Tag: debate

Young voters to ‘grill’ political hopefuls on climate crisis

Young people in Scotland are coming together to “grill” political parties in a special election hustings on their climate commitments amid huge fears about the climate crisis.

The youth-led event in Edinburgh TONIGHT – Wednesday 22 April – will be livestreamed nationwide with questions limited to people under 30 years old. 

The organisers, the Scottish Youth Climate Coalition, say the climate and nature hustings in Edinburgh will be “an opportunity for young people to hear from potential MSPs about how they plan to handle our future.”

Young people are significantly less likely to vote than older people with IPSOS estimating just 37% of 18-24 years old voted in the 2024 UK general election, falling from 47% the 2019 General Election.

Research shows young people are the most worried about the future, with over two thirds of people aged 16-24 reporting that they feel worried about the future due to climate change. A similar number of yooung people say they feel their voices are not listened to by decision makers when it comes to climate.

The Scottish Youth Climate Coalition (SYCC) is made up of six of the largest youth climate organisations in Scotland – collectively representing thousands of young people aged 16-30.

The Coalition consists of Young Friends of the Earth Scotland, 2050 Climate Group, Teach the Future Scotland, Young Sea Changers Scotland, Green New Deal Rising, and People and Planet Edinburgh, with support from many smaller youth groups across the country.

The hustings will take place in Augustine United Church in Edinburgh tonight (Wednesday 22 April from 7 – 9pm).

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s Youth Engagement Intern Kyle Downie said: “This is an opportunity for young people to grill those who wish to sit in the next Scottish Parliament about how they plan to handle our future.

“If politicians want our votes, they must be willing to show how they plan on meeting the many challenges facing young people in Scotland. From worsening climate impacts, to improving bus services, to protecting Scotland’s natural environment and seas, there are many questions we need answers to.

 “It’s great to be able to bring the youth movement back together like this. As with any campaign, we’re stronger when we work together. And it’s important that this husting is youth-led, after all it’s our future these politicians are messing with!”

Charlotte Wilson organiser from the youth-led campaign for climate education, Teach the Future, said: “With 16 year olds able to vote in this election, we’re taking part to press candidates about their commitments to sustainable development, education, outdoor learning, global citizenship, and social welfare – collectively known as Learning for Sustainability – and pathways to green careers.”

TONIGHT: Debate Night Leaders Special

SUNDAY 12 APRIL at 7pm on BBC ONE SCOTLAND

Debate Night is back with a Leaders Special TONIGHT – Sunday 12th April

Watch #bbcdn live at 7pm, on BBC One Scotland and iPlayer

Get involved and have your say: http://bbc.co.uk/send/u39873202

Monday’s Holyrood Hustings event at Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre is FULLY BOOKED

🎉SOLD OUT🎉

👋 Hi Drylaw, Telford and Edinburgh Northern Constituents,

Thank you to everyone that has shown an interest, and to those of you who have your tickets booked, we look forward to welcoming you to our event on Monday evening!

If you have a ticket booked, but can no longer attend, please cancel your ticket, contact us at hustings@drylawtelfordcc.org.uk or message the FB page as we do have a waiting list of people that would also like to attend.

For those that have received a waiting list spot, we will contact you if a ticket becomes available.

ALL those in attendance, must have a valid ticket due to fire regulations.

Thank you for all your support.

Have a great weekend!

Is NATO failing? Experts to clash at the Edinburgh Union as Iran, Russia and Trump challenge the alliance

As US commitment wavers and conflicts rage in Ukraine and the Middle East, leading foreign affairs experts face students to ask: IS THE HISTORIC ALLIANCE STILL FIT FOR PURPOSE?

On Monday 16 March at 7pm, the Edinburgh Union will host a critical international affairs debate on the motion: This House Has No Confidence in NATO to Solve Modern Security Challenges.

Against the backdrop of the protracted war in Ukraine, an emboldened Russia, and the rapidly escalating war involving Iran, this debate will scrutinise the purpose, efficacy, and future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

With the historic military alliance’s resources, strategic unity, and diplomatic influence being severely tested on multiple fronts, speakers will examine whether NATO remains equipped to handle today’s complex geopolitical landscape.

The event brings together leading voices in foreign policy, academia, and the anti-war movement to debate the motion and put their arguments directly to the audience.

The distinguished panel of guest speakers includes Mary Dejevsky, Independent foreign affairs correspondent; Dr Leyla Alijeva, Oxford academic specialising in Russia; Sophie Johnson, Secretary of Stop the War Scotland; and Dr Benjamin Martill, Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh.

Alongside these experts, student speakers from across Edinburgh’s universities will also take opposing sides in the debate.Taking place in Rainy Hall, New College, this event continues the Edinburgh Union’s term programme.

Following a series of highly successful events, the Union continues its mission to provide a platform for open, rigorous debate on contemporary global, political, and cultural issues in Scotland’s capital.

Finn Tyson, President of the Edinburgh Union, said: “We are excited to be hosting such an incredible calibre of speakers for this timely debate and giving students at the University of Edinburgh the opportunity speak alongside experts in this field.

“The global security landscape is constantly evolving, and the role of international institutions such as NATO is increasingly part of ongoing public debate.

“By engaging with multiple perspectives, this debate aims to provide a platform at Edinburgh University for the rigorous debate this topic needs.”

Terminally ill people and their families urge MSPs to vote for the Assisted Dying Bill

Terminally ill people and families of those who suffered as they died have come together to urge MSPs to vote for Liam McArthur MSP’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill in the Scottish Parliament.

The letter, signed by 54 people with lived experience across Scotland, tells of the fear of facing a painful and protracted death without the option of an assisted death, and the bleak options with which they are left, including ending their own lives behind closed doors.

Those who have witnessed a loved one suffer as they die highlight extreme suffering that is beyond the reach of any palliative care, leaving those behind with harrowing memories.

The lead signatory of the letter, Norma Rivers, 73, from Ayr, has terminal myeloma – a rare form of blood cancer. Having witnessed her father’s traumatic death from cancer, she knows she doesn’t want to suffer as she dies.

Norma said: “Having no choice can force people into things they don’t want to do. I want to live as long as possible, but I am running out of treatment options.

“If the Bill isn’t passed before I die, I will take matters into my own hands. I have just been living in fear, trying to work out which of my drugs I need and how much, and scared I’ll end up worse if it doesn’t work.

“All I ask if for a peaceful ending surrounded by my family.”

FULL TEXT OF THE LETTER

Dear MSPs,

We have come together as terminally ill people and families of those who suffered as they died, to ask you to vote for the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill at Stage 3.

We are the real people at the heart of this Bill. Some of us face a terminal diagnosis ourselves, while others have witnessed a loved one suffer unbearably at the end of life. When you voted for the Bill at Stage 1, we know that you did so with our stories in your minds, and we ask you to please do the same at Stage 3. The Stage 1 vote brought such relief and hope to us, that no one else might have to suffer as we have.

For those of us with a terminal diagnosis, denying us choice will not stop us seeking it out. Without assisted dying, we are coerced into suffering against our wishes. Many of us have already seen a loved one suffer and know what is coming. Like the vast majority of Scots, we are priced out of travelling to Switzerland.

We do not want to die alone in a foreign country, but could not risk our loved ones facing prosecution when they return without us. The only other option is to end our own lives behind closed doors. This means endless sleepless nights calculating the combination and amounts of drugs we need and the intense fear that none of it will work and we will end up in a worse position than before.

Watching a loved one suffer has put us in impossible situations too. The agony we have witnessed, even with the very best palliative and hospice staff doing everything they can, is unimaginable.

We have been left powerless, hands tied by the law, as our closest family begged us to help them; to take them to Switzerland when we know they are too far gone, or  o scour the dark web for pills, not knowing what’s in them or where they come from.

The law abandoned us when we needed it most, leaving us to scramble around in the dark with no process, no safeguards, and no compassion. We are only left with harrowing memories, guilt that we were powerless to help, and our own health conditions caused by the stress.

Assisted dying would be a lifeline. It would let us live the rest of our lives in peace, making precious final memories with our loved ones, without the constant dread of how our lives will end. It’s too late for our loved ones who have died, but we have the opportunity to make things  ight so no one has to suffer as they did.

This issue is not going away. Voting against this Bill will not stop us from dying, but will deny us a lifeline to a safe, peaceful death surrounded by our loved ones.

You have before you an opportunity to shape what an assisted dying law in Scotland looks like.

A law that is safe, compassionate, and provides choice to those who so desperately need it. Without it, our options are bleak. The most dangerous thing you can do for us is nothing.

Please give us hope by voting for the Assisted Dying Bill.

Thank you.

Scotland’s leading healthcare organisations raise serious concerns over Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill

Scotland’s leading healthcare organisations raise serious concerns over proposed changes to Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill

A group of six major medical and healthcare membership organisations in Scotland has issued a joint consensus statement warning of their significant concern regarding changes now being proposed to the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill.

The organisations – whose members span a wide range of clinical and ethical perspectives on assisted dying – emphasise that while they take no collective position on the principle of assisted dying, they are united in their concern that provisions relating to no duty to participate and conscientious objection may be removed from the Bill, and the impact that this could have on the workforce.

The Scottish Government has recently indicated that key provisions relating to ‘no duty to participate’, as well as other protections linked to professional regulation and employment rights are not within devolved powers and may be removed from the Bill at Stage 3. These issues would instead be addressed later through a Section 104 Order – secondary legislation that receives only limited parliamentary scrutiny.

The signatory organisations state that removing issues of such significance risk undermining both professional confidence and public trust.

The joint letter, sent today to Liam McArthur MSP, the Scottish Parliament Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, as well as the Secretary of State and Chair of the House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee states:

“The prospect of removing matters of such professional, ethical, and legal significance from parliamentary scrutiny at Stage 3, and deferring them to secondary legislation after the Bill has passed, raises important questions about transparency, accountability, and the robustness of the legislative process.

“These protections are central to the safe, ethical, and fair delivery of care, and to the confidence of our medical workforce who may be affected by the legislation.”

The organisations highlight four core concerns:

1. Removal of key safeguards from primary legislation

2. Risk to professional confidence and public trust

3. Inadequate scrutiny of consequential provisions

4. Implications for safe and ethical implementation

The group of organisations in consensus express their continuing commitment to work constructively with the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament to ensure that any legislation affecting assisted dying is developed transparently, rigorously, and with full consideration of the healthcare workforce it will impact.

Signatory organisations:

  • Association for Palliative Medicine (Scotland)
  • Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland
  • Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland
  • Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
  • Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland
  • Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
  • Royal Pharmaceutical Society
Consensus statement – ADTIA (Scotland) Bill – FINALDownload

Scotland at the Crossroads: Net Zero and the Next Parliament

FESTIVAL OF POLITICS EVENT

MONDAY 16 FEBRUARY from 5.15 – 7pm

Join the Centre for Public Policy and the Scottish Parliament on Monday 16 February, for a free event at The Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh – hear from a panel of experts as they explore how the next Parliament could redefine the path to net zero and the implementation of the Climate Change Plan.

Booking essential – book via the Scottish Parliament

About this event

As Scotland heads toward a pivotal Holyrood election in May 2026, join the panel of experts to explore how the next Parliament could redefine the path to net zero and the implementation of the Climate Change Plan.

As MSPs examine the plan ahead of dissolution, this discussion will delve into the political, economic, and social pressures shaping Scotland’s climate future, examine public attitudes to environmental policy in an election year, and highlight the importance of women’s role in driving Scotland’s green energy transition.

Chaired by Edward Mountain MSP, Convener of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Speaker biographies

Dr Hannah Salamon is a Research Associate at the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Public Policy with expertise at the intersection of gender, climate change policy, and equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). Her work brings a gendered and EDI-focused perspective to climate governance and policy, including the role of women’s representation in shaping climate outcomes. As a ClimateXChange Research Fellow, she is currently working with the Scottish Government to investigate the socioeconomic benefits of nature connectivity.

Mark McGeoghegan is a Research Associate at the Centre for Public Policy, Associate Advisory Director at Ipsos, and Associate Member of the Centre on Constitutional Change. He is an expert in Scottish polling and politics who has written for The Herald and a range of other publications.

Professor Jaime Toney is a leading environmental and climate scientist. She is the Sustainable Futures Lead for Glasgow Changing Futures, directs the Centre for Sustainable Solutions at the University of Glasgow and leads GALLANT: Glasgow as a Living Lab. Her recent work focuses on systems approaches for sustainable solutions and puts co-production and partnership working at the core. She is passionate about enabling action and building capacity for change towards sustainable futures. Toney is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce and has held expert roles, such as, Advisor to Scottish Government.

Dr Dominic Hinde is a Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Glasgow, author and climate journalist. He is an expert in transitions and recently completed ‘Drifting North’, an extensive multi-year ‘public sociology’ of climate and energy in Scotland, and works academically on the storytelling aspects of energy transition and climate impacts. He recently released the podcast ‘The Energy That Made Modern Scotland’ bringing alive the story of North Sea energy.

The Big Debate: Europe wins by acclimation

On Friday evening (16th Jan) a packed Glasgow University Union approved by acclimation the motion that Scotland and the UK should rejoin the European Union.

Alyn Smith, the SNP’s Scottish Government candidate for Stirling and a former Member of the European Parliament, was the lead speaker for the motion. He was supported by Sir Ian Forrester.

Sir Ian, who was knighted in the New Year’s Honour for services to international law, is a Glasgow University graduate and was a leading student debater. He was a judge at the General Court of Justice of the European Union, until the UK left the EU.

Student debater, Emilia Faulkner, a second-year law and Spanish language student, who has won public speaking awards, was the final speaker for the motion. She used her time to also call for a revival of foreign languages teaching across the UK.

The opposition was led by Glasgow University political scientist, Dr Michael Scanlan and by award winning student debaters Harry Braid and Harry Olden.

While accepting that Brexit is a failed policy, the team argued that rejoining the EU should not be part of the UK’s politics at present. 

The debate, which was organised jointly by the European Movement in Scotland and Glasgow University Debating Society, was chaired by Convener of Debates, Colson Merrill.

Colson Merrill said: “This was a fantastic debate argued with facts, analysis, humour and passion by both teams.

“We had insightful and knowledgeable questions from the audience in the gallery. The debate was about serious politics of the highest importance, conducted in a wholly constructive way.” 

Speaking for the European Movement in Scotland, its President, David Martin said: “Our primary aim was to have the issue of our place in Europe aired and discussed by a generation of students who were too young to vote in the 2016 Brexit referendum.

“When they were asked to vote for or against the motion, the students overwhelmingly opted for Scotland and the UK returning to the EU.” 

Glasgow University Union is one of the most successful university debating unions in the world. It has been world debating champions five times and won the European Championships in 2017 and have been British and Irish Champions a record 16 times.

Former Presidents of the debating society include the journalist Andrew Neil, former Lord Chancellor Derry Irvine, Conservative politician Liam Fox, and Labour MSP Paul Sweeney.

Late politicians who were Presidents include Lord “Ming” Campbell, Charles Kennedy, who both led the UK Liberal Democrats; Scotland’s first First Minister Donald Dewar and John Smith, who led the UK Labour party.

Verdict on 19 years of SNP power: Edinburgh Union hosts Election Debate

On Monday 19 January, the Edinburgh Union will host a landmark debate on the motion: This House Has No Confidence in the Scottish Government Ahead of the Holyrood Election.

With the Holyrood election fast-approaching, this debate will examine the legacy of nearly two decades of SNP governance and assess the Scottish Government’s record across key policy areas. The event will bring together MSPs and election candidates from across Scotland’s major political parties to debate the motion and put their arguments directly to the audience.

Alongside guest speakers including Paul McLennan MSP, Katherine Sangster, and Alex Cole Hamilton MSP, student speakers from the University of Edinburgh will also take opposing sides in the debate.

The audience, comprising students and academics from across Edinburgh’s universities, will have the opportunity to question speakers and ultimately vote on whether they retain confidence in the Scottish Government ahead of the upcoming election.

This debate marks the beginning of the Edinburgh Union’s summer term programme. Following a series of sold-out events last semester, the Union continues its mission to provide a platform for open, rigorous debate on contemporary political and cultural issues in Scotland’s capital.

The forthcoming term card includes debates on whether immigration is the biggest issue facing the UK, and if NATO can solve modern security challenges – as well as a Varsity debate against the Cambridge Union.

Each debate takes place in Rainy Hall, New College, and offers audience members the opportunity to engage directly with speakers from across the political spectrum in a traditional Union-style format.

Finn Tyson, President of the Edinburgh Union, said: “With the Holyrood election approaching, this debate gives students and the wider academic community the chance to assess the record of the Scottish Government and directly question candidates seeking to govern Scotland. 

“The Edinburgh Union exists to foster open, challenging, and respectful debate. Our events are open to all students, and we are proud to bring together voices from across the political spectrum to start this semester with an event centered on democratic engagement and rigorous discussion.”

European Movement in Scotland: Political heavyweights limber up for rejoin EU debate at Glasgow Uni

SNP’s Alyn Smith leads for rejoin while Political scientist Dr. Michael Scanlan opposes motion

Two heavyweight political thinkers will go head-to-head on Friday 16th January when they debate the motion ‘that Scotland and the UK should rejoin the European Union.‘

Leading in support of the motion is former SNP MP and MEP Alyn Smith. Glasgow University political scientist Dr. Michael Scanlan will oppose the proposition.

The debate has been organised by Glasgow University Dialectical Society. Several of its student members will speak respectively for and against the motion.

The debate was proposed and is being supported by the European Movement in Scotland (EMiS). Alyn Smith, who is a vice-president of EMiS, says: “There are undergraduates at universities across the UK who were still in primary school when the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016.

“They were not given a vote or a voice. They didn’t get to engage in the arguments for Remain or Leave. The debate at Glasgow University Union will help to engage a new generation in the case for Europe.”

Colson Merrill, Convener of Debates, says that Glasgow University has a global reputation for its debating. “Our debates are famous for the quality of the oratory and the expertise and intellectual grasp of speakers, both guests and students.

“Part of our tradition is that we encourage speakers to be respectful of their opponents. Speakers who deeply understand their subject and deploy facts, logic and humour are usually the most persuasive.”

Erasmus returns

Following sustained campaigning by organisations including EMiS, the London government announced in early December that the UK will rejoin the Erasmus + scheme. The Erasmus student exchange scheme was previously mainly accessed by students in higher education.

However, Erasmus will now be open to young people from a wide range of education, training courses and jobs, including apprentices and those in specialist training, including agriculture and sport, and people with disabilities.

David Clarke, chair of EMiS says: “The UK returning to Erasmus is very welcome. Our young people deserve to live in a Scotland and a UK where they can benefit from being Europeans.”