Local candidate welcomes Scottish Government taking over Scotrail
Edinburgh Western SNP candidate Sarah Masson has welcomed the announcement that the SNP Scottish Government is taking over the running of the country’s rail franchise.
ScotRail services will move into public sector control when the current franchise with Abellio expires – expected to happen in March 2022.
Transport Secretary Michael Matheson announced that rail services will be run by an arm’s length company owned and controlled by the Scottish Government.
The Scottish Government’s decision to run our railways through what it known as the ‘Operator of Last Resort’ has been shaped by a number of factors, including faults with the current franchising system, uncertainty from a year-long delay in the UK Government’s rail review and the effects of the Covid pandemic.
Commenting on the announcement Sarah Masson, SNP candidate for Edinburgh Western, said: “This bold move by the SNP Scottish Government will bring welcome stability and certainty to those who use our railway for work and leisure, both in Edinburgh and across the country.
“And the news that current ScotRail staff will transfer to the new Scottish Government owned company, with their terms and conditions protected, will also provide much-needed security to those who rely on our railways for their livelihoods.
“The SNP have long argued that the future structure of Scottish railways should be in Scotland’s hands. It’s well beyond time that the Tory UK Government listened and devolved rail powers to Holyrood.
“However, this move is both bold and welcome and will ensure Scotland’s rail users are provided with the well-run, affordable and reliable service we rightly expect.”
Over 8,500 blind and partially sighted people and their supporters across Scotland have been urged to join a concerted drive to contact their local candidates for the Scottish Parliament election in May.
The move comes after a year of lockdowns which sight loss charity RNIB Scotland says has exacerbated the issues that have made life more difficult for those with a visual impairment
It is linking people on its database to an online system that will let them quickly find and email the election candidates standing in their area.
“Covid highlighted some serious gaps in our services last year, gaps that were troubling enough in normal times but very alarming during a period of crisis,” said director James Adams.
“Vital information that sometimes wasn’t available initially in formats like audio and braille, access to online shopping, confusion over social distancing and guiding – not priorities for most people, perhaps, but absolutely essential to those who are blind and partially sighted.
“We want to mobilise our members and supporters to push their concerns onto the political agenda.”
In its own manifesto for the election, RNIB Scotland is calling for sight loss issues to be given more priority – not least a commitment that voting itself will be made more accessible for blind and partially people.
Research by RNIB last year found that only 13 per cent of one blind voters across the UK, and less than half of partially sighted voters (44 per cent), said they were able to vote independently and in private in the last General Election. A legal ruling in 2019 criticised existing arrangements for voters with sight loss as ‘a parody of the electoral process’.
The RNIB Scotland manifesto also calls for emotional support for people first diagnosed with sight loss, more specialist teachers in schools, disability benefits that better recognise the needs of blind and partially sighted people, and support in finding employment.
The charity wants an assurance, too, that the new post-covid emphasis on ‘active travel’ – which could see the legalisation of rented e-scooters – doesn’t infringe on the rights of people with disabilities to go safely outdoors.
“After the shock that was covid in 2020 we need to make our society safer and more resilient,” said Mr Adams. “But let’s grab this opportunity to make it fairer, too. Covid gave us all a sense of what it’s like to feel more vulnerable and unsure, more dependent on each other.
“Scotland should plan for more than just a return to yesterday in 2021 but aim towards a better tomorrow. Let’s make sure that the society and structures that we do at last come back to are open and inclusive for everyone.”
* The RNIB Helpline can be called on 0303 123 9999. The RNIB Scotland website is at www.rnib.org.uk/scotland.
Yesterday The Majority, with the support of Scotland Matters, UK Union Voice and over 250 donors who contributed to a crowdfunding campaign, launched the #ResignSturgeon campaign, the first in a series of campaigns leading up to the Scottish Elections on May 6.
The campaign started with :
Three digital billboards
Glasgow – Clydeside Expressway (access near Lidl on Castlebank St)
Edinburgh – Slateford Road (next to Jewson)
Aberdeen – Market Street (at Union Square)
A #ResignSturgeon banner towed behind an aeroplane flying over:
The Scottish Parliament Building in Holyrood and Edinburgh City Centre
Glasgow City Centre and Finnieston Crane area
The campaign is a message to Nicola Sturgeon to ‘take responsibility for her Government’s catastrophic handling of the Alex Salmond Harassment Inquiry, which cost the taxpayer well over £500,000 in damages to Salmond plus hundreds of thousands of pounds more in Scottish Government legal fees, as well as the cost of the ongoing inquiry’.
The group says Nicola Sturgeon hasn’t taken responsibility: ‘She has not fired anyone. The whole of Scotland is talking about her collusion, corruption and cover-up, instead of health, education and jobs. She must resign so the country can move on.’
The campaign message — #ResignSturgeon— is part of an ongoing grassroots hashtag campaign on Twitter that has had hundreds of thousands of retweets and responses and regularly appears on Twitter’s ‘trending’ lists of the social network’s most popular hashtags.
The campaign is funded in part by donations to a crowdfunder, run by The Majority, that has raised almost £6500 to date. https://donorbox.org/billboard-campaign
Mark Devlin of The Majority: “We represent the silent majority of people in Scotland, who are angry and frustrated by Nicola Sturgeon’s shenanigans bringing international shame on Scotland.
“The Scottish public deserve a Parliament and First Minister above reproach and want the Scottish Government to focus on health, education, jobs and the pandemic.
“Instead we have a First Minister misleading parliament, breaking the ministerial code and withholding information from an inquiry into her government’s unlawful, unfair and biased actions against Alex Salmond, all while totally neglecting her day job.”
Alan Sutherland from Scotland Matters: “We call on the First Minister to do the right thing for Scotland: resign and let us focus on recovery from the pandemic.
“She has done great damage to our country and Parliament’s reputation, here and abroad, by conducting an undignified, very public dispute with her former SNP colleague, while preventing the Salmond enquiry from seeing evidence that is crucial to a proper investigation.”
The Majority says it is Scotland’s leading anti-Nationalist media. Since its founding in June, 2020, it has grown to almost 50,000 social media followers.
It aims to unite Scotland’s anti-Nationalist majority; say NO to IndyRef2; Expose Nationalism as a toxic ideology; Support effective anti-Nationalist politicians; and criticise media appeasement.
COSLA is calling on all political parties to acknowledge the rightful role of Local Government in their manifestos ahead of this year’s Scottish Parliamentary elections.
The organisation, which represents all 32 Councils in Scotland, hopes parties will reference its recently launched Blueprint in their manifestos and make a commitment to its aspirations.
Commenting today, COSLA President Councillor Alison Evison said: “This last year has been like no other, the forthcoming elections to the Scottish Parliament will be like no other and Local Government is the sphere of Government at the heart of our communities like no other.
“The COSLA Blueprint provides a narrative around the kind of country we want, and about the changes that could make a real difference to communities across the country – the election this year offers the chance to make this a reality.
“The value of Local Government can be seen in our response to Covid-19, where Councils have taken decisive action to support communities, people, and businesses.
“For too long now Local Government has been given a poor diet – and that is why we developed the Local Government Blueprint, which is our menu for change that we want to see.
“The new Parliament provides the opportunity for us to reiterate our value – for too long Scottish Local Government has not had its rightful place at the top table.
“Our response during the pandemic has been remarkable, our Communities have appreciated what we have done on their behalf and realise that only Local Government comprises all of the various ingredients that can truly deliver for our communities
“Therefore we call on all parties to make a commitment to the COSLA Local Government Blueprint in their forthcoming Manifestos.”
Ahead of this year’s Scottish Parliament elections, we’ve launched our manifesto, Standing Up for Scotland’s Mental Health, calling for radical action in order to combat a growing mental health crisis in Scotland.
Informed by over 2,500 people across Scotland, many of whom have lived experience of mental health problems, our new manifesto sets out 38 actions to make mental health a national priority.
We want to see real change, as part of this we want to see redoubled efforts on suicide prevention, action now to support children and young people and rapid access to psychological wellbeing support for adults.
In the last twelve months, Scotland has seen its population’s mental health and the mental health systems designed to support it challenged like never before. With these pressures likely to continue well into the next parliamentary term, it makes the current picture on mental health even more concerning:
One in five children referred to specialist mental health services are still being turned away
A quarter of those referred for psychological therapies wait at least four months to be seen
Deaths by suicide have risen over the last two years.
It’s clear that mental health must become a real national priority following the May elections.
Billy Watson, Chief Executive at SAMH said: “Scotland’s mental health deserves better. A growing number of people across the country are facing mental health problems and are struggling to access help. There have been too many promises on mental health and not enough action. With the added pressure brought about by the pandemic, we need a radical new plan.
“We must now, more than ever, see political and government commitment to make mental health a priority. That’s why today SAMH is launching our manifesto, urging the next Scottish Government to put the mental health of the nation first. It’s time to listen to the hopes, fears and needs of people with mental health problems.
“The next Scottish Parliament will see many new MSPs, as well as experienced members returning for a further term. We hope we can rely on each and every one of them to Stand up for Scotland’s Mental Health.”
The Standing Up to Scotland’s Mental Health manifesto reflects the real life experiences of people across Scotland. Stephanie, 19, struggled to access the support she needed through CAMHS.
Stephanie said: “After being put on the waiting list for CAMHS, it was many months before I was contacted and learnt that I’d have to go through a whole process to actually be seen.
“Eventually I ended up being rejected as I was on holiday when the letter came in about arranging my first appointment. There was a deadline that you had to get in contact by to arrange this but because I was away I ended up missing it. I got in touch but the only support and advice they could give was for me to go through the full ordeal again.
“I felt helpless and had no idea what I was supposed to do. I was reaching out which is what they said to do, but I was still being shut down. I was terrified and I didn’t know what was going on. I was thinking, ‘What if I don’t get the help, what will happen to me? Will things get worse?’ – It felt like a really big ball of emotions. The whole referral process just felt exhausting. It took a further toll on my mental health and how I dealt with it in the future, and I became closed off once again.”
The research and experiences which lie at the heart of our new manifesto shows that when people are given the support they need quickly, they can flourish.
After a suicide attempt, Robert, 39, reached out for support. This led him to ‘The Changing Room’, a SAMH project which uses the power of football to get men in their middle years talking about mental health.
Robert said: “Early on I remember thinking I’m worth my place in this group, not only is it helping me feel better but I’m going to be part of making other people in this group feel better. I felt like I was worth a lot, and for a long time I didn’t feel like I was worth much.
“Local community support is so important because shared experiences help, having someone you can relate to from a similar background makes it much more organic.”
“Many people feel isolated when they are having suicidal thoughts, I had family all around me, but I still felt isolated, because no one knew what was going on, so then being around people who understand what you’re going through can really make a big difference.”
To find out more about Standing Up for Scotland’s Mental Health, to read our full manifesto and find out how you can help drive real change for mental health, visit samh.org.uk/standup
“the pandemic has pulled families even deeper into poverty, while many more have been swept into poverty for the first time. A rising tide of child poverty now threatens to overwhelm many in our communities.”
John Dickie, Child Poverty Action Group Scotland
All political parties in Scotland should commit to at least doubling the value of the new Scottish Child Payment to stem the rising tide of child poverty, a coalition of anti-poverty groups, children’s charities and women’s organisations have urged today.
The End Child Poverty coalition in Scotland made the call in A Manifesto for Ending Child Poverty: Our Priorities for the 2021 Scottish Parliament Election, launched today, in which it set out its key asks ahead of the Holyrood elections in May.
While warmly welcoming the new £10 per week per child benefit for low income families – due to begin its roll out for under 6s next month – the manifesto warns that it will not go far enough in helping to meet Scotland’s child poverty reduction targets. By increasing the payment to £20 per week, the coalition say, at least another 20,000 children could be lifted out of poverty.
As well as doubling the Scottish Child Payment, the coalition are also calling for all parties to commit to:
• Bolstering other support for low income families, including by increasing the value of School Clothing Grants and Best Start Grants;
• Ensuring crisis support is adequate and accessible, including by investing in the Scottish Welfare Fund;
• Guaranteeing holistic whole family support to all families needing help;
• Supporting migrant children and caregivers, including increasing financial support to families with No Recourse to Public Funds;
• Setting out a child poverty-focused labour market policy, including action to tackle the gender pay gap.
Launching the manifesto, John Dickie (Director, CPAG in Scotland) said: “Even before Covid-19, almost one in four children in Scotland were growing up in the grip of poverty.
“Now, the pandemic has pulled families even deeper into poverty, while many more have been swept into poverty for the first time. A rising tide of child poverty now threatens to overwhelm many in our communities.
“That’s why we have set out this range of measures that would help to stem that tide, by putting much-needed cash into the pockets of families who are struggling to stay afloat. We urge all political parties to commit to the action we’ve set out, and to use the next Scottish Parliament to loosen the grip of poverty on the lives of Scotland’s children.”
Anna Ritchie Allan (Executive Director, Close the Gap), said: ““The existing inequalities women face in the labour market means they’ve been hardest hit by COVID-19 job disruption.
“The pandemic has starkly illuminated the link between women’s in-work poverty and child poverty. Women who were already struggling are now under enormous financial pressure as they and their families are pushed into further and deeper poverty.
“The End Child Poverty Coalition manifesto calls on Scotland’s political parties to commit to bold action to reduce child poverty. Close the Gap welcomes the focus on substantive action to address women’s inequality in the labour market including tackling women’s low pay and boosting the provision of funded childcare.
“Ensuring economic recovery policymaking prioritises measures to build a labour market that works for women is a necessary step in tackling the growing child poverty crisis.”
The manifesto – along with a summary version – can be found here.
