parliament

Students march over fears of ‘Demo-lition’ of Education

November 10, 2010 By Kirsty Tobin 1 Comment

by Kirsty Tobin

Students take to the streets of London to protest increases in undergraduate tuition fees and third-level education cuts. Credit: guardian.co.uk

Over 24,000 students are expected to take to the streets of London today in protest at increased fees and proposed education cuts.

The protest, Demo-lition, is taking place in order to highlight students’ opposition to the raising of undergraduate tuition fees from £3,290 per year to a maximum of £9,000, as well as third-level education cuts of 40%.

Aaron Porter, President of the National Union of Students (NUS), is staunchly opposed to the government initiative: “We will fight back against attempts to dismantle the funded education system we desperately need for economic recovery, social mobility and cultural enrichment. The Government’s short-sighted and self-defeating cuts to colleges and universities must be resisted and that resistance begins now.”

The increase in fees will lead to an average graduate debt expected to soar beyond £40,000.

The protest has been organised by the NUS and the University and College Union (UCU). UCU President, Sally Hunt, explains the rationale behind the march: “We are taking to the streets to deliver a clear message to politicians that we want a fair and progressive system of education funding. There is nothing fair or progressive about tripling the cost of a degree and axing college grants that are often the difference between students being able to study or not.”

The protest has received widespread support. Stand-up comic, Stewart Lee, has advocated the need for action on this issue. Speaking to the organisers of Demo-lition, he highlights the problem that will face many prospective students if these measures go ahead: “There is no way that I, a family university first-timer with a single parent, on a then full grant, for example, would have contemplated going to University under the current rules. I would have thought it was what wealthy people did, and was nothing to do with me.”

The increase in fees and the cuts in education spending are expected to affect the arts and humanities more than any other departments. In a YouTube video posted online, Lee worries that this will lead to the disappearance of “thinkers and artists and conscientious people.”

The march, which began at 12 noon, has departed from Horse Guards Avenue and will travel along Millbank. The mile long march will pass Parliament buildings. Students are expected to be joined in the protest by many lecturers, who will march with them in solidarity.

These protests take place a week on from a similar protest march, taking place in Dublin, Ireland. This protest sparked scenes of Garda violence. Irish students are taking to the streets again today to take part in a peaceful march in protest of the so-called Garda brutality.

Filed Under: All Politics, Economy and Business Tagged With: Demo-lition, education cuts, Garda brutality, graduate debt, increase tuition fees, London, National Students Union, NSU, parliament, Protest March, UCU, University and College Union

Labour MP’s sex photo shame

April 26, 2009 By Infotrace - Andrew Moir Leave a Comment

by Andrew Moir

Disgraced Labour MP Nigel Griffiths

Married Labour MP Nigel Griffiths has failed to prevent details of a late night sex romp in his office being published by a Sunday newspaper.

The former minister made a vain attempt to stop The News of the World publishing photos of his mistress posing for him in his commons office by raising an injunction action. The publication of these photos was deemed to be in the public interest by High Court Judge Mr. Justice King.

Having first denied the existence of the pictures Mr. Griffiths the claimed the night had been a barely remembered drunken haze. Mr. Justice King took a different view saying, “At the very least he was being economical with the truth. It could be said to be a lie but I don’t have to go that far.”

Mr. Griffiths economy extended not only to forgetting the night in question but also downloading 71 pictures to his laptop. These pictures should provide an aid to memory as they were time stamped. The illicit liaison took place Remembrance Day 2008 and began at 11.35pm. After publication Mr. Griffiths’ recall did not improve claiming “I am, of course, ashamed that my conduct did fall below acceptable standards. I have little recollection of the evening but that does not make it right.”

The public now have a coherent view of the MP’s activities that night. Griffiths took 27 pictures of his unnamed brunette lover in his office before taking 44 more at another location. They show his mistress in a number of poses including flashing her leg through stockings and spread out naked on a rug on the office floor.

There could be further problems for the MP as he may be in breach of the Parliamentary code. Paragraph 15 of the code states:

“Members shall at all times conduct themselves in a manner which will tend to maintain and strengthen the public’s trust and confidence in the integrity of Parliament and never undertake any action which would bring the House of Commons, or its Members generally, into disrepute.”

Last week complaints were received by John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, regarding Mr. Griffiths’ conduct. It is the Commissioner’s responsibility to monitor and code of conduct for MPs and to investigate complaints. However on Thursday Mr. Lyon concluded that these complaints did not warrant a full enquiry saying that, “The code states that it ‘does not seek to regulate what members do in their purely private and personal lives’.” However the interpretation does not take into account that the incident took place within the House of Commons, intended only for serious parliamentary business. With the press continuing to run this story, further complaints could be made.

Nigel Griffiths is the Member of Parliament for Edinburgh South. He was a member of the first New Labour Government with the portfolio of Parliamentary Undersecretary of State at the Department of Trade and Industry. He has served on many committees during the Labour administration. His last ministerial job was deputy to the Leader of the House of Commons, Jack Straw. He resigned over the renewal of the British Trident system in 2007. The 53-year old politician has been married to his wife Sally for 30 years.

It is an embarrassing week for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Griffiths’ close friend and former best man. It was also revealed at the weekend that Home Secretary Jacqui Smith had claimed parliamentary expenses for adult films viewed by her husband.
Mr. Griffiths is no stranger to controversy. In 2002 it was claimed that he misled a committee on his own financial affairs. He was quizzed over £10,000 worth of claims on a property that he already owned. Despite the complaint being upheld and Tory calls for him to resign, no further action was taken after the then Chancellor Gordon Brown stepped in on his friend’s behalf.

Sex and politics are no strangers and revelations have caused the downfall of many prominent figures going back to the Profumo affair in 1963. 2006 saw prominent Liberal Democrat MP Mark Oaten resign over his affair with a male prostitute. He was married with two daughters. In the same year Tommy Sheridan was accused by the News of the World of attending swingers’ clubs. He successfully sued for defamation but he was forced to leave his role as leader of the Scottish Socialist Party.

Yet perhaps it is Nigel Griffiths’, with his happy snapping, who has become part of Scottish politics’ most notable sex scandal.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: drunk, Gordon Brown, Labour, mistress, MP, news of the world, Nigel Griffiths, parliament, photos, Scandal, sex

Political parties row over 48 hour working week

December 18, 2008 By nicoljcraig Leave a Comment

MSPs discuss European plans

Labour MEPs have voted against Gordon Brown over the scrapping of Britain’s opt-out from the maximum 48 hour working week.

The European Parliament voted to remove Britain’s opt-out meaning the new resolution could be in place by 2011.

Labour MPs and MEPs disagreed on the move, with MEPs voting down the opt-out by 421 to 273.

Listen to working week:

The SNP have sided with the Prime Minister, arguing that the opt-out is necessary to retain the integrity and flexibility of many public services, particularly in rural and island areas.

SNP MEP Alyn Smith told Dunedin Napier News: “Some MEPs are trying to hoodwink people into thinking that this is somehow a victory for the rights of workers.” He added: “It is rare I find myself in total agreement with the UK government but when I do, as does my own government in Scotland, I’ll work with them.”

The issue has had increased pressure due to the economic downturn, with many member states wanting the option to exceed the 48 hour week.

A number of rural organisations, in particular the retained fire-fighters union, fear that some 321 of Scotland’s 391 fire stations will be drastically affected by this decision. NFU Scotland is similarly concerned over the position of farming workers.

Supporters of the resolution argue that it provides sufficient short-term scope for working longer hours if necessary.

“Scottish workers, like those in the rest of Europe, have a right to common decent working and living conditions”, said David Martin, Scottish Labour MEP.

He concluded: “And the new 12-month averaging of working time, as opposed to the previous four-month average, offers great flexibility for work time planning.”

But opponents said it should not be up to the EU to determine the working patterns of different employment cultures in the member states.

Alyn Smith said: “I fundamentally disagree that working time should be regulated across 27 different states from the Algarve to the Arctic Circle. The impact of this decision, if actually implemented, would be quite unworkable for vast swathes of the country. It might look good in a centrally heated Brussels office but it assuredly will not do what it says on the tin.”

The dossier will now enter a conciliation process where Member States will negotiate the minutia’s, meaning continued legal uncertainty for Europe’s workers.

Filed Under: All Politics, Science and Technology, World In Depth Tagged With: 48 hour, disagreement, Gordon Brown, hours, Labour, MEP, MP, parliament, parties, Politics, row, SNP, working

New job boost for Edinburgh

November 27, 2008 By pmccormack Leave a Comment

By Paul McCormack

Aquamarine Power, Britain’s only marine energy company, has this week announced that there is potential for recruitment in the industry to increase by 150 per cent.

The Scottish Parliament

The Edinburgh based organisation, which develops wave and tidal energy, believes that with the correct backing from the government, this form of energy production could eventually employ more people than the oil and gas companies based in the North Sea.

A report by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers has called on the Scottish government to invest £40m to help the industry to move forward and develop their energy producing products off the coast of Orkney.

Currently employing more than 1,000 workers in Scotland, marine energy companies are aiming to expand in order to become the most efficient form of renewable energy.

Michael Berry, Communications Finance and Sustainable growth spokesman for the Scottish government said: “Scotland is leading the world in the development of marine energy. Our seas can provide 25 per cent of Europe’s tidal power and 10 per cent of its wave power – backed by significant government support, developers are investing millions in the testing and deployment of wave and tidal devices to harness that potential.”

Holyrood has called for 30 per cent of Scotland’s energy to be renewable by 2011, increasing to 50 per cent by 2020, and this source could be the ideal method for the government to reach its proposed targets.

Berry added: “£10 million is being used to support wave and tidal energy projects around Scotland and a further £2.5 million is going towards infrastructure projects at the world-leading European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney. The issue of further support for the sector will be examined by the Forum for Renewable Energy Development.”

This decision will come as great news for everyone in the marine energy business and will open up the possibility of several thousand new jobs across the country.

Filed Under: All Politics, Economy and Business, Science and Technology Tagged With: Edinburgh, energy, gas, government, Holyrood, jobs, oil, orkney, parliament, Scotland

Boycott Salmon to Save the Seals!

November 25, 2008 By Mairi Thomson Leave a Comment

By Mairi Thomson

Protesters outside Parliament this morning

Protesters gathered outside Parliament this morning to protest against the killing of seals in the fishing industry.

The Seal Protection Action Group is calling for an “immediate and comprehensive” ban on the deliberate killing of seals by Scottish salmon producers and other fisheries in the UK, and are calling on the public to boycott buying salmon to help save seals.

They used their visit to deliver a letter to Alex Salmond detailing the decline in seal numbers in Scotland. They also highlighted that under the Conservation of Seals Act (1970) seals are not protected against shooting except during the breeding seasons or in areas with conservation orders.

Andy Ottaway, the leader of the Seal Protection Group said: “Government scientists have warned that there is a serious decline of common seals in Scottish Waters. We’re here to say to the government there must be an immediate ceasefire on seals because seals are still being shot in huge numbers by Scottish salmon producers. We believe that every single seal’s life is extremely valuable, it’s a plummeting population and seal shooting has simply got to stop.

“We’ve spoken to a range of producers and retailers and they all agree that if we use the properly tensioned nets to exclude seals and use other methods we can actually deter seals from going into fish nets without having to shoot them.”

“Ultimately we’re saying to the public in the lead up to Christmas, which is a big time for Scottish salmon sales – if the producers won’t stop shooting the seals, if the government won’t protect the seals, then the consumers have the buying power to stop the killing by simply refusing to buy Scottish Salmon.”

It is estimated that 5,000 seals are shot in Scottish waters each year by salmon farm and fisheries interests.

Aileen Campbell MSP said: “Scientists have been looking at this as well and I don’t think you can necessarily pinpoint it to one factor, but I definately think if that’s the numbers that are being killed then we need to look at the reasons why that’s happening and to look towards ways to stop

this happening, if that indeed is what is desirable. “

“Fish farming is incredibly important to the Scottish economy, people associate salmon with Scotland and it’s a global brand that people recognise so I think it’s crucial to the Scottish economy. I don’t know that we always associate the culling with fish farming because scientists have said that there may be other reasons for those deaths but certainly if culling is one of the reasons then we need to look forward to finding the reasons those numbers are being killed.”

In January this year a public opinion poll commissioned by Advocates for Animals found that 75% of the Scottish public support the killing of seals being made illegal in Scottish waters with only 12% supporting Fish farmers and fishermen continuing to kill them.

Filed Under: All Politics, Life and Society Tagged With: parliament, protest, seal protection action group, seals