Category: North Edinburgh News

Universal Credit’s now Scotland-wide

dwp

Today Arbroath, Blairgowrie, Forfar, Montrose and Perth join the rest of Scotland’s jobcentres in offering Universal Credit to single jobseekers. Nearly 25,000 Scots are claiming Universal Credit and over 9,000 have moved into work under the new system, according to the Department of Work & Pensions.

The DWP says Universal Credit is designed to ensure people will be better off in work and the latest statistics show that people claiming it are finding work faster and earning more.

Those on Universal Credit are significantly more likely to find employment than those on Jobseeker’s Allowance and, for the first time ever, support is being offered to claimants to progress in their careers and increase their earnings.

Today, single jobseekers will be able to claim Universal Credit in:

  • Arbroath
  • Blairgowrie
  • Forfar
  • Montrose
  • Perth

The DWP has produced a short video about Universal Credit (below)

Universal Credit will eventually replace 6 existing benefits:

  • Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Income Support
  • Employment and Support Allowance
  • Working Tax Credit
  • Child Tax Credits
  • Housing Benefit

See the list of jobcentre areas where you can claim Universal Credit.

What’s your experience of Universal Credit? Let us know!

Do Scots feel at home in a country dominated by one party?

SNP conference

A new report by Electoral Reform Society Scotland says that both Labour and the SNP have benefited from a “predominant-party problem” in Scotland, and calls for a range of radical political reforms to ‘transform our political culture‘. Continue reading Do Scots feel at home in a country dominated by one party?

The Guid Auld Days at Muirhouse Millennium Centre

Janet - Compare recieves a bouquet

Thursday saw Edinburgh College students with volunteers – Step Up – running their first social event in the community: a retro quiz in Muirhouse Millennium Centre with our regular social groups, The Sunshine Club & the Loose Women (writes James McGinty).

Continue reading The Guid Auld Days at Muirhouse Millennium Centre

Holyrood 2016: factfile

The Scottish Parliament elections take place on Thursday 5 May – one week to go! See below for all the information you could ever wish for!

womens manifesto

Your local constituency candidates are:

EDINBURGH CENTRAL

BETTSWORTH, Hannah (Scottish Liberal Democrats)

BOYACK, Sarah (Scottish Labour Party)

DAVIDSON, Ruth (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party)

DICKIE, Alison (Scottish National Party (SNP))

JOHNSTONE, Alison (Scottish Green Party)

LAIRD, Tom (Scottish Libertarian Party)

 

EDINBURGH NORTHERN & LEITH

CALDWELL, Jack (Independent)

HINDS, Lesley (Scottish Labour Party)

MACPHERSON, Ben (Scottish National Party (SNP))

MCGILL, Iain (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party)

VEART, Martin (Scottish Liberal Democrats)

EDINBURGH WESTERN

BATHO, Sandy (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party)

COLE-HAMILTON, Alex (Scottish Liberal Democrats)

GIUGLIANO, Toni (Scottish National Party (SNP))

HEADLEY, Cat (Scottish Labour Party)

 

Other Edinburgh Constituencies:

Edinburgh Eastern

COOK, Nick (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party)

DENHAM, Ash (Scottish National Party (SNP))

D’INVERNO, Cospatric (Scottish Liberal Democrats)

DUGDALE, Kezia (Scottish Labour Party)

 

Edinburgh Pentlands

FARTHING-SYKES, Emma (Scottish Liberal Democrats)

HEARY, Blair (Scottish Labour Party)

LINDHURST, Gordon (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party)

MACDONALD, Gordon (Scottish National Party (SNP)

 

Edinburgh Southern

BRIGGS, Miles (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party)

EADIE, Jim (Scottish National Party (SNP))

JOHNSON, Daniel (Scottish Labour Party)

SUBBARAMAN, Pramod (Scottish Liberal Democrats)

Holyrood Parliament

LIST VOTE

The names of the parties for the Lothian Region are listed below in the order that they appear on the ballot paper.

Seven candidates will be elected to the Lothian Region as Members of the Scottish Parliament, from the following list:

RISE – Respect, Independence, Socialism and Environmentalism

Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party

Scottish Green Party

Scottish Labour Party

Scottish Liberal Democrats

Scottish National Party (SNP)

Scottish Women’s Equality Party

Solidarity – Scotland’s Socialist Movement

UK Independence Party (UKIP)

Holyrood Parliament

THE VOTING SYSTEM

The Additional Member System (AMS) is used to elect members to the Scottish Parliament.

How it works:

There are 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs)

There are two ways an MSP can be elected.

Each elector (voter) has two votes.

Scotland is divided into 73 constituencies and each constituency elects one MSP. These are known as constituency MSPs and are elected by ‘first past the post’ in exactly the same way as MPs are elected to Westminster. This is the elector’s constituency vote.

The regional vote is used to elect 56 additional members. Scotland is divided into 8 parliamentary Regions and each region elects seven regional MSPs.

In the second vote the voter votes for a party rather than a candidate. The parties are then allocated a number of additional members to make the overall result more proportional. The regional MSPs are selected from lists compiled by the parties. These MSPs are also sometimes referred to as List MSPs.

holyrood parliament MSPs

HOW DO I VOTE?

Always read the instructions for filling in the ballot papers carefully, even if you have voted before.

You will receive two ballot papers.

On the lilac coloured ballot paper you will vote for your constituency MSP. The ballot paper lists the name of each candidate along with their party name and party logo.

Simply put a cross (X) next to the one candidate that you wish to vote for.

On the peach coloured ballot paper you vote for a party or independent candidate competing for the seven regional seats for your region of Scotland. The ballot paper lists political parties and independent candidates.

Simply put a cross (X) next to the one party or independent candidate that you wish to vote for.

If you make a mistake then you can ask the polling staff to give you another ballot paper.

Scottish Paliament Holyrood

WHERE DO I VOTE?

Your polling place will be noted on your Poll Card, or you can check it online. You should go to your polling place to vote on 5 May, between 7am and 10pm.

Find your polling station

womens manifesto

WHO DO I VOTE FOR? THE MANIFESTOS …

What do they stand for? What are they offering?

RISE

RISE man

RISE-Manifesto-2016

SCOTTISH CONSERVATIVE & UNIONIST PARTY

tory manifesto

Scottish-Conservative-Manifesto_2016

SCOTTISH GREEN PARTY

green manifesto

Scottish Greens Manifesto_Online

 

SCOTTISH LABOUR PARTY

LAB manifesto

Scottish Labour Manifesto 2016

 

SCOTTISH LIBERAL DEMOCRATS

LD manifesto

Manifesto_-_Be_The_Best_Again-_Scottish_Liberal_Democrats_2016

 

SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY

snp

SNP_Manifesto2016

 

SCOTTISH WOMEN’S EQUALITY PARTY

women manifesto

WE_Scotland_Manifesto

 

SOLIDARITY – Scotland’s Socialist Movement

SOLIDARITY manifesto

Manifesto available on Solidarity website

UK INDEPENDENCE PARTY (UKIP)

ukip

UKIP Manifesto

 

FURTHER READING

Keep up on Twitter:

‪#‎SP16‬ ‪#‎VoteSocialEnterprise‬ ‪#‎Holyrood2016‬ ‪#‎SP2016‬
‪#‎VoteRISE‬ ‪#‎GreenHolyrood‬ ‪#‎VoteGreen2016‬ ‪#‎BothVotesSNP‬‪ #‎BothVotesLabour‬ ‪#‎VoteLibDemTwice‬ ‪#‎TeamRuth‬

Dead ignorant

Almost 1 in 5 men ‘lethally ignorant’ they even have a prostate, new survey finds

man alone

Prostrate Cancer UK has launched a new campaign to raise awareness of the lethal disease.

  • over 2,900 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in Scotland
  • over 850 men die from prostate cancer every year in Scotland
  • two men die from prostate cancer every day in Scotland.

The charity’s latest research reveals a shocking lack of awareness among men about their own bodies and their risk of prostate cancer, leading to thousands of needless deaths each year – but a new nationwide TV advertising campaign aims to tackle the ignorance head on.

Despite one man every hour dying from prostate cancer, it seems most men still have no idea what the gland does or even that they have one.

PCUK’s new survey of almost 2,000 men found a massive 92% of them had no idea that the prostate helps make the fluid sperm swims in and contains muscles for ejaculation, with more than half not knowing where it was in their body and 17% unaware of it altogether.

Worryingly 88% of men from higher risk groups – those over 50, black or with a family history of the disease – were unaware of their increased danger. An alarming 11% of them believed they were actually at lower risk of developing prostate cancer, and 86% of black men didn’t know they were twice as likely as any other racial group in the UK.

The shocking results coincide with our new nationwide TV advertising campaign, urging men to stop ignoring prostate cancer and join the fight to beat the disease. With enough money and the right action from clinicians and researchers, PCUK believes we can halve the 14,500 men projected to die from prostate cancer in 2026, creating the better diagnosis and treatments that will make it a disease the next generation needn’t fear.

“Ignoring your prostate can be lethal,” says Prostate Cancer UK chief executive, Angela Culhane. “You can’t see it, you can’t feel it, and shockingly many men only realise they have a prostate when it starts to go wrong.

“If men really knew what the prostate can do to them, they wouldn’t ignore it. As a country, we need to wake up and stop men dying needlessly. Ignoring prostate cancer won’t beat it – only fighting it will. Now is the time to join the fight to beat this disease.”