The Two Scotlands

This post by my old friend Fraser Nelson is the best thing I've read so far about the Glasgow East by-election:

It is tragic comic to see Labour taking such a philosophical attitude to the scandalous deprivation in Glasgow East during this election campaign as if they were talking about the weather. “Oh, its heartbreaking and very complex” they say and use phrases like “multiple deprivation” to make it sound so complicated that government cant do anything about it. What’s happened is that Labour’s remedy to poverty – more money – has made the problem worse.

As they recommend, read the whole thing.

Comments

[Tom]

What an odd piece. It reads like it was written by a bloke who's lived in a vacuum for 30 years. Nelson is a journalist, for God's sake, did you never question quite how this had passed him all by?
Jesus, I knew the West End of Glasgow had a life expectancy in the low 50s and I've never been there.

[Panenka'sChip]

Couldn't agree more Tom. Apparently, Fraser spent 4 years studying in Glasgow and yet this article lacks any sort of intuitive feel for the city beyond the, frankly, world-infamous health statistics. Have now seen Fraser's article recommended on a series of right-leaning blogs too - maybe they're all losing it?

[Tom]

I was thinking about this some more and it's a REALLY shit piece of journalism, proper tripe. As if any government body is suffering from a lack of understanding about the problems of the East of Glasgow because the stats don't exist at the right resolution. Jesus, government bodies are overwhelmed with bloody stats and why Nelson seems to think he's such a genius for sourcing what are very much common or garden data sets, the Lord only knows.

I am also surprised that Massie has swallowed the piece. More and better stats generally leads to the often false supposition that something can and must be by government.

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