Corbyn not convinced

THE lack of job security offered by zero-hours contracts is often used by opposition MPs to counter the Conservative Government’s boasts on job creation.

But not even the Labour Party can always promise a job for life.

The Bottom Line has learned that the office of leader Jeremy Corbyn is currently looking to hire a policy adviser in London – on a fixed-term contract until May 2016.

Perhaps even Mr Corbyn himself is not convinced by his long-term prospects in the leader’s job.

No cunning plan, sadly

FOR a split second, we thought we were about to hear a cunning plan.

Alas, the email which wafted in from Tony Robinson did not contain made no reference to any scheme devised by the much-maligned Baldrick, below.

The message came not from the man behind one of British comedy’s best-loved characters but the Tony Robinson, OBE no less, who founded the Enterprise Rockers movement.

It was all about #MicroBizMatters Day, scheduled for January 8 – and not, sadly, the latest hare-brained scheme to extricate Blackadder from his latest predicament.

But if anyone does have a cunning plan, we’d love to hear about it.

No to Oliver’s sugar tax

TIM Martin, the outspoken and affable founder of pub giant JD Wetherspoon, is no fan of Jamie Oliver’s call for a sugar tax on soft drinks.

Mr Martin has accused the celebrity chef of “showboating” after introducing a 10p tax on sugary drinks in his restaurants, and believes his call ultimately has the power to close pubs.

The pub supremo reckons Mr Oliver should focus his campaign more on achieving tax equality between bars and supermarkets, given the latter are zero-rated on VAT for food.

A fair argument, but we couldn’t help but wonder whether Jamie Oliver’s lucrative association with a well-known supermarket has had any bearing on Mr Martin’s thoughts.

Agency’s office switch

WIRE Media, the public relations agency whose clients include Tennent’s Lager, has moved to a new office in the Commonwealth House, the one-time nerve centre of Glasgow 2014.

And crucially for staff, who have swapped Film City in Govan for the Merchant City, a veritable feast of bars and restaurants are now on their doorstep.

One staffer quipped that it means no more pints in the Louden Tavern. We could not detect whether this was a good or a bad thing.

Those bags are heavy

THE introduction of the 5p tax on carrier bags has been hailed as a huge success. Figures out this week showed that

650 million fewer plastic bags have been used in Scotland since the charge came in a year ago. But the move hasn’t changed the habits of everyone.

One fellow whose comments were broadcast on a TV news programme said he doesn’t carry his own bag with him because it is a “long way” to bring one from Dumfries. As counter arguments go, this one is unlikely to carry much weight.