{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/6655a16405d9ed0012fc800b/6a9aa9f73559f17478572ff9?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"SCOTLAND'S £5bn ABYSS - Is Swinney Austerity Inevitable?","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/6655a16405d9ed0012fc800b/1788520816124-cbe60cae-cfc4-4c61-8cd5-c9f25db82a18.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p>In this edition of The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast, Bernard Ponsonby and Alex Massie analyse the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government and John Swinney’s radical plans for public-service reform. They examine the proposed restructuring of Scotland’s NHS, social care, councils and quangos; the £5 billion funding gap; and the prospect of conflict with public-sector trade unions. Turning to UK politics, they assess Andy Burnham’s early premiership, Keir Starmer’s resignation, the Holborn and St Pancras by-election and the changing fortunes of Labour, the Greens, Reform UK and the Conservatives.</p><p>Topics discussed:</p><p><br></p><ul><li>Scottish Government’s public-service reform agenda</li><li>NHS, social-care, council and quango restructuring</li><li>Scotland’s £5 billion funding gap and trade-union conflict</li><li>Political support and opposition to John Swinney’s reforms</li><li>Bus-fare caps, supermarket price controls and GP walk-in centres</li><li>Andy Burnham’s early premiership and the UK economic outlook</li><li>Keir Starmer’s resignation and the Holborn and St Pancras by-election</li><li>The Greens, Reform UK and Britain’s increasingly fragmented politics</li></ul><p><br></p>","author_name":"Solid Media"}