Pilot areas named for new food insecurity project in Scotland I was pleased to announce the three areas that will take part in a new project tackling food insecurity at an event at the Scottish Parliament. The project will work intensively with local groups in Dundee, East Ayrshire and Fife. The three areas will […]
This week I spoke in the Scottish Parliament on the Freedom of Information Requests debate. There have been many concerns raised surrounding the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and the performance of the SNP Government in responding to requests under the act. It has been repeatedly said that the application of the act by […]
Scottish Labour Deputy Leader Alex Rowley Calls for Independent Review of Fife Ethylene Plant at Mossmorran Following a weekend of intensified flaring, and an outpouring of thick black smoke, Scottish Labour Deputy Leader Alex Rowley has made calls for an independent review into the workings, processes and current condition of Fife Ethylene Plant […]
I was pleased to sign my support for Unite’s Fair Hospitality Campaign today in the Scottish Parliament. In the wake of the success of the Better than Zero campaign in forcing some of Scotland’s most exploitative employers in the hospitality industry to change their ways, Unite Scotland have launched the Fair Hospitality Campaign – a campaign which […]
All you wanted to know about Local Government Finance but were afraid to ask: Part One – Where the money comes from and where it goes This is the first part of a number of briefings that have been published by the Local Government Information Unit and the Author is George Black, LGiU […]
I would first want to congratulate Lesley Laird who was elected MP for the Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency last week and Peter Grant who was elected for the Glenrothes constituency both of which sit in the area covered by the Fife Times. I will work with both on constituency issues and for the improvement […]
On Thursday as I walked from door to door a bit drenched with a group of passionate and motivated Labour supporters I thought fondly of my first memory as a child of politics and elections. I was sitting on the local service bus on a bleak damp night going with my mum to […]
In 2017 poverty amongst children and adults is on the rise. This cannot be right – it is not right – and we need government to accept responsibility. Nelson Mandela once famously said: “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not […]
Tory austerity is having a devastating impact on those most in need of support. It is failing to support people to get to a point where they can access the labour market. It also targets those who are ill and unable to work. The cuts are not fair and the latest report from […]