Author: davepickering

Edinburgh reporter and photographer

‘Brexit is based on lies’: hundreds call for People’s Vote

Hundreds of people attended a People’s Vote Let Us Be Heard rally in The Meadows yesterday. Labour MPs Jess Phillips and Ian Murray, and SNP MP Joanna Cherry were joined by a stellar line-up of comedians from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

As well as the MPs, speakers included top comics Andrew Maxwell, Grace Campbell and Fred MacAulay as well as the renowned ‘Brexit Graffiti Granny’, Hazel Jones.  Continue reading ‘Brexit is based on lies’: hundreds call for People’s Vote

Aamer Anwar to deliver Jimmy Reid Foundation annual lecture

Dear Friends of The Reid Foundation,

The 2019 annual lecture is now only two months away, on Thursday 10 October.

In conjunction with the University of Glasgow, the lecture will be given by Scotland’s leading human rights lawyer, Aamer Anwar. Currently, Aamer is the Rector of the University of Glasgow, as Jimmy Reid was in the early 1970s, and will give the lecture in the Bute Hall where Jimmy gave his famous rectorial address in 1972 called ‘Alienation’ and known as the ‘rat race is for rats’ speech.

The title of Aamer’s lecture is ‘The struggle for justice, equality and freedom in Scotland’.

In it, he will not only discuss the state of justice, equality and human rights in Scotland but also examine how the battle for these can be pursued in the face of opposition from the Scottish establishment.

Tickets for the lecture can be purchased here.

We look forward to seeing you on the night.

Any Reid Foundation sustaining members are eligible for a free ticket – please email us back on this address if you wish to take up this option.

Yours sincerely

Gregor Gall, Director

Nine local business closures a month must prompt Scottish town rethink

New report urges:

  • £90 million annual investment in hard-pressed Scottish towns from the Scottish National Investment Bank and the UK Stronger Towns Fund;
  • A new Scottish Government commission to tackle the blight of empty properties;
  • Banks to deliver on their shared hubs shared hubs promise, and new help for independent traders to better utilise digital technologies.

At least 414 bank branch, shop and local premises closures have been announced for Scotland’s towns and villages by big business and the public sector since the start of 2016. Continue reading Nine local business closures a month must prompt Scottish town rethink