Tag: Politics

OFCOM to examine BBC role in Holyrood Elections campaign

Salmond says: “The BBC are the broadcasting Bourbons – they have learnt nothing from their blatant bias of 2014”

The BBCs coverage of the Scottish election campaign and what has been described as its “virtual blackout” of ALBA will be the subject of special Ofcom election Committee hearing today (Friday 23rd April).

ALBA leader Alex Salmond said: “The BBC’s record as a public service broadcaster in Scotland is lamentable and there is no better illustration than their conduct during this Scottish election.

“However, they are no longer a law unto themselves and I am grateful to Ofcom for convening an emergency meeting of their Election Committee to consider BBC coverage – or more accurately, lack of coverage – of ALBA. It is much appreciated that Ofcom have responded so quickly in fulfilling their responsibilities to ensure fair and balanced coverage of the Scottish campaign.

“The exclusion of ALBA from the leadership election debates is deplorable but even worse is the blackout from the news on a daily basis.

“On the odd occasion when they deign to interview ALBA representatives, the tone of the interviews has been unremittingly hostile.

“Aggressive questioning is perfectly acceptable if part of a range of coverage. However, inaccurate smearing is quite another when it dominates the few interviews BBC apparatchiks deign to grant ALBA.

“The BBC even allow smearing of ALBA by the other party representatives who are covered every day in every election programming with not even attempts by the interviewers to maintain any semblance of balance.

“Given that the BBC has fine some journalists and producers still working for them, we can only conclude that this is now the official house style to denigrate ALBA and the quest for Scottish independence. Indeed it is obvious that some journalists are asking questions to editorial direction.

“BBC outlets dominate broadcasting coverage and that means they dominate the election campaign during a pandemic. They have ample time and opportunity to show fairness to new parties emerging onto the political scene.

“The fact that they have so blatantly and so arrogantly failed to do so, shows that they are now a de facto state broadcaster rather than a public service one. The day that Greg Dyke was effectively sacked as Director General in 2004 is the day that the rot set in to the BBC and it has been downhill ever since.

“The BBC disgraced themselves in their coverage of the 2014 referendum and like the Bourbons they have learnt nothing.

“Every other broadcaster regulated by Ofcom have at least made some attempt at balance in their coverage and are not the subject of complaint by ALBA.

“STV for example did not (wrongly in ALBA’s view) include ALBA in their leader’s debate but did interview an ALBA MP immediately afterwards. Other radio and television outlets have all included ALBA in their round of leadership interviews and on a reasonably fair basis with the other parties.

“Ironically one of the BBC’s many personal attacks on me is that I co-host a political programme which is broadcast on RT. That programme, produced independently by a Scottish company, is a model of fairness and balance compared with anything the BBC now seem remotely capable of.

“ALBA are now calling time on the BBC exactly in the interests of political fairness and balance.”

Everyone Aboard: Scotland’s political leaders urged to commit to expansion of free bus travel

Over 100 organisations from across Scotland have today written to the leaders of Scotland’s political parties, urging them to commit to a radical extension of free bus travel, in a move that they say would have a transformative impact on the lives of people across Scotland’s communities. 

The call has been made as part of the Poverty Alliance’s Everyone Aboard campaign, which asks for their support in extending fre bus travel to under 25s and people on Universal Credit and other low-income benefits. 

The coalition of organisations – coordinated by the Poverty Alliance and including Friends of the Earth Scotland, the Scottish Youth Parliament and Barnardo’s Scotland – are making the call at a time of growing poverty in Scotland, with recent Scottish Government statistics showing over 1 million people in Scotland are now living in the grip of poverty. 

Bus travel will, the letter states, be critical in stemming the rising tide of pandemic-related youth unemployment, with bus travel particularly important for young people and people on low incomes to help them access the labour market. Without this action, the organisations have warned, they “risk being left behind in our economic and social recovery.” 

Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance, said: “We are calling on the leaders of Scotland’s political parties to take the bold, far-reaching action to help loosen the grip of poverty on people’s lives. Removing the barrier to transport would be a significant step towards building a Scotland where everyone is included, no matter their income.   

“This move would also help advance gender equality, as women disproportionately rely on public transport to access jobs, healthcare and activities to boost their wellbeing.

“Lone parents, who are predominantly women, would particularly benefit. Expanding the use of public transport will play an important role in reducing Scotland’s emissions and responding to the climate emergency.

“Extending free bus travel is a key way the next Scottish Government can help make Scotland a greener and more just place for us all to live.” 

Mollie McGoran MSYP, Trustee of the Scottish Youth Parliament, said: “Young people and people on low incomes have been some of the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and so must be put at the heart of the recovery.

“That’s why we support the aims of the Poverty Alliance’s Everyone Aboard campaign to provide free bus travel for young people and people on low incomes in Scotland. 

“We believe that Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government should provide funding to support initiatives which make it easier, cheaper, and safer for young people to use active and sustainable travel options.

“Our 2018 national campaign All Aboard found young people feel bus fares are too high. The cost of public transport creates barriers to participation which are denying young people and those on low incomes access to opportunities, and this proposal would be a great step in the right direction.”  

Gavin Thomson, Air Pollution Campaigner, Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “Transport is the biggest emitting sector in Scotland. To meet our climate change targets, bold action must be taken to promote cleaner forms of travel, like public transport, and lead a just transition away from fossil fuel private car use.  

“Extending free bus travel to all young people under 25 and those on Universal Credit will form an important part of the solution and help ensure no one is left behind as we transform our transport system.

“The upcoming Scottish Parliament election provides political parties an opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to tackling climate change. We must seize it.” 

The full letter can be read here: Everyone Aboard letter to Scotland’s party leaders

Constitution Reform Group launches a ‘Third Way’ for the future of the United Kingdom

– Replace the House of Lords with a National Parliament
– Establish an English Parliament
– Create a UK Central Bank
– Reset the mechanisms of the United Kingdom’s constitution
– Protect and maintain this historic and successful Union 
The Constitution Reform Group (CRG) has launched its new Act of Union Bill 2021, which would establish a new political and financial framework for equal cooperation between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Bill has been launched to initiate a much-needed nationwide conversation on a ‘third way’ for the future of the United Kingdom, to break the restrictive dichotomy of ‘status quo versus independence’ being maintained by regional separatist movements. 

The CRG is calling on all pro-Union political parties to express their support for its core aim, which is to debate, introduce and complete any reform necessary to save the Union.

It is also calling on all separatist movements to confirm publicly whether they would seek to renegotiate the framework of the United Kingdom before supporting its dissolution. 

For the past six years, the CRG has worked with leading constitutional lawyers and experts to draft this extensive legislation, which is comprehensive and internally logical and consistent.

The Bill’s implementation would provide the four constituent parts of the United Kingdom a clearer view of their local autonomy and clearly define the scope and purpose of their cooperation.

It includes options for consideration by Parliament and the electorate to replace the House of Lords with a National Parliament and another to establish an English Parliament.

It also includes provisions to reset the mechanisms of the Union, such as the creation of a UK Central Bank, which would better and more equally serve the interests of all parts of the United Kingdom.

Before Royal Assent, the Bill would be put to the people of the United Kingdom for approval in a referendum. 

Robert Salisbury, Chairman of the CRG’s Steering Committee, said: “The Group is convinced that the break-up of the United Kingdom would be a tragic and fundamental strategic blunder and end an intimate partnership that has been astonishingly successful, culturally and economically, and which has stood as a powerful defence of its people’s values and liberties in a dangerous world.

“If the Union is to endure and prosper, the U.K. must be refashioned, and a new constitutional settlement is a necessary part of that refashioning.” 

The CRG was established after the 2014 Scottish independence referendum to devise a new path for the Union by addressing existing and developing constitutional inequalities between the four parts of the United Kingdom.

Its membership includes former First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and senior figures from across the political spectrum, who cooperate with the common belief that the United Kingdom is stronger together.

The Group believes that reform of the United Kingdom’s constitution, although complex, is a significantly more desirable task than negotiating its undoing.
They are therefore trying to raise awareness of the feasibility of a ‘third way’ and of the need for a wider national conversation on what must be done to ensure the United Kingdom stays together as one family. 
Constitution Reform Group Steering Committee:

Marquess of Salisbury KG KCVO PC DL, Chairman
Bim Afolami MP
David BurnsideThe Rt Hon the Lord Campbell of Pittenweem CH CBE QC
Shana Fleming OBE
Joanna George
Daniel Greenberg CB
The Rt Hon the Lord Hain
The Rt Hon Carwyn Jones AM
Sir Andrew Large
Lord Lisvane KCB DL FLSW
Seema Malhotra MP
The Rt Hon the Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale
David Melding AM CBE
Sir Paul Silk KCB FLSW
The Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston
The Rt Hon the Lord Trimble 

Constitution Reform Group Sub-Committee on Public MoneyMembers include:

Sir Andrew Large (Chairman) – Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and a member of its Monetary Policy Committee from September 2002 to January 2006.
Sir John Gieve KCB – Former British civil servant, Deputy Governor for Financial Stability of the Bank of England and ex officio member of the Monetary Policy Committee, 2006 to 2009.
Lord Macpherson of Earl’s Court GCB – Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, 2005 to 2016.
David Peretz CB – Former Under Secretary for Home Finance and Monetary Policy HM Treasury, Executive Director of the IMF and World Bank, G7 Financial Sherpa, and Chair of Bermuda’s independent Fiscal Responsibility Panel.

Invest in Scottish maternity to tackle deprivation, says RCM in message to next government

Tackling Scotland’s social deprivation and inequalities by investing in maternity services and staff must be at the heart of the next government’s policy. That’s the message from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) in a Blueprint for maternity services published this week.

In five areas for action, it also calls for an end to Scotland’s midwife shortage, saying some areas of the country struggle to attract enough midwives. 

The pandemic has also exposed starkly existing inequalities hitting vulnerable women and those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.  Maternity and other areas of healthcare have a key role to play in efforts to address these inequalities, says the RCM 

The RCM’s five areas for action for the next Scottish Government are: 

  • tackling social deprivation; 
  • delivering the best maternity care for all the people of Scotland; 
  • supporting NHS staff to recover from the pandemic; 
  • ensuring Scotland has birthplaces that are fit for the future; and 
  • ending Scotland’s midwife shortage for good. 

Pulling no punches, the Blueprint says the pandemic ‘has been brutal’ on maternity and other NHS staff, who have worked throughout to ensure safe and high-quality care for women. This has hit their mental and physical health and they must be given the time and support to recover from it. 

Jon Skewes, Executive Director for External Relations at the RCM, said: “There has been a monumental effort from midwives, maternity support workers, and maternity care assistants through the pandemic. It is time to step-up and really invest in them, in their pay and in their working conditions.

“Right now, we have a demoralised and exhausted workforce and women falling through the cracks and not getting the care they deserve. Staff are also often working in old, poorly designed buildings that are simply not fit for purpose. The pandemic has exposed the extent and the impact on care of this crumbling infrastructure.” 

Additional training places for student midwives are also needed in more of Scotland’s universities. When they qualify new midwives generally stay within the regions they trained in leaving the chances of recruiting staff stacked against other areas without midwifery courses.  

Jon Skewes added: “Tackling deprivation goes way beyond maternity and the wider NHS. Fixing it must be done through multiple channels including social care, education, and others.

“Maternity is a very good place to start improving the health of the nation, reduce inequalities and indeed, save lives that should not be lost. This has been a really tough year for the NHS and the people using it as it creaked under the weight of pandemic demands.

“It has also been a remarkable year because of how its staff and the service responded. Now is the time to invest to make it fit for the future.” 

Inexorable rise in food bank use

1.9 million meals distributed – and latest statistics DO NOT include pandemic period

Between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020, the Trussell Trust’s food bank network distributed 1.9 million three-day emergency food supplies to people in crisis, a 18% increase on the previous year. More than seven hundred thousand of these went to children.

Across Scotland, more than 237,000 were distributed – 80,000 of which were for children.

Food bank use has increased by 74% over the last five years, the charity reports. The top three reasons for referral to a food bank in the Trussell Trust network in 2019-20 were low income, benefit delays and benefit changes.

Releasing the charity’s latest annual statistics, Trussell Trust’s CEO Emma Revie said: “This year has been an extraordinarily difficult one, with many more people across the country facing destitution as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Food banks carry on, working as tirelessly as ever, to support people in crisis through the unprecedented challenge the pandemic continues to pose.

“The statistics in our 2019/2020 report show the situation in food banks up until the end of March, before the true economic impact of the pandemic had hit. Despite this, we see a rise in the number of people being forced to use a food bank yet again.

“This constant rise in food bank use, year after year, cannot continue. More and more people are struggling to eat because they simply cannot afford food – and when we look to the year ahead, it’s likely even more people will be forced into destitution. This is not right.”

“We know this situation can be turned around – that’s why we’re campaigning to create a future where no one needs a food bank. Our benefits system is supposed to protect us all from being swept into poverty and while additional government measures have helped some people stay afloat this year, clearly more needs to be done.

“That’s why we united with partners from across the charity sector in urging the UK government to make sure everyone can afford the essentials through the economic downturn.

“And we want to see governments at all levels doing everything in their power to protect people from financial hardship.

“We have outlined what needs to be done – it’s in our power to protect one another, we’ve seen it during this health crisis, and we need it to continue during this economic one.”

Call for Holyrood candidates to commit to protection of Scotland’s local parks and green spaces

Green space charity Fields in Trust Scotland is calling on candidates in May’s Parliamentary elections to recognise the importance of our local parks and green spaces and sign a pledge committing to protect them from development if elected.

The Parks Protector Pledge contains six key points which set out how elected policymakers can work to protect, support and champion green spaces for good, both locally and nationally. Candidates standing for election to the Scottish Parliament are invited to make a public commitment to the Pledge.

Following a year in which we have valued our local parks more than ever before, the Fields in Trust charity is calling on candidates to demonstrate support for green spaces by joining 40 members of the Westminster Parliament, representing five different parties, who signed the Parks Protector Pledge at the 2019 General Election.

Fields in Trust is also encouraging electors to ask their candidates how they will support local parks and green spaces if elected.

Fields in Trust is an independent, UK-wide charity which has been legally protecting parks and green spaces since 1925 and currently protects 297 spaces covering nearly 2,300 hectares in Scotland. HRH The Duke of Edinburgh served as President of the charity for 64 years.

Chair of Fields in Trust Scotland, Brian Samson said: “Parks and green spaces have been vital lifelines for communities across Scotland over the last twelve months; they will continue to be an essential element of our pandemic recovery.

“Yet 2.7 million people across Britain, including 318,355 people in Scotland, already live more than a ten-minute walk from a public park and this is set to increase in the next five years.

“MSP’s can play a significant role in delivering the health, wellbeing, environmental and community benefits that parks and green spaces provide, by ensuring they are protected for future generations to enjoy”.

Fields in Trust has published original research demonstrating parks and green spaces contribute to community health and wellbeing and can address multiple policy challenges, including health improvement; tackling loneliness; addressing childhood obesity; benefitting the environment and delivering volunteer opportunities.

Protecting these public assets is not something that is politically contested and by building cross-party support in championing the value of local parks, future legislative reform can protect local green spaces that matter to constituents.

Scottish Education needs radical overhaul, argues Jimmy Reid Foundation paper

The Jimmy Reid Foundation has released a new paper, Liberal education in a neo-liberal world: re-culturing and recalibrating, to coincide with the first day of the 2021 STUC annual congress.

The full paper can be found here: JRFeducationpaperfinal-3Download

Summarising the paper, Boyd, Kelly and Maitles argue: ‘Whilst there are some strong positive aspects to Scottish education and which can be improved with some relatively small alterations, the key negative factors operating within our education system — a neo-liberal agenda and inequality of attainment and achievement, stemming from too many of our population living in poverty — mean that a radical overhaul is needed’.

The authors say: ‘Neo-liberalism – the idea that choice and markets and testing can deal with the problems – has failed and, indeed, exacerbated the problems.  Marketisation of education, de-skilling and lack of trust in our teachers, the growth of managerialism and the politicisation of education all need to be challenged’.

Instead, they argue that: ‘The development of well-rounded human beings, knowledgeable of values, human rights and citizenship, should be the aim of education.

‘All pupils should have the opportunity to become independent learners and creativity should be at the heart of education and this requires a radical student-centred approach. Parents, pupils/students, communities and society as a whole should have a role in designing an education system for all.’

The authors suggest the closing of the achievement gap is related to poverty and will require macro-intervention but positive attempts to tackle it should begin in Early Years education.

They say: ‘We need to intervene early, postpone the age of formal education, ensure that early years are based on play and outdoor learning and raise staffing levels and funding in our nurseries and primaries’.

They add: ‘Secondary schools should never again be in thrall to an examination system which distorts learning and teaching and institutionalises failure for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

‘Nor should internal selection in schools, supported by Universities’ ever increasing entrance requirements, be continued. Further and Higher Education need to become much more student and community focused’.

Boyd, Kelly and Maitles lay out a blueprint for radical change, putting Scottish culture and history and the decolonising of the curriculum at the core and whereby all students should have the opportunity to become independent learners with creativity being at the heart of learning. 

Also part of this blueprint is that all of the sectors of education should find common cause and create a coherent system with manifest choices being presented to learners with parents, pupils/students, communities and society as a whole having a role in designing an education system for all.

Details about authors: Brian Boyd, Emeritus Professor of Education, University of Strathclyde, John Kelly, Lecturer in Business, West College Scotland, and Henry Maitles, Emeritus Professor of Education, University of West of Scotland.

JRFeducationpaperfinal-3Download

Westminster committee to investigate long-term impact of pandemic on parents and families

Image representing news article

Westminster’s COVID-19 Committee is to hear the concerns of charities who have been supporting families through the pandemic.

While the pandemic has had an impact on all parents and families, the severity of that impact, and the potential long-term consequences, will vary significantly.

While there have been positives for some families in being able to spend more time together, emerging evidence suggests others are experiencing increasing mental ill health, poverty, domestic abuse and child neglect.

There are also concerns around the impact on children’s development, perhaps especially for those born in the last year.

The Committee has decided to conduct a short inquiry on this topic, and will begin by hearing from organisations working with more vulnerable and disadvantaged families about what they have observed over the last year and their concerns for the future.

Witnesses

Tuesday 20 April 2021

At 9.45am, the Committee will hear evidence from:

  • Jabeer Butt, Chief Executive, Race Equality Foundation
  • Sally Hogg, Head of Policy and Campaigning, Parent-Infant Foundation
  • David Holmes, Chief Executive, Family Action
  • Jaine Stannard, Chief Executive, School-Home Support
  • Jane Williams, CEO Founder, The Magpie Project

Themes for discussion

  • How the pandemic has affected more vulnerable and disadvantaged families.
  • What the long-term impact of the pandemic might be for parents and children.
  • What action is needed from Government to respond to these concerns.

Holyrood Election – Five Calls from the Cockburn Association

Five questions for prospective local candidates in the upcoming Scottish Parliamentary election

For almost 150 years the Cockburn Association has campaigned to preserve, protect and promote the built heritage, natural environment and civic amenity of Edinburgh and its surrounding area.

Our passion has been backed by an array of professional expertise. The city we cherish today, with its dramatic skyline and World Heritage Site rather than motorway interchanges, owes much to those efforts.

However, recent years witnessed pressures as Edinburgh has increasingly become the main dynamo of the Scottish economy, at the same time as Holyrood and the City Council have set ambitious net zero carbon targets. 

In addition there are the challenges presented by Covid, which has highlighted the importance of freely accessible, good quality parks and other public space for health and wellbeing, as well as the need to tackle inequalities.

The Cockburn Association believes that the climate emergency, public health and the legacy from pre-pandemic inequality meant that “rebuilding” should not mean resetting the clock to 2019.

In particular, we urge those seeking to represent Edinburgh’s citizens in the Parliament to recognise that many Edinburgh residents, particularly those living in the city centre, have been alarmed by the over tourism of the past few years.

Another decade like the last one will drastically change the character of the city, leaving it less resilient in the face of the next crisis.

Those elected to Holyrood will face intense lobbying by representatives of interests keen to reaffirm their free reign to use the city’s parks, open green spaces and residential blocks for their respective private commercial benefit, including the events, festivals and short-term letting industries.

We ask our representatives to ‘build back better’ rather than re-enact 2019. The Cockburn’s “Our Unique City” manifesto presents the case for the path the capital should take.

As local residents make a decision as to which candidate they will vote for, the Cockburn has five “asks” to put to each person who wishes to represent the city of Edinburgh constituencies or the Lothians region:

Will you stop the commodification and privatisation of Edinburgh’s cherished public places?

Access to public streets, parks and open spaces should always be free and unrestricted and the availability of open space for physical and mental wellbeing has never been so important as it is today. When events are permitted, infrastructure, such as physical and visual barriers, must be minimised and removed as quickly as possible.

Soft-surfaced spaces should never be used for events that require significant constructions. Continual replacement of turf and the damage to trees resulting from events is unsustainable, expensive and simply wrong. Commercial interests should not determine how public spaces are used.

Will you commit to the regulation of Short Term Lets in Edinburgh and their overall reduction, returning these homes to permanent residential use?

The last decade has seen an exponential growth in unregulated short-term-let accommodation.

This has hollowed out the city centre, displacing permanent residents and replacing them with holiday guests and party flats. This trend must be reversed with clear and unequivocal regulation implemented urgently. The unsustainable number of current short term lets needs to be reversed, with significantly enhanced enforcement action.

Will you support better planning and building standards to improve the quality and amenity of new housing?

The global pandemic has illustrated the importance of quality spaces within the home and its immediate environs. More home working will require better minimum space standards to ensure healthy working habits.  Increased and innovative outdoor space in housing developments (both quantity and quality) would encourage greater well-being and active family environments. 

The UK has some of the smallest space standards for housing in Europe.  A return to the Parker Morris Standards of the 1960s (updated, of course) is required and a move beyond minimum standards for climate mitigation and carbon management.

Will you incentivise the maintenance and care of our traditional building stock by supporting the reduction of VAT on repairs to zero?

The most sustainable building is an existing building. In a city defined by its historic and traditional architecture, incurring VAT on maintenance and refurbishment costs is a significant financial burden. 

It results in less work for more money. It acts as a disincentive for homeowners to invest in the fabric of their homes, reducing sustainability and increasing fuel poverty.  The Cockburn first called for tax relief on heritage properties in 1935 and we do so again. 

Will you ensure that funding for tourism and events in Edinburgh results in direct support for local businesses and cultural organisations?

Edinburgh’s hospitality, service and cultural sector must be supported and championed, rather than face continued publicly subsidised and unfair competition from temporary ‘pop-up’ operators and event promoters, diverting much-needed trade away from struggling, long-established local businesses.

The Scottish Parliament regularly supports local community wealth-building initiatives elsewhere in Scotland, focused on micro rather than macro-economic recovery opportunities, this principle must also be applied in Edinburgh too, especially in the post-pandemic era.

We would be delighted if readers of this piece put one or more of these questions to their local Edinburgh constituency or Lothian List candidates.

Before going to the polls it is hugely important that you hear the thoughts of each prospective candidate on these vitally significant issues and receive a commitment to action each one during the next five years if successfully elected to the Scottish Parliament.

A full list of Edinburgh Constituency and Lothian List candidates can be found here.