On 18 September, Power Will Lie in the Hands of the Scottish People

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

On 18 September, Power Will Lie in the Hands of the Scottish People All out for Yes: Colin Fox, Isobel Lindsay, MSP Jean Urquhart, Alan Bissett and more in this issue • See inside FREE • issue 444 • 5th–18th September 2014 scottishsocialistvoice.wordpress.com ‘On 18 September, power will lie in the hands of the Scottish people. You have to decide whether to keep it or give it away...’ – Jim Sillars For a Scotland that puts people before profit – vote ScottishSocialistVoice.wordpress.com /ScottishSocialistVoice @ssv_voice VOTE YES by Alan Bissett HERE WE are going into the LabourLabour votersvoters last fortnight of the long campaign for Scottish independence and things are now very exciting indeed. movingmoving toto YesYes The latest poll, from the No- friendly YouGov, places Yes at 47 per cent and No at 53 per cent, a massive swing of 8 per cent from their last poll, making victory for Yes very much possible. Even Better Together cheerleaders the Daily Mail are describing the result of as being ‘on a knife edge’. During the last TV debate with Alex Salmond, an under- pressure Alistair Darling “MY FRIDGE MAGNETS TOLD ME admitted that ‘of course TO VOTE ‘NO’”: the new face of Scotland could use the pound’, Better Together, aka ‘Patronising BT Lady’, has heralded in a putting to rest a central BT Lady’, has heralded in a disastrous time for the No camp falsehood of the No campaign. Better Together’s advert some supporters have been appear toxic and off-putting to the right. The same recent targeting the female vote – in lashing out – literally – with the public. Even the police are YouGov poll has seen support which a woman, filmed in the reports emerging of physical recognising this tactic. for independence rise by 12 kitchen, claims not to care violence against Yes activists. Yes, instead of trying to fight per cent among Labour voters about politics and fails to These have been largely dirty, has been quietly building in the last month, as the left- remember the First Minister’s ignored by the media, who up the largest mass movement wing tone of the Yes movement name – alienated Yes, No and prefer to magnify complaints in Scotland’s history. becomes clearer by the day. Undecided women alike for its from Labour’s Jim Murphy Aware that the potential for Ideas which have been off the patronising tone. about being hit by an egg. change lies within the Scottish political agenda for generations Murphy’s ludicrous talk of working-class, who have been – nuclear disarmament, the Violence ignored ‘co-ordinated attack mobs’ and long-alienated from by right-wing nationalisation of industry, anti- It is a measure of how Better the No campaign’s predictions UK governments, the Radical privatisation, wealth Together have been depending of ‘absolute carnage’ on Independence Campaign have redistribution and social housing upon political apathy that Scottish streets have meant a been out encouraging people – are now on everyone’s lips, they’re now using meaningless public rebuke from the Scottish on housing schemes and in job and it is increasingly obvious to platitudes such as, ‘I love Police Federation for centres queues to register. voters which result is most likely Scotland, I’m voting No’ and ‘I ‘intemperate, inflammatory and Groups like the Scottish to deliver these. love my kids, I’m voting No’. exaggerated language’. Socialist Party and Labour For But the No campaign has Now that all of their Independence, whose values Political awakening also taken a rather sinister arguments have been dispelled, have remained intact, have been Labour, meanwhile, are turn. Aware that the UK might Better Together are now simply successful at targeting those spending their energies fighting be slipping from their grasp, trying to make the whole debate disaffected by Labour’s drift to against the largest political awakening of working-class To subscribe to the Scottish Socialist Voice – newspaper of the Scottish Socialist Party – fill in this form people that Scotland has ever and send it to: Scottish Socialist Voice, Suite 370, 4th Floor, Central Chambers, 93 Hope Street, Glasgow known, on behalf of our rulers. G2 6LD. Or telephone: 07810205747. Cheques and postal orders should be made payable to ‘Scottish The media and No voters like Socialist Voice’. Find us online at scottishsocialistvoice.wordpress.com and on Facebook and Twitter to moan about how ‘divided’ the Name........................................................................................................................................................................ country has become – as Address.................................................................................................................................................................... though politics never is – but the .................................................................................................................................................................................. Yes movement has seen a mass of diverse peoples .................................................................................................................................................................................. working together for the first Phone....................................................................................................................................................................... time with a huge amount of Email......................................................................................................................................................................... bonhomie and determination. I enclose: g £5 for 2 issues g £10 for 4 issues g £20 for 8 issues It is proof of what can happen when the left unites: we can win. 2 • scottishsocialistvoice.wordpress.com • issue 444 VOTE YES WHY I’M VOTING Which side FOR INDEPENDENCE are you on? by Ken Ferguson, editor, Scottish Socialist Voice AFTER THE long campaign, the scares, the experts and the claim and counter claim as 18 September approaches, the question is increasingly clear and increasingly simple. Which side are you on? The Tories were rejected by Scottish voters an age ago as the people who brought the long years of Thatcher’s class war on working people with it closures, sackings and the detested Poll Tax. The Lib Dems, once the mister nice guys of Scottish politics, sold their souls for a few crumbs from the Westminster Tory government and are reaping the whirlwind of rejection from disgusted voters. The more this gruesome pair tell scare stories about a Yes vote the more the independence vote grows. YES FOR SUCCESS: Colin Fox speaks at a huge pro-indy rally in Edinburgh PHOTO: Craig Maclean In bed with the Tories by Colin Fox, SSP ments we choose and the Democracy and serving However the most shameful role in the co-spokesperson policies we support instead the needs of all citizens will anti-Yes campaign has been that of the party of suffering those we did not. always trump the interests once the natural home of progressive voter VOTING YES on 18 Think about it, after 18 of ‘the moneymen’ in the favouring justice and peace—Labour. September unlocks a door September there will be no new nation I envisage. Trashing their honourable past they have to previously unreachable more David Camerons in The Yes vote I will cast spent the campaign in bed with the Tories possibilities for working Scotland, no more Tory will therefore be for a mod- against the interests of their loyal voters. class people in Scotland. It governments we did not ern, democratic nation that In the Tory funded Labour fronted Better frees us from the economic elect, no more Bedroom will, I believe, chose to be- Together alliance they have sung the same neoliberalism of the City of Tax we did not vote for, no come a republic where we tune as parties detested by Scots voters with London that puts the greedy more Poll Tax we did not elect our Head of State. a mixture off fear and threats in desperate pursuit of profit for a tiny vote for either, no more Tri- And we elect someone rep- drive to maintain the cosy Westminster world elite ahead of satisfying the dent nuclear weapons sta- resentative of the population in which they enjoy a life insulated from the primary needs of millions. tioned on our soil, no more as a whole and who is ac- world of insecurity and deprivation facing Independence means we immigrants and claimants countable for the decisions thousands of those who elect them. can rid Scotland of the blamed for an economic cri- they take on our behalf. child poverty, fuel poverty, sis caused by the bankers... So I’m voting Yes on 18 Labour voters decisive food banks, low wage those days are over! September and I have never It is the decision of those Labour voters economy and the worst In an independent social- been more confident of vic- which will be decisive on 18 September—will anti-union laws in the ist Scotland no one is left tory than I am today. they back a Yes vote and take the power to whole of Europe. behind to live in poverty As I travel round Scotland defend the NHS, create real well paid jobs, It also frees us from the and squalor, forgotten by I see evidence everywhere scrap Trident and back a people before profit warmongering straitjacket the complacent and all too of the staggering achieve- Scotland, or the pretend socialists currently imposed upon us by the comfortable middle classes ments of the biggest politi- lined up with the Tory austerity and cuts? British state at Westmin- and the important decisions cal grassroots movement In this Voice, we offer the views of a range
Recommended publications
  • Scottish Parliament Annual Report 2012–13 Contents
    Scottish Parliament Annual Report 2012–13 Contents Foreword from the Presiding Officer 3 Parliamentary business 5 Committees 11 International engagement 18 Engagement with the public 20 Click on the links in the page headers to access more information about the areas covered in this report. Cover photographs - clockwise from top left: Lewis Macdonald MSP and Richard Baker MSP in the Chamber Local Government and Regeneration Committee Education visit to the Parliament Special Delivery: The Letters of William Wallace exhibition Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee Festival of Politics event Welfare Reform Committee witnesses Inside cover photographs - clockwise from top left: Health and Sport Committee witnesses Carers Parliament event The Deputy First Minister and First Minister The Presiding Officer at ArtBeat studios during Parliament Day Hawick Large Hadron Collider Roadshow Published in Edinburgh by APS Group Scotland © Parliamentary copyright. Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body 2013 Information on the Scottish Parliament’s copyright policy can be found on the website - www.scottish.parliament.uk/copyright or by contacting public information on 0131 348 5000. ISBN 978-1-78351-356-7 SP Paper Number 350 Web Only Session 4 (2013) www.scottish.parliament.uk/PresidingOfficer Foreword from the Presiding Officer This annual report provides information on how the Scottish Parliament has fulfilled its role during the parliamentary year 11 May 2012 to 10 May 2013. This last year saw the introduction of reforms designed to make Parliament more agile and responsive through the most radical changes to our processes since the Parliament’s establishment in 1999. A new parliamentary sitting pattern was adopted, with the full Parliament now meeting on three days per week.
    [Show full text]
  • Northern Ireland's Snap Assembly Elections: Outcome and Implications
    CRS INSIGHT Northern Ireland's Snap Assembly Elections: Outcome and Implications March 7, 2017 (IN10663) | Related Author Kristin Archick | Kristin Archick, Specialist in European Affairs ([email protected], 7-2668) On March 2, 2017, voters in Northern Ireland—which is one of four component "nations" of the United Kingdom (UK) —went to the polls in snap elections for Northern Ireland's Assembly, its regional legislature. The Assembly is a key institution in Northern Ireland's devolved government, in which specified powers have been transferred from London to Belfast, as set out in the 1998 peace agreement aimed at ending Northern Ireland's 30-year sectarian conflict (in which almost 3,500 people died). The peace accord mandated that power in the devolved government would be shared between Northern Ireland's two dominant communities: unionists, or Protestants who largely define themselves as British and support remaining part of the UK, and nationalists, or Catholics who consider themselves Irish and may desire a united Ireland. (For more information, see CRS Report RS21333, Northern Ireland: The Peace Process.) Since 2007, Assembly elections have produced successive power-sharing governments led by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the nationalist all-Ireland political party Sinn Fein. Assembly elections determine the composition of Northern Ireland's Executive, comprised of ministers in charge of policy departments. Following the May 2016 Assembly elections, DUP leader Arlene Foster and Sinn Fein's northern leader Martin McGuiness returned to head the Executive as First Minister and Deputy First Minister, respectively. Despite a much-improved security situation in Northern Ireland and progress in implementing important aspects of the peace accord, significant divisions and distrust persist between the unionist and nationalist communities and their respective political parties.
    [Show full text]
  • 1. Debbie Abrahams, Labour Party, United Kingdom 2
    1. Debbie Abrahams, Labour Party, United Kingdom 2. Malik Ben Achour, PS, Belgium 3. Tina Acketoft, Liberal Party, Sweden 4. Senator Fatima Ahallouch, PS, Belgium 5. Lord Nazir Ahmed, Non-affiliated, United Kingdom 6. Senator Alberto Airola, M5S, Italy 7. Hussein al-Taee, Social Democratic Party, Finland 8. Éric Alauzet, La République en Marche, France 9. Patricia Blanquer Alcaraz, Socialist Party, Spain 10. Lord John Alderdice, Liberal Democrats, United Kingdom 11. Felipe Jesús Sicilia Alférez, Socialist Party, Spain 12. Senator Alessandro Alfieri, PD, Italy 13. François Alfonsi, Greens/EFA, European Parliament (France) 14. Amira Mohamed Ali, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Group, Die Linke, Germany 15. Rushanara Ali, Labour Party, United Kingdom 16. Tahir Ali, Labour Party, United Kingdom 17. Mahir Alkaya, Spokesperson for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Socialist Party, the Netherlands 18. Senator Josefina Bueno Alonso, Socialist Party, Spain 19. Lord David Alton of Liverpool, Crossbench, United Kingdom 20. Patxi López Álvarez, Socialist Party, Spain 21. Nacho Sánchez Amor, S&D, European Parliament (Spain) 22. Luise Amtsberg, Green Party, Germany 23. Senator Bert Anciaux, sp.a, Belgium 24. Rt Hon Michael Ancram, the Marquess of Lothian, Former Chairman of the Conservative Party, Conservative Party, United Kingdom 25. Karin Andersen, Socialist Left Party, Norway 26. Kirsten Normann Andersen, Socialist People’s Party (SF), Denmark 27. Theresa Berg Andersen, Socialist People’s Party (SF), Denmark 28. Rasmus Andresen, Greens/EFA, European Parliament (Germany) 29. Lord David Anderson of Ipswich QC, Crossbench, United Kingdom 30. Barry Andrews, Renew Europe, European Parliament (Ireland) 31. Chris Andrews, Sinn Féin, Ireland 32. Eric Andrieu, S&D, European Parliament (France) 33.
    [Show full text]
  • LE19 - a Turning of the Tide? Report of Local Elections in Northern Ireland, 2019
    #LE19 - a turning of the tide? Report of local elections in Northern Ireland, 2019 Whitten, L. (2019). #LE19 - a turning of the tide? Report of local elections in Northern Ireland, 2019. Irish Political Studies, 35(1), 61-79. https://doi.org/10.1080/07907184.2019.1651294 Published in: Irish Political Studies Document Version: Peer reviewed version Queen's University Belfast - Research Portal: Link to publication record in Queen's University Belfast Research Portal Publisher rights Copyright 2019 Political Studies Association of Ireland.. This work is made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher. General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Queen's University Belfast Research Portal is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The Research Portal is Queen's institutional repository that provides access to Queen's research output. Every effort has been made to ensure that content in the Research Portal does not infringe any person's rights, or applicable UK laws. If you discover content in the Research Portal that you believe breaches copyright or violates any law, please contact [email protected]. Download date:29. Sep. 2021 #LE19 – a turning of the tide? Report of Local Elections in Northern Ireland, 2019 Lisa Claire Whitten1 Queen’s University Belfast Abstract Otherwise routine local elections in Northern Ireland on 2 May 2019 were bestowed unusual significance by exceptional circumstance.
    [Show full text]
  • Education and Culture Committee
    EDUCATION AND CULTURE COMMITTEE Tuesday 1 May 2012 Session 4 © Parliamentary copyright. Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Information on the Scottish Parliament’s copyright policy can be found on the website - www.scottish.parliament.uk or by contacting Public Information on 0131 348 5000 Tuesday 1 May 2012 CONTENTS Col. EARLY YEARS ............................................................................................................................................... 993 SUBORDINATE LEGISLATION......................................................................................................................... 1023 Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 (Commencement No 4, Transitional and Savings Provisions) Amendment Order 2012 .................... 1023 EDUCATION AND CULTURE COMMITTEE 13th Meeting 2012, Session 4 CONVENER *Stewart Maxwell (West Scotland) (SNP) DEPUTY CONVENER *Neil Findlay (Lothian) (Lab) COMMITTEE MEMBERS *Clare Adamson (Central Scotland) (SNP) *Marco Biagi (Edinburgh Central) (SNP) *Neil Bibby (West Scotland) (Lab) *Joan McAlpine (South Scotland) (SNP) *Liam McArthur (Orkney Islands) (LD) *Liz Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) *Jean Urquhart (Highlands and Islands) (SNP) *attended THE FOLLOWING ALSO PARTICIPATED: Bill Alexander (Early Years Task Force) Helen Chambers (Inspiring Scotland) SallyAnn Kelly (Early Years Task Force) CLERK TO THE COMMITTEE Terry Shevlin LOCATION Committee Room 6 993 1 MAY 2012 994 That means best practice in universal services, Scottish Parliament such as those that midwives,
    [Show full text]
  • Challenger Party List
    Appendix List of Challenger Parties Operationalization of Challenger Parties A party is considered a challenger party if in any given year it has not been a member of a central government after 1930. A party is considered a dominant party if in any given year it has been part of a central government after 1930. Only parties with ministers in cabinet are considered to be members of a central government. A party ceases to be a challenger party once it enters central government (in the election immediately preceding entry into office, it is classified as a challenger party). Participation in a national war/crisis cabinets and national unity governments (e.g., Communists in France’s provisional government) does not in itself qualify a party as a dominant party. A dominant party will continue to be considered a dominant party after merging with a challenger party, but a party will be considered a challenger party if it splits from a dominant party. Using this definition, the following parties were challenger parties in Western Europe in the period under investigation (1950–2017). The parties that became dominant parties during the period are indicated with an asterisk. Last election in dataset Country Party Party name (as abbreviation challenger party) Austria ALÖ Alternative List Austria 1983 DU The Independents—Lugner’s List 1999 FPÖ Freedom Party of Austria 1983 * Fritz The Citizens’ Forum Austria 2008 Grüne The Greens—The Green Alternative 2017 LiF Liberal Forum 2008 Martin Hans-Peter Martin’s List 2006 Nein No—Citizens’ Initiative against
    [Show full text]
  • BUSINESS BULLETIN No. 290/2012 Monday 10 September 2012
    BUSINESS BULLETIN No. 290/2012 Monday 10 September 2012 1 Contents The sections which appear in today‘s Business Bulletin are in bold Section A: Today‘s Business - Meetings of Committees - Meeting of the Parliament Section B: Future Meetings of the Parliament Section C: Future Meetings of Committees Section D: Oral Questions - Questions selected for First Minister‘s Question Time - Questions selected for response by Ministers and junior Scottish Ministers at Question Time Section E: Written Questions – new questions for written answer Section F: Motions and Amendments Section G: Bills - New Bills introduced - New amendments to Bills - Members‘ Bills proposals Section H: New Documents – new documents laid before the Parliament and committee reports published Section I: Petitions – new public petitions Section J: Progress of Legislation – progress of Bills and subordinate legislation 2 Business Bulletin: Monday 10 September 2012 Section B – Future Meetings of the Parliament Business Programme agreed by the Parliament on 5 September 2012 Tuesday 11 September 2012 2.00 pm Time for Reflection – Reverend Professor Donald MacDonald, Chair of the Scottish Churches‘ Disability Agenda Group followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions followed by Topical Questions (if selected) followed by Scottish Government Debate: Actions to Deliver Sustainable Economic Growth followed by Business Motions followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions 5.00 pm Decision Time followed by Members‘ Business – S4M-03921 Kevin Stewart: Aberdeen City Centre (for text of motion
    [Show full text]
  • The Struggle for a Left Praxis in Northern Ireland
    SIT Graduate Institute/SIT Study Abroad SIT Digital Collections Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection SIT Study Abroad Spring 2011 Sandino Socialists, Flagwaving Comrades, Red Rabblerousers: The trS uggle for a Left rP axis in Northern Ireland Benny Witkovsky SIT Study Abroad Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection Part of the Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Peace and Conflict Studies Commons, Political Science Commons, and the Politics and Social Change Commons Recommended Citation Witkovsky, Benny, "Sandino Socialists, Flagwaving Comrades, Red Rabblerousers: The trS uggle for a Left rP axis in Northern Ireland" (2011). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 1095. https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/1095 This Unpublished Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the SIT Study Abroad at SIT Digital Collections. It has been accepted for inclusion in Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection by an authorized administrator of SIT Digital Collections. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Witkovsky 1 SANDINO SOCIALISTS, FLAG­WAVING COMRADES, RED RABBLE­ROUSERS: THE STRUGGLE FOR A LEFT PRAXIS IN NORTHERN IRELAND By Benny Witkovsky SIT: Transformation of Social and Political Conflict Academic Director: Aeveen Kerrisk Project Advisor: Bill Rolston, University of Ulster School of Sociology and Applied Social Studies, Transitional Justice Institute Spring 2011 Witkovsky 2 ABSTRACT This paper is the outcome of three weeks of research on Left politics in Northern Ireland. Taking the 2011 Assembly Elections as my focal point, I conducted a number of interviews with candidates and supporters, attended meetings and rallies, and participated in neighborhood canvasses.
    [Show full text]
  • Second-Order Success, First-Order Gains and the European Electoral Cycle
    Prepared for the 26th ECPR Summer School on Political Parties. The University of Nottingham (UK), School of Politics and International Relations, 12 September - 23 September, 2016. This is a preliminary draft that will be revised. Comments welcome. A Springboard to the Domestic Arena? Second-Order Success, First-Order Gains and the European Electoral Cycle Julia Schulte-Cloos 21 August 2016 [Word Count: 9250] Abstract European Parliament (EP) elections offer a distinct incentive structure to voters as there is no government formation at stake. Triggering protest and non-strategical votes, small and radical parties enjoy structural advantages in the supranational contest. While these patterns are well established in the literature, it remains puz- zling how success in the second-order arena impinges on the parties’ first-order trajectories. We lack a systematic understanding of the implications that the sec- ondary elections themselves have on party competition within the domestic arena. This paper posits that EP elections serve as a springboard for success in the national arena. The institution of the EP elections along with the different voting calculi therein has unanticipated consequences for domestic party competition. Drawing on a novel database encompassing the electoral results of all EU member states in national and EP elections since 1979, the temporal distance between these elections, and their position within the respective electoral cycles, I show that particularly populist radical right parties benefit from a spillover of European success to the na- tional arena. This effect is especially pronounced if the temporal distance between the national and the European election is close. The results suggest that the insti- tution of EP elections not only provides these parties with a permeable forum for politicising Europe and their antagonism towards further integration, but that the European campaign also bestows salience upon their nationalistic policy demands.
    [Show full text]
  • Critical Engagement: Irish Republicanism, Memory Politics
    Critical Engagement Critical Engagement Irish republicanism, memory politics and policing Kevin Hearty LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY PRESS First published 2017 by Liverpool University Press 4 Cambridge Street Liverpool L69 7ZU Copyright © 2017 Kevin Hearty The right of Kevin Hearty to be identified as the author of this book has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication data A British Library CIP record is available print ISBN 978-1-78694-047-6 epdf ISBN 978-1-78694-828-1 Typeset by Carnegie Book Production, Lancaster Contents Acknowledgements vii List of Figures and Tables x List of Abbreviations xi Introduction 1 1 Understanding a Fraught Historical Relationship 25 2 Irish Republican Memory as Counter-Memory 55 3 Ideology and Policing 87 4 The Patriot Dead 121 5 Transition, ‘Never Again’ and ‘Moving On’ 149 6 The PSNI and ‘Community Policing’ 183 7 The PSNI and ‘Political Policing’ 217 Conclusion 249 References 263 Index 303 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements This book has evolved from my PhD thesis that was undertaken at the Transitional Justice Institute, University of Ulster (TJI). When I moved to the University of Warwick in early 2015 as a post-doc, my plans to develop the book came with me too. It represents the culmination of approximately five years of research, reading and (re)writing, during which I often found the mere thought of re-reading some of my work again nauseating; yet, with the encour- agement of many others, I persevered.
    [Show full text]
  • Fact Sheet Msps with Dual Mandates 12 January 2016 Msps: Current Series
    The Scottish Parliament and Scottish Parliament I nfor mation C entre l ogo Scottish Parliament Fact sheet MSPs with Dual Mandates 12 January 2016 MSPs: Current Series This fact sheet lists all Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) who currently hold a dual mandate. It also lists the MSPs that held dual mandates in previous sessions. Dual mandate is the term used to describe those MSPs who, in addition to their seat in the Scottish Parliament, also hold a seat in either the House of Commons (MPs), House of Lords (Peers) or represent a ward in their local council (councillors). This fact sheet lists the name of the MSP, their party and the constituency or region that they represent in the Scottish Parliament. It also lists the area that they represent in the House of Commons or in local government or their title (if they are a peer). Finally, this document also provides information on the start and end dates of dual mandates. It should be noted that no MSP has held a dual mandate through also holding a seat in the European Parliament. Abbreviations used: C Constituency Con Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Green Scottish Green Party Lab Scottish Labour LD Scottish Liberal Democrats R Region SNP Scottish National Party Session 4 MSPs with Dual Mandates (5 May 2011 to date) MSPs who are also MPs Name of MSP Party MSP for MP for Additional Notes Alex Salmond1 SNP Aberdeenshire Gordon East (C) MSPs who are also Members of the House of Lords Name of MSP Party MSP for Title Additional Notes Annabel Goldie Con West Scotland (R) Baroness Goldie of Bishopton MSPs who are also Councillors Name of MSP Party MSP for Councillor for Notes Lesley Brennan2 Lab North East Scotland Dundee East End MSPs in Session 4 who were also Councillors Name of MSP Party MSP for Councillor for Notes Did not stand for re- election in George Adam SNP Paisley Paisley South 2012 local council election Did not stand for re- election in Clare Adamson SNP Central Scotland (R) Wishaw 2012 local council election 1 Alex Salmond was elected in the general election on 7 May 2015.
    [Show full text]
  • Factsheet: Dáil Éireann (Irish House of Representatives)
    Directorate-General for the Presidency Directorate for Relations with National Parliaments Factsheet: Dáil Éireann (Irish House of Representatives) Leinster House in Dublin, the seat of the Irish Parliament 1. At a glance Ireland is a parliamentary democracy. The Irish Parliament, known as the Oireachtas, consists of the President and two Houses: Dáil Éireann (House of Representatives) and Seanad Éireann (the Senate). The Members of Dáil Éireann are elected at least once every five years by Irish citizens and British citizens resident in the Republic of Ireland aged 18 and over. The current Dáil was elected in February 2016 and consists of 158 deputies. For the 2016 Dáil elections, the Republic of Ireland was divided into 40 constituencies, each of which elected three to five Members using proportional representation and the single transferable vote system. The constitution confers primacy on Dáil Éireann as the directly elected House in the passage of legislation. Dáil Éireann is also the House from which the government is formed and to which it is responsible. Policy work mostly takes place in joint committees composed of Members of both Houses of of the Oireachtas. 2. Composition Current composition, following the general election on 26 February 2016 Party EP affiliation Number of seats Fine Gael 50 Fianna Fáil 44 Sinn Féin 23 Independents 18 Labour Party 7 Solidarity (Anti-Austerity Alliance) - Not affiliated 6 People before Profit Alliance Independents 4 Change 4 Social Democrats Not affiliated 3 Green Party 2 Aontú Not affiliated 1 158 Turnout: 65,1 % The next Dáil elections must take place in spring 2021 at the latest.
    [Show full text]