Our water and how to keep it clean, plentiful, and safe has very much been the subject of many news stories, documentaries, and conversations.
From climate change to scarcity and pollution – what plans are in place to secure Scotland’s water future?
You can be part of the discussion on this issue with panellists from University of Dundee the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland, campaigner Peter Hammond, and Scottish Water.
Fri 28 Aug – 11:15am
FESTIVAL OF POLITICS – SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT
MONDAY 17th AUGUST 5.30 – 6.30pm
With growing polarisation, mistrust, and a sense of being left behind for many communities, how can Scotland bring diverse voices together, move from division to empathy, and ensure community voices are at the heart of decision-making?
Come along and take part in this free panel discussion at the Scottish Parliament on 17 August: https://ow.ly/zmb450Zx3oS
(featuring The artwork of Gerard M Burns)
Chair:
Katie Hagmann MSP, Convener, Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee
Panellists:
Dr Hayley Bennett is Senior Lecturer in Social Policy at the University of Edinburgh. Her research focuses on the design and delivery of social security, labour market programmes, and anti-poverty initiatives for the working-age population in the UK.
Gerard M Burns is an artist and studied drawing and painting at the Glasgow School of Art, graduating in 1983. Burns has had a successful teaching career, leaving his post as Principle of Art at Glasgow’s St Aloysius College to focus full time on painting. He has completed commissions for a number of private and commercial collections, notably his painting The Rowan which hangs in the Scottish Parliament.
Professor Dr Nasar Meer FRSE is Professor of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Glasgow and Academic Chair of the Stuart Hall Foundation. He has been a Commissioner on the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Post-COVID-19 Futures Inquiry, a Member of the Scottish Government COVID-19 and Ethnicity Expert Reference Group. He has previously held a Minda de Gunzburg Fellowship at Harvard University, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the UK Academy of Social Sciences, and a past recipient of the RSE Thomas Reid Medal.
Yuliia Hryshchenko is the founder of SCIO Music & Art Centre Nightingale. After fleeing Ukraine with her three children in 2022, she rebuilt her life in Scotland and turned her family’s journey into a mission to make arts accessible to every child.
She believes creativity can heal, build confidence and strengthen communities.
Join us for a free event exploring the testimony of Scotland’s Care Experienced community on 17 August.
The Promise sets out that by 2030 every child in Scotland will grow up loved, safe and respected to realise their full potential. Yet, over half of Scotland’s looked-after children live in the most deprived areas, are more likely to have additional support needs, lower school attendance and higher rates of exclusion.
How far has Scotland come in fulfilling The Promise?
The panel also features award-winning actor, producer and author Scott Kyle (best known for his role in Outlander).
Book your tickets here: https://ow.ly/PTu250ZwBQ1
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Russia is reported to be proactively engaging in sabotage and military provocations across Europe, while Europe retaliates with its ‘Readiness 2030 plan’ and increased spending on re-arming.
Will these measures lead to a more united Europe?
And how will the USA fit into this?
Join panellists from @univofstandrews, @StirUni, the University of Edinburgh, and @ohiou at Festival of Politics event ‘Are we at war?’ to be part of the discussion.
Friday 28 August – 6.30pm
In partnership with the Scottish Council on Global Affairs
Russia is reported to be waging a proactive campaign of sabotage, airspace incursions, cyber intrusions and military provocations right across Europe. In retaliation, Europe is re-arming with an estimated budget rise of 100 billion euros and war preparedness set out in the ‘Readiness 2030 Plan’.
Will these existing threats and challenges forge a more united Europe as it sits in the grey zone of WWIII, or will Europe splinter under pressure? And what about its NATO ally America, and President Trump’s claim on Greenland? Can, and will, Europe fight on two fronts and how ready is it for war?
Professor Kristen Harkness is the Director of the Institute for the Study of War and Strategy and teaches in the School of International Relations at the University of St. Andrews. In 2023-24, she served as the Thematic Research Lead for International Affairs and National Security with the UK Parliament.
Professor Holger Nehring is Professor of Contemporary European History at the University of Stirling. He specialises in the history of post-1945 Western Europe, in particular the history of the Cold War, the history of social movements and sub-national diplomacy. He has held visiting positions at Stanford, EHESS in Paris and the Mershon Center at Ohio State University. He co-authored the book Cold War Scotland.
Emile Chabal is Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Edinburgh, with a particular interest in the political and intellectual life of post-war Europe. His latest book is The Age of Hobsbawm: The Life of a Revolutionary Historian.
Scott Milburn is an Executive-in-Residence at Ohio University in the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs where he focuses on leadership development for state and local public sectors.
Previously he held senior positions at the White House, a presidential campaign, the U.S. House and Senate, and for two Ohio governors.
The Scottish Parliament and the Cross-Party Group on Disability held the second summit for people with disabilities from right across Scotland earlier this year.
Join Festival of Politics event ‘Scotland’s Disability Summit – what next?’ to discuss what any new Cross-Party Group on Disability should raise during the new Parliamentary session.
Panellists include: @lkmulvagh, Meryl-Anne Williams, and Dr Richard Brunner of @UofGlasgow.
Fri 28 Aug – 4.30pm
Chair: Carol Mochan MSP, Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee
Panellists:
Meryl-Anne Williams is a TV personality, content creator and winner of BBC’s The Traitors Series One. She uses her platform to raise awareness of dwarfism, champion disability inclusion and advocate for animal welfare, while sharing honest, family-centred content with her online community. Meryl was a keynote speaker at Scotland’s Disability Summit held at the Scottish Parliament in February 2026.
Lucy Mulvagh is the CEO of Disability Equality Scotland, a national member-led organisation for disabled people. Prior to this, Lucy was a Director at the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE). She previously worked for the Scottish Recovery Network and in international human rights. Lucy is also the Convener of Engender, Scotland’s feminist membership organisation, and a Royal Scottish Academy Fellow.
Dr Richard Brunner is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Disability Research, Department of Sociology, University of Glasgow. In this role, Richard leads a long-term research collaboration with Glasgow Disability Alliance to challenge barriers to disabled people’s’ equality in Scotland.
It’s estimated that 24% of Scottish children are living in poverty, despite the existence of benefits like the Scottish Child Payment.
How do we break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and make lasting, substantial change for the welfare of children?
Be part of the discussion at Festival of Politics event ‘Stopping child poverty’ alongside panellists from @jrf_uk, Includem, and @CaledonianNews
27 Aug – 6.30pm
Panellists:
Chris Birt leads the Scotland team at Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) that works to find solutions to poverty in Scotland and amplify the voices of people experiencing poverty. Prior to joining JRF, Chris worked for the Scottish Government as Head of the First Minister’s Policy and Delivery Unit.
Louise Hunter is the CEO of Includem, a sector-leading organisation providing intensive support to children, young people and families across Scotland. Louise has worked across the third and public sectors for the past 25 years, supporting the most marginalised groups and lobbying for change. Louise is also a Commissioner as part of the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Commission.
Professor John McKendrick is Professor in Social Justice at Glasgow Caledonian University and was appointed Commissioner for Fair Access (to higher education) by the Scottish Government in 2023.
He is also Co-Director of the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit in the Glasgow School for Business and Society at Glasgow Caledonian University. He co-edited the book Poverty in Scotland 2021 that brought together almost thirty sector leaders to share their thoughts on what must be done to tackle poverty in Scotland.
COMMUNITY WEALTH BUILDING
The new Community Wealth Building Act aims to give more control to local communities, redirecting wealth back to the same neighbourhoods.
At Festival of Politics event ‘Scotland’s economy, why can’t we own more?’ panellists will be examining how economic models can uplift communities and individuals.
Panellists include experts from @DemocracyCollab, @FutureEconScot, and Prosper.
Friday 28 Aug – 2:45pm
In partnership with Social Enterprise Scotland
There is now a new Community Wealth Building Act, with the goals of placing more control in the hands of local communities and redirecting wealth back into those same neighbourhoods.
By prioritising local enterprises and the natural environment and preventing wealth extraction by big business, is it also time to re-think how the larger Scottish economy operates for everyday working people?
Rapid changes across technology and energy are taking place, from doughnut economics to foundational and well-being economies. How could new economic models uplift communities as well as individuals?
Panellists:
Neil McInroy is Global Lead for Community Wealth Building at the Democracy Collaborative, an American-based think/do tank. Neil is chair of the the Economic Development Association Scotland (EDAS). At the heart of his work is a belief in the need for deep democratic shifts in how we organise our economies and communities.
Laurie Macfarlane is a Co-Director of Future Economy Scotland and a Fellow at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose.
Eleonora Vanello is at the helm of the Peer Works programme at Prosper, where she supports small and medium-sized enterprises across the private and third sectors to work smarter. She facilitates networking and peer-to-peer learning opportunities across Scotland. Previously, Eleonora worked at the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the UK, where she actively facilitated projects, businesses and services between Italy and Scotland.
Civil disobedience in Scotland has long been a method of achieving social change – from poll-tax sit-ins to the Glasgow Girls.
At Festival of Politics event ‘Civil disobedience – from rent strikes to Kenmure Street’ find out why so many of these events generate cultural expression like film and theatre.
Panellists include Katherine Mackinnon of Radical Glasgow Tours and @UofGlasgow , Tabassum Niamat of Bowling Green Together, journalist and broadcaster Paul English, and Glasgow Girl Cllr Roza Salih.
Friday 28th August – 1:15pm
Tickets: https://ow.ly/JqPr50ZqHZs
FULL STATEMENT:
SLAP IN THE FACE FOR SCOTLAND’s PARLIAMENT
SCOTTISH Labour leader Anas Sarwar is set to turn his back on Holyrood and take a seat in the unelected House of Lords, according to reports last night.
Sarwar, who led Scottish Labour to a dreadful defeat in May’s Holyrood elections where the party won just 17 seats, has been tipped to become a junior business minister in Andy Burnham’s refreshed government.
There was pressure on Sarwar to step down following May’s humiliating results. but the list MSP (Sarwar didn’t win a first past the post seat but was elected through the PR top-up list system) vowed to fight on, claiming there was ‘unfinished business’.
Indeed, when asked if he would ever take up a seat in the House of Lords, Sarwar told The Herald: “No. I’m focused on being first minister of this great country.
“My only commitment, my only focus, is serving my constituents in Glasgow and serving the great people of this country, if I get the honour of being first minister.”
Last month he confirmed his determination to lead Scottish Labour for the full Holyrood term into the next elections: ‘I’m hungry for the fight ahead and I want to play my full part in making sure this country never ends up in the hands of Nigel Farage and Reform’
Just a few short weeks later, however, Sarwar appears to have had a change of mind.
The voters of Glasgow won’t even have an opportunity to have their say on Sarwar’s decision when he packs his bags and scurries down to Westminster’s unelected House of Lords – the very institution he said should be abolished!
There will be no by-election as Sarwar was elected as a list MSP, so he will simply be replaced by the next person on Glasgow’s Labour’s list.
Isn’t democracy wonderful!
