To wish Mhairi Black was PM?

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www.itv.com/news/2015-07-14/mhairi-black-20-year-old-mps-maiden-speech-pulls-no-punches/

She is amazing. Her speech made me cry. She may be young but she talks such sense and has so much passion. If only the House of Commons contained more people like her.

I see that even an SNP supporter like you couch can see that they've caused problems but solved none. If they had made any progress on anything at all I would be the first to applaud them. They have done nothing.

Half of Scotland may have voted for the SNP in the recent elections, but the other half didn't, nor did a majority vote for independence. Since September 2014 is has become abundantly clear that we would have been well and truly fucked if the vote had gone the other way. The SNP know that. If they were offered independence tomorrow they wouldn't take it. They know it would be a disaster. Wait and see how popular they are when they raise income tax - if they dare. Polls show that those most opposed to tax rises in Scotland are SNP voters.

YY to what Chandler said. Amateurish and incompetent perfectly describes the SNP.

Waffly if you expect taxpayers to fund your idleness it surely isn't too much to ask that you turn up to an appointment on time. Many people work and still manage to turn up to meetings and appointments on time.

I'm a taxpayer and benefits for those who are unemployed is exactly what I expect to fund.

Waffly, I'm a taxpayer too and I expect to fund benefits too, but not for those who are too idle to get of their backsides and get a job. Believe me, there are plenty of those in Scotland.

She isn't a weegie, she's a Paisley buddy.

Kardamyli you've misquoted me. I didn't say they had solved 'none'. I said they hadn't solved 'everything'. I work in a deprived area. In the last few years there has been an influx of public money. It's improved the infrastructure and attracted considerable inward investment with new businesses moving to the area. And a number of those businesses have apprenticeships and vacancies earmarked for the local population. To date, the area has visually improved; the infrastructure has been upgraded and derelict land has been regenerated. They are positives. And they are positives which have taken place under an SNP administration.

So yy whilst I think the central police force was not a good idea and I definitely do not support the change regarding firearms officers, that doesn't mean that I can't see areas where the SNP has created positive change.

Your comment about tax rises and SNP voters is interesting (especially since it doesn't match the attitude of anyone I know who voted SNP). Which poll did you read about that correlation - can you link to it? I've Googled and can't find it. TIA

I've not seen her speech but from what I've seen of her previously she isn't for me - all mouth and no trousers is the phrase that comes to mind. As for the SNP - hopefully the people will see through them in the next 4/5yrs and we will be rid of them forever after that. I'm sure if they are given enough rope they will hang themselves. Personally I wouldn't let them run a bath never mind the country.

to be honest APlaceOnTheCounch its some of their other policies that worry me. Really worry me:-

• the child guardian thing (just where did that come from? Was there even any demand for it? Does any other country in the world need such a thing?)

• local court closures and moving certain claims out of the courts - secretive and hidden, not open and accountable

• Public infrastructure projects funded by PPI contracts, awarded to favoured contractors time and again. I suspect the purpose is more to give big money jobs to their friends in business and less to do with regeneration, and the taxpayer will have to pay for it for many decades to come (which means less similar funding in the future because we'll still be paying off what is being done now).

• The complete refusal to do anything about the fraudulent mess that is Edinburgh City Council. How on earth can they talk about a fairer and more equal society when they won't even have a debate in parliament about it?

• The increasing trend of refusing or blacking out information on responses to Freedom of Information requests

• The lack of accountability of public bodies

• the increasingly controlling legislation - do they ever promote policies which are positive in nature, rather than negative ie aimed at stopping people from doing things or controlling them?

Which public infrastucture projects have been funded by PPI under an SNP Gvt? I was under the impression they'd pretty much got rid of PPI projects started by previous Labour/LibDem Scottish Executives, but I'm willing to be better informed.

Thechandler - the child guardian thing really concerns me as well - there was some kind of pilot in the Highlands and Islands and seemingly lots of people thought it was a good thing so it was decided they should roll it out across the whole country. I haven't seen any evidence about the people who thought it was a good thing though. The cynical side of me would think it's been foisted upon us for whatever reason.

SNP also held back the V&A project in Dundee was going to cost 90million instead of 45million until after the general election. They knew all along but decided the public didn't need to know until after the election. The main contractor is known for blacklisting people working in the contraction industry yet they were still given the contract - why? Dundee city council are building hotels with taxpayers money - why? Since when were councils in the hospitality industry...

To be fair, there are some things that Scotland has done very well recently:-

• the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow

• the new Forth Crossing is making rapid progress

Hirples theres loads of small-medium sized infrastructure projects going on around Edinburgh, which judging by the signs are PPI funded. Its actually very difficult to find out this sort of information in any detail in Scotland. Perhaps someone else knows of more exact detail. I tend to disbelieve a lot of SNP rhetoric.

Agreed peggy that there is something very strange going on with local authorities and government in Scotland. A lot of them seem to have departments that are set up for making profit, and creating niche industries with a captive client base, who not allowed to "shop" elsewhere. Edinburgh makes an absolute fortune. There something like £27 million of compulsory statutory repairs either unbilled or disputed right now, and much more than that has been billed, with the Council taking a compulsory management fee of 15% and their favoured contractors (some of whom have been jailed) the rest.

And so, in relation to the OP, I'd be far more interested in hearing what Mhairi Black intends to do about all of the above problems. Because Nicola Sturgeon obviously isn't interested.

I live in Scotland and in Renfrewshire. I am not getting into the bun fight I can only say what I've seen.
Housing here was basically damp slums before the SNP/Scottish government began the funding for building and repairs. So many people I know and more are now in better quality housing due to them.
There are so many different community centres and programmes running now all with the Scottish Government name involved up here it's pointless me sitting googling them all to list them when you could do it yourselves but for me, living in Scotland HAS got better. And for many I know.

I would be impressed. If I actually thought anything about it was actually her. She is being vey carefully managed. The whole waiting 10 weeks to make her speech so she could watch......all staged managed.

She is the perfect SNP mouth piece. She is the young and hopeful face of the SNP, they are using her keep the impression that they are different, that they want change blah blah blah! She will not be tweeting, saying or doing anything off her own back.

I honestly thought all MPs and public figures were managed by PR folk? Even kids tv presenters are stage managed are they not?

Yes they are. That's my point. She is no different to any other mp. Not an original thought in her head. As I said if I thought for a minute any of that came from her, I would be impressed. As it stands I am not impressed by her.

Who ever is managing Her has decided to take the 'hopeful youth' direction with her. It's nothing to do with her. She is young so they can do it. That's what it comes down to. She is 20, that's what's important to them. Not actually her just her age

I'm neither young, Scottish or an SNP fan; I still thought it was an impressive start. The ability to make a speech that has people sitting up and taking notice is a rare gift.

It's disappointing to see people sneering or writing her off because of her age. Young people are being shafted by this government and have every right to be represented. I'm just glad that some of them are prepared to do it.

I agree that having a parent who is a teacher means that she hasn't grown up in extreme poverty but she will have been much closer to it that many other MPs who have been privately educated and never set foot outside the rarified atmosphere of Eton, Oxford and Westminster.
Also, unlike older MPs she won't have had grants for her higher education.

Of course she has been stage managed. All politicians are. They are just the puppet with a large number of people behind the scenes pulling the strings. She didn't just roll up there having written her speech on the bus on the way in.

I liked the way the snp were all around her, supporting her. Labour could learn from that too.

Good maiden speech but these are all pre written, a good leader needs to have their views which occasionally do not fit with the party. The SNP feel very much like a one voice party at the moment which leads to which voice our we hearing the person speaking or the person providing the crib sheets. She appears idealistic which at the age is a good thing but to judge her on that alone is way to early.

Funny how people poo-poo the thought of PR in managing a politician's speech & behaviour while still voting for one (HamFace) whose only life experience has been in PR.

She has the ability to stir while delivering those speeches that's the important thing for a politician. They can promise everybody a jet pack but if people switch off it's pointless. She has the qualities of a natural leader who makes people listen. And surely the SNP speaking with one voice, from the same hymn sheet is good? Bickering and getting nothing constructive talked about would annoy me more.

I think idealism is a good quality at any age.