Tag: Politics

New Bill to ‘level up’ the nation

UK Government introduces plans to transform struggling towns and cities, supporting local leaders to take back control of regeneration

  • Levelling Up Missions, such as eradicating child illiteracy and closing gaps in life expectancy and living standards, to be enshrined in law
  • Local communities get extra powers to tackle scourge of boarded up shops and empty homes
  • Legislation to underpin biggest shift of power from Whitehall in modern times

The government has today (11 May 2022) introduced plans to transform struggling towns and cities, supporting local leaders to take back control of regeneration, ending the blight of empty shops on their high streets and delivering the quality homes that communities need.

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill will enshrine in law the government’s commitment to long-term missions to spread opportunity, drive productivity and boost local pride in every corner of the country.

Levelling Up Secretary Rt Hon Michael Gove MP said: “As a country, we need to be firing on all cylinders. That is why we must level up the UK; spread prosperity and opportunity, and make sure everyone can share in our nation’s success.

“This Bill puts in place the reforms we need to level up. It enshrines our levelling up missions in law, which will shift resources and focus throughout this decade to the parts and people of the country who need it most. It enables every part of England which wants a London-style mayor to have one. It empowers local people, not the big developers, to take back control of regeneration in their community.

“It shifts power out of Whitehall by giving local leaders the powers they need to tackle the blight of empty shops on high streets and to regenerate their communities. This is underpinned by a firm belief that by far the best placed people to level up communities are the people who live there.

“We want everyone to be given the opportunity to stay local but go far.”

Levelling Up

The government’s defining mission is to level up the UK; to increase and spread prosperity and opportunity across the UK, and break the link between geography and destiny. The Bill puts the legal foundations needed to deliver this mission in place, so that all parts of the country will be able to share equally in our nation’s success.

Measures include:

  • Creating a legal duty for the government to set and report on a number of missions for levelling up the country.
  • These missions will include: closing the gap in pay and productivity between the richest and poorest areas, effectively eradicating child illiteracy and innumeracy, closing gaps in healthy life expectancy, getting the rest of the country’s transport connectivity much closer to the standards of London’s, and making sure everyone has a local community they can be proud of.
  • The deadline for each mission is 2030, but the Levelling Up Bill will create a duty for the government to report on progress annually.
  • The legislation needed so that every part of England that wants a strong devolution deal can have one.
  • Enabling more areas to have the kinds of devolved powers which currently only the largest cities enjoy, helping drive improvements on local priorities such as transport and skills.
  • New provisions on council borrowing to protect taxpayers’ money while enabling local areas to make much needed investment.

Regeneration

The Bill will also directly give local leaders the powers they need to regenerate their communities, and transform their high streets and town centres. A new infrastructure levy will see the big developers contribute more towards better local roads, schools, hospitals, and genuinely affordable housing. Communities will also receive a share of the Levy revenue raised – as long as they have a parish or town council – and we are exploring how this could be expanded.

Measures include:

  • New powers for local leaders to run High Street Rental Auctions, where they can auction off tenancies in shops that have been vacant for over a year. This will help to end the plague of empty shops that blight so many high streets.
  • Councils will also be able to double council tax on empty and second homes, ensuring everyone pays their fair share towards local services and boost levelling up.
  • The ‘al-fresco dining revolution’ will be made permanent, injecting new life into the high street through creating a sustainable process for communities, business and local authorities, making it permanently cheaper and quicker to get a licence for outdoor dining.
  • A new, locally set infrastructure levy, charged on the final value of property when its sold, will replace much of the broken S106 payments system. This will see the big developers contribute far more of the money they make from development towards building better local roads, rail, schools, hospitals, and more affordable housing.
  • Legislation to make it easier for councils to regenerate their town centres through Compulsory Purchase Orders, making the process quicker and easier to use.

Right homes in the right places

The Bill will also deliver new reforms to the planning system, ensuring new development is more beautiful, produces more local Infrastructure, is shaped by local people’s democratic wishes, improves environmental outcomes, and occurs with neighbourhoods very much in mind.

Measures include:

  • Local plans – the way in which councils set the vision for future development in their area and decide whether to give planning permission – will gain stronger legal weight and be made simpler to produce. Communities will have a major say in these plans giving them more opportunity to shape what happens in their areas. Currently 61% of councils do not have an up to date local plan, which leaves communities exposed to development on which they haven’t had a meaningful say.
  • A digitised planning system making plans and planning applications fully available on your smartphone.
  • Stronger protections for the environment in local plans, empowering councils to make better use of brownfield land and protect precious greenbelt land.
  • Local design codes will be made mandatory so that developers have to respect styles drawn up and favoured locally – from the layout or materials used, to how it provides green space.

The government has today also outlined a new deal for millions of renters in private and social housing.

By ending Section 21 evictions and extending the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector, all renters can expect a decent, safe, and secure home. At the same time, these measures deliver a fairer system for good landlords who can struggle to recover their properties when faced with anti-social behaviour or wilful non-payment of rent.

Details on further support for tenants in social housing will be unveiled later this year which will include a review of the Decent Homes Standard, new consumer regulation and regular inspections of the largest landlords. 

Further information

The planning measures have been informed by over 40,000 responses made to the government’s 2020 ‘Planning for the Future’ White Paper, and inquiry by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee.

In order to continue to support the hospitality sector, we will also extend the temporary pavement licence process for one further year while we seek to make permanent these provisions through the Bill, subject to Parliamentary approval.

Queen’s Speech: Broken promise on employment bill will see “bad bosses celebrating”

The TUC yesterday accused the government of “turning its back” on working people after ministers failed to include an employment bill in the Queen’s Speech.

  • Vital rights ministers had promised like default flexible working, fair tips and pregnancy discrimination protections risk being ditched “for good” 
  • New seafarer minimum wage plans are “unworkable” and won’t prevent a repeat of P&O, warns union body 

The TUC has accused the government of “turning its back” on working people after ministers failed to include an employment bill in the Queen’s Speech. 

The union body said that the government’s broken promise to boost workers’ rights will see “bad bosses celebrating”. 

In 2019, the government announced it would bring forward a new employment bill to improve people’s rights at work, but despite committing to the bill on at least 20 occasions, ministers have shelved the legislation.  

Commenting on the decision to exclude an employment bill from yesterday’s Queen’s Speech, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The prime minister promised to make Britain the best place in the world to work. But he has turned his back on working people. 

“Today, bad bosses up and down the country will be celebrating. 

“No employment bill means vital rights that ministers had promised – like default flexible working, fair tips and protection from pregnancy discrimination – risk being ditched for good. 

“And it means no action on the scourge of insecure work and ending exploitative practices like zero-hours contracts and fire and rehire. 

“After the P&O scandal, dragging our outdated labour laws into the 21st century has never been more urgent. 

“But by shelving the employment bill, ministers have sent a signal that they are happy for rogue employers to ride roughshod over workers’ rights. 

“Enough is enough. This is a government that just doesn’t get it – from the cost of living emergency to the insecure work epidemic.  

“People can’t wait for greater rights and security at work – they need it now.” 

On the seafarer minimum wage enforcement plans, O’Grady added: “This proposal is feeble and likely unworkable. The government has done nothing to tackle the most flagrant labour abuse in years by  P&O.  

“Only stronger employment legislation that boosts worker protections and stops companies firing on the spot will prevent another P&O-type scandal.” 

The TUC says that the following policies were all promised within an employment bill, and are now risk being ditched altogether: 

  • Ensure that tips go to workers in full. 
  • Introduce a new right for all workers to request a more predictable contract. 
  • Create a new single enforcement body offering greater protections for workers. 
  • Extend redundancy protections to prevent pregnancy and maternity discrimination. 
  • Make flexible working the default unless employers have good reason not to. 
  • Allow parents to take extended paid leave for neonatal care. 
  • Introduce a new legal entitlement to one week’s leave for unpaid carers. 

In addition, the government consulted on reasonable notice period for shifts allocated and cancelled, and payments for cancelled shifts, which the TUC points out the government has “since gone quiet on.” 

The union body also highlights that the government promise to make employers responsible for preventing sexual harassment risks falling by the wayside without the employment bill, as the policy needs primary legislation to carry it forward.

In the notes to the 2019 Queen’s Speech, the government said it would bring forward the employment bill to:  

  • Protect and enhance workers’ rights as the UK leaves the EU, making Britain the best place in the world to work.  
  • Promote fairness in the workplace, striking the right balance between the flexibility that the economy needs and the security that workers deserve.  
  • Strengthen workers’ ability to get redress for poor treatment by creating a new, single enforcement body.  
  • Offer greater protections for workers by prioritising fairness in the workplace, and introducing better support for working families.  
  • Build on existing employment law with measures that protect those in low-paid work and the gig economy. 

In the 2019 Conservative manifesto, the following promises were made on employment rights:  

  • We will create a single enforcement body and crack down on any employer abusing employment law, whether by taking workers’ tips or refusing them sick pay.  
  • We will ensure that workers have the right to request a more predictable contract and other reasonable protections. 
  • We will encourage flexible working and consult on making it the default unless employers have good reasons not to.  
  • We have reformed redundancy law so companies cannot discriminate against women immediately after returning from maternity leave.  
  • We will legislate to allow parents to take extended leave for neonatal care, to support those new mothers and fathers who need it during the most vulnerable and stressful days of their lives.  
  • We will look at ways to make it easier for fathers to take paternity leave.  
  • We will extend the entitlement to leave for unpaid carers, the majority of whom are women, to a week. 

The UK has one of the best workers’ rights records in the world, says UK Government

The UK has one of the best workers’ rights records in the world. As a result of government action, there are now more employees on the payroll than ever before, as we continue to support workers and build a high skilled, high productivity, high wage economy.

The government has protected and enhanced workers’ rights by:

  1. Making sure 2.5 million people received a pay rise in April by raising the minimum and living wage. The largest ever cash increase to the National Living Wage will put over £1000 a year into a full-time workers’ pay packet, helping to ease cost of living pressures. We’re helping younger people too, by lifting the minimum wages for under-23s and apprentices.
  2. Leading the world with one of the highest minimum wages in the world – more generous than those in similar economies such as France, Germany and Japan.
  3. Holding UK businesses to account, ensuring employees are getting what they are owed. In December we named and shamed 208 employers who had failed to pay the minimum wage – taking the total number of employers named since 2014 to around 2,500. We made sure these companies paid back their employees and paid the price with hefty fines for law breakers. We have also quadrupled the maximum fine for employers who treat their workers badly.
  4. Giving the lowest paid in society more control over when and where they work. The government just this week announced it will extend the ban on using exclusivity clauses to contracts where a worker’s guaranteed weekly income is below the Lower Earnings Limit, which is currently £123 a week. This ensures an estimated 1.5 million people have the option to pick up extra work if they want to, further increasing flexibility.
  5. Tackling appalling business practices, such as P&O Ferries firing their employees without consultation. Reporting them to the insolvency service and taking an active role in ensuring they treat their workers fairly, we also recently committed to producing a statutory code on fire and rehire practices to strengthen the rights of all employees. This will clamp down on controversial tactics used by employers who fail to engage in meaningful consultations with employees before making changes to their contracts.
  6. Closing a loophole which sees agency workers employed on cheaper rates than permanent workers.
  7. Recognising the importance of flexible working arrangements by announcing a wide-ranging package of measures to help give employees more flexible working options in the future, including seeking views on making flexible working the default unless employers have good reason not to.
  8. Offering generous leave entitlements, continuing with our aim to make the UK the best place in the world to live and work. Workers get over 5 weeks of annual leave and a year of maternity leave, while the EU minimum for maternity leave is just 14 weeks.
  9. As part of this, we also brought into force a world first, giving parents a new legal right to 2 week’s paid bereavement leave for those who suffer the devastating loss of a child, irrespective of how long they have worked for their employer.
  10. Giving all workers the right to receive a statement of their rights from day one.
  11. Supporting workers throughout the pandemic, taking steps to protect the earnings of workers through furlough, including a new law to make sure furloughed employees who were made redundant received full redundancy payments.
  12. And of course, all this action to support workers’ rights has come alongside the government’s unprecedented £9bn package to support families with the cost of living, including a £150 council tax rebate, and a £200 energy bill discount to cut energy bills for the vast majority of households.

Scottish Secretary responds to Queen’s Speech

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said: “This is a Queen’s Speech which delivers for Scotland and the whole of the UK.

“Measures in the Queen’s Speech will help us grow our economy, so we can continue to recover from the pandemic, tackle the rising cost of living and level up across the country.

“We will bring in a range of measures to make our country safer, from tackling state-sponsored espionage, to cracking down on modern slavery.

“We will show leadership with a series of ambitious reforms which will support citizens across the United Kingdom.

“We will continue to maximise the benefits of Brexit with legislation to cement our fantastic trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, and remove outdated EU laws. Outside of the EU, the UK will continue to prosper and thrive.”

Democratic impasse: Lewis moves to break Northern Ireland deadlock

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, made a statement following a series of meetings with party leaders:

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Rt Hon Brandon Lewis MP, yesterday met with the leaders of Northern Ireland’s five main political parties; Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Féin; Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, DUP; Naomi Long, Alliance; Doug Beattie, UUP; and Colum Eastwood, SDLP.

In all his meetings, the Secretary of State reiterated the need to respect the electoral outcome of Thursday’s election and restore the full functioning of the devolved institutions as soon as possible – both the Executive and the Assembly.

All parties agreed on the importance of maintaining political stability. The Secretary of State encouraged all party leaders to come together to form an Executive as soon as possible, starting with the nomination of an Assembly Speaker.

The Secretary of State acknowledged that the Northern Ireland Protocol remains a clear barrier to political stability and re-confirmed that the Government will do whatever it takes to protect the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, in all of its dimensions.

He reiterated the Government’s desire to address the outstanding issues by agreement with the EU, but confirmed that the Government stood ready to take further steps to rectify those issues, should that be necessary.

He noted that negotiations with the European Commission related to the Protocol were the responsibility of the UK Government and that they should not stand in the way of restoring the Stormont institutions and enabling the Executive to deliver for all the people of Northern Ireland.

He reiterated the importance of taking advantage of the new provisions in the NI (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Act passed earlier this year to enable continuity in decision-making during the Executive formation process. This will ensure existing Northern Ireland ministers can remain in place to oversee NI departments, allow legislation to progress and support the delivery of vital public services.

Speaking after his meetings, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis MP, said: “Northern Ireland’s party leaders must come together to agree a way forward to deliver a stable and accountable devolved government.

“The UK Government’s overriding priority remains the preservation of peace and stability in Northern Ireland and the protection of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in all its strands.

“The current situation with the Protocol is fundamentally undermining the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and creating an unacceptable situation in Northern Ireland. We will continue to press the EU to agree the crucial changes that are urgently needed but will take nothing off the table in our pursuit of those solutions.

“As I conveyed to party leaders today, our collective focus must be on the restoration of the Stormont institutions so that those newly elected representatives can come together and deliver in the best interests of all the people of Northern Ireland.

“I will remain in close contact with the party leaders over the coming days.”

KEIR STARMER: I followed the rules

A statement by Labour Party leader KEIR STARMER:

Ever since the first covid lockdown, I have always followed the rules. 

In that time, the British people have made heart-wrenching sacrifices. 

People were left desperately lonely. 

They were separated from family and friends tragically, many were unable to see dying loved ones. 

This was a collective sacrifice. 

People were entitled to expect that politicians would follow the same rules as everyone else. 

When my mother-in-law passed away suddenly just before the lockdown, my wife and I were unable to provide her father with the support we wanted to afterwards, because we followed the rules.  

Barely a day has passed where we haven’t agonised over that decision, but we did it, because we followed the rules.  

We all found those rules frustrating at times –

And I’m no exception to that. 

I had to isolate six times during covid, pulling me away from my work and the things that I love. 

But I did it, because we followed the rules.  

The idea that I would then casually break those rules is wrong. 

And frankly I don’t believe those accusing me believe it themselves. 

They are just trying to feed cynicism, to get the public to believe all politicians are the same. 

I am here to say they’re not. 

I believe in honour, integrity and the principle that those who make the laws must follow them. 

And I believe that politicians who undermine that principle, undermine trust in politics, undermine our democracy, and undermine Britain. 

I am absolutely clear that no laws were broken. 

They were followed at all times. 

I simply had something to eat while working late in the evening. 

As any politician would do days before an election. 

But if the police decide to issue me with a fixed penalty notice, 

I would, of course, do the right thing and step down. 

This matters. 

It matters because the British public deserve politicians who think the rules apply to them. 

They deserve politicians who hold themselves to the highest standards. 

And they deserve politicians who put the country first, rather than themselves. 

They will always – always – get that from me. 

Thank you. 

KEIR STARMER

Leader of the Labour Party

First Minister’s off to the United States

Global Affairs Framework launched

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will underline Scotland’s key interests in global issues when she visits the United States next week.

The visit follows the launch of Scotland’s Global Affairs Framework, which sets out the values, principles and priorities underpinning the Scottish Government’s work to become more active internationally.

Reflecting on the impacts of Brexit, COVID-19, the climate crisis and the invasion of Ukraine, the Framework outlines key areas of focus such as global citizenship, maintaining close relations with the EU, gender equality, and respect for human rights.

The First Minister will take part in a range of engagements focused on the interlinked issues of climate, energy security and the war in Ukraine, including a keynote speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC.

She will also meet with key congressional groups and discuss ways to create a greener, fairer and more equitable economy with executives of companies operating across the Atlantic.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “The COVID-19 pandemic and the climate and biodiversity emergencies prove in the starkest possible way that we live in an interconnected world and it is more important than ever that Scotland plays its part.

“The crisis in Ukraine underlines how interconnected these challenges are, and all countries have a role to play in meeting them.

“We are determined that Scotland continues to be a good global citizen, making a constructive contribution to addressing global challenges such as climate change.

“Our international activity creates opportunities at home, broadens our horizons, attracts high-quality investment and ultimately benefits our people – no more evident than in Scotland’s longstanding relationship and strong trade ties with the USA, which this visit will build upon further.

“By being open and connected and making a positive contribution internationally, we give ourselves the greatest possible chance of building a successful country. In this way we can make a contribution to the world that is welcomed, valued and helps us all.”

scotlands-global-affairs-frameworkDownload

Ben Macpherson surgeries tomorrow

Ben Macpherson MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith 

This Friday, 6 May, I will be holding my regular ‘Drop-in Help & Advice Surgeries’ in Edinburgh Northern and Leith.

Do not attend if you are unwell. Please find the details below:

#HereToHelp

9:30am – 10:30am at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre (11 Pilton Drive North, Edinburgh EH5 1NF).11:00am –

12:00noon at Prentice Centre (1 Granton Mains Ave, Edinburgh EH4 4GA). 3:30pm –

4:30pm at Leith Community Centre (12A Newkirkgate, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6AD).

If you can’t come this Friday, and you need assistance from me as your local MSP, you can also contact my office via phone on 0131 600 0134 or email me at ben.macpherson.msp@parliament.scot

Edinburgh: It’s Time to Vote

Chief Executive of the City of Edinburgh Council and Returning Officer for Edinburgh, Andrew Kerr, wrote in yesterday’s Edinburgh Evening News:

Preparations are well underway as the Capital readies itself for Thursday’s Local Government Election to elect the next set of councillors to represent our city.

In 2017, 63 councillors were elected to the Council, with a 50.5% turnout across the city – up from 42.6% in 2012 – and we’re hoping for even higher numbers this year.  A total of 399,239 people are registered to vote in Edinburgh, of whom 96,671 have applied to vote by post – almost one voter in four.  We have a record 143 candidates from many different parties and independents all looking for your support. 

The local councillors you elect will make important decisions on how public services are provided.  As a Council, we deliver over 700 services that have an impact on every resident’s life, including waste collections and road repairs, maintaining culture venues and play parks and caring for our youngest and eldest citizens. 

In recent years, we’ve been working to reduce our use of schools on polling days as we‘ve always appreciated the disruption unscheduled school closures can cause to parents, teachers and pupils.

Following the huge interruption to normal schooling through the pandemic it was paramount not to close any schools on polling day and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to achieve this.  As a result we are using some new and exciting venues from yoga studios to supermarkets!

As is the case for all local authorities, polling places are chosen to provide the best location, accessibility and space to allow as many people as possible to cast their vote easily. So, whilst many venues have changed, we’ve kept them as close as possible.

We’ve alerted people to their new polling place on their polling card and we also have an online tool where you can check. 

Our elections web pages can help you find your polling place, accessible voting options, emergency voting and useful information on how the single transferable vote system works, i.e. you need to use numbers to rank as many or as few candidates as you choose in order of your preference.

As the returning officer I’m lucky to have an experienced and talented Election team here in Edinburgh and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them. Running an election in the Capital is no mean feat with 300 polling stations to set up and hundreds of staff to recruit and train.

Our team worked hard to replace polling places and also had to ensure a successful election included plans for any additional restrictions required due to the ongoing pandemic. 

Our polling places will be safe spaces to cast your vote and we’ll be following the latest Scottish Government guidance as we have done throughout the pandemic.

They will also be accessible and welcoming, particularly for those voters with a disability, and our election team has worked closely with Public Health Scotland, our local Director of Public Health and our own Health and Safety team to ensure our polling places – and the people staffing them – are as well prepared as they can be.

Elections are opportunities to have a say on issues that matter to us all so please take the chance to make your voice heard at the ballot box.

POLLS ARE OPEN FROM 7am – 10pm.

2017 RESULTS:

State_of_the_Council___summary_report-1Download

Before today’s elections, the City of Edinburgh was being run by an SNP – Labour ‘Capital Coalition’.

The composition of the council pre 2022 election was:

CONSERVATIVE: 17

SNP: 15

LABOUR: 11

GREEN: 7

LIB DEM: 6

INDEPENDENTS: 6

Johnson: “Putin’s Historic Folly”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the Ukrainian Parliament yesterday:

President Zelenskyy, Mr Chairman, members of the Verkhovna Rada. It is a big honour for me to address you at this crucial moment in history and I salute the courage with which you are meeting, the way you have continued to meet, in spite of a barbaric onslaught on your freedoms

Day after day missiles and bombs continue to rain on the innocent people of Ukraine

In the south and the east of your wonderful country, Putin continues with his grotesque and illegal campaign to take and hold Ukrainian soil

And his soldiers no longer have the excuse of not knowing what they are doing

They are committing war crimes, and their atrocities emerge wherever they are forced to retreat – as we’ve seen at Bucha, at Irpin at Hostomel and many other places

We in the UK will do whatever we can to hold them to account for these war crimes

and in this moment of uncertainty, of continuing fear and doubt

I have one message for you today:

Ukraine will win

Ukraine will be free

And I tell you why I believe you will succeed, members of the Rada

When they came to me last year, and they said that the evidence was now overwhelming that Putin was planning an invasion

and we could see his Battalion Tactical Groups – well over 100 of them – gathering on the border

I also, I remember a sense of horror but also of puzzlement.

Because I had been to Kyiv on previous visits – and I actually met some of you and I had stood in the Maidan and seen the tributes to those who had given their lives to protect Ukraine against Russian aggression

and I’ve wandered the lovely streets of your capital

and I’ve seen enough about Ukrainian freedom to know that the Kremlin was making a fundamental miscalculation, a terrible mistake

and I told anyone I knew, anyone who would listen that Ukraine would fight and Ukraine would be right

and yet there were some who believed the Kremlin propaganda that Russian armour would be like an irresistible force going like a knife through butter, and that Kyiv would fall within days

Do you remember they said that? And people rang Volodymyr and offered him safe passage out of the country, and he said – no thanks

and that this Rada of yours would have to be reformed outside Ukraine maybe in Poland or even in London perhaps

and I refused to believe it.

And today you have proved them completely wrong, every one of those military experts who said Ukraine would fall

Your farmers kidnapped Russian tanks with their tractors

Your pensioners told Russian soldiers to hop as we say, although they may have used more colourful language

Even in the parts of Ukraine that were temporarily captured, your populations, your indomitable populations turned out to protest, day after day

And though your soldiers were always outnumbered – three to one it is now – they fought with the energy and courage of lions

You have beaten them back from Kyiv

You have exploded the myth of Putin’s invincibility and you have written one of the most glorious chapters in military history and in the life of your country.

The so-called irresistible force of Putin’s war machine has broken on the immoveable object of Ukrainian patriotism and love of country.

This is Ukraine’s finest hour, that will be remembered and recounted for generations to come.

Your children and grandchildren will say that Ukrainians taught the world that the brute force of an aggressor counts for nothing against the moral force of a people determined to be free.

They will say that Ukrainians proved by their tenacity and sacrifice that tanks and guns cannot suppress a nation fighting for its independence,

and that is why I believe that Ukraine will win

You have proved the old saying – it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog – which is an old English saying, I’m not sure how well that translates in Ukrainian but you get what I’m trying to say.

And as you turned the Russian army back from the gates of Kyiv, you not only accomplished the greatest feat of arms of the 21st century, you achieved something deeper and perhaps equally significant. You exposed Putin’s historic folly, the gigantic error that only an autocrat can make.

Because when a leader rules by fear, rigs elections, jails critics, gags the media, and listens just to sycophants,

when there is no limit on his power = that is when he makes catastrophic mistakes.

And it is precisely because we understand this danger in Britain and in Ukraine – precisely because we are democracies, and because we have a free media, the rule of law, free elections and robust parliaments, such as your own,

we know that these are the best protections against the perils of arbitrary power.

When an autocrat deliberately destroys these institutions,he might look as though he is strong and some people might even believe it,

but he is sowing the seeds of catastrophe, for himself and for his country,

because there will be nothing to prevent him committing another terrible mistake Putin’s mistake was to invade Ukraine, and the carcasses of Russian armour littering your fields and streets are monuments not only to his folly, but to the dangers of autocracy itself.

What he has done is an advertisement for democracy.

On a day when Putin thought he would be in charge of Kyiv, I had the honour of being able to visit your wonderful city,

and I saw the defiance of the people of Ukraine,

I know so much about the terrible price that Ukrainians have paid and are paying for your heroism.

Today, at least one Ukrainian in every four has been driven from their homes, and it is a horrifying fact that two thirds of all Ukrainian children are now refugees, whether inside the country or elsewhere.

So no outsider like me can speak lightly about how the conflict could be settled, if only Ukraine would relinquish this or that piece or territory or we find some compromise for Vladimir Putin.

We know what happens to the people left in the in clutches of this invader.

And we who are your friends must be humble about what happened in in 2014,

because Ukraine was invaded before for the first time, when Crimea was taken from Ukraine and the war in the Donbas began

The truth is that we were too slow to grasp what was really happening and we collectively failed to impose the sanctions then that we should have put on Vladimir Putin.

We cannot make the same mistake again.

And it is precisely because of your valour your courage your sacrifice that Ukrainians now control your own destiny: you are the masters of your fate, and no-one can or should impose anything on Ukrainians.

We in the UK will be guided by you and we are proud to be your friends,

I am proud to say our Ambassador, Melinda Simmons, is back in Kyiv to reopen our embassy.

In January of course– just before Putin launched his onslaught – we sent you planeloads of anti-tank missiles, the NLAWS which I think have become popular in Kyiv,

and we have intensified that vital effort, working with dozens of countries, helping to coordinate this ever- bigger supply line, dispatching thousands of weapons of many kinds, including tanks now and armoured vehicles.

In the coming weeks, we in the UK will send you Brimstone anti-ship missiles and Stormer anti-aircraft systems.

We are providing armoured vehicles to evacuate civilians from areas under attack and protect officials – what Volodymyr mentioned to me in our most recent call – while they maintain critical infrastructure.

And I can announce today from the UK government a new package of support totalling £300 million, including radars to pinpoint the artillery bombarding your cities, heavy lift drones to supply your forces, and thousands of night vision devices.

We will carry on supplying Ukraine, alongside your other friends, with weapons, funding and humanitarian aid, until we have achieved our long-term goal, which must be so to fortify Ukraine that no-one will ever dare to attack you again.

Here in the UK, in my country, you will see Ukrainian flags flying from church spires and in shop windows. You see Ukrainian ribbons on the lapels of people up and down the country.

There are many reasons your country has evoked such astonishing sympathy in the British people.

It is a conflict that has no moral ambiguities or no grey areas.

This is about the right of Ukrainians to protect themselves against Putin’s violent and murderous aggression

It is about Ukraine’s right to independence and national self-determination, against Putin’s deranged imperialist revanchism

It is about Ukrainian democracy against Putin’s tyranny

It is about freedom versus oppression

It is about right versus wrong

It is about good versus evil

And that is why Ukraine must win

And when we look at the heroism of the Ukrainian people and the bravery of your leader Volodomyr Zelenskyy – we know that Ukraine will win

And we in the UK will do everything we can to restore a free sovereign and independent Ukraine

Thank you all very much for listening to me today, and slava Ukraini!

Miles Briggs MSP and Tómas get Pawlitical to be crowned Holyrood Dog of the Year 2022

On Monday 9th May, Miles Briggs, Conservative MSP for Lothian and his sister’s five-year-old rescue dog, Tómas will compete with other politicians and their pooches to win the coveted title of Holyrood Dog of the Year 2022.

Following a three-year hiatus, dogs of all shapes and sizes, regardless of breed, creed or ‘pawlitical’ persuasion, will head to Scottish Parliament gardens at Horse Wynd, Edinburgh with their two-legged MSP owners to see who will be crowned Holyrood’s top dog.

Organised jointly by Dogs Trust and The Kennel Club, the competition offers the unique chance for Miles Briggs MSP to show off the lovely, Tómas.

With the boom in dog ownership during the pandemic, this year’s event focuses on promoting responsible dog ownership as well as celebrating the unique bond between dogs and their owners. Not only is responsible dog ownership integral to improving dog health and welfare throughout Scotland, it also helps ensure the nation’s dogs lead happy and healthy lives. 

The event also encourages open dialogue on dog welfare issues with MSP’s having the opportunity to meet with dog welfare experts from Dogs Trust and The Kennel Club.

Proud dog lover, Miles BriggsMSP explains: “Tómas is a Spanish rescue dog who had a hard start in life but has now become a much-loved member of the family and dog brother to my niece, Skye.

“Tómas puts up with me dressing him up every Christmas and he has a huge life skill of managing to find and destroy the squeak in any dog toy within two minutes.   

“Tómas is always super excited when you come home – he gives the best welcomes in the world.  He will always be a winner to me and proves very popular in Lothian when out campaigning and meeting constituents.

“This fun event will be a great chance to celebrate the essential work MSPs are doing to improve dog welfare in Scotland while highlighting the importance of responsible dog ownership.”

MSPs are also calling for their supporters to vote for their canine companions online in a bid to win the ‘pawblic’ vote. There will be additional judging on the day by representatives from Dogs Trust and The Kennel Club, which will review the contestants on their good dog deeds and winning personalities. This will then determine which political pooch will take home the ultimate parliamentary privilege of the ‘Holyrood Dog of the Year’ title.

The Holyrood Dog of the Year 2022 competition starts at 10.00am on Monday 9th May at the Scottish Parliament Gardens, Horse Wynd, Edinburgh, EH8 8DX.

To vote for Miles Briggs and Tómas in the pawblic vote please click here:

thekennelclub.org.uk/hdoty 

– where you will also find the details of all the MSPs and their four-legged friends entered in this year’s competition. 

Scottish Conservative council election manifesto pledge to increase the discount for single person households

Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, has claimed that almost 160,000 people across Edinburgh and the Lothian’s would benefit from increasing the council tax discount for single occupancy households, from 25% to 35%.

Figures obtained by SPICe, the Scottish Parliament research department, show that there are currently 159,490 households across Edinburgh and the Lothian’s who receive the single occupancy household discount. Of which 98,000 are in Edinburgh, 17,218 in East Lothian, 13,967 in Midlothian and 30,305 in West Lothian.

A central Scottish Conservative council election manifesto pledge is to increase the discount for single person households from 25% to 35%.

The average property in local authorities across Scotland is band D. This means that the average single person household in Edinburgh would save an additional £138 per year, in West Lothian £131 per year, in Midlothian £144 per year and East Lothian £134 per year.

The total saving for single occupancy households in Edinburgh would be approximately £13,524,000 in West Lothian £3,969,955 in Midlothian £2,011,248 and in East Lothian £2,307,212. Across all four local authorities the savings for single household properties would be £21,812,415.

Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “Increased council tax and the rise in the cost of living, all hit single person households the hardest, with more and more people struggling to get by.

“The Scottish Conservatives have committed to and will continue to push for single occupancy households to receive 35% council tax discount, a 10% increase from the current discount of 25%.

“Across Edinburgh and the Lothian’s this would benefit almost 160,000 people, alleviating some of the pressure from council tax hikes.

“Single parents, young professionals and elderly people living alone would all benefit from an increase to the single occupancy household discount.”

Tables for tax bands in each local authority and savings per tax band:

Edinburgh

BandCouncil TaxSaving
A£919.17£92
B£1,072.36£107
C£1,225.56£123
D£1,378.75£138
E£1,811.52£181
F£2,240.47£224
G£2,700.05£270
H£3,377.94£338

98,000 x 138 = £13,524,000