This week there were two big political events that could and should shape Scotland. The first was a gathering in Stirling of Liberate Scotland and its supporters, the other the annual Westminster Budget fiasco.

Rachel from accounts, like all Chancellors, is reliant on the civil service to actually prepare the budget. The different, similar parties really do not differ greatly when it comes to the budget.

The civil servants, who like our politicians are all cut from the same Oxbridge cloth, they all have the same worldview. In my lifetime, every budget is about the poor tightening their belts by yet another notch.

There is always the sleight of hand. My good friend Allan Petrie described it perfectly as the Paul Daniels Budget. The raising of the living wage to give the headlines, then the tinkering of the tax thresholds and five-year freezing of them to claw back that same raise.

The tobacco duty escalator, which increases duty each year in line with the RPI +2 percentage points, was extended at Autumn Budget 2024 until the end of the current Parliament. This is, of course, another tax rise on the poorest.

The price of beer, wine, and spirits is to increase following the budget. The Chancellor’s decision to raise alcohol duty in line with inflation has been called a “sad day” for the nation’s distillers, pubs, and wider hospitality sector.

The latest public finance figures reveal borrowing is £116.8 billion for the first seven months of 2025-26, a 9% increase on the March forecast, partly due to higher government spending.

So instead of taking the actions the economy and nation requires, the government will once again squeeze the middle and low-income earners and absolutely crush the unemployed, sick, and impoverished.

Successive Westminster Governments are forever lecturing the UK citizens to live within their means and manage their finances accordingly.

The right-wing press love to highlight some poor person having a holiday in Spain while receiving benefits or, heaven forbid, smoking or having a pint or two.

The UK Governments are no different to that fictitious poor person. While the UK teeters on bankruptcy, its rulers would never think of saving the public purse by becoming frugal and accepting the reality of UKPLC 2025.

Tiny Britain is no longer an imperial power. It is, as Dmitry Peskov, the Russian diplomat, once said, “just a small island… no one pays any attention to them.”

We could make huge savings overnight if that reality would just get into the Oxbridge psyche. We could, tomorrow, cancel Trident renewal.

As of the latest UK government estimates from May 2025, the total acquisition cost for the Dreadnought-class submarines is approximately £41 billion. This figure includes a £31 billion budget for design and manufacture, plus a £10 billion contingency fund.

How many affordable houses and hospitals could that build?

The Ajax Fighting Vehicle ordered for the depleted British Army has not only been a financial disaster, it is a design disaster too.

The British Army has paused the use of its Ajax armoured vehicles after troops became unwell from noise and vibration. About 30 soldiers had become ill when training to use the vehicle over the weekend. Cancel it now and there is another £6 billion savings.

Another white elephant is HS2. The estimated total cost for HS2’s full network is between £72bn and £98bn (at 2019 prices), though Phase 1’s budget is currently set at £44.6 billion. As of today, not a single mile of track has been laid. All to get commuters from Birmingham into London 30 minutes quicker than now. Cancel it and make a huge saving.

In total, the UK has committed up to £21.8 billion for Ukraine: £13 billion in military support (including our £2.26 billion ERA Loan contribution); this is an expense we could cut tomorrow. Why are we involved in this US proxy war in the first place? It is none of our business and despite the Russophobic propaganda, it has no bearing on British interests.

This is one of the main Anglo psychological problems, this belief they are somehow an important and big player on the world stage.

Put simply, we cannot afford to play on the world stage anymore. The UK needs to live within its means and its abilities and capabilities!

But Ferries hmm?

The other big political event taking place was that gathering in Stirling. It was Liberate Scotland’s debut in public. During the day, some of the prospective Holyrood candidates attended a training session. Almost all of these patriots are political novices. That is why an ABC to electioneering was deemed necessary.

These loyal sons and daughters of Scotland are not your usual MSP/MP types. The ones that go to university direct from school, then they get a place as an intern for an MSP, then they either become a councillor or go directly to Holyrood or Westminster.

These Liberate Scotland volunteers are ordinary citizens that have had a life. They didn’t and still do not have any desire to have a career as an MSP. As it says on the tin, they are only interested in “outcomes, not incomes.”

They have come forward because they believe in independence,nothing else. Interestingly throughout the induction/ training course not a single one asked about salaries or expenses or what benefits were available! These are the types of elected members Scotland needs and deserves.

Then in the evening a social event took place in The King Robert Hotel, Bannockburn, I mean where else could it be?

It is safe to say that a great night was had by all. It took many of us back to the golden days of Scottish independence gatherings.The atmosphere and camaraderie was uplifting.

This was the background for today’s Through A Scottish Prism Podcast and the panel of Eva Comrie,Phil Boswell, Lloyd Quinan and Allan Petrie.