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This podcast extra was recorded at the NORA conference in Stornoway. This was the first conference of its kind in Stornoway. It included Scotland and Scottish Isles, and the NORA countries: Greenland, Iceland, Faroe Islands, and coastal Norway. The title of the event was Building Sustainable Futures for Island communities.NORA, or Nordic Atlantic Cooperation, is an intergovernmental organisation under the Nordic Council of Ministers, uniting Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and coastal Norway. Established in 1981 and formalized as NORA in 1996 when coastal Norway joined, the organization strengthens regional cooperation to make the North Atlantic a dynamic part of the Nordic region.https://nora.fo/Lesley spoke with:https://nora.fo/participants-stornowayGréta Bergrún Jóhannesdóttir, a researcher at Bifröst University, Iceland, focusing on rural Iceland, gender, and equality.Ondrej Spala, Project Manager for ICE Kirkenes, Norway, and Director of the Arctic Circular Economy Summit. His role in fostering en

The Labour Party dominates this week's podcast, which might be a bit of a shock for followers of Independents, but not in a very good way for Keir Starmer. We discuss the fall out of Angela Rayner's resignation and the further collapse in confidence since the departure of the golden girl of the working class side of Labour stepped out. We look at the fall out over her stamp duty debacle on her what actually was a third residence.We also take a look at the race for the deputy leadership and what that might mean for UK Labour and for Scottish Labour's chances in next year's Holyrood election. The election campaign which will be masterminded by Douglass Alexander after poor old Ian Murray, who sacrificed life principles actually over nuclear weapons to be loyal to Keir Starmer was brutally sacked on the phone. Have a wee look at Douglas Alexander and how liked he is north of the border by his own folk.And flags and more flags from the use of the Saltire in Scotland and English politicians obsession with mentioni

With both the Scottish and UK Parliaments back in session today, there is a back to school vibe for this week's podcast. After a quite week last week everything is kicking up a gear. We look at the Keir Starmer's mini mini reshuffle, which is a lot less sensational than expected, but seems to be centralizing power in Number 10. We talk about the number of departures from the Scottish Conservatives, and the fact that one of them, Graham Simpson going to Reform, might jeopardize the recall petition idea that he is pushing through as a private member's Bill.We also talk about the Scottish Green's leadership election and what that might mean in terms of new leadership, the energy price cap, and Kemi Badenoch: drill, baby, drill. All of that and more. Home Truths for Home Rule3pm Kirkcudbright Parish Church Saturday 6th Septhttps://kbtfringe.com/events/06-09-2025-15-00-home-truths-for-home-rule-scotland-after-25-years-of-devolutionScotland’s Parliament, established over 25 years ago, has changed how we do politics

Is it time for John Swinney to do something robust and clear to make it obvious to everyone that Scotland is really got a different outlook towards the whole question of Palestine and Palestine Action than Westminster? We discuss the call from Ross Greer MSP to explore legal ways to stop arrests and prosecutions like the ludicrous situation of award-wining sreenwriter Paul Laverty.We talk also about the asylum protests that have been going on in Perth and elsewhere and ask where they largely the product of people being bused in or are there deeper problems with asylum and housing. We look at the electoral commission's publication of the annual accounts of Scottish politial parties and look at the numbers. And we discuss the Great John McLean and the campaign to create a permenant memorial to him in Glasgow.LinksPaul Laverty arrest https://youtube.com/shorts/1PCYk92UtpE?si=5s5vkpMC2-qYoDQvSaturday 6th September at 2pm outside Scotland Office (off Royal Mile) EdinburghMore info soon onhttps://www.scottishpsc.or

This is a special podcast about Scotland’s culture and its tenacity over centuries of denial, marginalisation and nae seemin posh enough.Lesley heard these two in action at an Independence Forum Scotland event in Perth and thought the craic was so good it deserved this wider audience.So Stuart McHardy a writer, occasional broadcaster, and storyteller who has been Director of the Scots Language Resource Centre in Perth and President of the Pictish Arts Society is in conversation with Roger Emmerson, a distinguished architect who surprised many in his own profession by running the first Scottish architecture course in the 1990s.We discuss the irrelevance of ‘clown characters’ like Neil Oliver and David Starkey, delve into the Scots embrace of contradiction and the ability to (happily) be in twa minds and ponder the success of Department Q. Amongst many other fascinating cultural themes. Stuart McHardy books include The Quest for Arthur, On the Trail of Scotland's Myths and Legends, Tales of the Picts, Strange S

Nicola Sturgeon and her book is absolutely everywhere with the press full of the tiniest revelations. We have a look, neither of us having read the book, but take a look at really what's sitting behind some of the more serious revelations, particularly over the wisdom of pressing on with the gender recognition reforms, and behind the scenes, what was really happening. We ask the whether we going to learn anything that helps us with creating a more democratic country in Scotland that isn't so reliant on leaders and top-down instruction through all of this? Or just promote Nicola Sturgeon's book sales?All of that and news from the big wind farm convention that was held in Inverness where Lesely was present making a new film.Are these guys just NIMBYs who need to knuckle down and accept the hardware the same as everyone else for the green transition? Or has planning for it and democracy about it just gone completely out the window? And some culture from Fèis Rois.LinksNicola Interviewhttps://www.itv.com/watch/ne

A blowy week in Scotland and for Scottish Politics, we speak about Kate Forbes's decision not to stand in next year's Holyrood Election. We look at the huge question of childcare, not just for her, but for everyone, speculate on who might stand in her constituency. We analyise the the disagreements on concience and policy issues from the stance gay marriage to Kate's economic strategy, and look at the suggestion that infrastructure has to come first before you can get to wealth creation, and childcare is infrastructure.We also discuss Kier Starmer and his guttural position on Palestine and John Swinney's much interrupted Edinburgh Fringe gig over the question of whether he has condemned Israel's genocide. All of that with a little swatch of Belladrum and a lot of speculation and the wind.LinksMike Mackenzie column about the inability of a devolved government to properly finance infrastructure; https://www.thenational.scot/politics/25361743.highlands-islands-will-win-scottish-independence/ Jon Shafi column abo

Donald Trump comes to Scotland and don't we know it! President Trump, with saltires fluttering on his motorcade instead of the union flag descended this week on Turnberry in Ayrshire and then up to Aberdeenshire. He's described John Sweeney as a terrific guy despite not really having met him yet and he suggests that all the proceeds from removing tariffs should go to Scotland, not to the UK. We discuss whether he's just mixing it, whether he actually favours Scotland in some way or is it all just rubbish that will be reversed next week.We also talk also about John Swinney's suggestion that there should be a constitutional convention. Again, that's suggested now, having been ruled out in previous weeks. We look at the SNP's strategy, such as it is, that there can be no move forward for Scotland without a referendum and that a referendum will only come if the SNP somehow manages to get over the line as the largest party in 2020. Simples! We take a look at the latest announcements. We also discuss the action tha

There's a bit of a protest theme in this week's podcast. Obviously the Gaza Palestine demonstration at the weekend where Lesley was speaking. Thankfully there weren't arrests at the time, but could they be yet to come? There was also, if you like, the protest of Richard Murphy on Radio Scotland, interrupted continually on a program about bias and trust in the BBC.We discuss the rebels who've been booted out of the parliamentary Labour Party, but oddly not all the rebels that voted for axing the welfare cuts that were put forwward by Kier Starmer. Will this produce more dissent within a party that's now polling about the same as the new left wing party created by Zara Sultana that dosen't even exit yet.We talk about Trump and his potential comeuppance over his connections with Jeffrey Epstein. Forget to even mention that he's coming to Scotland. We'll take that next week and have a wee tribute to Dick Gaughan the master of Scottish traditional music. All of that and more!Join the Pals and Buddies and support t

Donate to support the podcast There's been a lot of missing in action in this week's podcast. Where is the Scottish government and the SNP when an energy supplier, Octopus, calls for zonal pricing that would give Scotland the cheapest energy in Europe? They're kind of missing in action. We talk about the latest proposals by Rachel Reeves, which looks like a bonfire of the regulations on the banking sector, which kind of prompted all the chaos post 2008.Is that really going to be such a great advance? And back to Israel and Palestine, some shocking admissions, about the connections between the current Labour government and trips to Israel that were not declared by MPs. That and more news about the July 19 march in this week's podcast on lesleyridich.com and social media.Scottish National demonstration Saturday 19 July Assemble 1pm foot of the Mound Edinburghhttps://www.scottishpsc.org.uk/event/eggec-nakba-demo-duplicate-1/ ★ Support this podcast ★

On this week's episode, we talk about the putative new Left-wing party possibly headed by Jeremy Corbyn. We speculate on why he hasn't said he will join it and what is happening on the Scottish front with a group that's promising a meeting in October. It's not very clear whether it supports independence or not.We talk about the victory of a left candidate for the Democratic nomination in New York City with a program that would probably make Jeremy Corbyn's heart sing.We're still talking about the wider question of Palestine and the shameful decision by the SNP group at Westminster to abstain on the vote on Palestine Action as they succumbed to Westminster bullying tactics and were outfoxed by Labour's procedural shenanigans. We reflect that in the previous parliament, with MPs like Tommy Sheppard, Dr Phillipa Whitford and Joanna Cherry, this would not have happened. That and much more besides, including bits and bits about the Western Isles and the, uh, glorious bounciness of Greenlanders.And we have a guest

You can donate to support and keep the podcast going by becoming a Pal or Buddy of the Podcast at https://lesleyriddoch.com/podcast/subscribeBy the time you listen this, you'll know what we don't, which is the result of the disability cuts vote in the House of Commons, the revised package, which will now only put 150,000 people into poverty. And that's this year. Because next year, of course, is a whole new ball game for those wishing to sign up to PIP.We speculate on what these reforms and the opposition to them means for Labour Party support, for Keir Starmer's personal authority and popularity. We look also at, last week's Question Time where Lesley was on the panel, having just been stung in the throat by a wasp! Drawn no parallels or importance from that other than it was a strange way to prepare.We also discuss the big events of the week, Iran, Israel, Palestine, Kneecap and Bob Vylan's and the BBC's decisions to broadcast and not broadcast, which are inadvertently helping to promote artists who are the

In this week's podcast, we discuss Trump's attacks on Iran facilitating attacks by Israel and then demanding a ceasefire. It's an odd way to get diplomatic results. We react to Donald Trump's four-letter outburst as he baulks at Israel's flouting of the cease-fire and Iran's response.We also look at the attempts to proscribe Palestine action, which look very destined to simply encourage support for this soon-to-be-banned group. And we also look at the likely rebellion against labour's cuts to PIP payments.Listen to the end for some great tributes to Pat as he goes for his 3rd retirement so far. Help support the Finland crowdfunder - make a donation ★ Support this podcast ★

As the hostilities go on between Israel and Iran we try and get beneath the "We support the right of Israel to defend itself" to why Israel decided to launch its attacks, why now , and the realities of nuclear proliferation in the region.Meanwhile a  report by the Centre For Media Monitoring has forensically examined the BBC's coverage of Gaza. The results are damning in terms of revealing BBC bias.We take a look at the spending review  not only the decisions made but especially what impact Labour's decisions may have on Scottish politics. Lesley's latest article in The National not only covers this but asks if the SNP’s old attack lines are now almost gone and its claims of success belong largely to the old glory days. Will John Swinney's Scotland 2050 speech bring them back?Despite Deputy Leader Keith Brown committing to an independence convention before the Holyrood elections at the 2024 SNP Annual Conference this has now been knocked firmly on the head by Angus Robertson. Was this a mistake? The trial of

In this week's episode we discuss the U turn by the Westminster Government on the winter fuel allowance. Where is the money coming from and how is it going to be paid for? We ask what happend to the accusations levelled at the SNP when they rose to the challenge and reinstated the payment ahead of the Westminster Government. We look too at the impact on the SNP's policy, with Labour trying to make it look as if the Scottish payment will just be £100? It won't. We try to clear some of that up.We talk about the aftermath of the Hamilton by-election and that there's no getting away from it, it was a really bad loss by the SNP. There was no mention of independence and the candidate was not as local as the truly local David Russell. We look at how the election played out and wheter that local connection is what mattered in an era where people have lost trust in parties.We examine what that says about the candidates chosen so far by the SNP in the Scottish election. We look as well at Israel and Gaza. Breaking news

In this podcast special we speak with two energy experts Rhys Stanwix and David Pearson. The cost of energy has dominated our own far-from-expert musings for the last few weeks. So we thought it might be an idea to pull in some expertise for a special about district heating, locational pricing, why we are stuck with such high prices, poor grid connections ,the march of the pylons across much of north eastern Scotland. Do we need the better connectivity or is this just horsing Scottish renewable energy south? We tackle all these questions, and more, in an in depth and highly informative special. ★ Support this podcast ★

There's a distinct European flavour to this week's episode and we kick off with our reaction to the UK/EU deal struck on Monday.Has the Scottish fishing industry, once again, been a bargaining chip worth sacrificing to benefit other parts of the UK economy? Given that fishing and farming are devolved matters why wasn't the Scottish government either involved or at the very least consulted on the agreements reached in these areas? Despite the trumpeting of the deal will it always be a sticking plaster over the economic wounds of Brexit?Saturday saw the latest edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. Lesley has always been a massive fan of the event, Pat not so much,  what are her reactions to the inclusion of Israel, the behaviour of the EBU and host broadcaster in apparently censoring the live audience during the Israeli performance, and the claims of massive state intervention in order for Israel to stage a propaganda coup?The British Museum hosted a secret celebration of Israel "Independence" Day. Much of th

After the launch of Labour's new White Paper on immigration we ask, despite Starmer's protestations, if Farage and Reform are already dictating not just UK politics but UK government policy.We also delve into the detail of the changes outlined in the paper.The Labour leadership is also facing a  backbench rebellion over its cuts to disability benefits and is also being urged by 69 MPs to recognise a Palestinian state. Will they listen to either of these calls?Lesley's latest column in The National examined the rise of Reform and speculated on its potential to break out of its unionist bubble and attract disappointed SNP voters in next year's Holyrood elections.First Minister John Swinney was grilled by Martin Geissler on whether independence would be page 1 line 1 of the SNP manifesto at those elections. We analyse his response.Is the UK/US trade deal worth the paper it's written on? Not according to US economist Joseph Stiglitz. Was getting such a quick sectoral agreement a sign of weakness or strength for t

In this episode we give our initial reactions to  the First Minister’s Statement: Programme for Government 2025-26.We also look back at the series of elections in England last week. What can we take from the Reform UK surge? Will  Scotland be  immune from Farageism at the 2026 Holyrood elections?And if Starmer didn't have enough on his plate with Reform to worry about up popped Ex PM Tony Blair with his thoughts on Net Zero and climate change.Lesley discusses this and asks if Sir Keir shouldn't take a leaf out of Mark Carney's book and stand up to Trump.Today, Tuesday, sees the conclusion of the selection process for SNP candidates for those elections. Some weel kent sitting MSPs are fighting off challengers. Three contests in particular have hit the headlines.Israel's security cabinet has approved a plan to expand its military offensive against Hamas which includes the "capture" of Gaza and the holding of its territory with no timeline for withdrawal. Does this move finally give the lie to Israel's claim tha

Lesley appeared on Debate Night last week. We look back at this, the issues that were raised by the audience, and the replies of the panel.Here's the link to Lesley's justified rant over the energy rip off.https://www.facebook.com/reel/984639903833195Kneecap have clarified their position and apologised to the families of David Amess and Jo Cox after the accusations made over statements made during gigs. John Swinney has called for the group to be removed from the TRNSMT line-up, echoing those made by Kemi Badenoch and others over Glastonbury. Is this furore simply, as Kneecap have claimed, a distraction from the real issue of Israel's actions in Gaza?Meanwhile Louis Theroux has made a follow up documentary on the Israeli " settler" movement. We look at Daniella Weiss, the so called "Godmother" of the movement her actions ,the Zionist nationalist tradition she comes from, and the influence she has on the Israeli government.We turn our attentions to three sets of elections. The result of the Canadian General El