Basic Arithmetic Tells You These Numbers Don't Add Up!

Unemployment in Scotland rose by 19,000 in the last quarter, according to the governments preferred measure, to 124,000. But here's where you see, yet again, why the public mistrust government statistics so much.

On the same quarter last year today's figures represent an increase of 2,000 on the corresponding unemployment figure for last year and yet the governments own statistics for the number of people employed in Scotland fell by 10,000 over the corresponding period.

While depopulation, an increase to the number of people retiring and some people going back to retrain may account for some of this difference so many of us have anecdotal stories to tell of family, friends and friends of friends who have lost their job in Scotland as our economy falls into recession and this yet again reinforces the old adage - "lies damn lies and statistics".

The cheery words of our Secretary of State for Scotland, designed I am sure to reassure us that we have little to worry about, simply do not cut it when you have a mortgage to pay and can see the prospect of unemployment on the horizon. It is time for government to set ordinary businesses free to create prosperity and secure jobs by giving them an amnesty on red tape and cutting business taxes so that they have money to invest in their employees.

UK Plc is perfectly capable of making a go of things in difficult times if government leave us alone and give us the tools to do so!

New Secretary of State - Same Old Labour!

I am sure Jim Murphy's promotion to Secretary of State for Scotland is a reward for his loyalty to a Party and a Government that has let East Renfrewshire, Scotland and the whole of the United Kingdom down.

Mr Murphy has long been an integral part of this Labour government, but that has not prevented his constituents in East Renfrewshire suffering in the same way as the rest of our country. Hard pressed local families and individuals are being taxed as never before at the very same time as government policy, conceived and delivered by his boss, hits them hardest.

I look forward to continuing to campaign against Mr. Murphy and to seeing how he intends to defend Labour’s record of failure. Scotland has a long tradition of booting our its Secretary of State for Scotland at the ballot box and I intend to make sure this continues by letting the people of East Renfrewshire know just exactly what a David Cameron Conservative government will do for them - in contrast to the prospect of more of the same from the Labour government who got us into this mess!