Bob McGill

Retired HR Compliance Manager. Scottish. Lives in Aberdeen. Adopted Canadian. My thoughts and tweets are my own and not necessarily an endorsement.

[Bob McGill @Bobmcgill1]

@StuartBudd1 On a turnout of 53.2% at the 2026 election, so not exactly a mandate for an independence referendum.

[Bob McGill @Bobmcgill1]

@Iain_L Burnham will probably announce this on his upcoming trip to Aberdeen, thinking this will appease Aberdeen O&G workers. No chance! He should allow oil and gas to be exploited from the UK North Sea instead of being imported.

[Camilla Tominey @CamillaTominey]

NB Gilt yields
Liz Truss - 10 year: 4.60pc/30 year: 5.10pc
Today - 10 year: 5.28pc/30 year 5.40pc
#PMQs

[Bob McGill @Bobmcgill1]

@andyburnham If it’s so difficult and dangerous to stop the boats after they have picked up passengers, why not stop the boats when they are on their way to pick up?

[Russell Quirk @russellquirk]

This is the 10 year gilt yield today, a few hours after Andy Burnham’s speech in Parliament.

It’s higher than the ‘Truss spike’.

Why are the mainstream media not accusing him of crashing the economy?

[J Stewart @triffic_stuff_]

Go on Richard! 🔥

Richard Madeley proper gave both barrels to Labour’s Victims Minister on @GMB this morning over the early release scheme that will see thousands of prisoners, including domestic abusers, let out early because the jails are full.

He started by saying he actually felt sorry for Alex Davies-Jones because she’d been sent out to defend the indefensible:

“I actually feel rather sorry for you this morning, because you’re the one who’s been pushed out to defend what most people would say is the indefensible.”

Then he went straight for the jugular:

“There’ll be women watching this who’ve had their jaws broken, their teeth knocked out, they’ve been punched in the stomach when they’ve been pregnant. All by men who you, your government, will shortly be releasing years ahead of time because of prison overcrowding. What do you say to those women this morning? Because they are terrified.”

Her reply was the usual robotic talking points: “I say to those women that the government’s first responsibility is to keep its public safe.”

Is it though? If public safety was genuinely the first responsibility, you wouldn’t be releasing these people back onto the streets!

She then claimed: “I would not be able to sleep at night, Richard, if a domestic abuser who was sentenced to time in prison couldn’t go there because there wasn’t a prison place available and we had to send him back to his victim at their property.”

Richard immediately pulled her up on the logic: “Minister, Minister, Minister, I don’t see the logic of that at all! What’s the difference in not being able to send a violent offender to prison because it’s full and releasing a violent offender from prison who’s very likely to reoffend? We know that these men are recidivists. They do it again and again. What’s the difference between not sending one to prison and letting one out?”

She then argued “these offenders will have served time in prison”, and they would have been released at some point anyway. Oh, that’s ok then. Let’s release everyone who has served a bit of their sentence. Ridiculous argument!

Then came the usual promises of tags and “world-first restriction zones”, with the line that if they breach they’ll go straight back.

Richard wasn’t having it. He tells her that victims don’t want them released at all and they don’t trust the government: “They don’t trust the measures that you put into place to stop these men hounding them and attacking them again. They don’t trust that the tags always work because they don’t. And they don’t trust that the men will follow the instructions they’ve been given about where they can’t go because some of them will just do it anyway.”

He warns there will be inevitable consequences for victims: “There are going to be consequences of these early releases and it’s going to be more attacks on women who are begging you not to release their attackers from jail early. That’s the reality. Not a comforting protocol about tags and restricted areas which if the offender is determined enough just won’t work.”

She had no real answer because there isn’t one. Just the same empty lines: “Ensuring that we have a functioning and effective and sustainable criminal justice system is fundamentally important for the safety of our country.”

You’re not ensuring that. That’s the entire point. You’re choosing to release dangerous people early and victims will pay the price.

Well done Richard for saying it in no uncertain terms. This is wrong.

[Bob McGill @Bobmcgill1]

@HarrietCross_MP 😡😡😡

[Oracle @biggle1908]

UK state pension is £241.30 per week after 35 years of National Insurance contributions.

The guaranteed minimum income for someone who has paid nothing into the system is £238.00 per week.

That means if you do the right thing, work and pay into the system you benefit by £3.30 per week 🤯

Just how is this right?

#Pensions

[Bob McGill @Bobmcgill1]

@HarrietCross_MP 😡😡😡

[Dan Neidle @DanNeidle]

Scotland raised its top income tax rate to 48% to make the rich pay more.

New HMRC data suggests the result may have been the opposite: Scotland collected about £22m less.

We can't be sure, but Scotland may have fallen over the Laffer curve.

🧵:

[Bob McGill @Bobmcgill1]

@AgentP22 😡

[Bob McGill @Bobmcgill1]

@AlistairCarns How about an announcement which applies to Scotland? As you know, Education is a devolved responsibility.

[Bob McGill @Bobmcgill1]

@IngrameThomas 😡😡😡

[Bob McGill @Bobmcgill1]

@JamesMelville A ‘bounce’ up always results in a later drop. Time and actions will determine how long his bounce up will last.

[Bob McGill @Bobmcgill1]

@andyburnham Most of your announcements so far are only relevant to England.
How about approving Oil and Gas drilling again? This would secure employment for thousands. It would also provide entry level jobs for young people. Income tax and corporate taxes would increase.

[Bob McGill @Bobmcgill1]

@AlistairCarns @andyburnham But what will he do to stop the illegal immigrant boat crossings?

[Bob McGill @Bobmcgill1]

@RachelReevesMP Another with rose tinted spectacles from Specsavers!

[Bob McGill @Bobmcgill1]

@Keir_Starmer Specsavers must be doing a special deal on rose tinted spectacles.

[Anthony Boutall @anthonyboutall]

One final broken pledge. The end.

[Bob McGill @Bobmcgill1]

@Iain_L Labour MPs this morning are telling us how great they are doing, and how things are much better than they were two years ago. Are Specsavers doing a special deal on rose tinted spectacles?