Category Archives: Scotland

Mike Rumbles MSP

Mike Rumbles: why I want to lead the Scottish Lib Dems

By Mike Rumbles MSP | Fri 4th July 2008 - 12:55 pm

I want to lead this party because I believe that it has never been a more important time to be a Liberal Democrat. The other parties are obsessed with eroding individual civil liberties:
* the Labour Party is hell-bent on forcing people to carry ID cards and increasing the length of detention without trial to 42 days;
* the Conservatives want to introduce random drug tests in schools; and
* the SNP continue to bring forward a whole raft of measures which will take away individuals’ rights, such as its proposals to ban all our young adults aged 18 to 21 …

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Also posted in Leadership Election | 20 Comments
The Voice

Nicol Stephen resigns as Scottish leader

By The Voice | Wed 2nd July 2008 - 10:37 pm

As the BBC reports:

The former Scottish deputy first minister said the stresses and strains the job placed on his family life had become too great.

However, he will remain as the MSP for Aberdeen South…

Mr Stephen, who has four children aged between four and 12, said in a statement that family now had to take priority.

“Everyone involved in politics knows that there are stresses and strains on family life. But when it goes beyond that, when it crosses a line, something has to be done.”

“And at that stage – when you have to make a choice between family and politics

…

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Alex Cole-Hamilton

Our correspondent in Scotland: Minority Report

By Alex Cole-Hamilton | Sat 15th March 2008 - 7:45 am

A look at the landscape of Scottish Politics after 10 months of SNP minority control…

Scotland is a very different place right now. Oh the lochs are still there, you can still drink your way from lowlands to highlands on the whisky trail (at a slightly higher premium thanks to the Chancellor) and the haggis hunting season is about to start once again in earnest, but the old order changeth.

Following the introduction, by Liberal Democrat MSPs, of STV for local government elections, Labour lost control of many fiefdoms that it had ruled with an Iron fist for a generation. The roll …

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Martin Veart

Opinion: We need to be serious in opposition as well as in government

By Martin Veart | Wed 5th March 2008 - 2:20 pm

Aviemore 2008 was a good conference. From the opening session with Nick Clegg’s first speech to conference as leader, through to Malcolm Bruce’s closing note, looking at Scotland through the prism of history, those attending the conference were upbeat and cheerful. It seems that opposition is really suiting us.

It is on that last note, however, that things for me rather soured. When the Liberal Democrats gain power, we are going to have to deal with the country and world how it really is, not how we would like it. That reality has to be faced up to by some members …

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Also posted in Op-eds | 1 Comment
Stephen Tall

High praise for Stephen from Scotsman

By Stephen Tall | Tue 12th February 2008 - 11:12 pm

No, not me – it’s the Lib Dems’ Scottish leader Nicol Stephen who has been earning plaudits from The Scotsman’s Hamish MacDonnell:

A couple of weeks ago, Wendy Alexander held a dinner for some members of the Holyrood political press corps. Her aim was to explain her thinking on the constitutional convention but, in the course of the evening, the Scottish Labour leader was told – quite bluntly – that she was pretty awful at First Minister’s Questions. She was informed that not only was she being beaten by Alex Salmond every week, but that Nicol Stephen was doing a much better job for the Liberal Democrats than she was for Labour.

That dinner happened just after one of Ms Alexander’s worst ever performances: she started by asking a question about SportScotland, went on to talk about the Budget and ended on police pensions, failing to score a point with any of her efforts. At the same session, Mr Stephen asked three pointed and direct questions about SportScotland and had the First Minister riled, angry and unable to answer clearly.

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The Voice

Lib Dems save haggis

By The Voice | Fri 25th January 2008 - 11:51 am

News reached the Voice yesterday that nine Lib Dem MPs have signed an EDM supporting haggis, which brings over £1m into the Scottish economy, particularly in the run up to Burns Night.

The future of the haggis has been jeopardised by the withdrawal of funding currently used to train workers in the meat industry. Leading haggis producers consider there to be a shortage of the skilled workers necessary for ongoing haggis production.

You can find the EDM itself here, and the BBC report about it here.

Also posted in News | 15 Comments
Mark Pack

Award of honours returns to haunt Labour’s donations scandal

By Mark Pack | Sun 2nd December 2007 - 11:43 am

From today’s Scotland on Sunday:

THE businessman at the centre of the Wendy Alexander donation scandal was backed for an honour by senior figures in the Labour Party, it emerged last night.

MSP Charlie Gordon, who resigned last week as Labour’s transport spokesman after it emerged he arranged an illegal donation from Jersey tycoon Paul Green, has now admitted he earlier supported the same businessman for an unspecified honour.

Oops. There’s more in the full story.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Herald (who have been leading the way in investigating the Wendy Alexander donation story) reports evidence that questions over Paul Green’s donations were covered-up:

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Also posted in News | Tagged | 3 Comments
Mark Pack

Second Labour resignation over dodgy donations

By Mark Pack | Fri 30th November 2007 - 10:42 am

Rather overshadowed in the (English) media has been the news in Scotland that Scottish Parliament Labour frontbencher Charles Gordon has quit his post after it was revealed that Wendy Alexander’s Scottish Labour leadership campaign accepted an illegal donation:

The Labour Party in Scotland is facing the prospect of a wounding criminal inquiry after one of its most senior figures admitted illegally securing funds for Wendy Alexander’s leadership campaign.

Charles Gordon quit as Labour transport spokesman at Holyrood just hours after an investigation by The Herald revealed his involvement in securing a payment from a multi-millionaire tax exile.

Yesterday, he admitted approaching Paul Green

…

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Also posted in News | 1 Comment
Stephen Tall

BBC Question Time: open thread

By Stephen Tall | Thu 22nd November 2007 - 9:50 pm

Former Liberal leader Lord Steel is one of the panellists on tonight’s edition of Question Time (broadcast on BBC1 and online from 10.35 pm GMT).

He’ll be alongside Scotland’s Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP, Scottish Labour leader Wendy Alexander, Scottish Conservative leader Annabel Goldie, and David Aaronovitch columnist for The Times.

If you’re watching, and want to sound-off, please feel free to use the comments thread.

Also posted in Lib Dem TV | Tagged | 13 Comments
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