Blair may have gone but the Blair Broadcasting Corporation is still spinning:
The Scottish Executive is to be rebranded as the Scottish Government, it has been confirmed.
No – it’s already been rebranded, as we can see from the photo and as we can read about in the very same article:
A new Scottish government sign has been put in place outside its Victoria Quay building in Leith, replacing the existing Scottish Executive sign.
I always hated the Labour government’s policy of leaking news to friendly journalists who could then write: “The minister will announce today…” How did they know that the minister wouldn’t be struck down by a bolt of lightning before making his pronouncement? I suppose the weather’s been nationalised just like the BBC. When journalists say that something will happen, the event should be in the future and should definitely occur.
To be fair to the Beeb, the rebranding is to be officially launched when the Great Leader Eck unveils his Executive’s big ideas on how to bugger the country up even further later this week. Presumably, if he is suddenly struck down, one of his deputies will do it for him. And the article does point out (although rather more tactfully) that it’s a lie, since the name can’t actually be changed without an amendment to the Scotland Act.
Mr Salmond said Northern Ireland was the only other country in the world where the word ‘executive’ was used to describe a layer of government.
Clearly both Eck and the BBC are unaware of the United States. (It has nothing to do with BBC bias, but – just to get it off my chest – my reaction to that was, “So?”)
Another thought: despite the name not being officially changed, I’d put money on the BBC dutifully falling into line from Wednesday.
Everywhere in the world, and every council in england uses the term Executive in its constitution to describe the body that carries out the executive functioning of Governing.
It is a long standing constitutional term that describes the three aspects of Governing, The Executive, The Legislature and The Judiciary,
Sam Duncan | 02.09.07 – 7:09 pm
I’d put money on the BBC dutifully falling into line from Wednesday
Yes, just like they did with “new” labour.
Here’s an interesting experiment I would like to see tried.
The Conservative Party should announce that henceforth they are not to be referred to as “Tories” and that use of the word would be taken to be intended as an insult.
I’d like to see how readily the beeb fell into line as they did for nulab.
“The move came after research suggested the term ‘executive’ was meaningless to many people.” Sure that was the only reason, nothing to do with the SNP’s political aims at all? I think that if the BBC was unsympathetic to the change it would’ve challenged this.
But to be fair to the BBC the last conservative government also got speeches reported in advance, though not as much as under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. It’s bad whoever does it.
But surely a government’s first duty is the defence of the realm but Soapy Salmond does not have that power…. oh and a government can tax and spend but Soapy is limited again. Bit like the Dear Old Queen Mr Soapy – you reign but you do not rule!
And the HYS on this is closed already! Open for all of 4 hours!
Erm….I can only conclude that Biased BBC haven’t quite woken up to the fact that Labour are not in charge in Scotland any more.
This move was directed by the new SNP administration — no great friends of BBC Scotland (just ask Kirsty Wark).
You’ve just got completely the wrong end of the stick on this one. The “rebranding” HAS still to happen. One sign does not a rebranding make! There are still plenty of plaques and letterheads to be changed.
Confiteor Daly,
I think the bloke who posted this is more than aware of the SNP coming to power. Scroll down on his blog
http://www.freedomandwhisky.blogspot.com/
Political junkie!
If you mention bad habits of the Labour government, does not mean you don’t know about the SNP government a.k.a. Executive.
They are spending 100,000 of OUR money (but it will be more…) simply to change the name. SNP – all mouth and nae troosers as my granny would say!
I can only conclude that Biased BBC haven’t quite woken up to the fact that Labour are not in charge in Scotland any more.
No, really? Well, stone me.
David’s point was surely that he hated this habit of Labour, and now the SNP’s at it, too. And the BBC laps it up.
And frankly, I don’t buy this “no Nats at the Beeb” stuff. QMD (or Pacific Quay these days, I suppose) is just as infected with the desire to be big fish in a wee pond as Eck’s lot, whatever their party sympathies. They’re the ones who bugger up the national schedules just because they can, and when they don’t, overdub perfectly good announcers from London with their own “next on BBC1 Scotland” guff as if we’re too thick to know that it’s exactly the same as BBC1 in the rest of Britain. Reporting Scotland is “the National News”, apparently. They got that pointless Newsnight opt-out, and still want their “Scottish Six” (God save us from a whole hour of Jackie the Burd). Of course Eck would be only too happy to give it to them if he had the power; it all helps create the illusion that this is a different country.
I will be stunned – absolutely stunned – if the “B”BC continues to use the Executive’s correct name against the SNP administration’s wishes.