or something in order to be eligible for selection and election. Hopefully people will see thought it and see that the individual did exactly what the law set out they should and that the provisions now being questioned were supported across all parties. The SNP ran on a manifesto commitment in 2021 (p33) - “Whilst in government, we have made great strides to extend the right to vote. We have extended the voting franchise in Scottish Parliament and local government elections to 16 and 17 year olds, and all foreign nationals with leave to remain, including all those granted refugee status. We will now go further and extend entitlement to stand for election to all those who are entitled to vote, ensuring a more diverse parliament and local government.” It’s not even that the Bill was pushed through, the proposals were put to public consultation on the 14th December 2022 until 15th March 2023 as part of a larger package of electoral reform following the additional powers devolved as a result of the Smith Commission. On 23rd January 2024 the Bill was introduced to Parliament. On 7th February 2024, the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee opened a ‘call for views’ and held multiple committee sessions examining the Bill. There was also involvement by the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee, Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee Correspondence, Finance and Public Administration Committee and the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee. On 27th June 2024, the Bill was debated and passed Stage One. On 2nd October 2024, the Bill began its Stage Two journey which resulted in multiple meetings of the Meetings of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee followed by multiple debates and the consideration of amendments. A number of amendments were accepted and the Bill moved forward to Stage Three and a debate on 17th December 2024 followed by a vote by the whole Parliament. I provide this just to show to others, that the process of the manifesto commitment, the public consultation, the parliamentary scrutiny both at large and in committee(s), the amendments and final debate and vote were far from rushed or truncated. The rationale of making the changes was to ensure that all of those in Scotland (studying, working, living) had the opportunity to both vote in Scottish Parliament elections and, subject to standard exclusions over bankruptcy, criminal proceedings etc, be able to run for elected office. I’ll put the link below and I would highly recommend anyone interested to have a look at the submissions received from third sector organisations, charities, civic groups and members of the public at each stage of the Bill. Hopefully if people have more information they can understand why the changes were made and level of scrutiny which the Bill was exposed to. The @theSNP ought to speak to Ian Blackford and make him aware (something he should be aware of as it was a manifesto commitment and this specific circumstance was raised and discussed in Holyrood by those elected to that place). I shouldn’t have to type out the above, journalists should be capable of doing the most basic research. People shouldn’t attempt to engage in revisionist history and journalists should feed them. The only outlets covering this honestly and accurately is @ScotNational @bellacaledonia and @broadcastscot. The SNP have a duty to call this out.

"Wes Streeting are you measuring the curtains?" 💀💀💀😭😭😭

Finally, after exhausting every other option, Britain is ready for chaos with Ed Miliband.

The curtain draws on the political career of Ash Regan. She contributed so much: two failed attempts at the leaderships of parties she subsequently left. And of course the legend of the independence thermometer. Gone but never forgotten!

Election rules mean I can’t say much on polling day, but I can say this. Tomorrow STV's scheduled Scottish election programme from 5pm will be replaced by an episode of quiz show, The Chase, as staff go on strike over a decision to freeze salaries.

There is no more devastating an insult from a British person than the word "wow!"

@CodenameOdango It’s on Apple Music already: music.apple.com/gb/album/need-…

"And I packed your angry eyes, just in case"

media training queen

Moments ago, the Scottish Parliament voted against Liam McArthur MSP’s assisted dying Bill, by 69 to 57 with one abstention. This means that the Bill will fall and we will have to keep fighting for law change in Scotland.

And for the lady, perhaps a xanax?

why does the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland have a PDF of the lyrics to Sweet Caroline and why is it the top result on Google

i don’t care if seeing Kim’s Berghain set happened to you. it should have happened to me ✌️

I’m so angry how Kim Petras got her best album in the drafts ready to click send and her musty label is gate keeping it from us

@Celebirteas This extended version with the woo-ahhhs at the end sends me feral on the rowing machine on.soundcloud.com/7AuJOUKXDkDwdu…

This shit on the treadmill….lemme tell you something

Kim Petras - “Pop Sound” (Pretour)

There really is a Thick of It clip for every occasion.

BUNS LETS GO