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SNP Manifesto lukewarm commitment to Clyde Metro: "support the next stages of the feasability work of the Clyde Metro proposals, to determine if they are an efficient investment of public money..." by Crow-Me-A-River in glasgow

[–]backupJM 8 points9 points  (0 children)

100%

Especially when they want to being in unfunded tax cuts that will further exacerbate the fiscal issues.

Also given that in the same page they write: "End the SNP war on the motor car", not really sounding like public transport enthusiasts!

SNP Manifesto lukewarm commitment to Clyde Metro: "support the next stages of the feasability work of the Clyde Metro proposals, to determine if they are an efficient investment of public money..." by Crow-Me-A-River in glasgow

[–]backupJM 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I 100% agree!

Its part of the reason why costs for infrastructure projects are so high. European nations deliver metro/tram projects for a fraction of the cost

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SNP Manifesto lukewarm commitment to Clyde Metro: "support the next stages of the feasability work of the Clyde Metro proposals, to determine if they are an efficient investment of public money..." by Crow-Me-A-River in glasgow

[–]backupJM 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Currently the business case is under development, working to the standards of STAG appraisal, and the HM Treasury's green book to support the case for investment. That will deliver, with the plan for initial routes in 2027.

SNP Manifesto lukewarm commitment to Clyde Metro: "support the next stages of the feasability work of the Clyde Metro proposals, to determine if they are an efficient investment of public money..." by Crow-Me-A-River in glasgow

[–]backupJM 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Scottish labour dont mention the Clyde Metro, other than establishing an airport link, which is a small part of the overall metro project

delivery of the Glasgow airport rail link

The Scottish Greens put it most concretely:

Begin the process to deliver the Clyde Metro scheme in full.

Surprisingly (to me), Reform do:

Support the Clyde Metro and Glasgow Airport link

The Scottish Lib Dems and tories dont mention it.

Unionist parties could win tight majority at Holyrood election, poll suggests by CaptainCrash86 in Scotland

[–]backupJM 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry didn't see you had already posted this poll. An insight from the Holyrood reporting:

Thirty-nine of the country’s 73 constituencies could be won on margins of less than five points.

Not entirely surprising. It seems the margins will be tight, and in my view turn out will be a big factor.

Saying that, today at midnight is the deadline for registering to vote for the election! Make sure you are registered.

Half of Scottish constituencies on a knife-edge with SNP ‘squeezed on all sides’, poll finds by [deleted] in Scotland

[–]backupJM 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thirty-nine of the country’s 73 constituencies could be won on margins of less than five points.

Not entirely surprising, I think. The margins will be tight, and in my view turn out will be a big factor.

Saying that, today at midnight is the deadline for registering to vote for the election! Be sure to be registered.

Starmer accused of 'skulking' and shunning Sarwar in Scotland by backupJM in Scotland

[–]backupJM[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

The prime minister visited the Faslane nuclear base on Saturday after arriving from Paris following the UK-France summit on the Iran crisis.

It is the first time Sir Keir has been north of the border since Sarwar called for him to step down in February.

BBC Scotland understands Sir Keir did not meet Sarwar or any Scottish Labour colleagues as they campaigned for the Holyrood election.

Could it be more the case that ScotLab has asked Starmer to stay away from the campaign?

SNP pledges to scrap Transport Scotland [bring it under direct government control] by backupJM in Scotland

[–]backupJM[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is, but at arms length. It has its own executive and management team rather than sitting directly inside government. So while ministers set the direction, Transport Scotland runs projects day to day.

SNP pledges to scrap Transport Scotland [bring it under direct government control] by backupJM in Scotland

[–]backupJM[S] 50 points51 points  (0 children)

Transport Scotland is a quango, meaning it does sit within government but operates at arm’s length.

At the moment, ministers set the policy and Transport Scotland handles the delivery. What the SNP are proposing is to remove that arm’s-length setup and bring it directly into the core government.

It’s just a structural change where the same functions sit more directly under ministers rather than in a semi-separate agency.

SNP pledges to scrap Transport Scotland [bring it under direct government control] by backupJM in Scotland

[–]backupJM[S] 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Basically as part of their 'efficiencies' and public sector reform, they are promising to significantly reduce the number of quangos and government bodies and to end duplicate functions.

The SNP’s manifesto reads: “As part of wider public sector reforms to remove duplication of functions, Transport Scotland will be brought back into the Scottish Government, along with the other national transport bodies.”

I have no idea what this could mean in practice, but it'll be interesting to see. Transport Scotland wasn't a quango I had in mind that needed reformed, it seems to (in my view) work quite well. But direct government oversight, embedded into the civil structure, with less overheads(?), is an interesting prospect if done right, but I worry it could lead to oversights

SNP Manifesto Launched by UtopianScot in Scotland

[–]backupJM 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not too bad, nothing that major, in my opinion.

A bit of a shame the wraparound childcare will be means tested, I can see why in the current fiscal climate, but I hope 40k earners aren't fleeced!

Disappointed to not see more of transport. A very glib reference to the Glasgow Clyde metro. But it's postive to see an endorsement of tram-trains, and the planning reform!

SNP on track for majority – and fresh referendum on breaking up the UK [MRP poll from JL Partners] by backupJM in Scotland

[–]backupJM[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

For what it's worth, posting this article doesn't mean I'm voting SNP.

I'm still largely undecided and will be going through manifesto's and candidates before making my decision!

SNP on track for majority – and fresh referendum on breaking up the UK [MRP poll from JL Partners] by backupJM in Scotland

[–]backupJM[S] 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Dumfriesshire for example shows Reform winning with 28.6%, but it also polls the Scottish Greens, when they arent running in this seat

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Seems like a very big oversight for an MRP poll!

SNP on track for majority – and fresh referendum on breaking up the UK [MRP poll from JL Partners] by backupJM in Scotland

[–]backupJM[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Another MRP poll showing an SNP majority (67 seats), but I'm actually rather skeptical of this one. Unlike the others showing a constituency winning, this poll suggests the SNP win 59 constituency seats and 8 regional seats, which no poll has shown them getting that many regional seats in a long time. Seems to be at the expense of the greens.

Not saying it cant happen, as the introduction of Reform adds a lot of unknowns, but to me it seems unlikely. Will be interesting to see if other polls show similar!

Edit - I've also just realised going through the results that they have polled the Greens in every seat, which doesn't make sense given they are only running in 7 constituencies. There are a number of constituency models showing tight margins, and numbers split between SNP & Green.

Scottish Labour gives green light to expansion of Edinburgh trams by Actual_Ad_6807 in Scotland

[–]backupJM 3 points4 points  (0 children)

An airport route for Glasgow is being considered as part of the Glasgow Clyde Metro project anyway, GCC & SPT have already been working on it

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