This week I absolutely loved a visit to what used to be the Fire Station on Carnegie Drive Dunfermline and saw what has been transformed into an absolutely brilliant facility. Fire Station Creative is a charity that was set up to renovate the iconic fire […]
I have written to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Michael Matheson MSP asking him to put in place a review of the effectiveness of Police Scotland and the impact on local communities since the removal of the local Police Forces. In Fife we have seen the closure of local Police Stations and an increase in […]
The announcement by Harriet Harman on a BBC chat programme that Labour will not oppose the Tory attack on Tax Credits has left Labour members confused and angry. We must unite in our condemnation of her stance which as so many are now saying #notinmyname. For many, being in work is not a safeguard against […]
Membership within the Labour Party has been in decline over a number of years and the contrast with the SNP is not just the difference in numbers, but the amount of young people distancing themselves from our party and embracing something different. When I joined the Party as a teenager one of the selling points of […]
I had the great privilege of attending a Mass of Thanksgiving at Our Lady and St Bride Church Cowdenbeath for the Diamond Jubilee of Canon Philip Doherty. I talked to many parishioners afterwards and heard first hand just how highly Canon Doherty is thought of and the massive contribution he has made to life in […]
Speaking today after a visit to Inverclyde Community Development Trust and Port Glasgow Business and Training Centre, Scottish Labour MSP and candidate for Deputy Leader, Alex Rowley said: ‘Labour must put full employment at the heart of its policy for skills in Scotland.’ He said: ‘I believe that we must be ambitious and support […]
I had the great pleasure of attending a performance of ‘Sole Searching: A Hootenanny’ which is a socially engaged theatre project by Inverkeithing Community Initiative in partnership with Tiny Fragments Theatre and Fife Council. A Hootenanny: ‘a celebration, a gathering, a party, an occasion which people assemble for’ is a performance where 4 women question […]
It was a great pleasure last week to meet up with Primary 6 pupils from my old school St Josephs in Kelty when they visited the Scottish Parliament. I also that week visited Primary 7 pupils at Foulford Primary School Cowdenbeath to discuss with them what my job involves and to hear their thoughts as […]
Thank you gala committees I want to begin this column by thanking all the people who work all year round to make the local galas and community events happen at this time of year. Such events are great for community spirit and from what I have observed also good for the local economy as thousands […]
The below was sent out as an email letter to all members on 24 June. My Background I grew up in Kelty, Fife where my Dad was a miner and my mum worked in factories and when she was not working there she was working in the fields picking potatoes or planting trees to earn […]