Donald Trump won the American presidential election decisively and his second term starts within hours. Unlike Trump and his allies in 2020, Joe Biden accepted the result immediately and helped facilitate a smooth transfer of power. But accepting an election result does not mean lying down and allowing terrible policies to be implemented unopposed.
A Trump second term looks set to be a horror story of cruelty and economic self-harm. He wants to enact the biggest deportation in history and has nominated a bunch of zealots to make good on his demands. Trump has also signalled he will be a hostile adversary to many countries, ranging from Canada and Mexico to Greenland.
Scotland is unlikely to be top of his hitlist, given the incoming president’s family ties, but we must be wary of his economic agenda. He has promised sweeping tariffs on foreign goods which, if implemented, could deal a devastating blow to our whisky industry. The Labour Government promised to grow the economy and US tariffs could cost the UK billions of pounds.
Keir Starmer and John Swinney must never pander to Trump but should ensure our voice is heard in the Oval Office. Trump did untold damage to the US and wider world in his first term and his final stint in office looks certain to be a repeat, at least. Damage limitation is the order of the day and he cannot be allowed to start a global recession. Wise and firm diplomacy must start as soon as he takes office.
Urgent admission
Anyone working in the NHS will tell you a major challenge facing the health service is lack of staff. Workforce planning has been a failure and we simply have too few doctors and nurses on the payroll.
Under-staffing leads to cash-strapped NHS boards paying over the odds for locums and agency nurses. These workers do an excellent job but often at rates that cannot be justified to the taxpayer.
The bill for bringing in staff has nearly hit the £1billion mark since 2019. This is the opposite of good value for money and must be urgently reviewed. We revealed last week that First Minister John Swinney had taken personal control of the NHS.
He knows the health service is bursting at the seams and has been forced to intervene. One of his first tasks must be getting to grips with the staffing crisis in this cherished public service.
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