Lesley Riddoch

Maybe it's time Labour went for nuclear option

The party needs to show it is hurting – and, while we're at it, how about one massive policy U-turn? BACK him or sack him: the message from Labour's National Policy Forum was like a trailer for the Weakest Link. Talking openly about the "unmitigated disaster" of last Thursday's defeat in Glasgow East, Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, challenged the entire Labour movement to get its collective head out of the sand: "We can't muddle on to a massive defeat at the next general election. All this whispering behind the scenes must stop." He's absolutely right.

Guardian Podcast - Politics Weekly

Lesley joined Nick Watts and the other Guardian Podcast guests in the Politics Weekly pod. The topic was 'Labour's future after losing Glasgow East'.  

You can listen to the podcast by clicking here.

There's a new Aftermath available...broadcasting doughnuts

Scott, Julianne and Sean dissect the Riddoch Questions that concerned itself with the result of the Glasgow East bye election. For keen radio fans, Scott reveals a secret of the role of doughnuts in broadcasting.
It's all over at the Aftermath podcast.

Channel 4, Ofcom and Martin Durkin

Ofcom has just published its findings about the 'Great Global Warming Swindle' . The documentary formed part of a Riddoch Question outside broadcast in May 2007. Martin Durkin, the documentary's director and producer, was interviewed by Lesley for this programme. An extended interview with Martin Durkin, recorded before the Riddoch Questions programme, is available here. Lesley clarifies a lot of the scientific assertions and touches on many of the issues referred to in the Ofcom report.

Escapism from an era when hope was youthful

Let's hear it for Pierce Brosnan. The former 007 never convinced me as James Bond – too distant, lofty and ambivalent. But cast as the principal love interest in the film Mamma Mia!, Brosnan is transformed from a male lead delivering empty displays of stylised power into a star giving his all to an impossible task. Singing. Brosnan has become the critics' unanimous choice for the "weakest link" in the starry acting ensemble gathered for the Abba tribute film, based on a best-selling musical.

And thanks to the critics, the audience is on the edge of its communal seat as Brosnan embarks on a duet of the vocally taxing SOS with Meryl Streep (Donna) at a pitch slightly out of his own comfortable range. But amazingly, weirdly, his performance actually hits the mark.

RIDDOCH QUESTIONS Friday 18TH JULY, BBC RADIO SCOTLAND 1.15-2pm

Lesley’s guests on Riddoch Questions this week are the Scotland Office Minister and Inverclyde MP David Cairns, Shadow Scottish Secretary and MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, David Mundell and Scotland’s deputy First Minister and MSP for Glasgow Govan, Nicola Sturgeon.

The stories up for discussion so far this week:

• GLASGOW EAST BY-ELECTION – It’s almost D-day for Labour. Are SNP claims of a 15% swing credible? And can the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives do anything but play catch up?

• INFLATION - Rising food and fuel costs has pushed UK inflation up to an 11-year high of 3.8%, it’s thought our annual food, fuel and power bills are on average £1800 higher than they were last year, and it’s claimed low-income parents in Scotland can’t afford to have a job because of the cost of childcare. So is the only light at the end of the tunnel – the postponing of a 2 percent increase in fuel duty - really enough to alleviate our financial worries?

• TAX HAVEN ISLANDS - A campaign’s begun to grant tax haven status to a group of remote islands off the west coast of Ireland. Local people believe it would guarantee their isolated communities a future – so would following the lead of the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands work in the same way for Scotland’s remote communities?

Email your questions on these stories now to riddoch@bbc.co.uk. Add your phone number if you want to put the question in person. On Friday text your views to 80295 and call 0500 92 95 00.

Old Boys' Clubs must widen membership to have a global impact

So Russia has done the "incomprehensible" and blocked Gordon Brown and George Bush over tough sanctions on Robert Mugabe.

Some commentators blame miscalculation by a tired British Prime Minister trying to shock world leaders with images of a tortured body to drive home his case for change in Zimbabwe. But perhaps all that's been revealed is Britain's real place in ...

The Conspiracy Aftermath

There is a new Aftermath available. Sean has been watching TV again and 9/11 conspiracies are the opening subject. However, something happens to change the course of the conversation to allow Scott, Jules and Lesley to question; " How many jobs can one politician have at one time ?"

RIDDOCH QUESTIONS Friday 11TH JULY, BBC Radio Scotland 1.15-2pm

Lesley’s guests on Riddoch Questions this week are SNP MP for Moray, Angus Robertson, Green MSP for Glasgow, Patrick Harvie and London-based Political Editor for the Scotsman, Ross Lydall.

The stories up for discussion so far this week:

• GLASGOW EAST BY-ELECTION – nine candidates are confirmed to be contesting the vacant Westminster seat but all eyes are on Labour and the SNP – who will emerge victorious?

• FOOD WASTE – The global food crisis is topping the G8 Summit agenda in Japan. Gordon Brown wants consumers to cut the estimated £8 of food each of us throws out every week. But delivered after a lavish 8-course banquet, can we really take the world leaders’ intentions seriously?

• MILITARY – a survey suggests half of Army, Navy and RAF personnel regularly consider quitting over poor morale, equipment and pay. Meanwhile, 500 Scottish Royal Marines are facing their third Afghanistan tour in six years. Are we asking too much from Britain’s armed forces – or is active combat the very reason they joined?

• ROAD TAX – nine million motorists will pay more road tax because they are driving polluting cars. But is this a good green measure, or a ploy to raise cash from low earners with big families?

• DISAPPEARING POLES – reports suggest migrant Polish workers are ditching Scotland to return home. What’s putting them off -- the pay, the weather – and could we cope without them?

Email your questions on these stories now to riddoch@bbc.co.uk. Add your phone number if you want to put the question in person. On Friday text your views to 80295 and call 0500 92 95 00.

Labour disarray in Glasgow East

It's easy to mock. But just as the current wave of  showbiz support for Barack Obama in the US prompts memories of Democratic failure against George Bush four years ago, so those currently mocking Labour for its disarray in Glasgow East may be disappointed.