Reform the Scottish Electoral System: First Committee Hearing

I attended Thursdays Petitions Committee meeting on Thursday for my petition being discussed and was pleasantly surprised that it was not dismissed out of hand.Johann Lamont who chaired the meeting stated that she sympathised with the aim of the petition and that she could see the strong argument for the need for a change.The committee pointed out that the Scottish parliament has called for a review of the Scottish Parliament electoral system and that this is due to take place imminently.Conservative list MSP Michelle Ballantyne did agree that where a sitting MSP lost their seat but remained an MSP due to their placing on the list was clearly undemocratic.

The committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government and the Electoral Commission and seek their responses, and I’ll post an update in due course.

Minutes of the meeting.

Video of the meeting (discussion of petition starts at 09:46

The official transcript will be available from 6pm on 30/10/17

Reform The Scottish Electoral System Petition: To Be Heard On Thursday 26th October 2017

The Scottish Parliaments Petitions Committee will be considering a number of petitions this coming Thursday. One of those petitions is the one I submitted some time back calling for a reform of the Scottish electoral system to prevent misuse and manipulation of the party list system by political parties to ensure that certain candidates are guaranteed a seat.

The papers for the committee meeting can be found HERE.

The meeting will be broadcast live and can be viewed at the THIS link from 0915hrs on Thursday morning.

There has been some very good feedback to the petition and I hope this will be discussed and taken on board when the committee meet. Given that the petition directly affects the electoral prospects of the MSP’s who are deliberating, as well as their close colleagues, I think it unlikely that will go any further, but stranger things have happened. Roll on Thursday!

Reform Scotlands Electoral System Petition: Holyrood Date Confirmed

My petition to reform the Scottish electoral system to prevent parties utilising the electoral list so that certain candidates cannot be deselected by the public will be heard by the Petitions Committee on Thursday 26th October 2017. Time TBC. The petition gained a total of 485 signatures, and I’d like to thank everyone who signed the petition and especially those who took the additional time to leave comments on it.

This will be live streamed and I’ll post a link to it nearer the time.

It’s Airdrie’s Hospital

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To: The Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser

Earlier this week Airdrie MP Neil Gray announced that the Scottish Government had announced that it had instructed NHS Lanarkshire to begin the process for replacement of Monklands Hospital. The SNP have repeatedly committed to keeping 3 A&E equipped hospitals in North Lanarkshire and his should silence all those who have said there are plans in place to completely close the hospital and the A&E, and should be good news for the town. I say should, but one thing did concern me about Neil Grays announcement, and that was the phrase “potential sites for the new hospital”. The people of Airdrie have fought long and hard to protect Airdrie’s hospital and the one commitment that must be made is that the hospital stays in Airdrie. A new build hospital on a greenfield site such as Newhouse would be a gross betrayal of the people of Airdrie. The current hospital has good public transport links and importantly is within walking distance from the town; indeed it’s part of the community. An out of town development would be as difficult to get to as Hairmyres or Wishaw and must be resisted by anyone with the towns best interest at heart. Somewhere within the town must be found, and I believe that Craigneuk Park is an ideal site for this. Often touted around as a potential site for another unnecessary supermarket, a hospital here would finally perhaps prompt the much needed and long promised road improvements which have failed to materialise here in the past. Such a move could perhaps even help relocate the football club to a smaller, more affordable stadium elsewhere back in the town. This venture would not only bring construction jobs directly to the town but would guarantee that there was long term employment in the Scottish health service in Airdrie for years to come.
This project is already looking as though it will fail to meet its initial 2023 delivery date, and it cannot be delayed any further as the current hospital is eating up millions of pounds in repair costs alone. I hope all our local politicians can put their differences aside and agree that whatever happens “It’s Airdrie’s Hospital” and that they fight tooth and nail to ensure that it remains that way.