MORE MISERY FROM THE BEDROOM TAX ...

Data from 107 local authorities across the UK, shows 86,000 households have been forced to look for one-bedroom homes, of which only 33,000 have become available in the past year.

Inverclyde said 1,100 households would need to move into one-bedroom homes – of which just 96 had been free to rent last year.

The UK government's impact assessment last summer warned that 35% of claimants affected "would be quite or very likely to fall into arrears if their housing benefit were to be reduced". They went on to say that those losing out could make up the shortfall by "moving into employment, working more hours, or taking in a lodger".

So, what I would ask is that someone from the UK government, which is clearly so knowledgeable about these matters, should go to Inverclyde and explain the situation.

I realise of course that it is not the fault of the current UK government that Scotland did not overturn the "right to buy" legislation in 1999, when it could have, and direct councils to rebuild a stock of housing for the population that they are paid to serve, but it would be interesting to see them being 'better together' on this policy. The current government has taken these steps and building of social housing, no longer for sale, is underway. However, it is too little and much too late.

But, as London have their hands on the bulk of the economic levers, the pulling of which might ameliorate the employment (or unemployment)  situation, they may be able to explain where all these jobs (into which distressed householders could move) are to be found. I should come with a prepared list if I were them, because I doubt that the local jobcentre has any idea where they are, and local jobseekers will be most interested.

Maybe they would explain too, the best method of approach to ask your boss  for extra hours to meet the exigencies of  your own familial situation. Should these extra hours simply be provided by the employer by way of his/her generosity, or should a colleague lose some of their hours to compensate. (Warning:  Supplementary questions might arise as to how one chooses which colleague to deprive of hours.)

Finally, the UK government minister might want to give a personal and written guarantee (countersigned by several witnesses) that they have repealed the law which expressly forbids the tenant of social housing subletting all or part of their allotted property, and that the tenant may now do that with the blessing of aforementioned minister.

Anyone from Westminster up for that...in Inverclyde...  tomorrow maybe?

No?

How odd. There was I thinking that they were there to serve.

THERE'S ALWAYS ONE, ISN'T THERE?

I suspect that when a Scottish election, with its hybrid voting system, throws up an unexpected result, and parties win seats, regional or constituency, that they never expected to win, there must be some candidates who weren’t actually expecting to be elected, and whom party officials had already advised not to give up their day jobs.

Some might be people who have a considerable amount to learn, put into an “unwinnable” seat to get experience. And in some cases there will be fillers. You know, the name on the ballot paper that, had they thought there was the vaguest chance of winning, would never have allowed their name to go forward.

I’m only guessing, but I suspect that Labour had a good few of them in regional seats. So spectacularly solid has been the Labour vote in West Coast constituency seats that using the D’hondt system to calculate the regional entitlement, there have been few or no Labour winners. Likewise in these areas the likelihood of the SNP triumphing in a constituency seat was small enough to be negligible.

Then along comes the election result to change the whole Scottish political landscape, and a few people who didn’t expect to be MSPs, suddenly find themselves taking the oath of allegiance.

It might be worthwhile considering a quick course for these people who may have been very faithful leafleters or envelope lickers, but who have no idea of what the job of MSP involves or of the pitfalls that are begging to be fallen into.

One of these pitfalls clearly would be the use of Twitter. (You’d have thought that the number of candidates that have been caught out Tweeting something hideously inappropriate, might have served as a warning to MSPs new to Holyrood, but it seems not.)

Clearly in the case of George Adam, that particular penny didn’t drop. Ex car salesman Adam clearly thought it amusing to put down the people of Inverclyde with a gratuitous Tweet about needing a “jab” (inoculation for foreigners!) to get out of Greenock.

It’s just the kind of thing that potential voters want to hear about their constituency, and it takes a special kind of stupidity not to realise that a Tweet is a pretty public thing, especially for a public figure.

So thanks, Mr Adam. You didn’t cost us the election; that was lost already. But you’ll certainly have contributed to it, and possibly to the feeling that the SNP doesn’t really care much for the West Coast working class voter. In short you may have undone goodwill and trust that it has taken the SNP years to gain

Well done to you. Lincoln said: "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt." I suggest you adopt that then adapt it to Tweeting, and see if you can’t redeem yourself a bit.

Pic: George Adam, the silly Tweet with the amusing teenage boy racer hairstyle which goes badly with the bags under the eyes and old man's teeth.