STEPHEN DAISLEY: The SNP's £100m empire of spin comes at a cost that money can't buy - credibility and trust of voters
The Scottish state is committed to spending your money wisely, and just so you know how wisely, it is spending more than £100m telling you about it.
As revealed by the Scottish Daily Mail's Michael Blackley, the Scottish Government and 93 other public bodies now employ 642 spin doctors between them, each tasked with presenting their institution in the most favourable light possible.
Given the track records of some of these organisations, that is no small feat, but breaking through the £100 million cost barrier, and in the space of three years no less, lays bare the price of the SNP 's empire of spin.
There is something faintly absurd, in a comedic style reminiscent of the Soviet Union, about the state having done such a good job for its citizens that it must hire hundreds of public relations specialists to help its citizens realise this.
You might not see any evidence of a bountiful wheat harvest, comrade, but the Five Year Plan for Revolutionary Grain Farming has met all its targets.
This is, of course, an exercise in propagandistic profligacy, as foolhardy a use of scarce resources as the outrageous spending that was allowed to go on at the Water Industry Commission for Scotland and the six-figure sum frittered away fighting and losing the For Women Scotland case on the definition of sex in the Equality Act.
What sticks in the craw of the public is that there is never any accountability for these decisions. Just some faux contrition and mumbling about 'lessons learned', the lesson seemingly being how not to get caught the next time.
But this is more than a matter of pounds and pennies. The top-heavy spin operation of the Scottish Government and other public bodies risks stifling transparency in a country where it is sorely needed.
The Scottish state is a creature that stalks the shadows, opting to do its business behind closed doors and away from the prying eyes of the public.
Understandably, there are matters which cannot be attended to under the harsh aspect of sunlight, issues like security and emergency situations, but these are exceptions to the rule that to govern well is to govern openly.
The Scottish Government, and the whole cosmos of devolved power, appears to be allergic to openness. They know best and they'll let the rest of us know when they're good and ready.
This attitude was exemplified in the cover-up of the first Covid-19 outbreak, in central Edinburgh, early in the pandemic.
Despite the cases being linked to an international conference, in a busy city, after which delegates would have dispersed nationally and globally, neither the public nor businesses in the surrounding areas were alerted to the risk.
It wasn't until 69 days later, and via a BBC Scotland investigation, that the outbreak became public knowledge. It was a breach of trust that would have required resignations in any other government but under Nicola Sturgeon was just the way things were done.
The Edinburgh cover-up paled in comparison to the investigations into Alex Salmond and their fallout. Accused of misconduct, the former first minister was investigated by a procedure later found unlawful and prosecuted on charges of which he was later acquitted.
Yet when the Scottish Parliament came to interrogate the circumstances behind these extraordinary events, it was met with unminuted meetings, informal chats, absent civil servants, and the almighty power of silence in an institution in which those who know the most know to keep their mouths shut.
All sorts of assurances were given in light of what we were told were lapses. Only, the famous lessons had not been learned when the time came to manage the pandemic.
We learned thanks to the Covid inquiry that the country was being run by a shadowy group, Gold Command, the existence of which was unknown even to senior ministers. Life or death decisions taken in secret with no minutes recorded. That should chill the blood of any democrat.
Yet there was more contempt for open and accountable government yet to come when it was revealed that Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney deleted their messages during the crisis. The one hope Scots might have had of learning who made the fateful decisions, how and why — snatched away.
We hear a lot these days about the hostility some members of the public harbour towards politicians, and obviously threats and abuse are unacceptable, but there isn't nearly enough recognition of just how much hostility some politicians, including the most senior in the land, harbour towards the public. It is not enough that they have power over us, they insist on having it without any responsibility.
If the battalions of spin doctors to be found across government and the public sector were there to share key information to the population, we would not learn about such things via leaks and inquiries and press exposes.
But these highly paid, generously pensioned apparatchiks are not in the business of communicating information but of controlling it, of trying to gull journalists into presenting ministerial perfidy as public service and managerial failure as imperfect success.
They are massagers of truth, rehabilitators of lies, and dealers in the plausible and the deniable.
Scotland is hardly the only nation where government and public sector encircle themselves in a praetorian guard of press officers, but it is one in which the imbalance between journalists trying to unearth the facts and propagandists trying to keep them buried is so very pronounced.
It means that, no matter how diligently they strive to separate fact from falsehood, to compose the most accurate picture of what has transpired behind closed doors, and to put this information in front of the voting public, reporters will always be outnumbered and outgunned by a taxpayer-funded manipulation machine.
Spending £100 million on spin in three years is indefensible given the duty to use taxpayer's money wisely and hypocritical given oft-heard complaints about insufficient finances. But it is more than that.
Recruiting so many spin doctors that the journalists tasked with holding you to account will always be unequal in manpower and resources is intrinsically anti-democratic.
On the surface, it meets all the outward requirements for open, transparent government, but where it matters, on the level of substance, it is a cynical pretence.
The Scottish Government and the myriad bodies and agencies that run this country do not want you to know what they are up to with your money. They want you to know only what they want you to know.
When the state cloaks itself in this much spin and secrecy it is because the state has something to hide.
When it spends so much cash defending its policies, cash that could have gone to improving services, it's only natural to ask whether the decision-makers have the public's best interests at heart.
However cynical you feel towards the governing class, you do not feel anywhere near cynical enough.
A government or a public body that would spend so extravagantly to shield from your eyes the consequences of its actions is one that has forfeited your trust. Trust is what this whole racket runs on.
They can make you hand over your money, but they can't force you to trust them.
£100 million pays for a lot of spin, but it costs government something money can't buy: credibility.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
40 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Inquiry demand over 'scandal' of 100s of jobs lost in ferry fiasco
A rejected proposal to create a Clyde shipbuilding revolution, save state-controlled Scots shipyard firm Ferguson Marine and help solve the nation's ferry crisis fronted by a Scots entrepreneur involves the creation of a fleet of 50 catamarans as part of an £800 million scheme - a fraction of the cost of those currently being built. The proposal works out at £16m per catamaran while the cost of the Scottish Government's 13 is at around £70m to date. Anger has erupted as an analysis of warnings by the state-owned ferry operator CalMac over potential and actual disruptions to passengers using two ferries on one of Scotland's busiest lifeline routes through technical faults and the ability to operate in adverse weather surrounded one of the two massively over-budget and wildly delayed ferry fiasco vessels - MV Glen Sannox. Users have told The Herald how of the two ferries operating from Troon to Arran it is the second emergency catamaran, MV Alfred - chartered for nearly two years from Pentland Ferries - that has become the 'reliable workhorse' despite being six years older than Glen Sannox which finally started taking passengers in January. Stuart Ballantyne with one of his catamaran designsAt the start of the month, the catamaran was chartered for a further five months to help cope with the continuing island ferry crisis at a public cost of £22m - that's £8m more than it cost to buy. It is believed that Alfred was modelled on designs by Stuart Ballantyne, a Scottish naval architect and chairman of Australian marine consulting firm Sea Transport Solutions who it has emerged began proposing the catamaran plan to the Scottish Government in 2008. That's seven years before state-owned ferry owner and procurer Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) signed off on the disastrous £97m ferry contract to build two ferries at the Inverclyde shipyard firm Ferguson Marine owned then by the Scots tycoon and entrepreneur Jim McColl after it got ministerial approval. The Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa ferries were due to start taking passengers in the first half of 2018 with both eventually to serve Arran but have run seven years or more late with costs expected rise more than five fold the original £97m contract. In the midst of the delays and soaring costs, Ferguson Marine under the control of Mr McColl fell into administration and was nationalised at the end of 2019 with CMAL and the yard's management blaming each other. CMAL has since stuck with single hull ferries in designs for a new fleet of 11 vessels, with nearly £400m of contracts going abroad. It has denied it has been anti-catamaran. Read more: Now a group of experts has joined with Mr Ballantyne and local campaigners to raise concerns about the procurement of ferries in Scotland and said there should be a public inquiry into what is considered to be a "scandal". Among the group is Professor Alf Baird, a former director of the Maritime Research Group at Napier University who has been non-plussed by Scotland's failure to grasp the nettle of the catamaran project and shipping expert and consultant Roy Pedersen, who were both part of a high powered Scottish Government-formed advisory group over the ongoing ferry fiasco which was wound up in 2022 having not met since October, 2019. Some believe it is because ministers did not like the sound of dissenting voices. Alf Baird (Image: NQ) In a 2023 dossier from one ferry user group titled "CMAL's history of obstructing medium-speed catamaran" it detailed how Dr Baird had further presented the catamaran opportunity to the expert group in 2017 but there was resistance. Ten years ago leading academic Prof Neil Kay resigned from the advisory body months after it was created and accused the organisation of sidelining the interests of passengers. Now the group that also includes activists for the Campaign to Save Inchgreen Dry Dock which is fighting to save Scottish shipbuilding said the inquiry is needed in the wake of resistance to the catamaran project and the abolition of the expert advisory group. "Dismissing ferry advisers recruited specifically for their expert knowledge of the Scottish ferry services was seen by many as a deliberate ploy on the part of Transport Scotland to avoid scrutiny of CMAL's management and procurement failures," they said. This led to "over-specified" and overpriced major vessels and an "apparent inherent bias against a proven, more efficient and reliable catamaran option that would have greatly reduced capital and operating costs". They said: " If catamarans are not suited to our island routes as has been claimed, how can the Alfred be operating so successful..." A response from Transport Scotland's ferries infrastructure and finance division when asked about the catamaran project said that "any design solutions and procurement of new vessels by CMAL would be a decision for that authority and would need to be undertaken in line with applicable legislation and process." It said: " all proposals which may benefit Scotland's ferry network. This includes all appropriate vessel designs which can enhance or improve connections across Scotland's lifeline ferry network." The group said that this had "waved away any responsibility for the runaway costs, waste, abysmal performance and general havoc created by CMAL's design and procurement decisions". They went on: "This is surely a dereliction on the part of Transport Scotland of the duty to safeguard the public purse and the well being of the communities involved, otherwise what are they being paid for? "Dr Stuart Ballantyne's catamaran designs and plans were to build the new Scottish ferry fleet at Ferguson Marine - securing hundreds of jobs - Inchgreen and Govan dry docks. The 20-year plan that was given to current deputy first minister Kate Forbes in June 2022 could provide hundreds of skilled jobs and economic benefits for our Clyde communities and Scotland. The group said: "Instead, recent orders and taxpayers' money have gone to foreign shipyards for more over-specified vessels when cheaper to purchase and operate, home built catamaran designs are on the table. " They said responses to them "laid bare the total mismanagement of Scottish ferry services that continues to be a burden on the Scottish taxpayer. "It seems clear that CMAL is not fit for purpose and that the Scottish Government is not facing up to this long standing problem. There needs to be an independent public inquiry to get to the truth. Our island communities deserve much better. "It is time to make Clyde shipbuilding great again." It was envisaged that the major catamaran project would be based at nationalised Ferguson Marine, Inchgreen dry dock in Inverclyde and Govan dry dock. The Govan dry dock dates back to the 19th century, and has been out of action for more than 40 years but there are hopes that it can be brought back into use. Govan Drydock has said it wants to return the A listed dry dock to a fully operational ship repair and maintenance facility. The consortium headed by Mr Ballantyne said the plan will require a skilled workforce of around 1200 with hundreds more required in the supply chain. They say that the annual operating cost of catamarans is around half that of current CMAL monohull vessels. And they say that means that operating subsidies will be expected to be slashed as more catamarans begin to enter service. Mr Ballantyne, who over a decade ago received an honorary degree from Strathclyde University for services to the global maritime industry, says he believes that Scotland has the skills and infrastructure to establish a commercial shipyard which could be used to produce ferries not just for Scotland but for the export market. He said: "It is logical for a Scottish ferry company to logically support a Scottish shipbuilder for all the obvious reasons of local and national prosperity, skills training of youth, tackling youth crime and drug use. "I would suggest it is prudent to carry out a close investigation of CMAL decision makers... "The Scottish taxpayer is paying well above the odds over what can be produced locally." Four years ago the Scottish Government-owned owner of the ferry fleet demanded a foreign firm pay up to £100,000 to gain UK maritime approval before purchasing a ferry for just £9m - and the insistence led to the deal collapsing. That is £2m less than the current cost so far of repairs to 32-year-old MV Caledonian Isles which is out of action indefinitely after being sidelined for 17 months. Pentland Ferries' emergency ferry for CalMac MV Alfred has been a reliable feature on the Arran ferry run (Image: Newsquest) Discussions about acquiring the Indonesia-built vessel, which was proposed by the Mull and Iona Ferry Committee came before what was described at the time as a 'summer of chaos' across Scotland's ageing ferry network. It was claimed that CMAL made an "incredible" move to have the overseas owners fork out for the official approvals for any modifications to make it suitable for Scottish waters, which were estimated to have cost no more than £100,000. Committee chairman Joe Reade said: "I would agree that CMAL and CalMac are averse to anything novel. All their vessels - even the newest ones are in many respects just modern interpretations of a very old design type, with ancient operating practices embedded into them. So we don't have lock-on linkspans, as have been used elsewhere for generations (thus removing the need for rope-handling, and crew to do it). "It only adds to the cost of the ship, the size of the superstructure and the number of crew. "More efficient crewing is not just a feature of catamarans - it's a feature of any inshore ferry that has been designed to commercial incentives. Neither CalMac nor CMAL have any incentive to build or operate efficiently. It does not matter if they operate efficiently or productively, because whatever the cost, we the taxpayer pick it up. "The simple reason why Pentland Ferries chose a catamaran design was because as a commercial enterprise, they have to compete to survive. They are incentivised to make cost-effective buying and operating decisions. CalMac and CMAL have no such incentives, and so our hugely expensive, profligate and shamingly wasteful ferry system continues. "The more expensive ferries are to buy, and the more costly it is to operate, the more pressure there will be to increase fares, and the more difficult it will be to maintain or improve services. The ferry system is in danger of becoming unaffordable if costs continue to spiral. "This matters to us not just as taxpayers, but as islanders too." A spokesperson for CMAL said: "CMAL is not anti-catamaran; but what often goes unreported is that in geographies similar to Scotland, with comparable weather and sea conditions, medium speed (below 20 knots) catamarans are not a common choice for passenger / commercial ferry services. "An important factor in vessel choice is compatibility with specific routes, as well as flexibility to meet vessel redeployment needs across the network. We will only ever order the vessels best suited to the routes and communities they are intended to serve.' A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: "Assessment of new vessel options for routes across our networks is led by CMAL, Transport Scotland and the relevant operator. "As part of the design process CMAL appoint naval architects and technical consultants to consider and advise on vessel designs and route specific issues. Various hull forms (including catamaran designs), propulsion options, fuel types, and onboard arrangements are considered and assessed as part of the design process. Engagement with communities, businesses and representative groups is essential, and it is maintained throughout the process.'
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Meet the 'radical' Greens challenging Harvie and Chapman
Tall and gregarious, the environmental campaigner has a disarming nature. Yet, speaking about his decision to stand in the party's selection contest against leading Green MSP Maggie Chapman — his former boss — Ingerson's voice crackles with passion. Indeed, he is just one of the party's foot soldiers to express dissatisfaction with the status quo in recent weeks. In Glasgow, a self-described 'unashamedly socialist' slate of candidates are looking to unseat long-time party boss Patrick Harvie. I spoke to Iris Duane, 22, earlier this week. Guy Ingerson is standing against Maggie Chapman. (Image: Supplied)'We are at a monumental crossroads,' the Glasgow University Vice President for Student Support notes. 'This election process is about having that conversation, seeing where we want to take the party and what we want to do in the future. 'All three of us,' Duane says, referring to co-conspirators Ellie Gomersall and Seonad Hoy, 'are working class and often feel quite discontented by the political class. 'Our message is very clear. We are unashamedly socialist. We are members of an eco-socialist party and we believe that that should be reflected.' Here too, the passion is evident. This perspective, that Scottish Greens leadership is out of touch with rank-and-file members, is shared by Hoy, a Hillhead councillor elected in a by-election upset last March. She remarks: 'A change of direction is needed. We've achieved a lot from our current MSP team. But now we need practical change that will impact peoples' daily lives. The mum and social housing advocate, who has been involved with the party since the independence referendum drew her into the political fray a decade ago, adds: 'I think we have a bit of an image problem. We're seen as quite middle-class and establishment. We need to be speaking to people." Scottish Greens councillor for Hillhead Seonad Hoy. (Image: Seonad Hoy) 'The Bute House Agreement was a major issue for the party and our external image,' Hoy concedes. 'I was in favour when we signed it, but there were a couple things which upset me, especially Humza Yousaf announcing a council tax freeze without consulting us. 'That should have been a red line.' The feeling that the Scottish Government has sold out local councils is shared by Ellie Gomersall, the third member of this radical triumvirate. Gomersall, formerly the president of student union NUS Scotland, will be challenging Harvie directly, asking Green members to select her number one on the party's list. She tells me: 'Everyday in Glasgow, I see the impact that cuts are having. There's a lack of ambition coming from the Scottish Parliament. I believe the Greens are pushing the parliament to go further, but we need more Green MSPs and fresh voices. 'Although we accomplished a lot, many members have lost trust in the party after signing the BHA due to issues like cuts and the council tax freeze.' Ellie Gomersall is also standing. (Image: Ellie Gomersall) Duane agrees. Asked what her priorities as an MSP would be, she pauses, before continuing. 'We often speak about wealth distribution and progressive taxation. But often what isn't raised is just how battered our local authorities have been in recent years. There are many, many local champions across many parties who are fighting for their areas. 'They've basically got two hands and two legs tied behind them. Councils need more money and whilst they're doing things like raising parking prices or raising council tax, it's simply not enough.' The Aberdeen-based Ingerson also brings up local government cuts, which have struck the Granite City hard in recent years with the closure of six libraries and a leisure centre in 2023. 'The North East has seen cuts to services and workers feel they aren't being listened to,' he remarks. 'We need someone on the top of the list who is from Mastrick (a neighborhood in Aberdeen) and has really good insight into the community.' Iris Duane stood for the Greens at the general election last year. (Image: Scottish Greens)The just transition is also a concern for the ex-oil and gas worker, who says: 'We desperately need a good plan. People need to know the timescale and need to know where the jobs are going. 'Right now, there is not a clear plan, we need to be led by the workers who are being affected.' Asked about the rise of Reform, Ingerson says the political malaise created by mainstream parties provides the Greens with a 'unique opportunity'. He tells me: 'We are well placed to pick up on disaffected voters but the key thing is we need to select the right people. 'Those attracted to Reform are people who are f***ed off' — I can quote that, he quips — 'with the way the dominant parties are treating them and we have a unique opportunity to offer them an alternative.' Maggie Chapman, who is currently involved in an internal bullying complaint lodged by Ingerson, has made similar comments. Read more: 'I'm just a wee bam from Grangemouth' How Gillian Mackay aims to lead Scottish Greens Greens activist to challenge Maggie Chapman for top spot on Holyrood list Green activist urges Harvie and Greer to make way for 'radical women' at election In her pitch to party members, she said: 'As your MSP, I have consistently demanded radical change, standing firm for our values and principles. I want to continue using my voice and experience to fight for the transformations the North East desperately needs and create a fairer, more peaceful world.' Indeed, Chapman has been a constant presence at events across the North East, protesting everything from shuttered libraries to job losses at Aberdeen University. Chatting to me a day later, Gomersall echoes Ingerson's language, noting: 'People are so tired of the political class, they are turning to Reform because they are scunnered with the status quo. 'When it comes to the issues working class people face, the Greens have the solutions, but that's not cutting through to people. So we need to change the narrative and priorities surrounding the party. On the ground, the reality is that our party is much more working class than people would expect. 'But that needs to be reflected in Holyrood.' Patrick Harvie (L) has been in Holyrood since 2003. (Image: PA) In a statement, Patrick Harvie praised the work of the party in the last several years, calling it the most successful period in their history. He told The Herald: 'In this session of Parliament we've delivered free bus travel for young people, wiping out school meal debt and expanding free school meals, saving people who rent their homes thousands of pounds through the rent freeze, investing in energy efficiency and increasing the Scottish Child Payment... and much of this paid for through progressive taxation that the Greens achieved, so people on high incomes pay their fair share. 'If I think back to the many long years when Greens could only campaign for change while achieving nothing, there can be zero doubt that we have been taking the right path in recent years. 'Greens are here to make a difference for people, not to be just a party of protest that gets nothing done.' One party source said Harvie remains popular among the Greens' 'significant passive membership' and that the race for the top spots on the Glasgow list could come down to Duane, Gomersall, Harvie and Langside councillor Holly Bruce, who was praised as having a 'good track record which appeals to lots of our members'. Early next month, party members will be asked to make a decision on the future of the Scottish Greens. Will they reaffirm long-time grandees or embrace fresh, working-class voices? Their decision, whatever it may be, will reverberate through the halls of Holyrood for years to come.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Sorry, Russell Findlay: your Dirty Harry act won't wash
My question is this: what on earth gave him the idea that such a leader would be a good fit for Scotland's problems? Be it drug-related mortality, burgeoning mental illness, alcoholism, deaths of despair, etc: is Clint Eastwood the man for the job to sort that lot out? Perhaps his strategy is that desperate times call for desperate measures. And therein lies the obvious title for his own subsequent and inevitable misery memoir: Desperate. Frankly, I won't be buying Desperate either, as I have little patience for the catalogue of lame excuses found in political obituaries. Archie Beaton, Inverness. Referendum was on devolution Martin Redfern from the 'almost in England' town of Melrose denies Pete Wishart's claim that Yes nearly won the 2014 referendum (Letters, June 15). Oh, how memories fade. Running into the vote it was generally accepted that Yes was winning. The unionist parties panicked big time, 'swallowed the wasp' and came together to buy off some of the 'fearties' (those who may fall victim to the numerous Projects Fear) in Scotland with yet more deplorable devolution. Has Mr Redfern forgotten 'the Vow'? The Smith Commission? In the end the question unofficially changed from Yes or No to Scottish independence to one of more 'buy-off' devolution. There was never a vote on independence whether or not the Queen 'purred'. Frank Cannon, Glasgow. Simple questions Alan Ritchie's "simple question for the taxman" (Letters, June 15) raises various questions, such as (a) why should well-off pensioners like me receive the winter fuel payment, and (b) why shouldn't parents have to pay for their offspring's education, given that parenthood is a lifestyle choice? George Morton, Rosyth. Read more letters Rob quangos to pay schools Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth has published the Scottish Government's national guidance on how to tackle escalating levels of bad behaviour and classroom violence. Teachers have been asking for help for far too many years but were ignored by the SNP-dominated Scottish Government. Disruptive pupils should not be allowed to affect the education of others and hinder them achieving their full potential in life. Those causing disruption need to be taken out of class and put into specialist facilities with specialist staff. This will require additional finance. Where will this come from? Easy, the Scottish Government needs to stop spending money on its army of spin doctors, special advisors, equality, diversity and inclusion staff, climate change committees, quangos and lots more and spend it on education. A report last month revealed that the Scottish Government spends an estimated £6.6 billion funding quangos every year. The SNP always talks a good game but always fails abysmally in practice. Clark Cross, Linlithgow. Slash the boats Illegal immigrants gathering in northern France are reported to be fighting each other, with crimes committed by them against French men and women. Unlike legal migrants we do not know their provenance or status. It's the duty of government to defend the realm and the citizens within it. Illegal migration across the Channel in inflatables must be stopped for the safety of the public. The weak point of the gangs is their use of inflatables. Deflate them and it's no-go. What is required is the use of the army. Platoons of well-briefed men should cross the Channel by air or sea at dawn and disable every inflatable they can find by the simple expedient of slashing them. The process could be repeated daily until the migrant gang masters give up. Alas the Government seems more concerned about protecting far-off countries rather than our own borders. William Loneskie, Lauder. Repression in Hong Kong I was interested to read this week that in Hong Kong, the China Labour Bulletin has been forced to close its doors. It was founded in 1994 by Han Dongfang, a Chinese railway worker originally from Shanxi who founded the gōngzìlián, a federation of workers autonomous from the "official unions", in the days of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Affected by the repression of June 4, 1989, he had spent 22 months in prison, where he had contracted tuberculosis. Expatriated to the United States for treatment, he was not allowed to return to Beijing and in 1993 he arrived in Hong Kong as an exile. The following year, Han Dongfang created the China Labour Bulletin precisely to support labour movements in China with the aim of making trade unions truly representative and providing accurate information on Chinese workers' activism. In addition to commentary and research, the CLB website monitored strikes and industrial accidents across the country. At its headquarters in Cheung Sha Wan, the China Labour Bulletin employed more than a dozen full-time employees and initially received grants from a range of government or quasi-government entities, as well as trade unions and private foundations. Now Hong Kong's new rules have made it a "threat to national security" to also receive subsidies from abroad to carry out activities of this type. The voice that relaunched the battles of simple workers who are victims of injustice in China is extinguished. Since Beijing imposed a security law on Hong Kong in 2020, about 60 civil society groups have disbanded or been forced to stop their activities. The West, as usual, never makes a fuss when money is involved and so rich dictatorships like China and Saudi Arabia do whatever they want. B McKenna, Dumbarton. Are Super Off-Peak fares in danger? (Image: Colin Mearns) Beware threat to Super Off-Peak ScotRail's upcoming scrapping of peak fares is good news, but (here's the proviso), only as long as scrapping of peak will not (unlike last year's trial on ScotRail), be accompanied by the quietly-slipped-in abolition of Super Off-Peak. Super Off-Peak needs to be protected. The 12-month trial on ScotRail in 2023/2024 abolishing peak fares actually increased travelling costs for many trips and round-trips. This is because the very many journeys which would never have been taken during peak time anyway (weekend and bank holiday travel are examples) no longer had the advantage of the Super Off-Peak discount which they had had before the implementation of the trial. The abolition of peak was completely unnecessarily accompanied by the abolition of Super Off-Peak. Simplification does not necessarily mean better. Elsewhere in Great Britain, the quietly-slipped-in abolition of Super Off-Peak as part of fare restructuring which is (allegedly) intended to decrease travelling costs has actually resulted in an increase. People and groups should always check if any proposals for changes to fares structures include the abolition of Super Off-Peak. (The word "simpler" and the word "better" are not synonyms). As happened with the 2023/2024 ScotRail scheme abolishing peak fares; as has happened with fares changes on LNER, changes to public transport fares and ticketing are often used as an opportunity to quietly slip in an abolition of Super Off-Peak, so actually often increasing travelling costs. Super Off-Peak is a valuable resource for the travelling public. Don't let Super Off-Peak on Great Britain's railway network be killed off. Russ Underhill, Burnt Oak, London. Fight the benefit cuts People with arthritis are at risk of being hardest hit if the UK Government's planned cuts to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) go ahead. The devastating impact of the proposed welfare changes could see 77% of people living with arthritis who claim PIP – Adult Disability Payment in Scotland – lose this vital support altogether. We need to speak out against them – and urgently. Life costs more for disabled people. Benefits like the Adult Disability Payment can help with the extra costs of everyday tasks or getting around. It's a lifeline. Pushing thousands into poverty due to proposed changes to these proposed changes will make life even harder for people already struggling to pay for care, cover their bills or heat their homes. We have a chance to stop the cuts. MPs could be voting on these plans this month, so we need your readers to act now and share their concerns with their constituency MP. Versus Arthritis is urging anyone who is concerned about these proposed changes to disability benefits to contact their MP and ask them to protect people with arthritis now and vote against the cuts. Your readers can contact their MP direct by post or email them by visiting the Versus Arthritis website and entering their postcode. Deborah Alsina, Chief Executive, Versus Arthritis, London.
