Michael Moore MP - Strengthening Scotland's future

Today has been a historic day, Michael Moore MP communicates with Lib Dem members in Scotland.

Dear Andrew,


Today the Government published its Scotland Bill. When this becomes law, a second and exciting phase in Scottish devolution will begin. We are strengthening Scotland’s future based on three principles: empowerment, accountability and stability.

This Bill starts its parliamentary process with the support of the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Each of our parties - plus business and civil society - contributed to the Calman Commission, which drew up the blueprint for it. It is right that change of this sort should be built on a broad consensus. But now it is this government that is turning those principles into practice.

And let's be clear: this plan is steeped in Liberal Democrat values.

We believe in devolution. By nature, we are mistrustful of centralised government and welcoming of the flow of power from Westminster to our nation states, our communities and to individuals too. When the Scottish Constitutional Convention drafted the plan for a Scottish Parliament, we were at the table. When the referendum campaign was raging, we were on the streets campaigning. And in 1999, when the first democratically elected Scottish Parliament was elected, we joined the coalition government that heralded a new era of Scottish politics.

The Bill is diverse in content, and gives the Scottish Parliament a range of new powers: regulating air weapons; setting drink-drive limits; establishing a Scottish national speed limit.

But its centrepiece is the devolution of tax and borrowing powers. This is the greatest transfer of fiscal power from London since the creation of the UK. Today, the Scottish Parliament only has revenue powers over council tax and business rates and raises only 15% of its own revenue. The Scotland Bill transforms that. The most significant change we will make is to create a Scottish Income Tax. We'll do this by cutting 10 pence off every band of income tax. We will proportionately adjust the block grant that Scotland receives, and then allow the Scottish Parliament to reset the tax rates. We will also give the Parliament nearly £3 billion in borrowing powers.

This will empower the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government to make tax and spend choices that will determine future revenues and help shape Scotland's future economy.

It will also make both more accountable to the Scottish people. It is an incomplete construct to have a Parliament that spends money but is responsible for raising little of it. By giving these tax powers to Holyrood, MSPs will have to answer to voters for the money that they spend. And by moving those spending decisions closer to Scottish society and to Scottish business, both will be better placed to influence the decisions that impact on their lives and livelihoods.

By empowering Holyrood, we are also ensuring its stability. Our plans will be phased to ensure no sudden shock or windfall to the Scottish budget. By giving the Parliament – which has been a success over the past decade – room to innovate safely, we will strengthen Scotland within the UK.

And for all their bluster, the SNP has no alternative. Their plans for full fiscal autonomy are a non-starter: light on detail, high on cost and fraught with risk. No industrialised country has ever gone down that road. This is independence masquerading as reform. It won’t wash.

But for our party, the victory here is not a tactical one. It is principled one. We are working with others to devolve power from the centre to the communities that need it and know how to use it.

This is good for Scotland, and we should be proud of it.

Best wishes,
Michael Moore
Secretary of State for Scotland

Ice hockey - I write for Deadline News

Many of my little blogs regular readers will know that ice hockey is my faourite sport, so the fact that I have been asked and given an opportunity by Deadline News to write regular match reports is an amazing honour.

This is the first, that was published last week, any constructive feedback by sports writers is very welcome.

Edinburgh Capitals suffer from Devil of a time

EDINBURGH CAPITALS 3 v 5 CARDIFF DEVILS

Match Report: Andrew Reeves

The Cardiff Devils were welcomed to Edinburgh on Sunday evening following a 5 – 2 victory over the Edinburgh Capitals in Cardiff on the previous evening.

Would the Scots be able to make a comeback?

The Devils fell behind after just two minutes with a goal by Edinburgh Capitals Chris St. Jacques, with the assist by Capitals’ captain, Martin Cingel.

Despite the Capitals’ continued pressure on the Devils’ goal, no goals were forthcoming.

And it was the Devils who went on to equalise at eight minutes 28 seconds with a goal by Craig Weller, with assists by Max Birbrear and Scott Matzka.

Just under two minutes later the Devils’ goal scorer Craig Weller received a two minute penalty for tripping.

The Capitals went on the power play.

But just before the penalty came to an end the Devils pulled a short-handed goal by Jon Pelle, with assist by Scott Matzka and Mark Smith.

2-1 to the Cardiff Devils as the first period came to an end.

The Cardiff Devils flew straight out of the trap in period two and the play was fast, furious and end to end.

Capitals’ number 5, Kyle Horne put in a stonking block to a shot from Devils Ryan Finnerty.

He kept up the pressure but with great blocks from Capitals’ net minder, Scott Reid, he came away frustrated.

Capitals’ Chris St Jacques was becoming increasingly annoyed with the match officials over what he saw as repeated bad line calls.

Devils’ Ryan Finnerty was increasingly looking for a fight.

However it was Capitals’ Evan Schafer and Devils’ Brad Voth who eventually squared up, although nothing cames of it.

Then out of nowhere the Devils’ Tylor Michel scores on the power play, with assists by Ryan Finnerty and Kenton Smith.

Cardiff Devils received a bench penalty served by Sam Smith for having too many men on the ice and then moments later the Devils’ Phil Hill receive a two minute penalty for tripping leading to a major pile up in the Edinburgh goal mouth.

The second period finishesd3 – 1 to the Cardiff Devils.

The third period started badly with four of the Devils players wrapped up in the Cardiff goal with their own net minder.

Moments later the Capitals’ Jeff Hutchins slipped and also piled into the Cardiff net minder.

The Cardiff players all grouped around Hutchins but the match officials stood up to them and calm was restored.

Then just 16 seconds separate two goals, one for each team.

Capitals’ Alex Kim, scored first with assists by Martin Cingel and Jeff Hutchins and then Scott Matzka fired one back for the Devils with assists by Jon Pelle and Max Birbrear.

Then followed 90 seconds of furious action.

First Capitals’ Jacques Perrault receivesda two minute penalty for delaying the game.

A mere 30 seconds later Devils Jon Pelle received a two minute penalty for goalie interference.

These two penalties were then followed by the Cardiff Devils’ fifth goal, scored by Ryan Finnerty with assists by Phil Hill and Craig Weller.

The Capitals got the final score with their third goal of the night, scored by Evan Schafer, with assists by Chris St. Jacques and Adam Taylor.

An action packed match ended 5-3 to the Cardiff Devils.

A great effort though by the Edinburgh Capitals, Edinburgh’s ice hockey team based at Murrayfield ice rink.

English Defence League Protest in Preston - One mans perspective

A guest post from one of my friends, Andrew Neale.

Andrew (the one on the left) and I met on a fundraising walk in New York organised by Stonewall.  I don't agree with Andrew's politics, but we met on a fundraising event trying to make other people's lives better.

Andrew is one of those amazing people with a huge heart and works so hard to help others, whether it is in Preston or other parts of the world - a true amazing friend.

I never bother readin other people's notes ... and I don't particularly expect many to read/care about this ...
But I have more to say than my status word limit will allow.
I am so impressed with today's protest in Preston - The English Defence League (EDL) were in the city protesting about how Muslims apparently come first in the UK and how the white English/British population are apparently second class citizens etc etc...) Previous protests, organised by the EDL, have turned into riots so there was much anticipation that today could turn violent. Pubs like the Black Horse and take-aways like Chicken Ranch boarded up their windows to minimise potential damage and the police/council designated the flag market as an assembly point for the EDL and the covered market as an assembly point for the United Against Fascism (UAF) group - with a noticeable and strong cordon between the two. The UAF wanted to counter protest against the EDL as they believe in everyone living happily and loving each other ("No to racism" etc are some of their slogans).

Prior to the protest I spoke with an acquaintance about the EDL and he informed me that they just believe in fairness - and that it's extremists within the group that give them a bad name - which is fair enough. However, after getting caught up in their side of the protest I have to say they were majorly aggressive (throwing cans of beer up in the air towards the audience, setting off red smoke bombs and bangers - Not exactly sticking to their fliers tag line of "Peacefully protesting in Preston". I felt uncomfortable and unsafe - and asked my friend if we could move away.

The EDL definitely had more people present than the UAF - and there were more bystanders watching the EDL. The impression I got from people I spoke with was that they were just more intrigued because there was potential for something to kick off. An interesting observation was when the EDL were chanting. Imagine there were 500 people crammed onto the flag market and branching off down the adjoining streets. There were only about 100 actually chanting and jumping up and down. The rest of us simply stood, observing. I therefore think it's fair to conclude that most people present were only curious, rather than supporting the cause which the EDL were raising. (Thankfully)

I didn't want to associate with either party because I don't have in-depth knowledge about them and they both seemed a little extreme in my view. Me and my friend therefore sat in the middle, with small banners which simply read 'Where is the Love?' and 'Understanding + Respect = Harmony'. They were pretty geeky and nothing special in the slightest, but the passing public noticed, commented and pretty much agreed. The press took some pictures too and some of the Millwall fans/EDL protesters took photos with us as well (Clearly taking the piss but I'm not one to care - shows we have a sense of humour!)

When the police split up the EDL protest and forced them all down Fishergate (on to us and the rest of the public) I felt vulnerable and as if something could have kicked off. My banner went down and we slowly made our way through the crowds to the bottom end of the street. I have to say the majority of the EDL supporters/protesters appeared to be chavs - many in trackies or hoodies, scarves covering their faces etc.The UAF protesters were more family-focussed, student types or hippy-ish: A random but good mix. We eventually went round to their side to hear their views and read their banners etc, and decided to stay and show our support for them.
At the end of the day the majority of people seemed to be sat in the middle - agreeing with parts of both parties or not really caring either way but just wanting a nosy. In my view, there is no middle. It's a line. And you're either on one side or the other. I'm proud to say that I was on the side fighting for peace and an end to discrimination. I'm also proud that there were no riots and that Lancashire Constabulary prepared and carried out everything perfectly. Preston is my hometown, as it is for people from all kinds of backgrounds, and today's protest will hopefully show that the majority of people here are decent and have morals. And that my friends has absolutely made my day.

Chris Bryant naked with a journalist in a sauna!

 We have got used to sordid sex stories involving politicians.

What about a nice story of a near naked MP in a sauna with an also near naked journalist?

Well, I am so jealous right now of LobbyDog who was in a nice hot sauna with Chris Bryant MP.

You can read exactly what they get up to on LobbyDog's blog.

Scottish dog sled racers can now take dogs with them

A bizarre headline you may think?

If the EC Directive had gone through, the dog sled racing teams would have been limited on the total number of dogs that can be moved from one country to another at any one time to five per person.

The Directive would have stopped Scottish sled dog teams participating in races in mainland Europe.
This barking mad EU Directive has now been reversed after interventions from Scotland's Liberal Democrat MEP, George Lyon and Tory MEP, Struan Stevenson.

The European Commission has now also ruled commercial passports for individual dogs, which cost £150 each, will be replaced with a special licence to keep costs down. It will be valid for four months to cover the racing season.
George Lyon lobbied the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, John Dalli on behalf of the Sled Dog Association of Scotland and professional racer Alan Stewart of Aviemore.

I was actually with George Lyon and his press officer Graeme on one of the occasions some of the lobbying actually took place.

The Commissioner, John Dalli, set up a working group which has now persuaded the Council of Commissioners to exempt this specialist sport from the directive.

The Press and Journal report;

Mr Stewart, who owns the Cairngorm Sleddog Centre at Aviemore, said: “It is great we can get back into the Alps and race with people who understand the meaning of sled-dog racing. This was an issue I pushed and spent a lot of time on it because it truly affected people across Europe. It is a way of life, not a hobby or a pastime.”

Mr Lyon said: I am pleased that commissioner Dalli has stayed true to his word and pushed for greater flexibility in the regulation. The new four-month licence will allow sled-dog teams to travel to events across Europe. We must now learn if the licence works in practice and I will keep in touch with racers to ensure that is the case.”

It does go to show that having an effective, responsive MEP in Scotland means things can actually be achieved within the European angle of politics.

Chelsea FC - crisis or no crisis?

A strange period for Chelsea FC at the moment.

Carlo Ancelotti, the team manger who in his first season took Chelsea to win the double - the FA cup and the Premier league, appears to have fallen out with Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich.

As usual the fans are told very little, or just get the official club spin.

Firstly, Ray Wilkins gets sacked - another in a long line of staff to be losing their jobs recently at Chelsea - but is this Abramovich flexing his muscle over Ancelotti, or is this more penny pinching?

The statement from Chelsea FC on Ray Wilkins departure (short and to the point);

In response to media enquiries regarding a League Managers' Association (LMA) statement issued on behalf of Ray Wilkins today (Saturday), the club has issued the following statement.  It reads:

'We are having amicable discussions with Ray's legal advisors. Although the matter is confidential, we can say that we have told Ray and his advisors that we will honour the termination provisions in Ray's contract.'

Once you read the brief statement you can no longer argue both aspects as above, this is a clear sacking, otherwise surely the cost cutting point would have been highlighted, but then to add insult to injury a replacement was installed two days before the statement on Wilkins and only a week after Wilkins departure.

Michael Emenalo has now been appointed to the position of assistant first team coach. He moves up from his previous position of head opposition scout, a role he will continue to oversee, while updating his coaching qualifications.


I feel for Emenalo, he no doubt already has the respect of many players in his current role, but there may well be some time bedding in as the assistant coach to Ancelotti, although he is one of three.
 
Is the crisis restricted to the off pitch aspects of Chelsea FC?
 
Obviously not, given Chelsea have now lost three of their lost four matches there is clearly something not right within the squad and you cannot just blame the injuries of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Zhirkov - Alex and Cole are now fit again.
 
The players need a kick up the backside, they earn some massive amounts of money and although Abramovich has now put a ceiling on no player earning more than £80,000 per week.  I still think the salaries are part of the problem, not just at Chelsea, but across the premiership full stop.
 
So, do I think there is a crisis at Chelsea, no, because if we can lose three games in four and still be at the top of the premiership, we must also be doing something right.
 
I hope Abramovich sees sense and keeps hold of Ancelotti and gets that contract sorted out now.

Jason Manford quits BBC One Show after flirting on skype and twitter

Do these so called stars ever read the newspapers and note the dramatic downfalls of other stars, footballers and celebrities who have made major mistakes on social networking sites?

From Sky News;

Jason Manford has resigned from The One Show after revelations he exchanged "saucy" messages online with fans.

I will be perfectly honest, I am astounded at the sheer stupidity of these so called stars tv personalities.

Manford works on one of the shows that is quick to jump on other people's mistakes so he must have had his eyes open more than most.

The 29-year-old comedian's departure comes just four months after he was handed the coveted presenters role on the flagship BBC show.


He said in a statement: "I have decided after careful consideration to step down from The One Show to concentrate on my family and tour commitments."

The BBC said: "We have got nothing to say except that we accept Jason's decision."

Manford admitted to The Sun that he had "flirted" with 10 or 12 people on the internet and that it had gone "over the line with a few".

Jason Manford's downfall is yet another on a list that just keeps on growing.

His wife is expecting their third child, so she must be feeling fab today!

Have the SNP lied about the tax raising powers Scotland no longer has?

Michael Moore MP, the Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland has announced today that the SNP Government has let the tax varying powers for Holyrood lapse, but yet, just yesterday the SNP finance minister John Swinney MSP failed to mention it to the MSPs in Holyrood.

The SNP has constantly demanded more powers and a referendum but yet has now killed off the only tax power expressly voted for by Scottish people in the 1997 Devolution Referendum.

The Scottish Government has tried to sweep this under the carpet. It was fundamentally dishonest for Scottish Ministers not to make it clear during the Budget statement that they have killed off the tax varying power for this and the next Parliament.

According to the Scottish Office press release;

The Scottish Secretary Michael Moore has today written to the First Minister and other Holyrood leaders to inform them that a decision by the Scottish Government not to commit resources to maintain the Scottish Variable Rate (SVR) tax power means that HMRC could no longer collect such a tax.

The SVR is the power to lower or raise the basic rate of income tax by 3p.

The Scottish Government’s decision doesn’t just affect the SNP, but binds the hands of the next Government following the elections on May 5th 2011.

John Swinney told MSPs yesterday that he would not raise the Scottish Variable Rate of income tax but Michael Moore MP makes clear in his letter today that decisions taken by the Scottish Government mean the SVR power could not now be used before the 2013/14 tax year, so did John Swinney mislead Parliament?

The Scottish Secretary has written to the other main parties to advise them that they will not be able to use this power until the penultimate year of the next Parliament.

Michael Moore MP goes onto say;

"It is worth saying that the forthcoming Scotland Bill that I will publish in the next few weeks will contain the biggest transfer of financial powers from London since the creation of the UK. Our expectation is that these greater powers would be available to MSPs from 2015."

I really am concerned that John Swinney and the SNP government are not being entirely honest with voters on this, and if they can cover things like this up what else have they covered up since 2007?

The SNPs John Swinney MSP said yesterday in Holyrood;

"Within the Parliament's existing revenue powers, we have explored options for maximising our income.  We have been mindful of the need to considers the effect of the significant tax rises that the UK Government has announced before we act.  I therefore confirm that we will not raise the Scottish variable rate of income tax."

So, either he didn't realise the SVR power had been cancelled (which means he is out of touch and lost the trust of his staff) or he has mislead parliament or at the very worst knowingly lied to parliament.

It is time for the SNP to be honest and tell us where they stand and what they knew and when.

No action against election overspend by Conservative MP David Mundell

As the voters of Oldham East & Saddleworth prepare for a Parliamentary by-election after the courts found Labour MP Phil Woolas guilty lying about the Lib Dem candidate, the voters of Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale can heave a huge sigh of relief.

The Conservatives only MP in Scotland, David Mundell has been told that no further action will be taken after the investigation into his election expenses.

David Mundell overspent during the election and had split the costs of a newspaper advert between the long and short campaigns.

From day one he admitted human error.

The action open to the courts is limited from a slap on the wrist, to a £5,000 fine or a full re-run of the election and being barred from standing for public office.

In addition there is the public humiliation that goes with it.

I always thought the maximum David Mundell faced was the fine.

This was never going to turn into the Scottish version of Oldham East & Saddleworth.

Today's judgement is embarrassing enough for David Mundell MP and the Scottish Conservatives.

Maybe next time his Agent will use a calculator and David will check everything before he signs the forms.

Chris 'give a hug' Wiggin Movember man number five

I said I would push the movember attributes of five Liberal Democrats, the first was Councillor Jeremy Rowe.

The second was Callum Leslie, Vice President of Liberal Youth Scotland and candidate for the Mid Scotland & Fife regional list.

The third is Councillor Nigel Clarke, who is Lib Dem councillor for Brentwood West.

The fourth is Ross Chmiel, a Lib Dem member in Edinburgh.

The fifth and final is Chris 'give a hug' Wiggin, an active member of Liberal Youth from York.

I am doing this because it is so important that we unite to fight cancer, whatever strain it is.

Movember is the fundraising project for the Prostate Cancer Charity.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. One man dies every hour from the disease in the UK.

This is a cause that I feel passionately about and I’m asking you to support my efforts by making a donation to The Prostate Cancer Charity.

To help Chris Wiggin, you can either:

Click this link and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account. Or,

Send cheques and CAF vouchers (made payable to ‘The Prostate Cancer Charity Re Movember’) directly to The Prostate Cancer Charity – First Floor, Cambridge House, Cambridge Grove, London W6 0LE. Be sure to include the person’s name on the back of the cheque.

The Prostate Cancer Charity will use the money raised by Movember for the development of programs related to awareness, public education, advocacy, support of those affected, and research into the prevention, detection, treatment and cure of prostate cancer.

For more details on how the funds raised from previous campaigns have been used and the impact Movember is having please visit HERE.

Ross Chmiel Movember man number four

I said I would push the movember attributes of five Liberal Democrats, the first was Councillor Jeremy Rowe.

The second was Callum Leslie, Vice President of Liberal Youth Scotland and candidate for the Mid Scotland & Fife regional list.

The third is Councillor Nigel Clarke, who is Lib Dem councillor for Brentwood West.

The fourth is Ross Chmiel, a Lib Dem member in Edinburgh.

I am doing this because it is so important that we unite to fight cancer, whatever strain it is.

Movember is the fundraising project for the Prostate Cancer Charity.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. One man dies every hour from the disease in the UK.

This is a cause that I feel passionately about and I’m asking you to support my efforts by making a donation to The Prostate Cancer Charity.

To help Ross Chmiel, you can either:

Click this link and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account. Or,

Send cheques and CAF vouchers (made payable to ‘The Prostate Cancer Charity Re Movember’) directly to The Prostate Cancer Charity – First Floor, Cambridge House, Cambridge Grove, London W6 0LE. Be sure to include the person’s name on the back of the cheque.

The Prostate Cancer Charity will use the money raised by Movember for the development of programs related to awareness, public education, advocacy, support of those affected, and research into the prevention, detection, treatment and cure of prostate cancer.

For more details on how the funds raised from previous campaigns have been used and the impact Movember is having please visit HERE.

Councillor Nigel Clarke Movember man number three

I said I would push the movember attributes of five Liberal Democrats, the first was Councillor Jeremy Rowe.

The second is Callum Leslie, Vice President of Liberal Youth Scotland and candidate for the Mid Scotland & Fife regional list.

The third is Councillor Nigel Clarke, who is Lib Dem councillor for Brentwood West.

I am doing this because it is so important that we unite to fight cancer, whatever strain it is.

Movember is the fundraising project for the Prostate Cancer Charity.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. One man dies every hour from the disease in the UK.

This is a cause that I feel passionately about and I’m asking you to support my efforts by making a donation to The Prostate Cancer Charity.

To help Councillor Nigel Clarke, you can either:

Click this link and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account. Or,

Send cheques and CAF vouchers (made payable to ‘The Prostate Cancer Charity Re Movember’) directly to The Prostate Cancer Charity – First Floor, Cambridge House, Cambridge Grove, London W6 0LE. Be sure to include the person’s name on the back of the cheque.

The Prostate Cancer Charity will use the money raised by Movember for the development of programs related to awareness, public education, advocacy, support of those affected, and research into the prevention, detection, treatment and cure of prostate cancer.

For more details on how the funds raised from previous campaigns have been used and the impact Movember is having please visit HERE.

PSPC Callum Leslie Movember man two

I said I would push the movember attributes of five Liberal Democrats, the first was Councillor Jeremy Rowe. 

The second is Callum Leslie, Vice President of Liberal Youth Scotland and candidate for the Mid Scotland & Fife regional list.

I am doing this because it is so important that we unite to fight cancer, whatever strain it is.

Movember is the fundraising project for the Prostate Cancer Charity.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. One man dies every hour from the disease in the UK. This is a cause that I feel passionately about and I’m asking you to support my efforts by making a donation to The Prostate Cancer Charity.

To help Callum Leslie, you can either:

Click this link and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account. Or,

Send cheques and CAF vouchers (made payable to ‘The Prostate Cancer Charity Re Movember’) directly to The Prostate Cancer Charity – First Floor, Cambridge House, Cambridge Grove, London W6 0LE. Be sure to include the person’s name on the back of the cheque.

The Prostate Cancer Charity will use the money raised by Movember for the development of programs related to awareness, public education, advocacy, support of those affected, and research into the prevention, detection, treatment and cure of prostate cancer.

For more details on how the funds raised from previous campaigns have been used and the impact Movember is having please visit HERE.

Councillor Jeremy Rowe Movember man one

I said I would push the movember attributes of five Liberal Democrats, the first is Councillor Jeremy Rowe.

I am doing this because it is so important that we unite to fight cancer, whatever strain it is.

Movember is the fundraising project for the Prostate Cancer Charity. 

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. One man dies every hour from the disease in the UK. This is a cause that I feel passionately about and I’m asking you to support my efforts by making a donation to The Prostate Cancer Charity.

To help Jeremy Rowe, you can either:

Click this link and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account. Or,
Send cheques and CAF vouchers (made payable to ‘The Prostate Cancer Charity Re Movember’) directly to The Prostate Cancer Charity – First Floor, Cambridge House, Cambridge Grove, London W6 0LE. Be sure to include the person’s name on the back of the cheque.

The Prostate Cancer Charity will use the money raised by Movember for the development of programs related to awareness, public education, advocacy, support of those affected, and research into the prevention, detection, treatment and cure of prostate cancer.

For more details on how the funds raised from previous campaigns have been used and the impact Movember is having please visit HERE.

Labour have failed the people of Glasgow according to Bill Butler MSP

Last week the Scottish Government published a report on the City of Glasgow which found evidence of
poor diet, increased anxiety and ill health.

Now, two years ago during the Glasgow East by-election there were hundreds of stories describing the deprivation, the shorter life spans and many other health concerns of the residents of Glasgow.

So I was a little surprised to see this press release in response to the above mentioned report, from the Scottish Labour MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, Bill Butler, which quoted him as saying;

"This report shows that much more needs to be done to fight poverty and should serve as a wake-up call to politicians. We need a relentless campaign to raise expectations, drive up living standards and encourage people to live healthier lifestyles.

"In this context, the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition's decisions to cut programmes that will hit the poorest hardest is absolutely disgraceful.

“Many of Glasgow’s communities are still struggling to recover from the last Tory government and further cutbacks will condemn too many vulnerable people to a hard life, ill health and an early death."

 I have never heard such a hypocritical rant from a Labour politician for a while now.

The Labour Party ran the Scottish Government for eight years from 1999 to 2007, they ran the Westminster Government from 1997 to May this year and have run the City of Glasgow Council for around 40 years.

So why did Bill Butler's Labour Party not solve the problem during that 40 year period?

I will explain why, because Labour didn't know how to solve the problems so just threw money (and continue to do so) at the problem areas and hope someone somewhere will sort it out with no one person responsible for reviewing the work of the schemes that just hand the money out.

The Labour Party like to operate by blaming everyone else for their mistakes, whether it be the previous Tory Westminster government (thrown out of power back in 1997) or the new current Lib Dem-Tory coalition government which has been in power a mere 6 months.

Just look how many ministers over those 13 years were Scottish MPs and yet they failed the people of Glasgow who despite being let down by Labour over the years continue to ignore the problems thrown at them and continue to thrive within their communities.

Bill Butler needs to accept he has played a part in the issues contained in the report he has casually thrown out comments to.

Edinburgh Capitals - the EIHL ice hockey team of Edinburgh

Caps TV talks to the Edinburgh Capitals General Manager Scot Neil.

Ten tips for the Liberal Democrats - members, voters and activists alike

Contrary to what many believe, the Lib Dems were right to choose coalition, and can remain a distinctive force.

Julian Glover writes for The Guardian.

Liberal Democrats are not short of advice. Mostly from outsiders. Mostly from people who find it odd that anyone should choose to be a Lib Dem activist and who never expected to see the party in power. Naturally, they see the coalition as an aberration and many expect it to fail.

Here, in no particular order, are 10 thoughts as to how Lib Dems might prove the doubters wrong, as they consider their identity and try to establish a distinctive message.

1) Don't panic. There is no crisis. Don't believe people who tell you that there is. The polls are poor, not catastrophic – 16% in the last Guardian/ICM survey is the same as the party scored in early 2009. The Lib Dem conference was the calmest and most successful of the three. Most Lib Dems believe that joining the coalition was the right thing to do – which isn't the same as approving of all its consequences. There's an impressive determination to make it work. What's striking is not the scale of dissent – but how little there is.

2) However, there is a Nick problem. It's partly unavoidable, but all those pictures of Nick Clegg sitting alongside David Cameron at PMQs and slapping George Osborne on the back have stopped reassuring us that the coalition is real and started reminding us he looks like a Tory. Or, if not that, then just another politician. He's got to take care not to be a backdrop to Cameron. He needs to find causes of his own. Get out of the bubble. Do real things. Don't get downhearted or isolated by hostile coverage.

3) Oh, and win the AV referendum. It's not impossible. And if not that, then at least win the public over to coalition government. It's happening: voters like co-operation and they see the Lib Dems as a moderating force. In 2015 the message should be: like the coalition and want it to continue? Then you'll have to vote Lib Dem.

For points 4 to 10, please read Julian Glover's full piece at The Guardian website HERE.

My advice in Scotland is do not write our party off, we are fighting and will not just roll over as people like Jim Murphy believe.  Write us off at your peril.

Conservative Councillor Gareth Compton calls for stoning of Yasmin Alibhai-Brown on twitter

Another example of alleged wry humour gone wrong on twitter.

This is an awful tweet to have sent out.  Gareth claims it was a humorous response to something on Radio 5, the problem is if you don't explain the connection the tweet comes over as nothing more than a disgusting personal attack on someone.

When will elected representatives realise that whether in jest or not their words are a matter of public record.

I have had the great privilege of meeting Yasmin Alibhai-Brown and was truly impressed.  Although Yasmin will often offend with her words, she fights racism hard and comes down on those who incite it harder.

So, Conservative Councillor Gareth Compton should not be surprised that Yasmin is reporting him to the police and will pursue this message on twitter.

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown said;

"You just don't do this. I have a lot of threats on my life. It's incitement. I'm going to the police – I want them to know that a law's been broken."

She added that she regarded Compton's remarks as racially motivated because he mentioned stoning.

"If I as a Muslim woman had tweeted that it would be a blessing if Gareth Compton was stoned to death I'd be arrested immediately. I don't think the nasty Tories went away."

The Guardian has also picked the story up;

The columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown has said she will report a Conservative councillor to the police after he posted a message on Twitter saying it would be a "blessing" if she was stoned to death.

 Councillor Compton has now profusely apologised, many times.

Compton, the Conservative councillor for Erdington, said he was writing in response to comments made by Alibhai-Brown on Radio 5 Live.

The councillor claimed she had said, with reference to David Cameron's trip to China, that no politician was morally qualified to speak out about human rights abuses, including the stoning of women, bar the likes of Nelson Mandela.

Compton, who later apologised on Twitter, added: "Twitter is a forum for glib comment of the moment. It was a glib comment. Who could possibly think it was serious?

"Obviously I apologise. No offence was intended."

Councillor Compton may well have not intended any offence but Yasmin has taken it.  Gareth may come to regret ever listening to that debate on Radio 5 and he will certainly regret going on to tweet about it.

Other politicians who have made major mistakes on twitter have found a quiet life after, especially those who have then been forced to resign after, will Councillor Compton be one of them?

Conservative MSP John Lamont uses poppy to score cheap political points

To be fair, readers of my little blog know I do not have a lot of time for John Lamont MSP at the best of times, but even he has slipped to a new low this week.

There are some issues you do not, as they say "go there" and using the poppy and veterans to attack your political opponents is one of them, fairly close to the top of that list.

In the Southern Reporter, John Lamont MSP has fired off a press release attacking all MSPs but specifically the other MSPs covering the Borders and the South of Scotland for not attending the poppy appeal launch in Holyrood. He claims just six MSPs were there.

I'm not sure if he walked round with a register while talking to the veterans who attended, or just counted at one point of the event.

I think back to last year, when John Lamont MSP was bored of his current job and was trying to go for the Westminster seat (and failed miserably) and missed many events aimed at the Borders voters whether at Holyrood or actually in the Borders themselves.

Did Michael Moore, Jeremy Purvis MSP or Jim Hume MSP make cheap political jibes about them?

No, they accept that different people have different diary requests and pressures and therefore cannot attend everything.

It also appears that John Lamont was wrong anyway about the attendees, as Jeremy Purvis has corrected the Southern Reporter, because he did in fact attend the Poppy Scotland launch event.

I think the bigger point here though is that John Lamont has stooped to a new low and brought the poppy into politics purely and solely to attack his political opponents in the six months before an election.

The poppy is not a weapon to be used against other people, the work of Poppy Scotland is massively important and should be promoted, not politicised;

Poppyscotland is the leading charity supporting ex-Servicemen and women and their families in Scotland. We are probably best known for running the iconic Scottish Poppy Appeal, but we work all year round to help veterans and their families receive the care and support they urgently need.

The Scottish Poppy Appeal raises over £2 million each year and, combined with our other year-round fundraising, we are able to provide financial assistance to thousands of ex-Servicemen and women as well as helping to fund specialist services such as long term care, housing and employment.

We were established in 1923 as The Earl Haig Fund Scotland but adopted our current name and logo in 2006 to reflect our revised fundraising activities and charitable services work. We are an independent charity and rely entirely on public donations to allow us to continue our life-changing work.

I hope that John Lamont MSP will realise he has made a major error of judgement on this occasion, although I won't hold my breath.  He should apologise publicly for dragging Poppy Scotland into his cheap political election row and then make an additional donation to them.

When he lays his wreath on Sunday, I hope the veterans present will remind him that cheap political jibes such as his don't win votes and if they had acted in the same childish manner during the wars they represented our great country in, John Lamont wouldn't be here now.

You can read more about Poppy Scotland, follow them on twitter and add a twibbon to your facebook or twitter profile to help them publicise their great work or make a donation.

Jae is spot on - No More Apologies - The Return Of The Cleggist Uprising

Remember the euphoria among Liberal Democrats in the lead up to the General Election this year? The excitement, the hope and the expectation would be dashed as the results came in showing an increase in vote but a loss of seats (typical FPTP result!). And to be honest we've been on the back foot since then. Every move we've made has been criticised from the left (TRAITORS!) and the right (OPPORTUNISTS!). And being the nice people we are, many of us have taken these attacks to heart, tried to make excuses, and ended up attacking our leadership to prove our "progressive" credentials.

I say no more! I've decided it's time for us to stop making excuses and apologising for things we're doing, to remember exactly what sort of people are making these attacks and start defending our record. The Liberal Democrats aren't just here to defend the policies of the Coalition, we're here as a real alternative to Labour and the Tories and as a party that is now ready for Government.

To read the rest of this amazing blog post, and every Liberal Democrat Member, activist, supporter and voter should do visit the Neue Politik blog HERE.

Is George Galloway set to become an MSP?

George Galloway, once an MP who then turned into Rula Lenska's milk lapping pussycat in Big Brother, now writes for The Daily Record.

Today George hints heavily in his column that he may well stand for the Glasgow regional list in next years Holyrood elections.

I, myself, am coming under serious pressure to be a candidate, not in Oldham but in Glasgow, and for the Scottish parliament in May.

Given there are 208 days to polling day, he has a while to decide which party to stand for, if any.
I wonder what has made gorgeous George think about this, he claims it is the;

Football supporters, leaders of the Asian community, trades unionists, former constituents - even members of the Labour Party are all saying that the Scottish parliament needs some heavier-weight members if it's to develop as a real parliament worthy of the name.

Will the good folk of Glasgow want an MSP who was branded a laughing stock by a London Labour opponent for appearing on Big Brother?

To be honest, that was then and this is now and I'm not sure people really get hung about these things in the way politicians do.

Time will tell if gorgeous George will throw his hat in the ring next May, let us just wait and see.

Phil Woolas MP loses court case over his election

So, Phil Woolas MP has lost the controversial court case and the high court judges have ordered a re-run.

A specially-convened election court - the first of its kind for 99 years - was set up in Saddleworth in September to hear the charges against Mr Woolas.

Phil Woolas is described on the Labour website as;

He is Minister of State at the Home Office responsible for borders and immigration.

I suspect that Ed Miliband, Labour's leader is wondering now if he should have made Woolas the shadow minister for immigration (that is his correct job) given that he has now been found guilty of knowingly making false statements about Mr Watkins (Lib Dem candidate) in campaign literature during the general election.

From the BBC (and many other sources);

Mr Woolas was accused of stirring up racial tensions in his campaign leaflets by suggesting Mr Watkins had pandered to Muslim militants, and had refused to condemn death threats Mr Woolas said he had received from such groups.

Mr Woolas ran a "risky" campaign, the court was told, designed to "galvanise the white Sun vote" because he feared he faced defeat on poling day.

The former minister was also accused of making a false statement that Mr Watkins had reneged on a promise to live within the constituency prior to the election.

Declaring the May poll result void, Mr Justice Nigel Teare and Mr Justice Griffith Williams said Mr Woolas knew all three statements were untrue, and was therefore guilty of illegal practices under election law.

They said:

"In our judgment to say that a person has sought the electoral support of persons who advocate extreme violence, in particular to his personal opponent, clearly attacks his personal character or conduct.

"It suggests that he is willing to condone threats of violence in pursuit of personal advantage.

"Having considered the evidence which was adduced in court we are sure that these statements were untrue. We are also sure that the respondent had no reasonable grounds for believing them to be true and did not believe them to be true."

The case was brought under Section 106 of the Representation of the People Act.
This makes it an offence to publish "any false statement of fact in relation to the candidate's personal character or conduct" to prevent them being elected - unless they believed it was true and had "reasonable grounds" to do so.

Ann Widdecombe - it's time to hang up those dancing shoes

I've just read Matthew Norman's column in today's new i-paper and was left coughing and spluttering into my late (skinny of course).

I know what I'm about to say will infuriate many Strictly Come Dancing fans, most of all my good friend Caron Lindsay.

Ann Widdecombe, or Widders as she is now affectionately known across the nation, I'm afraid it is time to hang up your dancing shoes.

For the first few weeks you were amusing and I agree, you improved week on week.

However, last Saturday, you were the worst dancer and you received the lowest score. Did we see you in the bottom two waiting to see if you were voted off?

No, instead we lost a far superior competitor from this dancing competition, Tina O'Brien and her partner Jared.

We, the great British public must ensure that Bidders doesn't become the next John Sargent.

It was close last week as superstar Anton Du Beke threw Ann around the dance floor like a sack of potatoes and that's when I realised its time for Ann to leave and Strictly to become a dancing competition once again.

Should Luciana Berger MP stayed on air with Kelvin MacKenzie?

Controversial Labour MP, Luciana Berger has hit the headlines once again for her lack of knowledge about Liverpool - the very city she represents!

This time Luciana was invited to participate on BBC Radio Five on Sunday night, but apparently she had no prior knowledge of who was to participate alongside her until she arrived at the studio.

So, when she knew Kelvin MacKenzie, the former tabloid editor who was responsible for infamous slurs against Liverpool FC fans following the Hillsborough disaster and still today remains a despised figure on Merseyside.


Within minutes Luciana Berger was being attacked on twitter for not walking out of the studio, rather than staying and debating ghosts with him (must be the Halloween link).

Just one of many twitter messages - this was polite

So, where do you stand on this, should the new MP for Wavertree, Luciana Berger have walked out of the BBC Five Live studio when she realised it was going to be sharing a panel with Kelvin MacKenzie, or did she do the right thing and stay?

I realise the hurt people went through after Hillsborough, but has enough water flowed under the bridge for the good scousers of Liverpool to forget what Kelvin MacKenzie said following that tragic day?

My monthly report on internet stat porn for October

Continuing my monthly stat porn figures for anyone who is remotely interested in who reads my little blog, the monthly summary of my visitor stats according to google analytics is as below for October 2010.

The busiest day on my blog last month was Friday 1st October and this was mainly because of my story about Nadine Dorries MP losing the plot - many thanks to the Guardian's Society Daily section, written by Patrick Butler.

Last month I had 1,693 absolute unique visitors, a massive drop from last month (the power of Guido). They made 2,162 visits and 2,776 page views.

16.28% of the visitors were through direct traffic, 45% from referring sites and 38.71% via search engines.

So, my top 10 referring sites for the last month (with previous position in brackets) were;

1. Twitter (=2)
2. Facebook (=2)
3. Lib Dem Blogs (=4)
4. Blogger.com (6)
5. Lib Dem Voice (=4)
6. BeterNation.org (=9)
7. Google.co.uk (7)
8. MarkPack.org.uk (110)
9. SNP Tactical Voting (8)
10. LallandsPeatWorrier.blogspot.com (12)

During October I wrote just 20 blog posts, losing the momentum from the previous months.

The top 10 stories by direct page views that you've read most were;

1. Andrew Marr on bloggers - socially inadequate, pimpled, single, slightly seedy, bald
2. Conservative MP Nadine Dorries loses the plot
3. Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray stabbed in the neck
4. Scottish Conservative candidate Colin McGavigan describes carers as "the great unwashed"
5. Labour's Harriet Harman and the Highland ginger rodent, Danny Alexander
6. Conservative MP Philip Hammond insults mentally ill with flippant remarks on suicides
7. Hopetoun House 10k run for Cancer Research UK
8. Conservative candidate Ivor Tiefenbrun describes Scots as "so thick"
9. Labour and the Unions are hypocrites on the cuts within the CSR
10. Clinton Cards answer back

This month is dominated by Andrew Marr slagging off bloggers, Nadine Dorries MP (again), the ginger rodent Danny Alexander MP and Harriet Harman, my 10k run for cancer research UK and Conservative candidates and MPs putting their foot in it.

The visitors to my little blog came from just 50 countries this month, down 31 from last time, the top ten were as follows;

1. United Kingdom (1)
2. United States (2)
3. Canada (4)
4. Netherlands (=7)
5. France (3)
6. Australia (=9)
=7. Ireland (6)
=7. Belgium (=9)
=7. India (11)
10. Germany (=7)

That's all folks.