The Lesley Riddoch Podcast

The past week in Scottish politics has been all about fall outs...

In this week's episode we wonder if Iran has fallen into the trap set by an increasingly desperate Netanyahu who was seeing Western support for Israel's actions in Gaza ebb away.
Israel has long argued that the whole Gaza war has in effect been “a war against Iran” from the start. An Iran which threatened not only Israel but stability across the region and beyond.
We also examine the legality of both Israel and Iran's actions and the hypocrisy in particular of the USA and the UK...

As promised last week we do tackle the Land Reform Bill but not before casting our gimlet gaze over other major issues.
Ally McCoist didn't turnup at the Rangers v Celtic match on Sunday so missed out on the opportunity to fall foul of the new Hate Crime Act. However 48000 other Rangers fans did, we revisit the Act in light of what did and didn't happen.
Unlike me Lesley didn't watch the match but appeared on Sky's Trevor Phillips On Sunday show...

Humza Yousaf has been First Minister and leader of the SNP for a year. We look back at the past 12 months and ask no matter how effective he has been in steering Scotland through crises which have seen massive strike action in England why do so many folk seem dismissive of his tenure...

April the first( Hands up who thinks Gowk's Day was a smart idea?)sees the introduction of the new Hate Crime and Public Order( Scotland) Act.
We try and delve beneath the social media sound and fury to look at the reasoning behind the act and its  pros and cons.

Back at Westminster Stephen Flynn skewered Labour during PMQs with their seeming embrace of Margaret Thatcher...

Humza Yousaf's using the phrase “Tory-free” umpteen times  when addressing SNP activists, and telling Scottish Tory MPs: “The SNP is coming for you.” seems to have set off a political storm not just among the usual suspects but such SNP luminaries as Pete Wishart and the Aberdeen Independence Movement.
Unwarranted pearl clutching? We discuss...

Back after the two week break when Pat decided to take his holidays at precisely the wrong, political, time.
In this "while he was away" episode we kick off with our reaction to the return of George Galloway to Westminster after his thumping victory in the Rochdale by election.
As Galloway enters Parliament Lee Anderson departs from the Tory Party to join Reform. This plus speculation on Kate's family photo took up 40 minutes of The World at One on Radio 4...

In this podcast extra we speak with William Thomson who along with Kairin Van Sweeden co-founded Scotonomics. It was set up with" a commitment to enhancing economic literacy and fostering discussions that are informed, objective, and accessible to a wide audience, with a particular focus on the economic context of Scotland...

Sometimes a series of events can encapsulate the state of the United Kingdom, the cynical manipulation of tensions surrounding Gaza for party political and personal advantage., the relationship between the media and the political establishment , and the reality of the position of the  SNP at Westminster...

Does the murder of Alexei Navalny signal the end or a new beginning of anti Putin activism in Russia? Is it also a wake up call for those of us in the West who have taken our eyes off the developments in Russia, Ukraine, and the destabilization of the region?
Despite the row over accusations of antisemitic statements by prospective Parliamentary candidates the Labour Party romped to two outstanding victories in the Kingswood and Wellingborough by-elections...