Gordon Brown will be confirming later today that he is standing down at the next general election in May. The question is, will any of his constituents or his fellow MPs notice? His attendance at Wesminster has been infrequent, to put it politely.
At the last election, Mr Brown was elected with a huge majority over the SNP in second place. I think, however, that the result is much more likely to be a close-run thing this time around, although a lot will depend on who is selected to take his place. That one could get interesting.
He's announcing this on the same day that Nicola Sturgeon gave a speech stating that she has tasked her advisers with looking at ways to make Scotland more competitive and a more equal society. Professor Joseph Stiglitz will remain as an adviser to the Council of Economic Advisers, chaired by Crawford Beveridge, while he former chief medical officer, Sir Harry Burns, would be looking at inequality. Lots of major league talent there.
Ms Sturgeon also gave an interview to the Financial Times in which she stated that she intends to run a business-friendly administration. This is a canny move, since business will be the foundation of Scotland's future prosperity. Certainly some reassurance was required, since her previously-announced land reforms have raised a few eyebrows in the corporate world. Labour, however, will not doubt be highly critical of this, mainly because anything the SNP does is ipso facto wrong. They will not, however, be found suggesting an alternative, as is their wont.
All in all, looks like we have some interesting tales to come this winter.
(No bears were harmed in the making of this post).
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