Hello and welcome to The Midge, the e-bulletin that takes a bite out of politics in Scotland and elsewhere.
Front pages
The Herald pictures Gurdev Kaur Chhokar outside the High Court in Glasgow after the conviction of Ronnie Coulter for the murder of her son, Surjit Singh Chokkar, in 1998.
The same story leads the Mail, with the headline: “Killer facing justice after 18-year fight”, the Record, and the Express. The Sun declares: “Monster nailed at last”.
The National splashes on reaction to the Prime Minister’s speech, with the paper devoting six pages to “Why we want nothing to do with Theresa May’s ugly vision of the UK”. The Guardian says Mrs May has consigned David Cameron to history, while the Telegraph leads on a quote from the speech: “It’s time to remember the good that government can do.”
The Scotsman and the Times carries a warning by economists that Scotland faces up to 80,000 job losses in a post-Brexit slump.
The FT reports that a Frans Hals painting sold by Sotheby’s for £8.4 million has been discovered to be a fake.
Camley’s Cartoon
Camley adds a little something to the Conservatives’ conference slogan.
FFS: Five in five seconds
1. What’s the story? Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn delivers the Jimmy Reid Memorial Lecture this evening at Govan Old Parish Church.
2. Following in the oratorial footsteps of? FM Nicola Sturgeon last year, Unite leader Len McCluskey, and former FM Alex Salmond.
3. Any matched Reid’s address of 28 April, 1972? With respect to speakers past and those to come, the former trade unionist and journalist’s inaugural address as rector of Glasgow University was one for the history books, even earning comparisons with a certain speech at Gettysburg.
4. Give us a blast of that old-time, pre-Mayism, socialist religion? “A rat race is for rats. We’re not rats. We’re human beings. Reject the insidious pressures in society that would blunt your critical faculties to all that is happening around you, that would caution silence in the face of injustice lest you jeopardise your chances of promotion and self-advancement. This is how it starts, and before you know where you are, you're a fully paid-up member of the rat-pack. The price is too high. It entails the loss of your dignity and human spirit. Or as Christ put it, ‘What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul?’”
5. What’s Corbyn’s topic? Industrial strategy. For more information, visit reidfoundation.org
Afore Ye Go
TORY PARTY CONFERENCE
“You know what some people call them? The nasty party.”
Tory leader Theresa May applies her one-time description of the Conservatives to Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour. Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire
Very odd for Mrs May to choose Start Me Up as her intro music. Perhaps she thought it was about lawnmowers.
— Patrick Wintour (@patrickwintour) October 5, 2016
"The most toxic rhetoric on immigration we have seen from any government in living memory.”
A joint statement from the leaders of the SNP, the Green Party and Plaid Cymru on the Conservative policies unveiled at their conference in Birmingham, including a proposal by UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd, above right, to force firms to reveal how many foreign workers they employ. Carl Court/Getty Images
Nothing wrong with patriotism, but we're edging horribly towards xenophobia by the day.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) October 5, 2016
Bloody foreigners, coming over here, teaching our ex-shadow chancellors how to Charleston pic.twitter.com/8ZyEuYcYvH
— General Boles (@GeneralBoles) October 5, 2016
No word yet on who designed the PM's spouse's clothes and how much they cost. What's going on? #ConservativePartyConference
— JOHN NICOLSON M.P. (@MrJohnNicolson) October 5, 2016
"The Conservative Party I know is optimistic in spirit and internationalist in outlook.”
Scottish Conservatives leader Ruth Davidson to the Tory Party conference in Birmingham, shortly before Theresa May’s speech. Joe Giddens/PA Wire
"Ruth Davidson's speech shows that she was clearly embarrassed by the comments from her colleagues, but was still prepared to be the warm-up act for Theresa May. She is the face of a Conservative Party that is rotten to its core – a xenophobic and toxic party.”
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale is unimpressed. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
UKIP
“VC.”
How former Ukip leader Diane James signed her official appointment letter. The initials stand for Vi coactus – Latin for “under duress”. Ben Birchall/PA Wire
UKIP chair says he wouldn't call current situation a farce, before tripping over the dog, dropping his trousers and hiding in the wardrobe.
— HaveIGotNewsForYou (@haveigotnews) October 5, 2016
JOB SECURITY FEARS
"There was Jonathan Ross, they saw him off; Jeremy Clarkson, Chris Evans ... So now they will pick on whoever is left, which is me and Gary Lineker."
Broadcaster Graham Norton, reportedly paid £1.5 million a year by the BBC, fears for the future once the corporation publishes stars' pay next year. Telegraph. Norton's new novel, Holding, is out now.
PANDA PREGNANCY NEWS
“Her behaviours signal the end of her breeding cycle for this year”.
Edinburgh Zoo announces that Tian Tian (Sweetie) is not with cub. Danny Lawson/PA Wire
A LUCRATIVE OLD GAME
$500,000
The amount paid, per episode, to the biggest stars in Game of Thrones, including Peter Dinklage, above, as estimated by Variety.
MAN BUYS WIFE SOMETHING COSY
"I am as pleased as punch that my upcycled woolly wares will be going back down to London with Jeremy and Laura.”
Sue Reed blogs about a certain Labour leader popping into her shop to buy one of her woolen wraps for his wife, Laura, above. The pair were planning to walk along Hadrian’s Wall. Bardon Mill Village Shop and Tea Room/PA Wire
NOT LAUGHING NOW
"I'm hoping maybe to pitch it again once we get past the 1960s. Oh no wait a minute, it's 2016.”
Comedian David Baddiel takes to Twitter after his BBC Radio 4 show, Don’t Make Me Laugh, was axed. While the BBC Trust found that jokes made about the Queen’s sex life breached editorial guidelines, the corporation said the ruling was not a factor in the decision to cancel the show. Matt Crossick/PA Wire
IT'S YOUR LOSS, DONALD
“In 1995 he posted a loss of $916 million dollars. The only people with a more embarrassing loss in 1995 were the prosecution team in the OJ Simpson trial.”
The Late, Late Show’s James Corden on the New York Times’ Trump revelations. Ralph Freso/Getty Images
Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow. Twitter: @alisonmrowat
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