News Updates
Below are some collected stories of the work I have been doing here in the Bothwell and Uddingston ward, work at the South Lanarkshire Council, and matters of national and international importance that may be relevant for members of these communities.
A New Flag for Bothwell
Last month, I attended the unveiling of the new Bothwell Flag. I very much support this new flag. Civic symbols are great for creating a sense of community. Municipalities across Europe and North America really identify with their local symbols such as arms and flags — and display them prominently. This flag is hopefully something all the people, companies, institutions and elected representatives of Bothwell can get behind. Four finalists were shortlisted by representatives from Bothwell Community Council, Bothwell Futures, Bothwell Parish Church, Bothwell Scarecrow Fest, the Lanarkshire Lieutenancy, the Flag Institute, St Bride’s & Bothwell primary schools and the…
Remembrance Sunday 2024
It was an honour to lay a wreath this year again at Uddingston War Memorial on behalf of the Council. This year, I wore both a Poppy Scotland red poppy with the Black Watch regimental badge, and a Peace Pledge Union white poppy. The Black Watch poppy pin is to represent my papa, who served in that regiment and was wounded for life. The white poppy represents pacifism and the belief that the greatest honour we can pay to war wounded and killed is to ensure there are none that follow them – “never again”. As has become somewhat of…
Labour Control: SNP Withdraw from SLLC Board
SNP Group members have resigned from the board of South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture and the Group have today written to the Chief Executive of the Council to inform him we will not nominate replacement appointees. Read more below. Dear Paul, Having carefully considered our position; the South Lanarkshire SNP Group has decided that we will no longer nominate elected members to sit as Trustees on the Board of South Lanarkshire Leisure & Culture (SLLC). In 2022 with the prospect of new Governance being put in place and SLLC becoming a SCIO, we were hopeful that clearly defined roles and…
ScotGov Funding for Affordable Housing Welcomed
Councils will receive a share of an additional £40m this year to increase the supply of social and affordable homes. The funding, which was confirmed by the First Minister in the Programme for Government has boosted the affordable housing supply programme to nearly £600m this year and will mostly be distributed to the five council areas with sustained temporary accommodation pressures: Edinburgh, Fife, Glasgow, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian. This will build upon the support for councils across Scotland to purchase 1,500 properties during 2023-24 to increase supply of affordable housing. In welcoming the additional funding, SNP Housing Spokesperson, Councillor…
Labour Throw Pupils Under the Bus
South Lanarkshire Council’s Executive Committee today voted to cut school transport provision. The Council had consulted on proposals to increase the eligibility threshold distance for high school transport from 2 miles to 3 miles. 92% of parents and carers responding to the consultation opposed the cut. The changed was proposed by the Labour-Liberal Democrat council administration and will see over 2000 South Lanarkshire pupils walk up to 6 miles a day, in all weathers. The SNP Group moved an amendment that the proposal be rejected and asked the council to review the guidance used to determine safe walking routes. Labour…
SNP Slam Leisure and Culture Cuts
The SNP Group at South Lanarkshire Council have slammed the announcement that South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture (SLLC) are set to withdraw from 37 community halls and 7 libraries, saying that the cuts will have a devastating effect on communities. The SNP’s alternative budget — proposed in February but voted down by the Unionist parties — would have invested an additional £605k to SLLC, on top of reversing proposed cuts to their budget. A spokesperson for the SNP group said; “Certain Labour Councillors are merrily posting on social media that they have ‘saved’ local facilities through their budget. Our communities…
Comments on SLC Budget
Commenting on the passing of a budget today at South Lanarkshire Council, Cllr John Ross (SNP) said: “Our group are utterly stunned by the damage Joe Fagan’s Labour-Lib Dem administration has wrought on South Lanarkshire today. There was no need whatsoever for the scale of the cuts, charges, and austerity they have passed. “This is utter vandalism, and I don’t see how these councillors can show their faces in their communities. “The SNP alternative budget would have made no cuts to education or social work, provided greater funding for Leisure and Culture, and protected funding for third sector organisations such…
SNP Blast ‘ANTI-DEMOCRATIC’ Labour Councils Actions
South Lanarkshire Council met on Wednesday 31st January to decide the allocation of committee members after the resignation of Councillor Mark Horsham (Clydesdale South) from the SNP group. Following the resignation, both the Labour and SNP groups have 25 members. At the meeting, the SNP Group proposed that the five vacant positions be allocated by negotiation between the two groups . The Labour group, however, pushed-though a decision to appoint their members to all of these committee posts. Despite the equal numbers of the two groups, the Labour motion carried with the support of Liberal Democrat and Conservative members. A council…
School Transport Cuts
On Monday 15th January, South Lanarkshire Council launched a consultation on increasing the qualifying distance for high school transport from 2 miles to 3 miles. The result of this is that I believe there are serious equalities risks with this change. For example, a family staying in the centre of Uddingston who send their children to the non-denominational sector may have as little as a 10 minute walk to Uddingston Grammar but if they send their child to a Catholic school, they could face more than a 1 hour 10 minute walk (for wee 11 year old legs) to Holy…
20mph Speed Limits and Climate
I spoke this week at South Lanarkshire Road Safety Forum to convey my general support on safety grounds for 20mph speed limits in built up areas. I also raised my specific concerns around the environmental impact of any such change. Council committee reports have a standard section for climate change, sustainability and environmental implications. Too often this section is not filled in. Governments, local and national, have a duty to understand the climate impact of our decisions, and to act appropriately as stewards of our planet.
Never Again
I attended the wreath-laying ceremony at the war memorial in Uddingston today where I laid a wreath on behalf of the Council. My colleagues attended to do the same at the Bothwell ceremony. Afterwards, I laid my own mark of remembrance at the Bothwell war memorial and then attended the South Lanarkshire-wide ceremony at Bothwell Road Cenotaph in Hamilton. In my lifetime, there has seldom been an Armistice Day or Remembrance Sunday when the need to honour those who have died in war has been greater. We honour them by working for a lasting peace and an end to all…
Labour Block SNP Motion on Israel-Palestine
At a meeting of South Lanarkshire Council today, the Provost Margaret Cooper blocked an emergency motion from the SNP Group on the ongoing Middle East conflict. The SNP motion would have condemned Hamas and called for a release of all hostages and an immediate ceasefire in the region. It noted the right of Israel, in common with all, to protect itself from terror but called for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor. It further called for increased aid to be committed to Gaza and for the UK Government to offer sanctuary and support to Palestinian refugees via the UNHCR Resettlement Scheme.…
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Cllr Cal Johnston-Dempsey 