Ah yes. Rather like Taksi and Ambwlans and words of recent adoption. It does come from the Gaelic "Uisghe" though so there might be a similar word that's been used in Wales for a few centuries.
Scotland
- Thread starter eternumviti
- Start date
tones
Tones deaf
The full name is uisge beatha (roughly "ooshki- bayta"), meaning "water of life". The French word for "spirits" of any kind is eau de vie.
TheDecameron
Unicorns fart glitter.
I had a whisky for the first time in ages last night. Blended with ice and ginger ale. Could have been the subliminal effect of this thread.
Richard Lines
pfm Member
I'm far from sure that things will improve for those of us living in Scotland.......
Regards
Richard
TheDecameron
Unicorns fart glitter.
Excellent (likely) choice of First Minister. Tons of experience and a very capable leader
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Locheeboy
pfm Member
"
He did not tell MSPs that the Scottish Variable Rate (SVR), otherwise known as the Tartan Tax, was not being funded for four years which meant the Scottish Government could not use it in that time.
It allows them to vary income tax by up to 3p in the pound. They would have to pay £3.4m to fund its upkeep for the four years of parliament between 2007 and 2011.
Mr Swinney refused to pay this and instead paid £1.2m to ensure it could be resurrected within 10 months of the next Holyrood elections in May 2011.
He failed to inform MSPs about this, and repeatedly gave the impression during budgets that using SVR was merely an available option that he had chosen not to pursue.
To make matters worse due to HMRC computer problems, the levy was unable to be resurrected until 2013/14 at a cost of £7m to the taxpayer."
"
Another scandal Mr Swinney was caught up in was when he let his advisers publish a mis-calculation of nearly £2bn in estimates of government pension scheme costs in 2013.
He revealed a "deeply regrettable" error in accounts which were discussed at Holyrood. Initially, the estimates for the Scottish Teachers Superannuation Scheme had been “overstated” by £1.2bn.
Afterwards, the error was later "revised upwards" to £1.8bn, and he insisted there was "no practical implications" for pensions of teachers or other-public sector workers. The public purse was also not affected.
However, this potentially fatal error on the pensions liabilities was not discovered until after the Scottish Government had published the figures.
Scottish Tory finance spokesman Gavin Brown accused the SNP of failing to carry out proper checks on accounts and called out to question their "incompetence."
"
The most recent scandal to come to light involves the over-budget and very late ferry fiasco which is ongoing. Ferguson Marine was given the contract to build two new vessels despite concerns from CMAL.
Mr Swinney was found to have given the controversial decision "budget approval" when he was finance secretary in 2015. Documents released by the Scottish Government showed he was involved in the decision-making.
Legal advice published earlier this week showed ministers were warned of "significant procurement risks" relating to the contract but went ahead with it anyway.
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An email trail released showed that former transport minister Derek Mackay signed off on the contract on October 9 2015. However, it also pointed to Mr Swinney being involved.
An official wrote: “Just finished my call with DFM. He now understands the background and that Mr McKay [sic] has cleared the proposal. So the way is clear to award.”
He was also a mover and shaker for the politically driven "good news " on free bus passes for over sixties. He did not announce that the money (around £18million) had been taken fron the education budget.... Aye, Swinney, another "safe pair of hands"...
TheDecameron
Unicorns fart glitter.
“The Daily Express”.
ks.234
Half way to Infinity
Richard Murphy: Forbes or Swinney? Neither shows leadership on the economy
NOBODY who supports the independence cause can be excited by the current turmoil in the SNP ...