Good morning and welcome to The Midge, your first bite of the day s politics in Scotland and elsewhere.
Fresh questions over Tory chairman s awareness of bullying claims Directors say social care services in England face funding crisis Labour demands to see dossier on union activists RAC predicting fuel at under 1 a litre England facing teacher recruitment crisis Boxer Tyson Fury stripped of one title over opponent choice.
07.00 BBC Good Morning Scotland headlines
Calls for bridge inquiry intensify Election court ruling due Rain and high wind warnings issued SNP MSPs ask Holyrood to rule on trade union bill veto rights Bronze Age settlement discovered on Orkney.
Promoted stories
The front pages
Most of the front pages reserve a spot for a certain Republican presidential hopeful. The Herald reports that Green MSP Patrick Harvie has lodged a motion at Holyrood condemning Mr Trump s ban Muslims from US call, and is urging the public to consider boycotting[1] his Scottish businesses, including his golf resort at Turnberry. A constitutional battle[2] looms over the Trade Union Bill, writes Daniel Sanderson. While employment is a reserved matter, the Scottish Government want the right to block certain provisions. Inside, Andrew Denholm reports that Argyll and Bute is threatening to cut 36 teaching posts to save cash, in direct defiance of a flagship SNP policy[3]. And William McIlvanney s funeral service will be held at Glasgow University[4], his alma mater, next Wednesday.
The National highlights the publication of the Alistair Carmichael election court findings by picturing the LibDem MP as Arnie. “Judgment Day” is the headline.
The Evening Times reports that the fair in Glasgow s George Square will fall silent on December 22 as a mark of respect on the first anniversary of the bin lorry crash in which six people died.
The Scottish Daily Mail says Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland QC is set to block a bid by relatives to bring a private prosecution against bin lorry driver Harry Clarke. The news comes as families ask Justice Secretary Michael Matheson for help in bringing the case. The Sun pictures four-year-old detectorist Jack MacDonald of Inverness, who scans his meals with a metal detector after finding a lump of steel in his sausage and chips. The splash in the Daily Record is headlined The hate parade and features pictures of three Scots it says are on a list of Europe s worst anti-Islamic racists drawn up by an anti-racist group.
The Telegraph and Scotsman report that the Scottish Government appears to be sidestepping calls for an inquiry into the Forth Road Bridge closure. The Times reports that Judy Murray s plan for a tennis and golf centre in Stirling have been rejected by councillors. The FT pictures a Beijing commuter, faced covered with a mask, as the city issues its first red alert over smog.
Camley’s cartoon
Camley is not raising a cheer for the US presidential hopeful.
Need to know
The verdict is in: Alistair Carmichael will remain the LibDem MP for Orkney and Shetland. While the MP said he was absolutely delighted , Tim Morrison, one of those who brought the case to the election court, said: Alistair Carmichael has been found by the court to have lied to his electorate. The fact that he has won has not exonerated him. This judgement will change the way that journalists ask politicians questions in the future. The case centred around the leaking of a memo in the run up to the General Election in May which wrongly claimed FM Nicola Sturgeon (above) wanted David Cameron to stay in Downing Street. The question now: where do Mr Carmichael and his constituents go from here? Read political editor Michael Settle’s analysis here. [5]
Talk of the steamie: the comment sections
Ian Bell in The Herald says the flood misery[6] in Hawick and Cockermouth show a truth about climate change that cannot be ignored. Sarah Nelson looks ahead to a debate in Holyrood today on surviving[7] sexual abuse and calls for more help for victims. The letter writers consider the Glasgow bin lorry crash[8] findings. In the FT, Billy Bragg (yes, the very one) outlines ways to make the Lords more democratic. Magnus Linklater in the Times says the sorry saga of the Forth Road Bridge tells us much about the way we fail to think and plan long term.
William Hague puts the cat among the airport birds in The Telegraph by urging David Cameron to get on and build a third runway at Heathrow.
Sarah Vine in the Mail wonders why the chattering classes are surprised at the views of boxer Tyson Fury (above). He s the son of Irish travellers who makes a living hitting people. What do they expect, Nick Clegg in a frock?
The Diary
Holyrood: Finance, Constitution and Economy questions; Scottish Labour Party Debate on health
Commons: George Osborne to take Prime Minister s Questions; (David Cameron visiting Romania then Poland); Opposition day debate on mental health; Westminster Hall debates on tourism in UK post-Paris attacks and election propriety.
Lisbon: Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond visits
Edinburgh: First Minister to address Scottish Human Rights Commission.
Afore ye go
A noisy and aggressive bloc.
Chancellor George Osborne s description of SNP MPs[9], as conveyed to foreign press while in New York. Can Mr Osborne (above) expect a cheer from the Caledonian benches when he takes PMQs today?
Donald Trump (above) sounds more like a leader of a lynch mob than a great nation like ours.”
Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
“The self-checkout machine at Tesco this morning wished me a Happy Christmas. Not sure how I feel about that.
A customer wonders if every little really does help.
My God, the state of the world. Madmen dropping bombs in places, as if that solves anything. And poor people being bombed by us. It’s dreadful.
Nature guardian Sir David Attenborough (above) turns his attention to humanity.
Acid Angela has a whisky-sour voice and a cannibal grin.
Mail sketch writer Quentin Letts makes a probably doomed bid to get on the Christmas card list of Angela Eagle, shadow Leader of the House (above).
She felt standing down was the responsible thing to do.
A spokesperson for Green MP Caroline Lucas explaining her decision to cease being a patron of the controversial Stop the War coalition. It remains to be seen whether Jeremy Corbyn will attend the STW fundraiser on Friday.
Complete and utter nonsense.
Boris Johnson (above) is so angry at Donald Trump s claim of radicalised no-go areas in London he forgets to lapse into Latin.
Thank you for reading The Midge: your first bite of the day s politics in Scotland and elsewhere. See you tomorrow.
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References
^ boycotting (www.heraldscotland.com)
^ constitutional battle (www.heraldscotland.com)
^ flagship SNP policy (www.heraldscotland.com)
^ Glasgow University (www.heraldscotland.com)
^ here. (www.heraldscotland.com)
^ flood misery (www.heraldscotland.com)
^ surviving (www.heraldscotland.com)
^ bin lorry crash (www.heraldscotland.com)
^ description of SNP MPs (www.heraldscotland.com)