February 14 may be over, but perhaps thoughts of love are still in the air? The Scotland Office suggests you take a little look at 14 reasons to love Scotland.
As they say, from the scenery to the golf, and not forgetting the talented people and the food, there’s certainly a lot to love … and I reckon they could have added a few more too. What do you think?
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Hmm… this is a BIG change. The Scotland Office spent the 2 years in the run up to the referendum collaborating with big business and foreign leaders to talk Scotland down. Now that the referendum is finished they have decided they want to say good things again. How nice of them.
Why do we even have a Scottish Office and Secretary of State for Scotland? We have a democratically elected Scottish Government. Who elected Alistair Carmichael to position of SOS? A post he actually wanted abolished – until he got the job – then it was very important. How much tax payers money could be saved by abolishing the Scotland Office. I believe it costs us around £10 million a year. How many Scottish doctors and nurses is that?
“Does the new Scottish Secretary support the existence of his own department?
Alistair Carmichael’s appointment as Scottish Secretary, replacing Michael Moore, was the headline announcement in the government reshuffle on Monday morning.
It puts the Lib Dem in charge of a department he once said should be abolished and merged with the Northern Ireland and Welsh Offices.
In 2007 he highlighted the number of officers it employs, and the amount it spent on stationery and hospitality.
In a Lib Dem press release, Carmichael, the party’s Scottish spokesman at the time, said: “As tensions between Westminster and Holyrood grow, the Scotland Office appears to be more concerned with hosting soirées than communicating with Edinburgh.
“Employing twenty staff to write an average of two official letters each year is indefensible.
“The Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Offices should merge to create a Department for Nations and Regions, with a full time seat at the Cabinet table.”
The job puts Carmichael on the front line in the fight against Alex Salmond’s push for Scottish independence, ahead of next year’s referendum.”