15/07/2012 Sunday Politics Scotland

Afternoon, folks. Welcome to the Sunday Politics.

An epic spat in the Commons - with Tories queueing up to strangle Nick

Clegg's plans to reform the Lords. This morning, the Prime Minister

has appealed to backbenchers and coalition partners alike NOT to

descend into "division and navel gazing". That's our top story.

And an Olympic-size fiasco over security for the Games. So who's

for the high jump? The Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, is this

week's Sunday Interview. In Scotland:

The battle for control of the Crown Estate in Scotland continues.

was the opportunity to do the right thing and devolve something that

should have been devolved in 1999. The bottled it. It is outrageous.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1528 seconds

All that coming up. Here is the Some of the things... Ken Clarke

wanted to end up what substantial weight reduced rate sentences. I do

not think that is the right thing to do. I think that is getting the

balance wrong. There are other areas where you want to prevent

reoffending but I think the Home Secretary is taking a huge risk by

cutting police officers. I think it is too simplistic to talk the way

that you want to. I'm interested in what works. G 4 s, it is one of

those periodic nightmares for the Home Office. Would the Home

Secretary ever-higher G four S again? They do look a complete a

share were at the moment. I think it is shocking what they have done.

I think you need to have a lot of scepticism about their ability to

deliver the contract. It is not just about them though, everybody

is working towards the Olympics. It is not just about them letting the

country down, why did the Home Office not know what was happening?

And wait for the last minute. Exactly. It is utter incompetence.

But it was the Labour Government that make you porous retch. Gabble

whole list of contacts that you gave them. You give them over a

million pounds a year. You make them rich. Would you ever employ

them again? Public and private partnerships can be effective. He

would not expect me to set them for every individual contact. --

contract. The Government had been pushing the police forces into the

contracts. I did not want anyone to do that. You should not be

contracting out policing. I'm sorry to rush you. I want to move on to

Lords reform. Just briefly though, at the Home Secretary does have a

serious questions to answer. She has not yet explained whether she

is on top of what is happening. That is in terms of the number of

staff and volunteers. How could they not know? It looks like they

were advised and not autumn. If the Home Secretary was here for what

you asked them now. Is she in control of it now? Derek now know

that there will not be any additional police needed? And then

secondly, how could she not have known as late as Monday of last

week she said that she was confident. Final question on Lords

reform. Labour says that it is in favour of an elected chamber. Every

constitutional change put forward by their at last Government needed

a programmed timetable. By do not It would have allowed the

Government to force bits of the Bill through that would have been

amended. UK two days to the London mayor, the Human Rights Act, you

get that in 4.5 days. Before these timetables were brought in, we

managed to get legislation through, it requires the government to speak

to us about each stage of the bill. We will work through them to do

that. We will make sure this gets through Parliament. It needs to be

amended. That's why we had to say The afternoon. Welcome to Sunday

Politics. Coming up, a welcome to the programme. The quango, and fear

and loathing in the Scottish arts community. I'm here at the Lyceum

theatre where there are concerns about whether the curtain will rise

to a brighter future. As the Scottish Parliament takes some

holidays, we take a look at the Who should control Scotland's

seabed? There has been growing pressure for rights to be done all

to Scotland and local communities. Instead, the UK Government has

decided they should remain with the Crown Estate. The news was greeted

with dismay by many in the coastal communities of Scotland. The

community or land in this estate on the island of Lewis, but they do

not control the sea. As the potential for harnessing marine

energy becomes a reality, people on the coast what to reap the benefits.

Having previously bought the estate, we believe these revenues ought to

be used for the benefit of the people living on the estate. We

could put them to good use for things that are important to us,

such as social housing or fuel poverty. Control rests with the

Crown Estate, with revenue going direct to the UK Treasury. It was

fouled things were changed that about to change after a strongly

critical report said power should be devolved to local communities.

The UK Government was not this -- not persuaded and gave away strips

of land below Edinburgh Castle. There was every reason to expect

the Government would respond more positively, given that the Liberal

Democrats in the Highlands have been arguing for this for years.

There was the opportunity to do the right thing. They could evolve

something that should have been devolved in 1999 and they have

bottled it. It is quite outrageous. Why didn't they go further? I think

there are two aspects, the Treasury does not want to give up control,

the potential for renewables is big, it is power. The second is

political, I suspect the government did not want to give the SNP

something they wanted. It is bad timing. The Scottish Government had

described the decision as a missed opportunity but the Crown Estate

says it plays an important strategic role when it comes to

offshore renewables in Scotland. The British Government has looked

at the entirety of renewable energy around the United Kingdom and

considered that the Crown Estate, with its very collaborative role

through industry, the supply chain, and both governments in Westminster

and here, we are best placed to collaborate that activity. At the

moment, revenue from the Crown Estate accounts for about �13

million, but here in Orkney, seen as the front line in tidal energy

research, they are convinced it could be much greater. That is why

despite assurances of more local involvement they are deeply

disappointed. They were hoping for an 80% share of all revenue.

remains to be seen whether it will go far enough. We are trying to

drive economic development. We feel if the Revenue had been devolved

here, we could have managed the development locally, make sure it

was unsustainably and ensure that there was going to be a thriving

economy or young people to grow into. Does the story end here?

Campaigners hope not. They plan to meet with the Scottish Affairs

Committee soon. With me in the studio, Labour MP Ian Davidson, who

chairs the Scottish Affairs Committee, and also from that

committee, Alan Reid. In our Inverness studio, Dr Michael Foxley,

until recently, the leader of Highland Council and a long-time

campaigner on this issue. We did ask for a Scottish government

minister to be part of this discussion but none was available.

Ian Davidson, if we look at the findings from your committee, you

have said that the Crown Estate has a fundamental misunderstanding of

the needs and interests of the local communities, little regards

for those needs and interests, other than where it serves business

interest. At worst, it behaves as an absentee landlord or tax

collector. What effect does that have? It effectively means that the

local communities are completely alienated from what is going on

immediately adjacent to them. It means the Crown Estate act like any

other private sector landlord, takes no account of what is going

on, the needs and aspirations of local people. We produced a radical

report. The vast majority of support from people we met in the

Highlands and Islands, we are very disappointed that the government

has swept aside. The difficulty is that the Treasury doesn't want to

let go of anything that generates money and I think that is

regrettable and we will come to think again. Alan Reid, if the

coalition government were to sit down together and say, let's come

up with a plan, one that will discredit and infuriate what is

left of the Liberal Democrat based in the Highlands, they couldn't

have come up with anything better. How can a Liberal Democrats'

Scottish Secretary justify this? Let's look at the positive things,

they set up the coastal communities fund, which means the revenues

generated by the marine park of the Crown Estate is spent in Scotland,

and it is ring-fenced so that race in the Highlands and Islands goes

back to the communities in the Highlands and Islands, so have the

Revenue -- 50% of the revenue comes back in Ireland and Islands. I wish

it was 100%, but that is a start. Why isn't it? Don't you have any

concern that what has been handed over here, including very minimal

amounts, talking estate amounts, coming in from shellfish farming,

that is almost more work insulting? I am disappointed the Government

has not gone the whole 100%. But in addition to the 50% of the revenue

coming back, the Government is also telling the Crown Estate to set up

local management agreements. These have already been set up in Portree.

These will give local communities the power to take the initiative in

managing the coastline. Why is Michael Moore as saying this has to

remain in UK control? I'm convinced that this was a Liberal Democrat

government we would have implemented the committee report.

It's a coalition government, there needs to be agreement between us

and the Conservatives. As Liberal Democrats, we can achieve

everything we want, but we need to compromise. -- we cannot achieve. I

think 50% is a good start. Michael Foxley, you are respected

Liberal Democrat councillor, you have been at forefront, campaigning

on this issue for many years. Are you satisfied with this response?

Good afternoon, I am relying on people like Alan Reid and Alistair

Carmichael to continue the campaign, because it will certainly continue,

the present situation is completely unacceptable, the response from the

UK Government is unacceptable, and this is not just about the benefits

that need to fall from things like marine renewables, the key issue is

the management and local communities and local authorities,

agencies in the Highlands and Islands, need to be in charge of

that management, the benefits. strongly do you think local

communities feel about this? -- how strongly? If you are living on an

island and tried to develop a hard work, if someone tries to takeover

the Marines from the least, it originally, 3040 years ago -- 30

years ago, firemen arrived with no consultation, then you are very

angry. What we are aware of is the potential of offshore renewables. I

am delighted with the report led by Ian Davidson, with the support of

people like Alan Reid, they took the argument and accepted it, that

is about local management. A few months ago I was in Orkney and it

was clear from the companies in Orkney that they wanted to work

with the local authorities, local communities, this report does not

put that in place. Local management agreements referred to are at the

very lowest level of tokenism, if it was all the partners, in the

Highlands and Islands, that would be a serious step. The need to

develop without the bureaucracy, the legal issues, the financial

cost. It is a Scottish asset and the management needs to be devolved.

The let me ask you something, but Dr Michael Foxley says he is

delighted that the committee has taken this on and heard the voices,

but it has not done them much good. Do you have a concern at this

critical time, when the campaign are saying stick with the evolution,

trust us, something like this come a long, you do not get more powers,

how can people have confidence in that sort of undertaking? Of course

I am disappointed that the government didn't implement the

committee report in full, but we have made steps in the right

direction. 50% of the revenue coming back to the Highlands, and I

will continue to campaign for the committee report to be implemented

in full. Let's become something that the Crown Estate have mention,

that there is a strategic benefit if you are trying to get investors

to keeping this in one level, one coherent package, so the argument

would be too transparent to the Scottish Government in Holyrood so

they could have an overview. That is not want the committee -- that

is not what the committee wants. Is that true? Not entirely. This is

quite complex. There are some issues where we had said we believe

the Scottish Government should have a strategic overview, and that the

expertise that the Crown Estate has built up should be retained, rather

than being broken up, and the resources, but not all the

resources. Let me be clear, we believe initially there is the

benefit of the developments and they should go to the people at a

decent, local authorities. -- the people next door. We had system

where we would have localised decisions, in the hands of the

people in the area, once it got wider. Once it got wider still, it

was something that needed to be dealt with at a Scottish level.

There are some issues that still need to be dealt with at the UK

level, because they have UK-wide strategic responsibilities. We

wanted to put them together in a way that localised as much as

possible. This is not just about the Crown Estate, it is about the

politics of the situation. For people like me, devolution was a

way towards giving people more power where they lead.

Decentralising and breaking up elements of the Crown Estate is

about decentralising further, making sure that local people have

local control, control over things that immediately affect them. It is

part of that process. Is it your opinion that if there were Lib Dems

with any sense of the political nuances in Scotland, they would

have not made this choice? suppose you've got to be fair, it

is always regrettable, but this is not the top of their agenda. They

have taken at Treasury decision, driven by finance. We will now go

and meet people in the Highlands and Islands and forced it up the

political agenda. Dr Michael Foxley, presumably it is not about the

amounts of revenue, although they will increase dramatically if there

are renewables, it is the principle of what happens. What should happen

next? Well, I think we all have to consider the report and the

response of the UK Government, we have to meet with the Scottish

Affairs Committee in September, and we have to redouble our efforts. It

is in the company's interest that we develop renewable energy,

working with the community. We need to ensure that the planning is

right, the training is right, apprenticeships, at the jobs

As communities are about to be hit by funding cuts. Scores of

organisations are left worried about their future. Mainly theatre

companies have been moved from regular funding to project funding

which means they have to apply for individual grants. We have been

hearing about the concerns of artists who are concerned that the

curtains are coming down on their future.

These large scale wall-hangings had been funded through a greater

Scotland grant. But Scotland's arts agency is changing the way it funds

small and medium scale arts organisations. They will see their

regular funding come to an end next year when they have to apply for

funding and an individual project basis. This woman, Fiona, is unsure

of how it will affect her. There is less and less money out there so it

will have an effect on the ability to be experimental. To be able to

explore things that you do not know where they're going to teach you.

We do not know what the outcome will be. Creative Scotland say the

changes are due to at �2 million drop in their funding. Although

they do have access to new lottery money it is governed by strict

rules which means it is only available for projects and not long

term funding. Nearly 50 theatres -- theatre company's will lose their

funding and will have to apply in a project by project basis. Many

organisations are worried and feel that the changes will make them

financially unstable and compromise their work. As artistic director of

the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh, Mark Thomson speaks for many of the

theatre companies. That's a duty, and we're only talking about two

years security, can be critical to allowing artists to continue to

work and create in Scotland. If it becomes impoverished, if that

landscape becomes more unsteady and less secure or with less of that

ability then there is a danger that some of her guests artists might

leave. This is there culture freesheet newspaper created by

artists. Its co-editor fears that its funding could be in jeopardy

because of its non commercial business model and critical work.

If you are seeing some uncritical about cultural policy you become

more and more or unpopular in this sort of environment. It is

censorship by the back door, I think. You have a culture as an

employment of policy and then it changes and sets the tone for what

people write about us and what people think is worthy to produce.

Creative Scotland has delayed its plans for six months and has

apologised to arts are organisations for or causing

anxiety. But its criticism and the media remains for many of our top

artists. A perception is that this body is only two years old Bailey

and yet it is on a par or with the organisation, the old Scottish Arts

Council, that more than a decade ago was called in front of

Westminster to at be asked why it was not communicating properly.

There's a feeling that we have not progressed as far as we can and

that is something that we have to address. Critics fear that the

funding shake-up could result in the death of many other theatre

companies. They say the need funding stability to survive.

Joining me is the chief executive of Creative Scotland, Andrew Dixon

and the Adam a columnist to Joyce McMillan. Andrew, do you accept

this has caused a great deal of anxiety? There are worthwhile

companies saying that they have no idea what their future is going to

be. The first thing to say is that Creative Scotland is a new agency,

it has inherited a number of commitments and we want see on are

those commitments that we have done and there is not a single

organisation that has been cut. Scotland is an incredibly creative

place and we have some fantastic music organisations and the tears

and the to companies and festivals. Our role is to make sure that the

entire population of Scotland gets the benefit of that. These changes

are to try to support our organisations and a time what we do

have a slight reduction in Arab for money from Government but we do

also have additional money from the Government for at Edinburgh

festivals and for capital funding and innovation funding from the

Government. Where the growth in a lottery fund also. It is about

trying to sustain those cultural organisations by moving them across

into the lottery area where they can bet for programmes of work.

Does this sound acceptable to you got as Mark I think the real issues

with that. I think both the Creative Scotland and the Minister

have been a great job of sustaining their overall level of arts funding

in Scotland. That contrasts very positively to the situation in

England. But in a way they have snatched defeat from the jaws of

victory by it increasingly pursuing a model for the week Creative

Scotland works that is in fact not very creative. The idea of a

functional arts funding agency is that it allows artists to meet the

change. The need to be inspirational and thinking about

new ways of looking at Scotland and the world in which we love. The

Arts agency's job is to respond to the agendas of artists. What is

happening here is that by the way it is being managed it looks as

though Creative Scotland is putting itself at the centre of things as a

sort of strategic Agency which judges from project to project what

artists should be doing. It tries to manoeuvre their agenda is

towards policy goals and that is not the way to get good art. But as

back-up account. You could become more interventionist than arts

funding has been able to be in the past and that is not necessarily a

good thing. Greater Scotland is going in different direction. We

have doubled their funding took artists. Where artist residencies

growing. Their residency hosts taking the decisions necessary.

We're trying to get them to generate their own ideas and work

but we are the national strategic body and we do about duty to

deliver to people all over Scotland. Places that might not have

professional theatre companies and other facilities. Short-term

funding presumably brings its own problems in terms of their talent

you retain and that unsure track down. Is there a concern that this

might become rooted in something very secure like Edinburgh Festival

and all the thing we can predict funding will go to and does not

going to more imaginative projects? And Sharada would agree that it is

the role of Creative Scotland to fund things that are unpredictable

but the problem is how do you achieve that? I do not think you do

that by imposing and business investments model on a function

which is basically about supporting things that need Government support.

The new Government support to see it them three not so that they have

to follow certain agendas and appear certain geographical areas

or whatever back agenda is. Imposing VAT on the arts will not

get good work. I think the main goal of greater Scotland should be

to listen to artists, assess which artists are making good work and

dabbing Open and well understood ways of doing that and then giving

the money to those that really have the creative energy and brilliance

to do the job. And the Creative Scotland should focus its energy on

that and less on inventing strategies and ideas and

commissioning projects of its own and in trying to make artists

follow them by the way it distributes the money. Do you

accept that? We have learnt that we need to listen more or two artists

in the cultural sector. But we do have a duty to the entire

population of Scotland and we also have a duty to invest an artist and

talent. Doing things like the Europe Creative Scotland and the

programme for the Commonwealth Games provides an unprecedented

opportunity for Scotland in terms of celebrating its cultural success.

Readers will and is different, it is not just a cheque book. It is a

body that is going to celebrate Scotland here and internationally.

At what point does that become too politicised and your budget being

too dependent on that. We have been criticised for doing

international work, but it is important that our theatres or

internationally. We have been criticised for not being critical

of the Government, but the Government has given as good

supporting a up initial two years. We've been criticised perhaps

justifiably or not celebrating the role of artists and I think artists

are central to our work and deliver amazing things in Scotland. We have

many great agencies like the Transmission Gallery who are doing

fantastic work. There are going to be here. A we have 30 seconds. Many

of those organisations feel threatened and destabilised and

insulted by the business language being used to them as if they do

not understand creative entrepreneurship and is that they

do not understand how to keep an organisation together with many

sources of income. There's been a real failure of cultural or

assonance between the sector and the council and it really has to

change the language it's used and more than that, it changed its

model of operation so that it really allows artists to lead and

does not put itself at the centre of things. We're out of time that

Thank you very much. In a moment we will be discussing

the Week in Scottish politics but first it let's take hour week --

look back at a week in 60 seconds. UK government's plan to take their

house of words into her up elected chamber had a backbench rebellion.

Scottish dairy farmers demanded their power to fix the price of

they're not saying that it is being driven down by retailers and

processors. Average cost of production is in excess of 30 pence

a litre of which is now talking about five per sit -- we are now at

5p less than that. The average business is really struggling.

Electoral commission said it would not look out independence

referendum things that were bought by it those parties.

The council brought an emergency meeting to discuss the Halls

factory. Jobs could be lost. And the American billionaire Donald

Trump opened his controversial new golf course in Aberdeenshire.

So despite Holyrood being in recess this week of the question of the

referendum still dominated the headlines.

My guests this afternoon at the political commentator Hamish

MacDonell and here in the studio madness God and the political

editor of the Daily Record. If you to cast your eye back over the last

year of political activity what we do think was the top story, Magnus?

It has to be the referendum. From the start of the Year we had the

Prime Minister at intervening right at the beginning of January. That

it started at all. Alex Salmond responded very quickly with his

timetable and then we had the wording of the question. Then we at

the launch of their it Vs Scotland. Then we had better together. It has

been a referendum roller-coaster and has sucked the life out of

every other story. And on it goes. Hamish, what you think? I think

that madness is exactly right. But we're going sec get another two-

and- a-half years of that. There is a danger that the public will get a

bit tired. We are only six months into a very long campaign that will

last at least until October at 2014 and may go on for them on that. The

big parties have to be careful that we do not go and get referendum

city. What you think are the most important news stories other than

that? Sitting in Holyrood it is easy to forget that we're in the

middle of an economic crisis. Growth is painfully slow and the

employment situation is poor. I know every quarter we argue about

whether Scotland is doing well compared with the rest of the UK

but actually we are just squabbling over fractions of 1%. There are

nearly 100,000 young Scots out of work. There has been an alarming

drift towards part-time employment as opposed to full-time employment

the STUC say that there are something like half a million Scots

under employed or unemployed. There is a huge problem there. It would

be grossly unfair it to me that all at the door at a of the SNP, the

SNP and Labour up both agree that it is George Osborne is the real

cost of this with the austerity drive. But there are questions

about how it these bosses from the SNP are in passing and whether they

are helping especially in terms of colleges. As cuts demands we see

that their only a quarter of the way through those go cuts. These

What about the renewables question? I think there is one issue that has

been bubbling around in the background and it will continue to

affect politics across the country. The SNP have said they won 100% of

Scotland's electricity produced by renewables by 2020. That is a very

ambitious target, most of which will come from wind power. As we

have got closer to that timetable, people ask questions as to whether

we are on the right lines, whether should week -- whether we should be

waiting longer to see how tidal power develops, not putting all

legs towards wind farms. As the SNP pushes towards this target of

Twenty20, people will look at places like Denmark and say, is

this really the right way to go? I think the SNP will need to answer

some questions about this. Shortly we will be looking at what creeps

up on the political horizon, but now the lunchtime news. Good

afternoon, a Spanish fugitive linked to be Basque terrorists, has

been arrested in Edinburgh. Benat Atorrasagasti Ordonez was arrested

in Leith on Friday night. Spanish authorities requested his arrest

and said he had been living in the capital for some time. He is

expected to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff court tomorrow. The

Scottish Government has revealed more than 26,000 responses were

received during its consultation on the independence referendum. The

total is 5,000 more than previously thought. Nicola Sturgeon said it

showed that people wanted the terms and timing decided in Scotland. The

UK Government said there was strong support for a single question. The

leaders at the Scottish Open are beginning their final round.

Francesco Molinari take a one-shot lead into the final round. Mark

Warren, Martin Laird and Peter White furred are also in contention.

White furred are also in contention. -- Whiteford. Bright spells and

scattered showers this afternoon. The best spells are in the East,

but that is also where we will see the heavy showers. Cloudier in the

northern isles, and in the West mainland. There will be bits and

pieces of showery rain. There will be a breeze in the central belt.

be a breeze in the central belt. Next bulletin is at 7:50pm. Goodbye.

It is the end of the political term, but if you cannot remember what has

been going on for the last six From the start of the year, one

issue has been on the present, independence. Nobody escaped the

question and many lined up to take the flak. The world is ready for us,

and I know Scotland is ready. Thank you. Following the end of the

consultation on same-sex marriage in September, the Scottish

Government response was eagerly awaited but has not arrived.

Meanwhile, campaigners lined up outside the parliament to gather

support. The new party leaders have had time to settle into their roles,

especially during first minister's questions. Big men, one not quite

so big man. Some say the First Minister has been devious,

conniving, double-dealing. Isn't he just covering up fact that are rich

man has played him for a full again? -- fool. Tackling

unemployment remains the priority whatever party you belong to, but

despite apprenticeship schemes and free rail travel, redundancies

continue. In the local elections, Labour held their nerve in Glasgow

and the SNP claimed significant victories elsewhere. And the

Liberal Democrats were beaten by Penguin in Edinburgh. After the

celebrations, the Scottish Government confirmed that wants to

set a minimum price of 50 pence per unit of alcohol. The Lockerbie bomb

work died in Tripoli, but whether his conviction is sound remains

contentious. The First Minister's appearance at the Leveson enquiry

revealed the startling claim that his bank account was packed. I was

informed by a former Observer journalist who gave me a fairly

exact account of what was in my bank account. He was allowed to

wrong-foot the Lord Justice. Thank you, and the same is so for the

English Parliament, they can adopted. I like the term English

Parliament, I approve of that. But it one of the things that

politicians cannot control, the Scottish summer threatens

For Westminster perspective, we are joined by James Cusack of the

Independent's newspaper. Thank you for joining in. What are the waves

of Scottish politics that wash up at Westminster? This is bad news,

Scotland's obsession with the referendum has not hit the UK media.

That is not because there is no room left because of the Olympics,

it just hasn't had resonance. There are maybe two reasons, one is a

matter of Westminster are not being embarrassed, however much they try

to order Westminster -- order Holyrood, that has not worked. A

rather than get involved at this early stage, they are keeping their

powder dry and will deal with it later. It is certainly not the

obsession it is in the Scottish media. If we were to look forward

to what will be waiting in the long grass for the various political

parties in Holyrood when they come back, what do you think will be the

key areas? What is most interesting is the narrative of Scottish

politics has changed. We came into this year with the SNP being more

powerful, they had one of huge majority in the last elections,

Labour was on its knees, and then we have the local elections, where

Labour changed the tone of Scottish politics, started fighting back,

getting Councillors back, it didn't necessarily when the greatest

number of councillors, but we saw them replied. A lot of that is down

to the leader, she has done a good job, but since then opinion polls

have suggested independence is not enjoying the support the SNP would

like, and that is the tone and context we will see going into the

next political year. We will see the SNP for the first time since

that the election victory on the defensive, and the Unionist parties

with a bit of a spring in their step. This next year will be more

difficult for Alex Salmond and the 18 months have been. In relative

terms, but in actual terms, Alex Salmond still has the nominally

high approval ratings, and in terms of public recognition, so you may

be saying they are coming back relatively, but realistically, how

significant is that? I think it is very significant. Yes, he has very

good approval ratings, but the focus for the next 2.5 years is

going to be on independence, and that is where there is a difference.

There are people who do not like the idea of independence, and with

the Pope has been shifted, almost to the exclusion of everything else,

that difference will tell. -- with the attention shifting. If we don't

do the referendum or anything obvious, will something under the

radar emerge? The police merger is extremely controversial and has not

been discussed. There are some real-world issues it would be

unwise not to keep an eye on. It police forces will be merged into a

single national police force, as we know of. It is a big undertaking

and a tight timescale. There are issues of political control. We

know from bitter experience that big undertakings like this don't

always go smoothly according to plan, it throws up the issue of

jobs, the unions are warning there could be 3,000 civilian workers

laid off. The police authorities say the figure will be about a

quarter of that. If there is the merest hint that the very powerful

Chief Constable of Scotland is basing his policing priorities on

political targets, that will be seized upon by critics who have

said this merger, although money- saving, will bring politics and

police to close together. We need to keep a close eye on how that

happens. Same-sex marriage is another one. Again, Alex Salmond is

facing a difficult decision there, because he knows there will be a

big backlash from the Catholic Church, the church groups, and some

within his own side. However, I think he will take a progressive

view. We also at the curriculum for excellence. Children going back to

school next month, learning for new national exams that are replacing

standard grades our midst great worries in the teaching profession

that they are not adequately prepared. Mike Russell, it is fair

to say, has averted the threat of strike action, but if this goes

wrong, it will be a very big problem for the SNP. Have you heard

of Donald Trump? I have heard of Donald Trump and his enterprises in

Aberdeen. Tell me what you're going to say. We've had a lot of coverage

of Donald Trump, he has been a controversial figure. I know you

like Gulf, have edited a Gulf magazine, what do you think about

some of the claims that have been made? -- golf. I would be very wary

of his claim that his project has come to a halt because of the wind

farm. That is on a massive scale, the market is no longer there.

Crucially, he was recently told even if his Gulf course was going

to be the greatest in the world, it would take 20 years to come onto

competition were tough. -- rota. Many we have heard him limiting his

marketing strategy, but I would distrust almost everything he says

and I hope Alex Salmond does not get played again. Let's look at the

Olympic security, that is developing today. People are

talking about a Home Secretary, but if you look at the sequence of

events, in December, Sebastian Coe, organising committee, goes to the

security company and says we need 10,000 not 2000, why is none of the

state coming his way? -- stick. Frankly I find it astonishing we

are at his position two weeks before the Games start. I find it

astonishing that a Home Office would not have at least acted on a

potential contract. If security was at the top of that agenda, they

must have known how many security were there, where they trained, are

all part of that contract, was it in place? I don't think we should

be shifting the blame towards LOCOG too much, although I think a lesser

question can be asked of Sebastian Coe. What frightens me is that if

this is the level of preparation just on security, this is the stuff

we know at the top, underneath, there is a vast amount we do not

know about. These games need to be run successfully and we cannot

afford them to be derailed by plans that have been put in a drama. I