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will live from Glasgow
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New Police officersHaving just listened to listen to FMQs im still pretty damn confused on these new 1000 police officers. What did the SNP promise (forgive me for not being bothered to read their manifesto myself i assumed somebody on a scottish nationalist forum will know  ) , what are we getting, and whats the problem?
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sgmillerton
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they promised 1000 new police officers. we are not getting 1,000 new police officers. we re getting 1,000 officer via postponing retirment, redepolyment and other fudging. a populist vote winner that turns out to be not quite what was promised. the skullduggery of sleekit politicians. and they wonder why e do not trust them.
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George
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| sgmillerton wrote: | | they promised 1000 new police officers. we are not getting 1,000 new police officers. we re getting 1,000 officer via postponing retirment, redepolyment and other fudging. a populist vote winner that turns out to be not quite what was promised. the skullduggery of sleekit politicians. and they wonder why e do not trust them. |
Not quite 'sg'.
A non partisan reading of the manifesto reveals an ambiguity, no doubt deliberate on the part of the SNP. The manifesto never stated that they would recruit 1000 extra officers, just that there would be 1000 new officers in the communities.
Now, I can well understand the opposition parties seeking to make capital out of this and to be fair that is their job. If the SNP were in opposition I would expect the same, however there is no definitive correct or incorrect interpretation.
I am less than happy though (but not altogether surprised) by the reporting of this by some in the press and the BBC. The Herald has a front page headline stating that the SNP has ditched it's pledge on police officers and the BBC reported that the SNP had backtracked on it's manifetso pledge on the same.
Surprisingly The Scotsman is the least partisan, headlining only that the SNP have been accused of backtracking.
As far as the wider electorate is concerned then they are more interested in seeing 1000 officers on the streets. How the SNP manage this is unimportant.
On a related point I have noticed that The Herald of late has resorted to the strategy that it employed in the midst of the recent election campaign. It is apparently more interested in seeking anti SNP headlines than actual reporting.
A case in point was yesterday's reporting of Gould's report into the election fiasco. The accusation of gerrymandering by ministers certainly merited a front page headline, but as far as I am aware there was none.
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