Invest in colleges, invest in Scotland’s future
Years of underfunding and hollow promises have pushed college staff to breaking point — the Scottish government must recognise further education as a vital public good deserving proper support, writes KATY CLARK MSP
The welcome news that Cuba has finally been removed from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list is tempered by the fact that Donald Trump, the man who put it there, is returning to the White House, warns NATASHA HICKMAN
Thanks to impressive progress in Britain with wind and solar generation, clean electricity now costs a fraction of the price of gas — yet the current system keeps bills artificially high to protect fossil fuels, writes TOM HARDY
By spreading race-based conspiracy theories, the billionaire tycoon turned right-wing provocateur has been seriously undermining the case against those who really did let victims of the grooming gangs down, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
Many Western countries are grappling with deep political instability. What are the causes of this, and what could be a possible way forward? asks MARC VANDEPITTE
KEITH BENNETT explains why, despite its present meagre economic outcomes, an honest and fruitful partnership with China is worth pursuing
Nick Wright talks to photographer and author JANINA STRUK
DURING the general election campaign, First Minister John Swinney described the SNP as having a “left-of-centre manifesto” and said a partnership with trade unions would be at the “core” of the Scottish government’s approach.
To say education unions were bemused by this assertion is an understatement. As one speaker at one of their rallies outside the Scottish Parliament in June put it: “There’s nothing left wing about waving through cuts to pay and cuts to public education for the working class.”
College lecturers have rightly had enough. At time of writing, the Educational Institute of Scotland/Further Education Lecturers Association (EIS-Fela) — is reballoting members to seek a mandate for further strike action over pay.
More from this author
We need genuine freedom of information legislation in Scotland to hold our government and all public bodies accountable, writes KATY CLARK MSP, introducing a new campaign
It is not the public ownership model that is failing Scotland’s ferry services, it is the government’s poor management – and privatisation would be far worse, writes KATY CLARK MSP
KATY CLARK MSP salutes the groundbreaking legislation that allows us to scrutinise those that govern us — but argues it is now outdated, and introduces her new Bill which aims to bring the system up to date
Publicly owned CalMac, which provides lifeline ferry services to many inhabited islands, is in crisis — we must centre island communities and unions in creating a new system, with the boats built here in Scotland, writes KATY CLARK MSP
Similar stories
The 500 refinery jobs under threat at Grangemouth and underfunding in further education should be at the top of a new Scottish leader’s to-do list, argues RICHARD LEONARD MSP
