RANDOM THOUGHTS

Obviously not in need of a Red Cross food parcel, Tubby Osborne...

Mr Osborne, that (economic) giant of a chancellor, has welcomed the 0.8% growth over three months as an indication that Britain is now on the road to prosperity.

Oh how lovely it must be to live in a bubble like George does.

Looked at from the point of view of "ordinary" people who are not bankers, lords, royals or members of the house of commons, the reality is somewhat different. 

Wages are falling, prices are rising at an alarming rate, food banks are opening at the rate of two a week to feed the starving and the Red Cross is distributing food in the UK as it does after earthquakes and monsoon floods in countries like Bangladesh. We had no need of a natural disaster. Osborne on his own is worth two floods and a hurricane.

Before he treats himself to a bottle or two of the best vintage champagne at our expense to celebrate, Osborne should keep in mind that this is the slowest recovery from  recession ever recorded in the UK, and many economists doubt if it can be sustained in to 2014.

Another downside of it is that it may be necessary to raise interest rates up to a year sooner than had previously been anticipated by the new genius of a governor of the Bank of Britain, or England as it is largely known.

This may mean that along with the poor and dispossessed on the streets as a result of the coalition's disastrous policies on social security, those who can no longer afford to pay their mortgages may be struggling for a place under railway bridges.
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Promises, promises

Congratulations to Cara Hilton on her win in Dunfermline. Clearly this is a disappointing result for the SNP, but hardly surprising given that it was a solid Labour seat and the MSP who eventually resigned, screaming, was a serial wife beater and is now in prison. It is unfortunate that to win Ms Hilton had to claim that Labour had abolished bridge tolls and frozen the council tax, but hey, everyone exaggerates a little sometimes.

Hilton has made some interesting promises. She says that she will be a fresh voice for Dunfermline, and, given that she doesn't have the same voice as the wife beater, I guess you could say that was a fairly safe promise. 

She will also oppose the SNP's alleged 'obsession for independence', with presumably her own obsession for dependence. 

Interestingly she, all on her own, is going to reduce the cost of living. Of course she now has a very generous salary as an MSP, but hardly enough to subsidise all of Dunfermline's population by say, paying the increase in their gas and electricity bills, or taking care of half of their weekly shop?

She can demand improved bus services all she likes, but she will find that Maggie Thatcher deregulated the buses everywhere in the UK (except London) and it's pretty difficult to get these private companies to do anything much that doesn't make them a big fat profit. But good luck to her with that, because in all the years of Labour government north and south of the border, all that ever happened to buses was that they got worse and worse and worse... 

And finally she's is going to stand up for Dunfermline town centre, whatever that means. 

It will be interesting to watch her progress and see how Scotland changes now that she is in parliament. If the cost of living in Dunfermline drops by a sustained amount then possibly I'll go live there.

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And finally, I've heard that, with the cooperation of management, unions, the workforce and both governments, the Grangemouth plant is to stay open.

Both the First minister and Mr Carmichael have welcomed the decision. The devil will be in the detail.