The announcement of a 12th December General Election has sparked off what will be the most significant campaign for decades. Never has a prime minister represented so few people and commanded such little respect and never has the opposition looked so ready for a fight.

The SNP conference came at a very important juncture in the class struggle in Britain. With Boris Johnson trying to close a last-minute deal with the EU, the ruling class looks on in horror at the approaching 31st of October deadline, unsure if Johnson’s plans are either sincere or workable. A triumphant Labour left freshly rejuvenated from its victories at conference itches for a General Election and the necessity of bringing down the government stares all opposition MPs in the face.

To say that the Scottish Government’s handling of the construction of a new children’s hospital in the suburb of Little France has been negligent, is a bit like saying the sinking of the Titanic ruined a few holidays . The capitulation of every level of bureaucracy to the whims of for-profit has exacerbated a number of inherent structural flaws and health hazards that has prolonged its opening far beyond the foreseeable future, far less the expected opening of July 2019. 

The final school bell of the academic year couldn’t come soon enough for North Lanarkshire Council. As they blundered from press spot to public meeting without any explanation as to the presence of blue water containing traces of iron on the shared campus of St Ambrose and Buchanan High, the potential impact of strike action taken by teachers from the latter was only mitigated by the summer recess.