On:
In: Steven Marwick

It’s astonishing to watch as events continue to unfold in Catalonia. The news from there seems increasingly incredible. We are watching the Spanish state blow it’s international credibility to pieces in front of us, as they repeatedly and meticulously aim at their feet and pull the trigger. There are so many different things happening that almost defy belief. We have the peaceful leader of a civic nationalist movement being kept in prison without trial because he wont recant his pro-independence views. Amnesty International are now calling for the release of Jordi Sanchez, calling his continued imprisonment “excessive” and “disproportionate”. He is the leader of theRead More →

On:
In: Kay Ullrich

Looking back over my blogs of the last year, they have mainly featured Brexit, Trump and even Duterte in the Philippines. There is a common thread running in all of these – a new form of Politics which seems to be based on stirring up resentment –the politics of blame and resentment. A world wide wave of populist politics which have successfully gained traction by playing to the basest of instincts – Xenophobia, protectionism and authoritarianism. The “Blame Game” would be an accurate description of the new politics. In the case of Brexit and Trump, immigration is the main hate tool, in the case ofRead More →

On:
In: Jim Lynch

The expression “Those whom the Gods wish to destroy they first make mad” nearly always reminds me of the old joke;  “I had to take my dog to the vet to have him put down” to be asked  “Poor thing, was it mad?”  Response “Well it wisna very pleased”. It is difficult to know where to begin, as so many issues are cropping up with no answers, so a brief resume . I hear that the Daily Record this week criticised the Scottish Labour Leader for stating that Nicola Sturgeon was as divisive as Margaret Thatcher;  interesting that the Record took that line. A furoreRead More →

On:
In: Maureen Forbes

In the week that it was reported that a customer received an email response from Marks and Spencer to a complaint about Scotch Whisky being branded as British, advising her that Scotland was now part of England, more and more instances surface of the unconscious view held by many south of the border that Scotland exists only as a dependency to its larger neighbour. After writing to voice her displeasure that Whisky produced in Scotland and therefore protected in law as being Scotch, was not afforded Scotland as its country of origin but was instead labelled as being British; the matter was further compounded byRead More →

On:
In: Grant Thoms

Monday: what a bizarre day for political media management in 10 Downing Street. A Cabinet reshuffle that actually didn’t do very much but somehow managed to take hours to conclude. Maternal Theresa promised a new ministerial team of bright and bubbly women and BME as dynamic reformers. Instead she was left with no net increase in women in full Cabinet posts. She had to resort to the use of ‘attendees’ to make gender balance appear better. So poor Liz Truss (chief secretary to the Treasury) and Andrea Leadsom (Leader of the House of Commons) ‘attend’ Cabinet whereas their predecessors in these roles would have beenRead More →

On:
In: Uncategorized

Please note that although you can continue to place orders with the online shop, the volunteer staff will be on holiday 6th to 15th January. All orders placed between 6th and 15th January 2018 will be posted out on Tuesday 16th January 2018 Happy shoppingRead More →

On:
In: Stephen Bird

I know that we were all just a wee tad busy in 2012 – 14, there was apparently a referendum going on. But while we were tramping the streets with leaflets, canvas packs and manning street stalls for that a seriously important anniversary went without due recognition. I know that the National Trust for Scotland held major events over the weekend of the Battle of Bannockburn (just as well the new boss man wasn’t in place) but because of co-ordinated political opposition the anniversary was much lower key than it deserved. Not just because the Scots under King Robert defeated the English under Edward 2Read More →

On:
In: Margaret Hamilton

Dear Jeremy, In recent weeks there has been a clear signal from the business community and Members across the House that the best way forward in Phase two negotiations for the UK exiting the EU would be to protect our current membership of the single market and customs union. I hope you will join me at 17:00 on Monday 8th January 2018, the first day after the Christmas recess, to discuss how we can work together in Parliament to secure the UK’s continued membership of the single market. As Fraser of Allander analysis has revealed, leaving the single market would risk up to 80,000 jobsRead More →

On:
In: Margaret Hamilton

Tax. No one wants to pay it but everyone wants what it is able to provide. That’s life. What also seems to be life, in this modern world, is that the Nationalists seem to keep upsetting the Unionists. Last week this was extremely evident at the budget presentation. The unionists thought they had all worked out what was going to happen and had all prepared their speeches beforehand. Nasty nationalists had not leaked what their intentions were. Result…………….very embarrassing, unionist leaders were unable to think on their feet. They read out their prepared statements and as such, much of what they said was irrelevant. TheyRead More →