The Lesley Riddoch Podcast

We begin with our thoughts on the horrific events unfolding in Gaza and Israel...

A bumper episode featuring Rishi Sunak, the Rosebank oilfield, the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election, and Robin McAlpine.
The numerate among you will note that's four not three Rs but why ruin a good podcast title over arithmetic?
Rishi Sunak seems assailed on all sides at the Conservative Conference in Manchester. Farage hob-nobbing with Priti Patel, Liz Truss re-emerging with her 60 "Growthers", and northern Tory mayors not at all happy with the rumoured cancellation of HS2...

Rishi Sunak was spooked, after a leak, into announcing his roll-back from Net Zero measures. This resulted in condemnation, not just from political opponents and environmental groups, but from within his own party and industry.
We look at what might be behind this and ask if this is a last throw of the dice to stave off electoral disaster.
Talking of disasters and Sunak he claimed yesterday that he was shocked to discover the runaway costs of HS2...

This podcast extra features our conversation with Robin McAlpine.
Robin is a Scottish campaigner who was the Director of the Common Weal think tank from 2014 to 2021. He previously worked as a journalist, and was the first director of the Jimmy Reid Foundation. In an earlier political incarnation he  worked as a political researcher for Labour MP George Robertson.
He's currently Head of Strategic Development at Common Weal...

We certainly cover a lot of ground in this week's episode.
Kicking off ( pun definitely intended) with the retreat by Richard Turfitt on the draconian proposed restrictions on travelling Scottish football fans. The consultation document resulted in almost unanimous consensus in opposition right across the political spectrum...

Humza Yousaf delivered the SNP's Programme for Government for the next parliamentary year and we give our immediate reaction to the major proposals he outlined.
Lesley was a speaker,and marcher,at the Edinburgh  Believe in Scotland rally last Saturday. She talks about what it was like,the significance of the First Minister's attendance,and why it was about so much more than the numbers...

Lesley's back frae film making in Denmark and the first part of this week's episode are her hame thochts frae abroad. Not giving the game away too much but safe to say she loved what she saw and reflects on what Scotland can and should learn from our Nordic neighbour.
One of the other benefits of being away and so busy has been her non exposure to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter...

Seamas Carey is a Cornish artist/bloke best known for the podcast series The Reason Why, a humorous and thought-provoking exploration of the social issues and culture wars of contemporary Cornwall.
He's making his Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut, in a one-man comedy show about "second homes, xenophobia and bagpipes": Help! I Think I’m A Nationalist.

Seamas has watched a wave of gentrification sweep through his hometown in Cornwall...

In this week's episode we ask whether Humza Yousaf will live up to his promise of being "First Activist" and reach out to the broader independence movement,no matter how far out of the SNP comfort zone that takes him.
We also compare and contrast the differing fates of two SNP elected outliers,Fergus Ewing and Angus MacNeil.
 Opprobium has been heaped on the Bute House Agreement and it has taken much of the blame for the fall in support for the SNP...

As Lee Anderson tells asylum seekers to "F###k off back to France", if they don't like living on a barge, and Sunak claims the opposition are mounting an attack on motorists we examine the developing culture war narratives the Tories will spin at the next General Election.

Grant Shapps on BBC Radio 4's World at One trotted out the line that the UK is leading the world on transition to Net Zero. Lesley looks at the reality behind the claim...