:00:00. > :00:00.As the mopping up begins, could more have been done to prepare
:00:00. > :00:30.Hello, happy new year and welcome to Scotland 2016.
:00:31. > :00:33.The Scottish Government promises extra cash to councils hardest hit
:00:34. > :00:36.by the flooding but rejects calls for a review of their flood
:00:37. > :00:43.We look ahead to a busy year in politics, with Holyrood elections
:00:44. > :00:45.in May and speculation the EU referendum could be held
:00:46. > :00:51.And in the dark days of January, we bring a little light
:00:52. > :01:02.into your life with an exhibition of Turner watercolours.
:01:03. > :01:06.It's been the wettest December in Scotland since records began,
:01:07. > :01:10.forcing people from their homes and even washing away entire roads.
:01:11. > :01:12.The Scottish Government today pledged more money for councils
:01:13. > :01:19.But Deputy First Minister John Swinney insisted councils had enough
:01:20. > :01:22.funding to provide for all of the flood prevention schemes
:01:23. > :01:24.identified for the next five years after Labour called
:01:25. > :01:31.And he insisted the Scottish Flood Forecasting Service had been fully
:01:32. > :01:33.protected, despite a 6% cut in funding to the agency
:01:34. > :01:47.Emergency services in Perth today as parts of the time were submerged.
:01:48. > :01:53.Rain, unable to drain away, the ground waterlogged. In Port Ellison,
:01:54. > :01:57.homeowners forced to leave their homes, taking shelter to local
:01:58. > :02:03.school. Firefighters helped locals pump water away from their houses.
:02:04. > :02:10.All of these houses are flooded. To the extent where the water level,
:02:11. > :02:14.because the water table is so high, it is just under the floorboards, we
:02:15. > :02:19.are trying to get rid of this as quickly as we can. The Deputy First
:02:20. > :02:22.Minister pledged more money from local authorities affected by the
:02:23. > :02:26.flooding and rejected criticism from Scottish Labour about a reduction in
:02:27. > :02:33.funding for the environment and protection agency. They have no
:02:34. > :02:37.responsibility for flood prevention measures, they have a responsibility
:02:38. > :02:42.for the warning system, which is entirely funded by the government
:02:43. > :02:47.and which is protected, utterly protected, 100% by my budget
:02:48. > :02:54.settlement in December. It is not just flooding, rain also causes
:02:55. > :03:01.landslips, the AED three in Argyll will close overnight as efforts
:03:02. > :03:04.continue to make safe a 150 tonne boulder in danger of crashing down
:03:05. > :03:09.the hillside. Over the weekend, residents of Ballater emptied their
:03:10. > :03:14.homes of sodden possessions as the clean-up following Storm Frank
:03:15. > :03:18.began. Meanwhile, Braemar remained virtually cut off from the outside
:03:19. > :03:22.world but the road linking the time and Ballater washed away. A
:03:23. > :03:27.temporary road is expected to be put in place within the next week. Along
:03:28. > :03:32.the river, Abergele Castle, featuring on the edge of the river,
:03:33. > :03:37.received good news, ?100,000 has been secured to prevent the 16th
:03:38. > :03:43.century castle from collapsing into the water. Although floodwaters have
:03:44. > :03:47.begun receding, a Met Office amber warning for heavy rain remains in
:03:48. > :03:49.place for parts of Scotland until Thursday.
:03:50. > :03:51.Earlier I spoke to the Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead
:03:52. > :04:04.You have been meeting people in flood hit areas, you have seen the
:04:05. > :04:09.damage, is this a good time to be cutting the budget for the Scottish
:04:10. > :04:15.environment protection agency? I did meet many people in begin and Perth
:04:16. > :04:18.dealing with the flooding on behalf of a thorough tease, including many
:04:19. > :04:23.people who have been flooded from their homes but not as many people
:04:24. > :04:27.as might have been the case if the flood schemes had not been built in
:04:28. > :04:31.previous years and in terms of the role of the protection agency, in
:04:32. > :04:41.Scotland the role is different, local authorities build these
:04:42. > :04:44.schemes and help fund them. And another rule is Flood Forecasting
:04:45. > :04:48.Service separate budget is for that, they will continue good work in
:04:49. > :04:53.helping prepare people. That budget has been protected but they do have
:04:54. > :04:58.a further role in advising local authorities on flood schemes and the
:04:59. > :05:03.bigger picture on climate change? This is the wrong time to be cutting
:05:04. > :05:08.their budget, surely? The Scottish government is in a constraint budget
:05:09. > :05:16.situation, all the agencies must play their role in coping with that
:05:17. > :05:19.so that is a range of responsibilities, of which flood
:05:20. > :05:23.management is just one of them and we know they can cope with that and
:05:24. > :05:30.they can continue good work to help Scotland prepare for flooding and
:05:31. > :05:34.these very important flood forecasting is protected and will
:05:35. > :05:39.continue to be so. It is up to local authorities to fund flood prevention
:05:40. > :05:46.schemes. Was it a mistake to stop direct, ring fenced funding? Have
:05:47. > :05:52.some councils done a better job than others in preparing for this?
:05:53. > :05:56.Despite some of the very tough financial actors we have had with
:05:57. > :06:01.the overall Scottish budget, we have protected the capital budget that
:06:02. > :06:04.goes into local government settlements and what the local
:06:05. > :06:09.councils have been doing is building flood schemes with that cash and
:06:10. > :06:13.that is why we have seen a range of schemes, in communities helping to
:06:14. > :06:17.protect people over the last few days and weeks and I spoke to people
:06:18. > :06:26.today who have been protected by flood schemes built in the last few
:06:27. > :06:30.years and today, in Brechon, 250,000 is -- 230,000 houses might have been
:06:31. > :06:36.flooded but that was far from the case today. They are building
:06:37. > :06:39.complex schemes, you rely on expertise and local knowledge and
:06:40. > :06:43.that is why local authorities are best placed to bring forward
:06:44. > :06:47.proposals to central government. Labour is calling for a central
:06:48. > :06:53.review across local authorities, is that something you would support? We
:06:54. > :06:57.will always listen to ideas and take them seriously but I would say that
:06:58. > :07:01.over the last few years we have changed the way we do things in
:07:02. > :07:05.Scotland in terms of flood management, we passed legislation in
:07:06. > :07:11.2009 and we are taking a much more national approach and then we have
:07:12. > :07:17.14 geographic areas throughout Scotland, each with their own
:07:18. > :07:22.strategy for flooding so we know -- window with the biggest risks are
:07:23. > :07:27.and we have plans in place to actually address what needs to be
:07:28. > :07:31.done to minimise the risk for homes and businesses. We do things better
:07:32. > :07:38.nationally and on a local level and most of the feedback today was
:07:39. > :07:40.people were appreciative of the fantastic local coordination between
:07:41. > :07:46.the police and councils and utilities. That is the case right
:07:47. > :07:49.now, it is working better. And a big improvement is that people are
:07:50. > :07:55.better prepared because of the warning systems put in place. We
:07:56. > :07:59.have reviewed how things are done and has been vast improvements put
:08:00. > :08:01.in place. Thank you for coming in to talk to us.
:08:02. > :08:02.Well, listening to that was Labour's environment spokesperson
:08:03. > :08:08.Sarah Boyack, who joins me from Edinburgh.
:08:09. > :08:16.You heard the Minister say that we have changed the way we do things
:08:17. > :08:21.nationally and locally. Why is there any need for a review? We have seen
:08:22. > :08:25.a huge effort across the country over the last few days and the work
:08:26. > :08:30.that has been done in coordinating local services from the councils and
:08:31. > :08:34.the work of the Fire and Rescue Service and the police, an immense
:08:35. > :08:40.amount of work done but we need to reflect on the fact that this has
:08:41. > :08:44.been the worst floods for 100 years, since records began and in this
:08:45. > :08:48.month alone and that is not the first flooding incident in Scotland
:08:49. > :08:52.this year, farmers faced tough times with heavy rain over the summer so
:08:53. > :08:56.it is a good time, several years since the act has been put in place
:08:57. > :09:00.and speaking to local authorities, some of them are not clear about
:09:01. > :09:04.what the money is that will be available and they say it is for one
:09:05. > :09:10.year only and there is uncertainty about the capacity for newer flood
:09:11. > :09:12.schemes. They are very expensive, I would agree with the Cabinet
:09:13. > :09:18.Secretary on that and there is an issue where we have good flood
:09:19. > :09:22.defences, they do make a difference but not every area that has been
:09:23. > :09:27.flooded will be covered by new flood schemes so we need to look at the
:09:28. > :09:31.scope for new flood schemes and areas where there is not necessarily
:09:32. > :09:38.going to be a good investment. What more should the government be doing?
:09:39. > :09:40.We have got the new SEPA strategy put in place in December and the
:09:41. > :09:45.plans to be approved after the election in June, Parliament needs
:09:46. > :09:49.to look at that and we particularly need to talk to those communities
:09:50. > :09:56.affected by the flooding and the aftermath flooding is horrendous. In
:09:57. > :09:59.terms of people's financial position, not everyone has good
:10:00. > :10:03.insurance and the cost of that can go up if there is not going to be
:10:04. > :10:09.any flood scheme in place and the cost to businesses is severe. It is
:10:10. > :10:14.estimated by SEPA, over ?250 million of damage every year so that gets
:10:15. > :10:19.into context the cost of flood schemes and this is good value to
:10:20. > :10:22.look at how we can make better use of that investment over the years
:10:23. > :10:26.and I am keen to see any review because we know that we are going to
:10:27. > :10:30.get more uncertain and more difficult weather as climate change
:10:31. > :10:35.impacts on us and certainly, at a national level, I cannot see what
:10:36. > :10:39.argument there is against us taking a look, especially with the next
:10:40. > :10:43.budget round coming up. Thank you for joining us this evening.
:10:44. > :10:46.Now, Scotland 2016 is shaping up to be a busy year politically.
:10:47. > :10:49.In May Scotland will go to the polls for the Holyrood elections.
:10:50. > :10:51.MSPs returned today after their festive break to make
:10:52. > :10:54.an early start positioning themselves for the electoral race
:10:55. > :10:57.Meanwhile, speculation is growing that the EU referendum could be held
:10:58. > :11:00.as early as June, with the Prime Minister making clear that
:11:01. > :11:03.ministers will be allowed a free vote.
:11:04. > :11:05.Joining me now to discuss this are two seasoned political commentators.
:11:06. > :11:13.Iain MacWhirter is in Edinburgh and David Torrance in London.
:11:14. > :11:24.Good evening. MSPs were back in the chamber, it sounded like they were
:11:25. > :11:31.campaigning already. All of the opinion polls suggest SNP has a
:11:32. > :11:38.commanding lead. All to play for? The SNP have a commanding lead, five
:11:39. > :11:45.major opinion polls and not one of them was the SNP lead over Labour
:11:46. > :11:50.less than 30%. Clearly, it is a runaway for the surgeon for the SNP
:11:51. > :11:53.and the danger for Labour and Kezia Dugdale is that it might turn the
:11:54. > :11:59.story of the selection into the race for second place. We saw towards the
:12:00. > :12:03.end of the last year, we saw the Tories edging towards the late teens
:12:04. > :12:08.and Labour languishing between 20 and 25% in the opinion polls and if
:12:09. > :12:13.that continues, that'll the focus. I do not think the Tories will beat
:12:14. > :12:18.Labour in second place but that could be the story because everyone
:12:19. > :12:22.likes a race. David, is that a realistic proposition? The
:12:23. > :12:28.Conservatives could push Labour into third place? They are very
:12:29. > :12:35.optimistic about that but I have heard so many times before the match
:12:36. > :12:39.wanted, much awaited Scottish Tory comeback at every election since
:12:40. > :12:42.1999 and it never happens although I do agree with the circumstances,
:12:43. > :12:47.they are the best opportunity that they have. The trouble with this
:12:48. > :12:50.selection on one hand is that elections in which there is a
:12:51. > :12:56.foregone conclusion as to the victor are generally very well but this
:12:57. > :13:01.time there is a slightly different dynamic in terms of policy debate.
:13:02. > :13:05.The power is coming on stream in a couple of years are quite
:13:06. > :13:09.substantial sum for the first time, there is a much more grown-up debate
:13:10. > :13:15.between the five main parties about tax powers at welfare and reforming
:13:16. > :13:18.council tax that perhaps we have not seen in previous Parliament
:13:19. > :13:20.contests. Is that something that you think the parties are going to have
:13:21. > :13:28.to be straightforward about? Yes, I think this will be the first
:13:29. > :13:33.Scottish election for some time where independence has not been an
:13:34. > :13:38.issue. It is interesting, if you read Nicola Sturgeon's list of
:13:39. > :13:44.resolutions for 2016 she didn't mention independence once. It was
:13:45. > :13:46.all about education attainment, the living wage, equality, keeping up
:13:47. > :13:52.improvements in health service and like that. This obviously prevent so
:13:53. > :13:56.-- presents a real opportunity for Labour to get back in the race,
:13:57. > :14:02.chipping away at the Scottish governorate's read ability on issues
:14:03. > :14:08.like poverty, waiting lists, and suchlike. We saw that today with
:14:09. > :14:13.that they'll unveiling this proposal for using the money saved from not
:14:14. > :14:20.cutting air passenger duty, to use that to subsidise the mortgage
:14:21. > :14:26.deposits of young families in Scotland. Controversial proposal,
:14:27. > :14:31.not least because some will say that is fuel for house price inflation.
:14:32. > :14:35.But also because she used this air passenger duty, which, remember,
:14:36. > :14:40.hasn't been cut yet, but she used this notional cut before to
:14:41. > :14:44.compensate for the losses of people who will lose tax credits in the
:14:45. > :14:52.last Budget. Of course that didn't happen in the end. So it looks like
:14:53. > :14:54.the single transferable tax would be used for several purposes. But that
:14:55. > :14:59.will be the main issue for the election. Labour and the SNP are
:15:00. > :15:04.committed to increasing rates at the top rate and the Tories will say, we
:15:05. > :15:10.are the only ones who will keep your tax flat. They don't have easy times
:15:11. > :15:15.ahead, do they? The rosti budget cuts to come and they will have to
:15:16. > :15:21.decide how to use these new powers? -- there are deep budget cuts. I
:15:22. > :15:27.know this annoys people when I say this, but there is a bit of a gap
:15:28. > :15:32.between the SNP's rhetoric, or often a gap, between the rhetoric and what
:15:33. > :15:35.they actually do. What they did today was hint at quite radical
:15:36. > :15:40.policy positions on the Scottish approach to welfare and a more
:15:41. > :15:44.progressive approach to income taxed but I think it remains to be seen
:15:45. > :15:50.just how radical those will be. I think on income tax, for example,
:15:51. > :15:52.you will see a fight over the upper rate rather than anything
:15:53. > :15:57.fundamental or comprehensive on council tax. Rather than a whole
:15:58. > :16:01.scum replacement, there is the suggestion they will build on the
:16:02. > :16:07.council tax freeze. -- a wholescale replacement. So I think again and
:16:08. > :16:13.again, they will probably are on the side of caution and that's not as
:16:14. > :16:19.interesting. Is there a danger the whole thing could be completely
:16:20. > :16:23.overshadowed by an EU referendum? It is a real problem, clearly, for the
:16:24. > :16:26.forecasters, particularly for the BBC, because what normally happens
:16:27. > :16:30.when there are Scottish Parliamentary elections and
:16:31. > :16:33.something big happening in the UK, the UK coverage swamps the coverage
:16:34. > :16:37.of the Scottish election occurs in UK terms they tend to regard
:16:38. > :16:41.Scottish Parliamentary elections is one step up from local government. I
:16:42. > :16:45.don't think that will probably happen this time. I hope it won't
:16:46. > :16:50.happen. And for one important reason. Arguably, at the moment
:16:51. > :16:58.Scotland has the best party leaders in the entire UK if you compare
:16:59. > :17:04.pounds for pounds. If you compare our three with Jeremy Corbyn, David
:17:05. > :17:07.Cameron and Tim Farron, they are great performance and this will be
:17:08. > :17:11.an interesting competition to watch, and that will retain the interests
:17:12. > :17:16.of Scottish viewers and prevented being overwhelmed entirely by the
:17:17. > :17:21.Euro vote. Though that will be very interesting because, of course, we
:17:22. > :17:25.will have the yet photos saying, we are better together in Europe and
:17:26. > :17:27.ended the Novotel is saying, we shouldn't resort to project fear. --
:17:28. > :17:32.and then the people voting no. For more than a century,
:17:33. > :17:34.Turner watercolours have gone on show at the Scottish National
:17:35. > :17:37.Gallery in Edinburgh at this Henry Vaughan, who bought
:17:38. > :17:40.the pictures and left them to the gallery, stipulated
:17:41. > :17:43.that they should only be displayed in January, when the light in
:17:44. > :17:46.the capital is at its lowest level. Huw Williams has been to look
:17:47. > :17:48.round the exhibition, which shows off the artist's place
:17:49. > :17:50.in European art history, and his part in Scotland's
:17:51. > :18:02.cultural life. Looking down onto Edinburgh, the old
:18:03. > :18:07.city jail where St Andrews house is now and the castle dominating the
:18:08. > :18:11.skyline. One of a group of pictures that tells the story of Turner's
:18:12. > :18:18.links with Scotland and so Walter Scott specifically. On the left we
:18:19. > :18:23.have a few odd -- of Edinburgh from Carlton Hill in 1818, which was the
:18:24. > :18:26.first real project Turner collaborated with Scott over. And
:18:27. > :18:32.this group of watercolours here, they are mostly watercolours
:18:33. > :18:38.produced and engraved as illustrations to Scott's work. This
:18:39. > :18:43.is incredible. Where are we? This is the Isle of Skye and it is
:18:44. > :18:46.extraordinary. The weather is the swirling vortex with these two tiny
:18:47. > :18:53.figures in the foreground like ants against the power of nature. This is
:18:54. > :18:58.Scott sharing a picnic overlooking Melrose and Turner has painted
:18:59. > :19:01.himself as part of the group. And a poignant watercolour of the
:19:02. > :19:06.Abbotsford estate painted after so Walter Scott's death. The great
:19:07. > :19:11.man's chair and writing desk or empty in tribute. But hanging almost
:19:12. > :19:14.next to these pictures of Scotland, one of the stars of the show, a
:19:15. > :19:22.picture which crackles with light almost literally turns us to Venice.
:19:23. > :19:28.Yes, this is painted in the late summer of 1840 one Turner's final
:19:29. > :19:31.visit to the city. The lighting this is absolutely extraordinary. There
:19:32. > :19:37.is this streak of lightning across the sky. What is the story about how
:19:38. > :19:42.he achieves that affect? He would scratch out and remove the colour
:19:43. > :19:46.pigment to expose the white of the picture, and he grooved his
:19:47. > :19:50.thumbnail famously so it was like an eagle's claw, so he could get out
:19:51. > :19:59.and scratch at the paper to produce these wonderful highlights. And then
:20:00. > :20:01.next, a group of six sketches set in the Alps? Yes, these are superb
:20:02. > :20:07.studies of the light, the weather and the atmosphere. You can see the
:20:08. > :20:12.drama of it. In the distance there is this castle, which is illuminated
:20:13. > :20:17.in the distance, and then this rain storm brewing up which is about to
:20:18. > :20:21.come charging down the valley. It is the sort of scene you might look
:20:22. > :20:25.nice from the Highlands, of pelting rain and brilliant sunshine in the
:20:26. > :20:29.same moment. Yes, and it's that moment where the landscape is
:20:30. > :20:34.transformed between weathers which Turner is so brilliant at capturing.
:20:35. > :20:39.This is one of the highlights of the Edinburgh year and the gallery's
:20:40. > :20:44.year? Absolutely. And for our visitors as well. It really does
:20:45. > :20:50.light up the dark days of January. But this final lot is a different
:20:51. > :20:56.university town. This is the German university town of Heidelberg. Yes.
:20:57. > :21:02.It is a location Turner sketched on a number of occasions and one he
:21:03. > :21:06.enjoyed sketching. He has abandoned strict topographical accuracy here
:21:07. > :21:11.and this is an essay on light and the explosive light created by the
:21:12. > :21:15.setting of the sun. He's kind of showing off what he can do with
:21:16. > :21:22.colour and light, isn't he? Yes, this is one of his finest
:21:23. > :21:25.watercolours and it is always an exhibition set piece that would
:21:26. > :21:30.really show off his overwhelming power in the medium of watercolour.
:21:31. > :21:34.And the fact that the colours in this asked ill so bright and sharp
:21:35. > :21:38.shows the wisdom of the commission, that they must only be shown in
:21:39. > :21:43.January when the light is at its lowest? Absolutely. The preservation
:21:44. > :21:49.of all the watercolours is remarkable. And we lead the colour
:21:50. > :21:57.probably are very much as they were in Turner's own day. The display of
:21:58. > :22:01.the Turner watercolours is at the national gallery in Edinburgh until
:22:02. > :22:03.the end of the month at Henry Vaughan's the quest.
:22:04. > :22:06.Joining me now are journalist and Green Party member
:22:07. > :22:09.Louise Batchelor, and the political commentator Paul Gilbride.
:22:10. > :22:17.We are going to talk over some of the day's other news. Welcome to you
:22:18. > :22:24.both and happy New Year. Happy New Year to you, too. Something a bit
:22:25. > :22:28.more controversial. Creative Scotland has awarded ?15,000 to an
:22:29. > :22:35.artist for her project, the Glasgow effect. She will not travel outside
:22:36. > :22:37.Glasgow for a year. She wants to explore the environmental issues
:22:38. > :22:42.associated with artists travelling around and explore the concept of
:22:43. > :22:48.belonging. As you can imagine, it wasn't long before parodies surfaced
:22:49. > :22:53.online! This one suggesting it was a year-long DOS project! What do you
:22:54. > :22:58.make of the storm it has caused? It is quite predictable when you have
:22:59. > :23:03.an arts funding body which is almost entirely funded by taxpayers' money.
:23:04. > :23:09.People quite rightly are going to get quite animated about projects
:23:10. > :23:15.like this which looked ostensibly like a complete waste of money.
:23:16. > :23:19.Particularly when it is called The Glasgow Effect. Should they wade in
:23:20. > :23:27.before they understand what is involved? I have read the Facebook
:23:28. > :23:31.posting from the artist explaining what it's about and I still don't
:23:32. > :23:37.understand what it's about! Some question the motivation behind the
:23:38. > :23:44.award. Maybe it is a lie or just the public backlash, and some came out
:23:45. > :23:58.with gestures of support. "I Am chips"! Do you think the storm is
:23:59. > :24:03.helpful? She is not a Turner. She is an installation artist. A
:24:04. > :24:07.performance artist. One is a vending machine that spews out packets of
:24:08. > :24:13.crisps every time the BBC site mentions capitalism. So she is
:24:14. > :24:16.serious. She mentions a good points about climate change. I'm not so
:24:17. > :24:20.convinced about this idea of not leaving Glasgow for a year because
:24:21. > :24:23.most environmentalists wouldn't advocate not travelling. There are
:24:24. > :24:27.plenty of sustainable ways of travelling. But I think this will be
:24:28. > :24:32.a good year because she has rubber city, a debate started and then we
:24:33. > :24:44.have the arts to look forward to. -- she has published at you. She has
:24:45. > :24:48.tried to explain it more. She says she has been negotiating an
:24:49. > :24:53.agreement with her university did -- to donate the ?15,000 to them in
:24:54. > :24:58.exchange for paid research leave to undertake the project. What do you
:24:59. > :25:06.make of that? Is that the point of this project in its entirety? This
:25:07. > :25:10.confusion? It sounds as if she is throwing in everything including the
:25:11. > :25:13.kitchen sink! Yes! Don't want to get on your high horse about this but
:25:14. > :25:20.when you have somebody with a nursing degree people are going to
:25:21. > :25:25.end up with dealing with the Glasgow Effect. ?15,000 spent on this
:25:26. > :25:34.project to someone who is doing that... I can see why they find that
:25:35. > :25:40.offensive. On the other hand, ?15,000 spent on anybody else is not
:25:41. > :25:45.going to solve the Glasgow Effect. But if you have a situation with an
:25:46. > :25:49.arts funding body you always get situations like this emerging. What
:25:50. > :25:54.is art? Well, she certainly has got everybody talking about it! Moving
:25:55. > :26:00.on, the countdown to the Holyrood elections has started with the SNP
:26:01. > :26:03.still riding high in the polls. Is it a foregone conclusion? I'm not
:26:04. > :26:10.going to disagree with all of these polls. Yes, it is a fall on
:26:11. > :26:16.conclusion. What will happen to all the other parties. -- foregone
:26:17. > :26:19.conclusion. What is your prediction? You won't be surprised I'm going to
:26:20. > :26:24.predict the Scottish Greens are going to do rather well, but it
:26:25. > :26:28.isn't just me saying that, the polls have consistently said that over the
:26:29. > :26:31.last year and more, and they are also indicating we could take over
:26:32. > :26:35.the Lib Dems -- overtake the Lib Dems, which is why we have a grudge
:26:36. > :26:41.against the BBC for suggesting we are a minor party and relegating us
:26:42. > :26:44.to the coverage Ukip will get. Though based on previous general
:26:45. > :26:50.elections and the European election, Ukip did get more votes in Scotland.
:26:51. > :26:54.It did get a huge amount of coverage as well so these things can become a
:26:55. > :26:59.self fulfilling prophecy. But the Scottish Greens have been in there
:27:00. > :27:03.since the start. Ukip haven't been there. And looking at the polls,
:27:04. > :27:08.which is all we can do at the moment, there is no suggestion Ukip
:27:09. > :27:14.is about to get its first ever MSP. So we should be OK. We should do
:27:15. > :27:19.well. Is it about the battle for second place? I'm not entirely sure
:27:20. > :27:23.it is. The Tories might like to pretend they are going to displace
:27:24. > :27:30.Labour is the second party but that's highly unlikely. -- as the
:27:31. > :27:35.second party. All be interesting to see how the Lib Dems, the Greens and
:27:36. > :27:39.even some of Ukip might perform. The fact of the matter is, they got a
:27:40. > :27:44.higher percentage of the Scottish vote in the general election than
:27:45. > :27:49.the Greens it and an MEP, which the Greens tried to get but narrowly
:27:50. > :27:59.didn't. So you think it is fair enough? I think so. That is it for
:28:00. > :28:05.tonight. Thank you for watching. Before we go, we leave you with some
:28:06. > :28:06.pictures of Barack Obama's latest bid to change gun controls in the
:28:07. > :28:11.US. The President paid tribute to gun
:28:12. > :28:14.victims from Columbine to the Sandy Hook Elementary
:28:15. > :28:31.massacre in Newtown, Every time I think about those kids
:28:32. > :28:36.it gets me mad. And, by the way, it happens on the streets of Chicago
:28:37. > :28:40.everyday. APPLAUSE
:28:41. > :28:45.it doesn't get any better than the extraordinary Romanov dynasty.
:28:46. > :28:51.ruthlessly propelled Russia from medieval backwater
:28:52. > :29:02."I am emperor," Nicholas said, "but my God, at what a price!"
:29:03. > :29:06.and experience the epic Empire of the Tsars: Romanov Russia.