John Swinney's programme for government was able to announce, well, re-announce, that the winter fuel payments that were cut by Westminster will be restored in Scotland in September, that the two-child benefit cap that will not be tackled in Westminster will be removed in Scotland in April and that peak railfares will be scrapped for good.

Is that enough to win over sceptical voters beginning to feel that they're going reforms way?

Because they'll be in Scotland the same as they have been south of the border.

And can Kirstarmer continue to tough out his line on these benefit cuts with more to come with the Welsh First Minister, the Labour Welsh First Minister standing up to London to say disability cuts in Wales will have something like six times the impact that they will have in England?

Can he continue to just say it's steady as she goes?

We look at the international situation, which is astonishing with incredible wins for

liberal forces in Australia and Canada, not such good news in Romania. What's going on in Israel

and can anybody now stop that country from

permanently occupying Gaza and herding its residents wherever they see fit? Those are the headlines.

Now for the podcast.

Hi, Choms and welcome to this week's Leslie Riddick podcast and Leslie's hot foot from one Zoom meeting into another Zoom meeting.

And yeah, we spent a good hour, I think, before that, not in the sunshine, but watching the, yeah, John Swinney produce, well, yeah, the statement on the Scottish programme, government for programme for government, I'll get that out, get my new teeth in, the Scottish Government's's programme for government for the next year, which has been advanced

because, yeah, he wants to have a whole year to get all these things in place.

Nothing at all to do.

The Hollywood election is coming up next year.

So, yeah, big headline.

Scrapping of the railfares

the peak railfares

scrapped for good as he put it

yeah

you'd have to say not exactly joy

unabated

...