Tattie Scones

Hope for Inverclyde

2011-06-16T03:41:00.000-07:00

When you are growing up, you do not necessarily have the same view of the place in which you live as others do. People's reaction to my answer to the question "Where do you come from?" is generally similar. Replying "Greenock" does not normally illicit a positive reaction.

I grew up there in the 60s and 70s and I am not going to pretend that I am some sort of working class hero. My dad had a shop so we were relatively well off in Greenock demographics. However, there was no doubt there was poverty there as was reflected in many places in Scotland.

What I remember most though was the pride we had in the area. Watching ships sail up and down the Clyde built by a skilled workforce renowned throughout the world for their high standards. It gave a feeling of self-respect in our area.

So too did passing the PS Comet replica in Port Glasgow and the many other links the area had to the Clyde and the sea. Folk may find it surprising now but people came to Gourock for their holidays. This is not to forget either that there were many other businesses in the area unrelated to the sea such as IBM who had recognised the area as offering a workforce willing to work hard and learn new skills.

What saddens me now is that people's language about the area is so derogatory whether talking about the towns of Inverclyde or about the people themselves. What is atrocious is not the place or the people but the horrendous way in which the people have been treated over the years.

Inverclyde has been a Labour stronghold in terms of London and Scottish Governments’ rule. The question though is why? Whilst Labour politicians could happily lay the blame at the feet of Tory Governments of the 80s and 90s, it does not address the fact that successive Labour governments since then have neglected the area. During the years of opulence under Labour rule that Labour like to flaunt so often, why did Inverclyde not flourish? Their loyalty to Labour was not rewarded. Labour could find the time for photo opportunities with big business but not for bringing business to Inverclyde.

The sad fact is that the area has been treated dreadfully by Labour. The area is part of Labour's abuse agenda in Scotland of trying to make people feel bad in the same way as an abusive domestic situation. The same language is used such as “you can't manage without me", "you don't deserve any better" or "nobody thinks much of you".

Luckily there is hope however. The good people of Inverclyde have the chance to change things in the by-election. The SNP's candidate, local lass Anne McLaughlin is a former MSP and is a senior figure in the SNP in the West of Scotland. She was campaign co-ordinator for the Glasgow East by-election so is well placed to defend Inverclyde against the onslaught of negativity that Labour and their press friends will throw at the area.

The SNP's positive vision for Scotland has shown that the Scottish people are throwing off the shackles of despair with which Labour has tried to chain them for so many years. Around Scotland, folk will be rooting for those in Inverclyde on 30th June and hoping that they grasp the chance for a positive change. Inverclyde is a fine area with good people who not only have an important history of high standards of work and professionalism but who also have more to offer in the future. Here's looking to a positive future for them.

Trident and Labour Hypocrisy

2010-04-20T04:07:00.000-07:00

As someone who has an interest in several charities and pressure groups, I have received emails from all of them asking me to contact the PPCs for my constituency about their group's particular cause. Generally speaking, there is then a link to a website which asks for your postcode and then they inform you of who your particular candidates are and how to contact them.
Scotland's for Peace http://www.scotland4peace.org/ had taken things a little further and had actually contacted candidates on their views on Trident replacement as well as giving the general party view and any of the candidates' past voting record on Trident.
In my own constituency, it was no surprise that the SNP candidate George Leslie, was against the replacement of Trident. It is both his party's view and from what I read, his own long time view.
My surprise came when I read Labour candidate Cathy Jamieson claimed to be against Trident as Labour support the renewal of Trident. She's entitled to her view but looking further at the page, I realised that her voting record did not reflect her so called view. On four occasions, the Scottish Parliament voted to oppose the renewal/replacement of Trident and on each occasion Cathy Jamieson failed to support the opposition to Trident. In fact, on each occasion, she supported the Labour Party line instead. Looks like she would be nothing more than voting fodder for the peddlers of weapons of mass destruction. No doubt the immorality of these weapons will lie easily on her shoulders when she herself says one thing but does another.
The only light of hope is that in the constituency, local polling shows a likely SNP victory so hopefully Cathy Jamieson will be the loser and not Scotland.

Caledonian Mercury

2010-02-08T08:31:00.000-08:00

Good to see this online newspaper has lived up to expectations. I nearly fell off my seat laughing at Lord George Foulkes being likened to a farting hippo.
On a more serious note though, it is refreshing to see a different perspective in the papers. Too often of late if you go to The Herald or The Scotsman, you will see exactly the same content. On more than one occasion I have seen exactly the same piece in both those papers - usually a copy and paste job from a Labour Party press release. That's not journalism, that's primary school computing basics.
We have wonderful writers in Scotland and we need to encourage writing and reporting - if for no other reason than it creates highly skilled jobs. Well done to the Caledonian Mercury and good luck with your new venture.
(You can find them at www.caledonianmercury.com if you're interested.)

We'll Rise Right Back Up Against You

2009-11-15T07:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Glasgow and Scotland proclaimed 'not on our turf' to the SDL protesters attempting to create racial tensions in the city. Well done to all those who joined the Scotland United march. Their numbers vastly outweighed those bussed in by the SDL/EDL. Scotland United turned that 'protest' into a joke. Although police estimates are notoriously conservative, they judged the differential to be 80 SDL protesters to 1,500 Scotland United protestors. That is definitely a statistic that does Scotland proud.

What made this protest even more repugnant is that it came within a week of Armistice Day. A time when we remember those who fought and died for their countries. Surely this is a time to be thinking about the futility of war and about how we can resolve conflict peacefully to avoid a similar loss of lives in the future. It is certainly not a time to incite unrest, racial tensions and violence. That is an insult to those we should be honouring. However, dishonouring our veterans is a tact which the fascist element of society appears to pursue after Mr Griffin refused to respect the Royal British Legion's wishes and desist from wearing the poppy.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jun/13/royal-british-legion-nick-griffin

I wonder if it is not a coincidence that this protest also falls soon after the BBC granted the BNP a soapbox on which to further their fascist agenda. This break with the 'no platform' policy that has previously been employed was definitely a BBC publicity stunt with some dangerous consequences. Is a ratings boost really worth the violence that has been seen by the fascist rallies in Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds? Thankfully this did not happen in Glasgow, but what is worrying is the 1,013 votes polled for the BNP in the recent Glasgow North- East by-election. One can only hope that this is a sympton of the recent publicity given to this party and not reflective of increased sympathy from the general population. At least Glasgow has shown itself to be proud of its multi-culturalism and shown these extremists that their views are not welcome.

In the words of John Smeaton "If any more extremists are still wanting to rise up and start trouble, know this: We’ll rise right back up against you"

Glasgow North East By-Election

2009-11-14T09:10:00.000-08:00

I lived in Glasgow for a number of years and loved every minute of my time there. It is full of people who would go out of their way to do you a good turn. It saddened me though didn't surprise me that the Labour Party sold the people of Glasgow North East short during the election campaign with their lack of inspiration for those people's futures . It was predictable that Labour ran such a negative campaign in Glasgow North East. They have nothing to offer and the best they could do was to try and put voters off the opposition by promoting the (false) impression that the SNP was not interested in Glasgow. Whilst stooping to these tactics to retain their safest seat in Scotland, they may find it backfires on them at the general election.
Labour's campaign focused on trying to promote grievances between Glasgow and the SNP Government at Holyrood. Labour screamed about the rail link from Glasgow Airport not going ahead, for example. As much as Labour is trying to stoke disgruntlement within Glasgow at any money not spent there, the vast majority of people in Scotland live outside Glasgow and think that at best, the administration of Glasgow is a black hole of Labour ineptitude. People are sick of it. Now everybody knows the finite resources of the Scottish Budget so at the next election, the SNP will certainly be able to say to communities around Scotland
"No matter how much your children, your old folk and your sick and disabled need help and support, the Labour Party's priority will be to spend the money on a rail link from Glasgow Airport at any cost."
" The Glasgow rail link is more important to Labour than the needs of people in any other part of the country."
" In pain and need an operation? Well for Labour you come after the Glasgow rail link."
Money is tight and if in the good times, Labour couldn't fund the rail link, folk are certainly not going to put it in front of more pressing needs in Scotland's many communities. I am sure the SNP will be reminding everyone of Labour's priorities come the election.