Willie Rennie MSP takes the reins of the Scottish Liberal Democrats

I'm delighted that Willie Rennie decided to take the plunge and go for the leadership of the Scottish Party.

As nominations closed at midday today, Willie Rennie was the only candidate for the leadership, so no all member ballot was required this time, unlike 2008.

Willie Rennie chose the Fife coastal village of North Queensferry where, in the shadow of the Forth Bridges, he announced to the media that he had been confirmed as the new leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Willie replaces Tavish Scott, who resigned 10 days ago in the wake of devastating Scottish Parliament election results.

Despite the three leaders of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Scottish Labour and the Scottish Conservatives all resigning following the elections results twelve days ago, it is the Scottish Lib Dems who announce their new leader first.


Following the leadership announcement, Willie Rennie said:

"I will be working with my colleagues in the Scottish Parliament to stand up to the SNP bulldozer.


"We will not sit on our hands in the face of an SNP majority - we will be that Liberal voice standing up for the values that Scotland holds dear."

I am delighted to be working closely with Willie Rennie and relish the challenges that we will face over the coming years.

Tavish Scott resigns as the Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats - my view

Thursday night and Friday was hard for me to take as many candidates (and friends) across Scotland were losing seats and deposits as the domino effect of the SNP majority was happening before our very eyes.

The whole team had worked so incredibly hard, some candidates and their teams doing the volumes of door knocking and leafleting they hadn't seen since the early 1980's.

We had deliberately reduced the team in Clifton Terrace, our Edinburgh HQ from the levels of the 2007 campaign because we knew we had to get our teams out in the constituencies.

Despite some criticism from people we did not take our voters for granted in any area, in fact more resources went into some of these areas than originally intended.

When I left the office on Friday I had been awake and out of bed for 35 hours, when the final result came in from Mid Scotland & Fife regional list, announcing Willie Rennie as our 5th MSP, I was exhausted and needed sleep, badly - I'm not as young as some of my team.

I had actually left the office at 7.30am to go to the hotel to get some kip, unfortunately as I fell asleep Sir Robert Smith MP telephoned, closely followed by Elspeth Finlay. So much for that idea.

I awoke on Saturday morning around 8am, as Loco, my cat was scratching the door and miaowing - she wanted breakfast, and wasn't letting my lack of sleep or the SNP get in the way.

I then fell asleep in the chair and awoke just in time to head into town for a staff meeting with Tavish and the new parliamentary party ahead of a meeting of the Scottish Party Executive.

It was at this meeting that Tavish dropped his bombshell, he was resigning with immediate effect!

If my emotions weren't all screwed up already, then this news gave them another bash.

In his resignation statement he said:

“I want to announce that I am resigning the leadership of the Scottish Liberal Democrats with immediate effect.

“Thursday’s Scottish General Election result was disastrous and I must and do take responsibility for the verdict of the electorate.

“The party needs a new direction, new thinking and new leadership to win back the trust of the Scottish people.

“I am honoured to serve as Shetland’s MSP in this Parliament.”

I have only been in Scotland since the end of May 2008.  Tavish became Leader in August of the same year and we had enjoyed a good relationship since, we didn't always see eye to eye, but we always had the debate.

I will certainly miss working with Tavish and look forward to working with the new leader - whoever that should be.
Since the General Election, Tavish had known that this election was never going to be just about Scotland, firstly we thought the AV referendum would divert attention but then as time went on we knew the coalition would be the focus.

I will also say I have continued to be disappointed by some strands of the Scottish media for not being fair on Tavish.  Glenn Campbell for one in the Leaders debate often cut Tavish off mid sentence and got his own personal digs in on the coalition, but never did the same to Annabel Goldie.
 
I'm not playing cry baby about this, but Scottish journalists need to learn to be consistent across all parties, not behave like Premiership referees and respond to behaviour from some angles favouring one party or another.
 
Tavish didn't need to resign yesterday, he could have made the announcement and then set a date in the future, but he stood up and took full responsibility for the result.
 
In the short term, Jo Swinson MP, currently the Deputy Leader becomes acting leader. The timetable for the election of the new leader will be announced in due course.

Conservative candidate John Lamont has short term memory

I noticed in John Lamonts latest leaflet ironically titled "Common sense with John Lamont" a moment of short term memory loss.

In the leaflet, John Lamont has criticised Euan Robson, his Scottish Liberal Democrats challenger (SNP and Labour are over 4,000 votes behind Euan), for wanting to become an MP.

Is this the same Conservative John Lamont who spent tens of thousands of pounds trying to beat Michael Moore to become an MP only last year?

It certainly is.

Maybe John Lamont and the local Conservatives have got some short term memory loss?

Supporting the NUS Scotland LGBT mental health campaign is important - DO IT!

It's funny how Twitter starts a relationship.  I sent congratulations to Nathan Sparling who announced on Twitter he had won the election to be the new NUS Scotland LGBT Officer.

Nathan soon got into his new role and then got in touch asking if Tavish Scott and the Scottish Liberal Democrats would support the new NUS Scotland campaign on mental health in the LGBT community?

Tavish Scott was very quick off the mark and more than happy to support the campaign and said;

"One in four people in Scotland will experience a mental health problem at some point in their lives. Given that Stonewall has reported that approximately half a million of Scotland’s population are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, it’s clear that these are issues that affect a great many people. And with research suggesting that LGBT people may experience higher levels of mental health problems, we recognise that more should be done to improve the experiences of the LGBT community when accessing mental health services.

"We therefore warmly welcome the NUS campaign and agree that mental health services in university and college campuses, health services and communities in general should be free of discrimination and fully accessible to all."

Did you know that someone from the LGBT community is four times more likely to commit suicide then other people?

With homosexuality only being declassified as a mental illness by the World Health Organisation just 19 years ago, in 1992, it is not surprising that accessing mental health services is often daunting or simply not an option for LGBT people.

This was a fact I did not know and was I actually shocked by it.

So the Scottish Liberal Democrats today announced their full backing for NUS Scotland’s innovative new LGBT campaign ‘There’s More to My Education’, which is pushing for better representation of LGBT people in the Scottish Government’s anti-stigma and mental health campaign, and wants university, college and community mental health services to be more friendly and accessible for LGBT students.

I recall when I came out when I was 15, it was a massive issue for me, it was one of the biggest decisions of my life and yet was one of the loneliest.

The gay scene is fun when you have tons of friends around you, I worked in the Admiral Duncan pub, one of the gay nightclubs in Nottingham so I had a huge circle of friends, but strangely when you really needed friends they weren't always there for you.

I've been lucky over the years with some great friends helping me through some tough times in my life, including the period when I was 18 through to 21 when after I came out to my Mum, we never spoke once during that period.

The time my closest friend died - he had the very same heart disease I do - that was a tough time.

I'm not going to list everything but needless to say, like many others in the world, I've had tough times to get through, they are not all to do with my sexuality but trust me when I say, the gay scene is great when you are young, but it can be bloody tough too.

That is why this campaign by NUS Scotland is so important.

Please encourage your candidates, of whatever party to sign the petition.

Nathan, good luck in the new job!

Save our Scottish Police from the SNP, Conservatives and Labour plans

There is a massive campaign brewing here in Scotland and the political parties are lining up on one side or the other.

The SNP put forward proposals to scrap the current eight Scottish Constabularies and replace it with just one.

The cost will be at least £92million and cost between 3,000 - 4,000 frontline police officers.

Both the Labour party and Conservatives have joined the SNP and now all three also want to create just one fire service as well. Labour also want to centralise care and NHS services.

Although the Liberal Democrats are often against centralisation, the proposals by Alex Salmond, Iain Gray and Annabel Goldie just don't make sense in many areas of Scotland - especially in the rural communities and the many islands that make up this great country.

Their expensive proposals must be stopped.

You can watch Tavish Scott and Charles Kennedy explain why below.




You can sign the online petition HERE and like the facebook campaign page HERE.

Police Federation go for scaremongering advert

When I got to page 15 of my Metro this morning, I was somewhat taken aback by the advert from the Police Federation.

I think it is cheap and nasty scaremongering.

Don't get me wrong, organisations have the democratic right to their views, and to voice them, but cheap scaremongering from the Police Federation is just that, cheap.

The Police Federation is an organisation I have worked with over the years, mainly when I worked for Vince Cable MP, who at the time was the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Police.

According to their website:

the Federation is reliant on negotiation alone to reach agreements on pay and conditions.

I'm not keen on their current attempt to negotiate.

Here in Scotland we have the SNP, Conservatives and Labour planning to scrap local policing putting around 3,000 frontline police jobs at risk.

Not through cuts to funding streams but through a massive and expensive centralisation programme.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats are fighting this disastrous proposal from the other three parties, we want local police to be local police, not directed by bueracrats in Edinburgh.

Police should be out on the beat, not filling out paperwork in back offices and certainly not all pulled from communities around Scotland to police football matches in the big cities by the Edinburgh bueracrats.

They also want to centralise our fire service as well, what is next after the police and fire services?

Sign our petition today to add your voice to Save our Police and Fire services.

Ed Miliband's insult to the voters of Scotland

Yesterday was Scottish Labours conference, if you missed it, it's understandable as media coverage was lower than that of other Scottish Parties because Labour chose to have their Autumn one covered in more detail.

Maybe Ed Miliband realised that with hardly anyone watching, he could say whatever he wanted?

So, despite the fact that in their thirteen years of government, of which Ed Miliband was part, Labour sold off Britain's gold at a twenty year low price, offered Britain's pensioners a miserly and insulting 75p increase, failed to link the basic state pension to earnings, oversaw a £10 million tax credit bungle, insulted people by doubling the basic rate of tax from 10p to 20p, let bankers run riot, oversaw £3 billion of benefits being overpaid and took us into an illegal war in Iraq.

They also left no money in Liam Byrne MP's own words and left us saddled with paying interest payments of £120 million per day on their debts!

So, what were Ed Milibands words of wisdom to the voters of Scotland?

Hitting out at the Tory-Lib Dem coalition, Mr Miliband told the conference:

"I have never wanted this to be a five-year government because of the damage it will do.


"And when people ask me, 'what are you going to do to reverse things in 2015', I say 'we can't wait until then'.

"So let's use these elections to give us the best chance of stopping it going to the full term."

Sorry?  Mr Miliband, I hate to tell you this, but it appears your advisers forgot to mention that the Scottish Parliament elections on May 5th (or May 6th in Dunfermline according to Labour) have nothing to do with removing the coalition government as voted for in last years election.

The Scottish Parliament election is about voting for your local and regional MSPs (use both of your votes) and who then forms the Scottish Government.

Don't be so patronising and rude to the Scottish voters a d insult them that they should make this a vote on the coalition because you lost last year.  Isn't it time you stopped blaming the voters for voting you and your party out of office?

I realise you blamed the previous Tory government for most of the thirteen years you were in power, but they rejected you and your party last May.  Get over it.

As red Ed mentioned the coalition, let me just mention four of the achievements made by the new coalition government because of the Liberal Democrats being part of it (in no particular order) in just ten months;

1. The link between pensions and earnings, scrapped by Margaret Thatcher, was restored in the Coalition’s first budget. The annual increase in the state pension will be protected by a ‘triple lock’ - the rise will be in line with earnings, prices or a 2.5% increase, whichever is the greater.

2. We have scrapped the ID card programme. The ID card database was publicly destroyed on 11th February 2011.

3. In June’s emergency budget we increased the rate of Capital Gains Tax to 28% for higher rate taxpayers while keeping it at 18% for basic rate taxpayers. This will raise an extra £1bn and end the disgraceful situation of bankers paying a lower rate of tax than their cleaners.

4. In June’s emergency budget, we raised the tax threshold by £1,000, lifting 880,000 low earners out of tax completely (from this April). It will increase each year of the Coalition Government until it reaches £10,000, which will lift an additional 3 million people out of tax altogether.

In Scotland Tavish Scott fought for local Post Offices to receive over £1million support, last year 50 of Scotland's Post Offices developed their business thanks to the Post Office diversification funds, a further £1 million has gone into the fund for this year.

Other concessions made to the Liberal Democrats in the Scottish Parliament budget include:


· Additional funding for FE bursaries of £15 million, spread across 2010-2011-12 to provide additional student support for current student numbers.

· Additional funding of £8 million in 2011-12 that would support an additional 1,200 college places and associated student support.

· 1,500 additional Modern Apprenticeships, including 500 places for the renewables sector, at a cost of £2 million

· 2,000 additional flexible training opportunities

That is what the the voters of Scotland are looking for, solutions for Scotland, not a power grab as Ed Miliband has suggested.

Labour MSP John Park stands down as Dunfermline candidate?

The Scottish Labour Party are often the first to attack other parties for sneaking out news on quiet days so is anyone surprised to learn that John Park MSP is no longer the candidate for the Dunfermline constituency in next years elections?

Have Labour conceded that Jim Tolson, the sitting Lib Dem MSP is going to hold his seat and they are running scared so have pulled John Park and are allowing him to just run as a regional candidate and avoid the hassle of a hard fought campaign and the embarrassment of losing?

We know John Park MSP has been appointed as Scottish Labour's election co-ordinator yet he has mysteriously disappeared as the candidate for Dunfermline on their website and yet to be replaced.

There is nothing about this on the Fife Labour Party website, the Scottish Labour website nor on John Parks' website - maybe we will learn the result of this decision officially shortly, when they've decided what to say spin about it.

UPDATE 27th December 17:57

Direct from the man himself, John Park on twitter said to me the reason he is no longer contesting the Dunfermline seat is because he is now the election co-ordinator plus;

lots of extra responsibility combined with a young family and not enough hours in the day means that you have to make decisions sometimes that are honest!

Mike Crockart MP, no really he is

The press and others have been very busy on twitter today announcing the resignation of Edinburgh West MP, Mike Crockart from the Government as PPS to Michael Moore, Secretary of State for Scotland.

Unfortunately for them they had all been speaking or listening to the wrong Mike Crockart.

Instead of them listening to the MP they were instead listening to a Yorkshire man possibly with the same name.

As well as the World at One falling for the Yorkshire Mike Crockart, even Guido Fawkes fell for this one reporting it on his site and then Iain Dale reported that Guido was reporting....

Anyway, rest assured, the MP for Edinburgh West is the real Mike Crockart.

Whether he decided to resign as PPS, we will all have to wait and see.

UPDATE at 15:22
World at One seemed to have removed the interview from their i-player.

Labour's Harriet Harman and the Highland ginger rodent, Danny Alexander

Labour's Scottish conference in Oban seemed to be going so well until the new Labour new generation same old Party's Deputy Leader, Harriet Harman MP called Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander a "ginger rodent".

"Now, many of us in the Labour Party are conservationists - and we all love the red squirrel," Ms Harman said.

Danny Alexander is a Lib Dem MP in the north of Scotland "But there is one ginger rodent which we never want to see again - Danny Alexander."

Labour's former Equalities Minister, Harriet Harman went on to attack Mr Alexander's other party colleagues north of the border, telling delegates:

"There's something deeply unnatural that's happened in Scotland.

"Without asking anyone in Scotland, the government has been carrying out a programme of genetic modification - political genetic modification.

"This mutation has contaminated every Lib Dem councillor, it's affected every Lib Dem MP and Lib Dem MSP.

"They've all mutated into something alien to Scotland - Tories."

It is a little bit rich for Harriet to name call and get involved in this childish kind of playground politics, however, she is the Deputy Leader of a Party that has saddled us with a daily payment of £120million just in interest on the amount they borrowed!
Danny Alexander is an excellent MP and is proud of his roots - both hair and where he represents - and had the last laugh just moments before Harriet Harman was forced to apologise after a public backlash.

Danny Alexander tweeted;

I am proud to be ginger and rodents do valuable work cleaning up mess others leave behind. Red squirrel deserves to survive, unlike Labour

Anyway, although the BBC are now saying Harriet Harman has apologised, it is only via a spokeswoman it appears, so hardly sincere is it?

A spokeswoman for Ms Harman said later:

"Harriet Harman has today apologised for her comment about Danny Alexander and says it was wrong."

The reason this angered me, was two fold, one I think childish name calling like this is exactly how playground bullying starts - believe me, I received enough of it to know first hand.  I cannot understand given her former job as equalities minister how she fell into that trap?

Secondly, this is the kind of politics that turns the public off, but it does just show that Labour are not above it and actually enjoy it.  The Labour Party are still out of touch with public opinion, perhaps they should take a break and return when they have grown up.

While the Labour Party participate in childish playground antics it is the Scottish Liberal Democrats led by Tavish Scott, who are fighting for Scottish jobs, reforming public services and wanting to restore the excellence back to Scottish Education.

SNP drop prescription charges when NHS is laying off nurses

I don't understand the SNP.

Why cancel prescription charges for everyone when we are in the middle of a major recession?

The SNP's, Nicola Sturgeon announced to the SNP conference in Perth that the sick should not have to pay for "Labour's economic mess".

Erm, sorry Nicola but your own SNP run Scotland's NHS, not Labour and it is you as Health Minister who is taking the money away from frontline NHS services and in return giving everyone in Scotland free prescriptions.

What a backwards way of prioritising funding.

I am able to afford a prescription should I need one, as can many people across Scotland so surely, instead of offering what is just a basic election grabbing headline shouldn't the SNP be more government like and do this in a more systematic way?


Universal benefits are not a forward way of running the country's finances.
 
Over on Caron's Musings she said;

This reminds me of research done by the Scottish Liberal Democrats last year which shows that over the whole of their four year term, the SNP will have given 133 times more every year to a household on £100,000 than they have to households on £15,000. That doesn't seem very fair to me.

At that point last year, Tavish Scott said;

Over four years, the SNP will have spent £950m on a set of distorted priorities and hand-outs that give more to the rich than to the poor.



“If you have two children and earn £100,000 then you will have gained £802 per year from the SNP.


“But if you have two children and you earn £15,000 then you will have gained just six pounds and seven pence.


“So that’s enough champagne and lobster every night for the rich, but a fish supper for the poor.


“So I mean it when I say that, in Scotland, the only party at the General Election for a fairer society will be the Liberal Democrats.”

Caron is spot on, the SNP are in denial, first they offer us a council tax freeze, ensuring Councils will cut frontline services and now Nicola Sturgeon is guaranteeing more cuts in Scotland's NHS by giving universal free prescriptions to everyone in Scotland.

I am all for helping those on low incomes and those who need prescription drugs constantly, but I and anyone on salaries over £35,000 can all afford a prescription charge if it is required.
This is just another example of the SNP putting even more money into the pockets of the richest people in Scotland and not governing responsibly - next May it is time for change and only the Scottish Liberal Democrats led by Tavish Scott are offering a programme for a fair and prosperous Scotland.

Former Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy First Minister, Nicol Stephen, has announced that he is standing down next May

Nicol Stephen MSP has announced today he is standing down 28 years after first being elected a councillor, then an MP and latterly an MSP.

Following the announcement, Nicol Stephen, former Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats and Deputy First Minister of Scotland said:

"I have decided to stand down after serving in the Scottish Parliament for 12 years. It has been a great privilege to represent the city where I was born and grew up.

"Over the years I have been involved in many successful campaigns, such as saving Garthdee and Cults libraries from closure, securing the building of new schools in Aberdeen, and sanctioning the re-opening of Laurencekirk Station. But the greatest satisfaction has often come from helping local constituents on a whole range of planning, transport, health and education issues.

“At the national level, being an MSP and a Minister also gave me the opportunity to make a difference – such as the abolition of student tuition fees in Scotland, the drive for more renewable energy, introducing enterprise education in our schools, and the setting up of the Calman Commission to give more powers to the Scottish Parliament.

“I could not have achieved any of this without the help and hard work of many people. I would like to thank everyone who has given me such strong support over the years.

“However, I will be staying very much involved in local politics. And I have a few campaigns still to win – such as saving Harlaw Academy from closure, building a full Olympic-sized swimming pool in Aberdeen and getting a fair funding deal for our city. So there is still a lot to do over the next seven months.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott MSP paid tribute to Mr Stephen’s contribution, saying:

“Nicol has made an enormous contribution to both the North East and to Scotland.

“I've known and worked with Nicol since his seminal Kincardine & Deeside by-election win in 1991and we've shared many exciting political times since.

“The first Scottish coalition in 1999 was put together by Nicol, after he won the Aberdeen South constituency in the Scottish Parliament. He played a huge role in Ministerial life, ultimately as Scotland's Deputy First Minister.

“I will miss his presence, strategic approach and sense of humour as a colleague and above all a friend in Holyrood. I wish Caris and the entire Stephen tribe all my best wishes and happiness for their future.”

I first met Nicol in January 2007 when only days after being appointed as the Lib Dems Campaigns Officer for London I was dispatched to Inverurie, Aberdeenshire to assist in Nora Radcliffes campaign against Alex Salmond.

Nicol was driven to win and keen to stand on the record of the eight years of successful coalition with Labour (you see readers, coalition isn't that new in the UK, just the media down south didn't realise) but Scotland wanted change and the SNP were offering it.

Three years later the voters of Scotland have realised that the SNP have let them down and have u-turned on their 2007 election pledges.
Nicol Stephen has been the MSP for Aberdeen South since the first Scottish Parliament elections in 1999. He was Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 2005 to 2007 and leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2005 to 2008.

He has held a number of ministerial posts in the Scottish Government, including:

- Minister for Enterprise & Lifelong Learning (2005 to 2007)

- Minister for Transport (2003 to 2005)

- Deputy Minister for Education & Young People (2001 to 2003)

- Deputy Minister for Education, Europe & External Affairs (2000 to 2001)

- Deputy Minister for Enterprise & Lifelong Learning (1999 to 2000)

He has taken a major interest in renewable energy and as Scottish Enterprise Minister encouraged the commercialisation of wave and tidal power by introducing a banded green credits system that gave extra support to marine renewables for the first time in the UK. He won the award as Green Energy Politician of the Year in 2006. His citation stated: “For his passionate support in Scotland and abroad for renewable energy and recent commitments to 100% green electricity in Scotland by 2050” (As Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats he set a target of 100% of Scotland’s energy being generated from renewable sources by 2050.)

In 2007 he helped to initiate the Calman Commission – a major review of Scottish devolution, which recommended extending the powers of the Scottish Parliament. The current UK coalition government is now committed to implementing the key recommendations of the Calman Commission.

In both 1999 and 2003 Nicol Stephen was a member of the Liberal Democrat negotiating teams which entered into coalition agreements with the Scottish Labour Party.

In government, Nicol Stephen has been involved in several high profile positions. In 1999 he was the Minister who instructed the abolition of student tuition fees in Scotland. He chaired the Scottish Qualifications Authority review committee, which was formed after the Scottish exams crisis in 2000. He was chairman of the review of Enterprise Education in Scottish Schools, which resulted in the “Determined to Succeed” recommendations and major new funding for enterprise in schools. In 2002-03 he chaired a major review of physical education in Scotland’s schools. He also led the Government’s drive for improved school meals in Scotland as part of the Hungry for Success initiative.

He has also been responsible for piloting several important pieces of legislation through the Scottish Parliament, including improvements to the delivery of major transport projects and the creation of Scotland’s first National Parks. He was chair of the Forum for Renewable Energy in Scotland from 2005-07.

In government, Nicol Stephen has also given strong support to Scottish business, promoting key sectors such as energy, life sciences and electronics internationally in countries such as China, Japan, India and Russia.

Nicol Stephen attended various EU Council of Ministers meetings - and was the first Scottish Minister to lead for the UK Government at such a meeting. He was formerly a full member of the EU Committee of the Regions and is currently an alternate member.

Nicol Stephen has been a member of the Scottish Parliament’s Public Audit committee since 2008.

Nicol Stephen was the MP for Kincardine & Deeside from 1991 to 1992 following the by-election win. During this period he was a member of the Liberal Democrat Treasury Team in the House of Commons and his party’s spokesman on small business.

Nicol Stephen was a founding director of Grampian Enterprise, the local enterprise company for North East Scotland. He was the first chair of CREATE (the campaign for rail electrification from Aberdeen to Edinburgh.) He also founded the STAR Campaign to save Tor-na-Dee Hospital and Roxburghe House (a local hospice in Aberdeen). He was the first chairman of the Grampian Initiative – a business and political partnership formed to promote the economy in North East Scotland. He was made a “Grampian Ambassador” by the former Grampian Regional Council for his efforts to promote the region. Following the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, he became chairman for a time of the Friends of Gomel.

Nicol Stephen was elected as a member of Grampian Regional Council from 1982 to 1991 and was chair of its Economic Development and Planning Committee from 1986 to 1991.

Nicol Stephen is the Honorary President of the City of Aberdeen Swim Team (COAST) and is leading the campaign for an Olympic-sized 50m pool in Aberdeen. He is also a member of the cross party political advisory group of Reform Scotland – an independent think tank. He is also involved in a number of not-for-profit initiatives to promote science, sport and enterprise amongst young people across Scotland.

Liberal Democrats now the only effective opposition in Glasgow

It appears the SNP Councillors in Glasgow are not taking there jobs seriously any more and have given up.
SNP Councillors have yet again failed to attend one of the key Scrutiny Committees on Glasgow City Council.

In the week when news surfaced of a Labour Councillor being arrested the SNP were quick to rush out press statements about the tip of a corruption iceberg and the need for more scrutiny of the Labour Council.

Yet just last week SNP Councillors failed to attend either the Finance & Audit or the Operational Delivery Scrutiny Committees and yesterday failed to attend the External Governance Scrutiny Committee.

These committees are chaired by opposition Councillors and are the very bodies that allow opposition councillors to hold the Labour Administration to account.

As the current official opposition the SNP Group earns over £60,000 in additional salaries from Glasgow’s external companies and have a full time policy officer paid for by the Council yet they don’t think scrutiny of these arms length companies or whether Labour are failing to deliver on front line services is worth turning up for.

Voters elected the Councillors and therefore pay them, and to represent their interests and to hold this Labour Administration to account for its actions.

If the SNP Council Group won’t do its job as an official opposition then Glasgow’s Liberal Democrat Councillors will step and be the official and effective opposition that Glasgow so badly needs.

Labour must be held to account in Glasgow and the SNP are failing the voters of Glasgow so it is down to Councillor Paul Coleshill and his fantastic team to step up and hold the Labour Councillors to account.

Jamie Stone MSP to step down at 2011 Scottish election

Jamie Stone, Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, has announced that he will step down from the Scottish Parliament at the next Scottish election.
Mr Stone is stepping down 25 years of public service to pursue new avenues.

Jamie is the second Highland Liberal Democrats MSP to announce he is standing down.


John Farquar-Munro MSP is also standing down and Alan MacRae has been selected to replace John and fight the seat at next years election.
 
Following his announcement, Jamie Stone said:
 
"After serving in the Scottish Parliament for almost 12 years, and as a local councillor for 13 years before that, I have decided it is time to pursue new avenues.  I will leave my Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross seat with an increased majority at my last election and wish my successor the best of luck as they represent an area that I have come to love very deeply.


"I have found my years of public service hugely rewarding and have made friendships that I am certain will last for many years to come.  However there are some new challenges that I would like to tackle while I am in my mid fifties and fit and well.
 
"My support for my party remains undiminished and I will continue to be closely involved in it. Equally the commitment to the Far North remains and in future years I would very much hope to be able to help the area in every way I can.  I do not rule out political work at some stage in the future, but for now I want to take the opportunity to do something completely different.

"In standing down next May, one thing remains, and I treasure it – to have been the first Member for nearly 300 years to represent the Far North in the Scottish Parliament has been the honour of my life."

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott MSP paid tribute to Jamie:


"Jamie Stone is a great friend and Parliamentary colleague. We shared a passion for Scotland's Parliament since representing our respective local authorities on the Scottish Constitutional Convention in the 1990's. Then we both hoped to be part of the start of Scotland's new Parliament. Since that fist day after election in 1999 many a moment has been enlivened by a Jamie Stone story or sharp political observation, often at the expense of his own side!

"Jamie's work ensured that Parliament was no creature of the central belt and truly reflected all of Scotland. From Wick's maternity services to the Berridale Braes and the A9, Jamie has put the people of the Far North first. I will miss his cheerfulness, candour and dedication to his constituents and wish him and Flora best wishes for their future endeavours."

Vince Cable stands down as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats

But, who is next?

In the last hour one of my old bosses, Vince Cable has stood down as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in order to concentrate on his role as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills within the Liberal Democrat - Conservative coalition government.

I am delighted that Vince has got such a major role within the coalition government, something he rightly deserves, although it is slightly ironic that he is now in charge of the department he put forward that we should abolish!

Vince is an absolute gentleman and will not have come to this decision lightly.

The text of Vince Cable’s resignation letter to Nick Clegg is below:

Dear Nick,

I am writing to offer my resignation in my role as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats.

It has been an honour to serve as the Deputy Leader of our party. However, in joining the cabinet I have taken on many new challenges and responsibilities and it is right that I focus wholeheartedly on the job in hand.

These are exciting times to be a Liberal Democrat, and despite all the challenges we face we have a real opportunity to change Britain for the better. There are great opportunities for the party alongside our working in coalition.

I wish my successor all the best in what is a rewarding and important role.

Yours ever,

Vince Cable
 
In response to the letter, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said:

“Vince has been a fantastic Deputy Leader during an exciting time for the party. I look forward to us continuing to work together in government.”

The election for the new Deputy Leader will take place on Wednesday 9 June with Lord (William) Wallace acting as the returning officer.
There will be a formal meeting of the Parliamentary Party on Wednesday 2 June to receive nominations.

Should more than one nomination be forthcoming, hustings will take place at the meeting of the Parliamentary Party on 9 June. The ballot will take place at the end of that meeting, with the result declared thereafter.
 
Now, who should be the next Deputy Leader?  For a start, in my humble opinion, it should not be one of the MPs who is a Minister or in the Cabinet, I know that slims the options down but I really think the back benchers need a voice.
 
I would like to see Michael Moore MP nominated.  Michael is currently the Deputy Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats and I feel would add a lot to the role and would provide Nick Clegg with real support.
 
However, it is not up to me, a mere staffer for the Liberal Democrats.

Scottish Liberal Democrats launch their manifesto

This morning Tavish Scott, Alistair Carmichael and Kevin Lang launched the Scottish Liberal Democrats manifesto on a launch in Forth Ports, Leith.

Elections that can really make a difference don’t come along very often. But this is one of them.

This May, you have an opportunity to shape the future of our country for the better. We’ve had 65 years of red team, blue team politics: the same parties taking turns and making the same mistakes, letting you down.
They have taught people to expect little from politics, and get less.

It is time for something different. It is time for something better.

Doesn’t it make you angry that after 65 years of red-blue government, a child’s chances in life are still more determined by their parents’ bank balance than by their own hopes and dreams? Doesn’t it make you angry that the banks have been allowed to ride roughshod over our economy, and are still handing out bonuses by the bucketload? That politics is still the plaything of wealthy donors and corrupt MPs? That despite endless warm words from politicians, our climate is in danger? That the poorest are the ones who pay the biggest chunk of their income in tax?

Liberal Democrats believe that the way things are is not the way they have to be. We think that you should fight for what you believe in, and fight for change. So our message for you in this election is simple.

Don’t settle for low politics and broken promises: be more demanding. Set your sights on the Britain – and the Scotland – you want for your children and your grandchildren, and use your vote to make it happen. 

Only the Liberal Democrats have the big ideas for fundamental, structural changes in the way our country works to make it fair.

Only the Liberal Democrats will shake up the tax system to put £700 back in the pockets of tens of millions of low and middle income families, paid for by ensuring the wealthy pay their fair share.

Only the Liberal Democrats will break up the banks and start Britain building things again to create a sustainable economy.

Only the Liberal Democrats will give schools the investment they need to give every child, no matter their background, a fair start in life.

A strong vote for the Liberal Democrats means the end of red-blue, blue-red politics. It means the end of the stitch-up between the two old parties. It means the opening up of our rotten political system. It means the beginning of real change that works for you.

So don't hope for the best: vote for the best Choose the Liberal Democrats.

Download the manifesto.

Annabel Goldie in wee Borders rant (getting it all wrong)

So, despite knowing that there were no flights David Cameron missed the Scottish Conservative manifesto launch (I say Conservative as there is only one Westminster seat they hold up here in Scotland) in Melrose, a beatiful town in the Liberal Democrat constituency of Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk.

There are trains "Dave".  But "Dave" was in fact still in London.

Anyway, Annabel fell into a trap yesterday, and spent around five minutes of her speech ranting and attacking the Liberal Democrats (you know you have them rattled once they start attacking you) with a mild dose of hypocrisy and nonsense.

Perhaps a change by the Conservatives following Nick Cleggs performance on the Leaders debate and recent polling.

"If you vote Liberal Democrat, then you will get Labour." said Annabel.

Nonsense.

If on May 6th you vote Liberal Democrat Annabel, then Michael Moore will be re-elected as the hard working MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk.

Annabel and call me "Dave" Cameron insult the voters intelligence when they peddle this stupid line.

She then said to John Lamont MSP - "John, you have won this seat once now go and win it again."

Nonsense.

John Lamont MSP won the seat of Roxburgh & Berwickshire - which as any person in the Scottish Borders will tell you, is entirely different to Michael Moore's seat.

Ironically, Annabel then went on to talk about the thousands of people who have lost their jobs in the recession, BUT failed to justify why John Lamont MSP is then seeking a second job and will NOT stand down for twelve monthsafterwards as the MSP.

Two jobs John and Annabel?

When thousands of people have lost their only job? 

Hypocrites.

David Cameron claims he wants to clean up politics and yet two of his MSPs (obviously already bored of their jobsas MSPs) are seeking a second job and have no intention to stand down immediately but will try and do the two jobs part-time for at least one year.

John Lamont is clearly an embarrassment to both of his leaders, Annabel Goldie and David Cameron as they are both on the record now accepting the Kelly report in full - will either of them be telling John Lamont to drop one or other, or have they changed their minds?

In fact the Kelly report states that this practice of sitting in two legislatures should end before the 2011 elections so in fact John Lamont should decide to either (a) quit as an MSP now and fight the general election or (b) quit as a candidate now and focus on what he was elected to do which was a be a full time MSP.

Annabel Goldie has constantly hassled Alex Salmond about this dual mandate issue for a while but is now on the back foot and looking rather stupid because of both John Lamont and Alex Johnstone (another Tory MSP who wants two jobs).

The only people that lose out with these "Tory two job types" are the voters who deserve a full time MP and a full time MSP - not a part time one trying to do both jobs.
 
Annabel Goldie also defended rates relief for businesses yesterday, great I hear you all cry, then why did John Lamont, Annabel Goldie and the other Conservatives in Holyrood vote against the rates relief package just last week that would have save hundreds of businesses in the Scottish Borders thousands of pounds?
 
Yet another case of don't do what I do, just do what I say from Annabel Goldie and the Scottish Conservatives.
 
Annabel went into rant and attack mode against the Liberal Democrats yesterday saying we cosy up to Labour.
 
So, Annabel Goldie I ask you this why, have you spent the last three years as Alex Salmond's Holyrood bedfellows?  You support them in so many votes instead of standing up for the Scottish people it is nothing more than shameful.
 
The Scottish Conservatives are just propping up the SNP minority Government in Holyrood, nothing more and nothing less.
 
If people want change then it is time for Nick Clegg and the Scottish Liberal Democrats - already the second party in Scotland in votes and MPs (more MPs than the SNP and Conservatives combined).
 
It is the Liberal Democrats that challenged the Labour Government and Conservatives over the Iraq war.
 
It is Nick Clegg who led the campaign to clean up politics and put forward proposals to Parliament - voted down by Labour and the Conservatives.
 
It is Nick Clegg who first demanded the right to sack your MP for the voters - voted down by Labour and Conservatives.
 
Whose Party are the hypocrites Annabel?

Labour candidate in Moray, Stuart MacLennan in Twitter ranting shame

If you want to read in detail the shameful expletives of the Labour candidate for Moray, Stuart MacLennan then you have lost your moment, as his twitter account has now been removed.

His rants were even aimed at those from his own party, plus voters in Moray.

He described fellow Labour Party Member, MP, Diane Abbott as "a f****** idiot".  In today's Sun, it goes on;

In one post the 24-year-old complained of being in a pub full of "depressed teuchters" then poked fun at elderly voters by branding them "bloody coffin dodgers".

And despite calls for his resignation Labour are keen for him to stay on according to the most recent tweet of Laura Kuenssberg from the BBC.

Jim Murphy says Stuart MacLennan will continue to be Labour candidate in Moray despite Con and SNP calls for him to go.

 You can read the full story here.

Ironically, ranting MacLennan - a policy researcher for Labour at Holyrood - also hinted his own political hopes could be ruined by using the internet to discuss politics.

He wrote: "Iain Dale (Tory blogger) reckons the biggest gaffes will likely be made by candidates on Twitter - what are the odds it'll be me?"

 The Evening Standard's Paul Waugh, has more including the screen grabs here.

Jamie Paterson, the Scottish Liberal Democrats candidate for the Moray seat, added: "I don't know how the Labour candidate expects to get elected using this language."

The human side of the general election campaign

Voters generally see the politicians on TV, on their doorstep or at local hustings and events.  However there is another side of the election campaign that voters don't see, that's the huge amount of work done by our staff and volunteers across the UK.

My sincere thanks to all you do to my team in Scotland - they are the very best!

Take my last twelve hours as the (Federal Deputy) Director of Campaigns in Scotland:

8th April 4pm - 4.30pm - conference call with senior staff in London and Scotland then checking artwork and emails.

4.35pm - telephone call with Scottish Party Convenor

4.50pm - catch up with Scottish Party Chief Executive before he heads off

5pm - one member of the Scottish HQ staff went out on a chocolate run

5.10pm - chocolate safely back in the HQ, unwrapped and devoured

5.11pm - back on the phone and replying to emails from candidates, colleagues and staff

6.15pm - telephone catch up with one of our key seat organisers (great team in Scotland, talented, experienced and very motivated).

6.30pm - telephone catch up with colleague in London on leaflet artwork

6.45pm - conference call with departmental colleagues around the UK

7.15pm - back to plans and details for tomorrows campaign launch with Nick Clegg, Tavish Scott and Charles Kennedy in Glasgow

9pm - finally leaving the office after arriving there at 8am

9.10pm - quick call home to say I am on the way

9.15pm - telephone call with key seat staff member

9.27pm - on the 16 bus heading home

10pm - dinner - chicken, pasta, olives, mushrooms, cherry tomoatoes in green pesto

10.15pm - fuss with Zennor and catch up with Roger

10.50pm - bed

4.02am - alarm goes off - new day off we go again

That is a fairly typical snapshot of what I will be spending my hours doing over the coming weeks, for obvious reasons I cannot go into great detail - too many of the opposition, including John Prescott read this blog!

No, my salary isn't as high as my counterparts in Labour or the Conservatives, in fact it is around half - so why do I do it I hear you scream - why, because I love my job and I love being a Liberal Democrat and campaigning for Liberal Democratic values.

If you believe in it, then join or volunteer and make a difference, you put in the time you can afford, but the rewards are truly amazing.

Perth - the future is bright

I haven't been tweeting or blogging much from the Scottish Liberal Democrats conference in Perth because it's been both a busy conference for me, 12 hours in a basement meeting room, The Old Library meeting MPs and candidates and their campaign teams and the fact that the mobile phone reception is so awful, not just in the Library but generally around the conference centre and the Royal George Hotel.

A great day on Friday with a great speech from Nick Clegg and a fantastic photo session with a stack of our candidates signing the NUS pledge on tuition fees.

Yesterday saw a fantastic speech from Leader Tavish Scott and a great election presentation by Alistair Carmichael MP where apparently even I got a mention and a round of applause - many thanks AC and the people in the audience, much appreciated.

Well, today is another busy morning and still great debates and speeches but I have more meetings to do so doubt I will make the hall, but you never know, I might even get to visit the exhibition!

There is a great buzz here, much better than last year, and as you know we went on and won the MEP seat when pundits and journalists were writing is off, well let's see where we go from here this weekend.

We are in second place to Labour here in Scotland, with Cameron's Conservatives only having a solitary MP in Scotland, and he is under threat from a Lib Dem surge and the SNP being irrelevant in Westminster elections polling day, whenever it may be will be an interesting election.

How many MPs will we have after polling day? I am very confident we will have more than we do now, I know that because voters are switching to us all across Scotland, getting fed up of the UK red/blue swingometer and it is Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats offering an alternative choice for people.

Let us see, but we will go from Perth with a spring in our step and fired up to campaign, campaign, campaign.