Making Progress on Type 1 Diabetes


  I have attended a number of events in Parliament that aimed to highlight the need for a cure for Type 1 diabetes and I have heard first hand from those who have this condition about the impact it has on their daily lives. There are many local campaigners who I am committed to work […]

Basic Income – An Idea Whose Time Has Come


  A conference held in Kelty this weekend heard from a number of academics and politicians and debated the merits of introducing a Citizens Basic Income that would see every person receive a basic income. The idea is creating interest across the world and there are pilots running in Finland, India, Canada, Switzerland and Pakistan. […]

Scottish Budget Debate


    This week I opened the debate in the Scottish Parliament on the Scottish Budget. Labour brought this debate to the parliament as we want to encourage wider discussion in the Parliament and across the country, and to build a consensus about the kind of public services that we want in Scotland and how […]

Scrap the SNP Council Tax


  Following the debate that set the council budget in place, I wrote to Derek Mackay, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Constitution, asking if he was willing to bring parties together for a discussion on how to progress with a better and fairer system of local taxation. A few months previously he had mentioned […]

St Kenneth’s Primary School Pupil Council


  Members of St Kenneth’s Primary School Pupil Council made a visit to the Scottish Parliament to see round the building and hear how Scotland’s seat of government works. The pupils also met with MSP Alex Rowley and put questions to him about the parliament, the issues it deals with and how this impacts on […]

Well Done Acrobay Gymnastics Trust


  It was a great pleasure to join with coaches and gymnasts at the weekend to celebrate the new home of Acrobay Gymnastics Trust, a non-profit organisation, now based at their new purpose built gymnastics facility on Primrose Lane, Rosyth. The club has recently transformed the new premises in Rosyth into a state of the […]

Cuts to Local Public Services to Continue


  The draft Scottish Government budget brought forward by Finance Secretary Derek Mackay at the end of the year will be scrutinised and debated in parliament in the coming weeks. The problem for many watching this process will be trying to determine who is actually telling the truth when it comes to what the budget […]

Rowley calls action on housing crisis as new figures show private landlords rake in more than £2 billion in housing benefit


    Private landlords have made more than £2billion in housing benefit in the last five years, new figures from Scottish Labour have revealed. Alex Rowley MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife highlighted that nearly £45 million alone last year was made by private landlords from housing benefit across Mid Scotland and Fife. On average, £1 […]