On:
In: Margaret Hamilton

It struck me the other day just how hard our SNP MPs are working, both at home and in that ‘mother’ of parliaments. The media have been doing their best to avoid any political news. Putting on the endless repeats over the festive period and shortening and shifting the news programmes has helped with this. I am now at the point of the festive season where I have to check with the newspaper to see what day it is.Totally feeling in limbo! Thanks to social media I managed to catch a few posts from some MPs and their staff. Right up to the end ofRead More →

On:
In: Kay Ullrich

It’s that time of year again when we say goodbye to the old year.  I have to admit it will be difficult to raise a toast to 2016.  Politically speaking it has been a roller-coaster ride with more downs than ups!   The highlight of course, was the SNP winning our third term in Government at Holyrood.  The team played a blinder and the electorate rewarded us yet again.   The low points however, vastly outweigh the highs.  Brexit – you all know what that means – it means Brexit?  Don’t worry – no one, least of all the Tory Government, knows what it meansRead More →

On:
In: Maureen Forbes

As we begin to approach the end of another year, I find myself reflecting on how the children have grown and matured over the months and how their priorities shift and their awareness deepens. They’ve always had it hard growing up in a politically engaged household and many times have been encouraged or coerced into attending meetings and helping at events. I have no doubt that many people disagreed with me when I involved them in what I was doing possibly thinking that I was indoctrinating them into my beliefs or forcing them to only see one political ideology but I would wholeheartedly disagree withRead More →

On:
In: News

The Scots Independents Oliver Brown Award winner, Billy Kay, has now been recognised for his contribution to Scots at Na Trads -2016 Scotland’s Traditional Music Awards in Dundee. You can watch the speech on BBC Alba, BBC Alba for the next three weeks here (from 57.00 – ) Here is the text of his acceptance speech “Ladies an gentlemen. it gies me meikle pride an pleisure tae receive this honour on behauf o the scots speakin commun ity that nummers at least ane and a hauf million o ma fellae kintraemen an weemen. yet, oor leid is aften cried the bonnie broukit bairn / the beautiful neglected childRead More →

On:
In: Stephen Bird

I suspect that the two groups who will suffer most from the shambles of Westminster’s economic “plan” are our Senior Citizens and the organisation on which many of them depend; local Councils. In the Autumn Statement, Phillip Hammond made it perfectly clear that the much vaunted triple lock on pensions was going to be “reviewed”. As an aside, why is it that so many tories are so mealy mouthed? There will be no “review”, the triple lock, like so many other solemn commitments, is dead. The history of the last few months tells us all we need to know about tory consistency. On 31 JulyRead More →

On:
In: Grant Thoms

Last week’s first and last Autumn Statement by Philip Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer, had a silver lining in the grey clouds of austerity for the City of Stirling and Clackmannanshire (and a host of other places), when the keenly-awaited confirmation that a City Deal had been struck between the Treasury, Scottish Government, Stirling and Clackmannanshire Councils. The City Deal is predominantly a capital infrastructure plan funded equally by the UK and Scottish Governments, with the two local authorities chipping a bit too. So, you can expect more buildings, better transport links and the opportunity to grow the local economy. The original City Deal inRead More →