Interesting developments in Scotland

[Hoardasurass]

So according to a leading think tank the SNPs funding (80% funding from scot gov) of anti alcohol pressure groups is undemocratic and is basically paying pressure groups to support SNP policies which is potentially illegal.

If this is true I wonder what it will mean for all the Lgbt and so called "women's groups " who support the GRR due to government funding and the contracts that come with it.
Could Stergeon signed her and her parties death warrants (metaphorically speaking) by picking on the drinks industry and thinking that they would just sit back and let her game the system against them the way she did with women 🤔
www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/politics/snp-government-funding-anti-alcohol-29171175?utm_source=linkCopy&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar

That is interesting!

Although not at first glance, so thank you for drawing connecting lines.

There is a definitely a pattern emerging, isn’t there?

The bottle recycling scheme, a nice-sounding, environmentally-friendly proposal on the surface but underneath, a clusterfuck that hasn’t been thought through and is likely to cause lots of issues, including opening a door for criminals.

The alcohol advertising ban, a nice-sounding, public health-conscious proposal on the surface, but underneath, a self-serving racket of publicly-funded lobby groups who are (allegedly!) selected in a mutual back scratching exercise that fucks over the small businesses associated with a traditional Scottish product.

Gender Self ID a nice-sounding, progressive social justice proposal on the surface but underneath a combo of self serving, mutual backscratching lobby groups receiving public funds AND a clusterfuck of issues that hasn’t been thought through, most notably an open door for sex offenders, fucking over 50% of the Scottish population.

If the Scottish government is also funding environmental lobby groups who are in support of the bottle scheme (and I bet they are) it’s essentially the same scenario three times over with varying levels of (easily anticipated) awful consequences.

AFS received 83 per cent of its total funding from a £697,000 Scottish Government grant last year,

Fake charity!

@ShireWifeofNigelFarage

there's another coincidence with all 3 of those measures they are all being branded as illegal in 1 way or another.

A leading lawyer (can't remember the name) has claimed that the bottle recycling scheme will create illegal trade barriers with the rest of the UK and we all know about the issues with the GRR and the advertising ban on alcohol would put some business out of business and prevent new ones from starting which is state interference in enterprise(not a nesscarilly illegal) and depending on how the bill is written many other issues which will be if we know the SNP

This was discussed today with a Scottish lawyer who said something to the effect of that many lawyers knew that Sturgeon was wrong, that it was deliberate, and that people in the profession were worried about criticising her for fear of professional isolation. Law in Scotland is very small and it is very who you know and what influence you have.

The Deposit Return Scheme. Couldn't believe it when I read today that the Scottish Government have managed to bollocks up yet another law. Great idea, works beautifully in other countries (in Germany for decades now). But here it penalises drinks producers for consumer noncompliance in returning the containers with a deposit, it charges producers so much money before they've even sold one can or bottle that small, independent producers, already struggling after Covid and energy price hikes, may well fold because the cash required is much too high for them, and it has such a long lead time on barcode registration, it actually messes with innovative producers like the craft beer industry.

How, how can they not get this right?!

And quite frankly, I'm getting fed up with the anti-alcohol campaigns. What justifies the patronising attitude of this government to its people?

I thought there was a move to let 16+ buy alcohol? Have I misunderstood?

I don't know if it still exists but in the early 90s Zambia had a bottle return system that worked well - if you had a bottle or bottles to exchange, you were charged only for the cost of a drink. If not, there was a bottle fee. Of course, you kept the bottle for the next time you bought a drink.

It is interesting point of comparison and maybe some journalists will start to dig deeper into funding of groups who provide “impartial “ advice to government.

I seem to recall that lgbt Youth Scotland also had a similar model.

And if you found a bottle anywhere, you could pick it up and return it at any shop. Which incentivised people to gather up bottles for cash.

Yes, same as in Blighty when I was a kid. I made extra pocket money by bottle hunting in hedgerows.