Can Holyrood handle the really big issues?

About this episode

Lesley and Fraser discuss the failure of the assisted dying bill in Holyrood and the disconnect between parliamentarians and public opinion, along with various political and social issues.

In this episode, Leslie and Fraser discuss the recent failure of the assisted dying bill in the Holyrood Parliament and the disconnect between parliamentarians and public opinion. They discuss why a Citizen’s Assembly would have been a better way to resolve this issue. They also cover ScotRail’s train procurement, the ethical concerns surrounding Palantir's NHS contracts, Reform’s Scottish rally and the fall out of their candidate selection. Plus the war in Iran and the impact on the global economy. Support the podcast - https://lesleyriddoch.com/podcast/subscribe Finland Film Screenings - https://lesleyriddoch.com/events Portugal train purchasing - https://www.alstom.com/press-releases-news/2026/3/alstom-supply-153-trains-comboios-de-portugal-and-establish-manufacturing-facility-portugal ROSCOs https://weownit.org.uk/news/riding-rosco-gravy-train / ★ Support this podcast ★

People in this episode

Hosts: Lesley Riddoch, Fraser Thompson

Topics covered

• assisted dying bill
• public opinion
• Citizen’s Assembly
• ScotRail procurement
• Palantir NHS contracts
• Reform Scottish rally
• global economy

Keywords

• assisted dying
• Holyrood
• Citizen’s Assembly
• ScotRail
• Palantir
• NHS
• Reform
• Iran
• global economy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Holyrood Parliament, Citizen’s Assembly, ScotRail, Palantir, NHS, Reform

Places: Iran, Portugal, Finland

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