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Editor's note
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 Time for reflection
Mandy Rhodes
Well, it’s not everyday you see that. After weeks of tears and tantrums, at last we saw some genuine emotion from a politician in the right place, and for all the right reasons. Nicola Sturgeon did what no one had expected of her last week when she said sorry. This tactic, if that is what it was, completely disarmed her fiercest critics and should shame the women on the opposition front benches who squeal equal ops at every opportunity yet who shook their heads continuously and signalled their disbelief as their fellow sister stood before them and expressed her regret... |
Interview
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Scottish Lib Dem Conference
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Fair play
Mandy Rhodes - 1 March 2010
The Liberal Democrats’ election campaign director, Alistair Carmichael, says there is everything for his party to play for
The new slimline MP for Orkney and Shetland, having lost four stone on the Cambridge diet, is fighting fit and ready to present a more pushy, aggressive side of the Liberal Democrats in the forthcoming general election battle. He’s an unlikely pugilist but when pressed on what being a Liberal Democrat actually means,... |
In all fairness Liberal Democrats leader, Nick Clegg, on why his party offers a real chance for change
Making it a fair battle Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Tavish Scott, on a different choice for Scots
Finding an identity On walking away from power
Changed landscape On how the Lib Dems’ electoral share in Scotland could be affected by changed political circumstances
Holding the balance Learning from electoral history |
Focus
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Taking the law into our own hands
Rory Cahill - 1 March 2010
 Environmental justice is one of the emerging issues of our time. But what exactly does it mean and do we have to accept that in order to enjoy some aspects of our lives, we have to sacrifice part of our environment?
There you are, going about your daily walk to the bus stop or the shop when you see a laminated sheet of A4 paper stuck to a fence post on that field that has lain empty in the neighbourhood for years. You struggle with the complex legalese but slowly the reality dawns on you. A block of flats is to be built on the space where your children often kick a football about and where a group of local residents has started a burgeoning community vegetable plot. But how can this happen? Doesn’t the council own the land? Shouldn’t they have to ask the locals what they think of the plan first? And what about the flats themselves? Will you have any say over how high they will be? What will they look like? And what about the extra traffic... |
Portfolios
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| Local Government |
Conference call
Lynne Whitelaw 1 March 2010
Ahead of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) conference, chief executive Rory Mair talks about... |
Making the best of a bad situation
Lynne Whitelaw 1 March 2010
This year’s Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) in Scotland conference focused on what can be... |
| Education |
Taxing times
Cera Murtagh 1 March 2010
Is a graduate tax the answer to Scotland’s higher education funding challenge?
Murmurs about the funding shortfall facing Scottish universities have... |
Politics of pragmatism
Cera Murtagh 1 March 2010
Lib Dem education spokesperson Margaret Smith on tackling issues from the bottom up
Margaret Smith likes to think of herself... |
| Health |
All things being equal
Katie Mackintosh 1 March 2010
Taking account of gender differences when designing health policies and services
When the Gender Equality Duty... |
Bon accord
Katie Mackintosh 1 March 2010
Shadow Health Secretary Ross Finnie on agreeing to disagree
Ross Finnie holds the record for longestserving minister in the Scottish... |
| Justice |
A different look
Rory Cahill 1 March 2010
The Equal Opportunities Committee’s report into women offenders and the Scottish justice system offered a new insight into a longterm... |
Done deal
Rory Cahill 1 March 2010
The Tories have extracted some major concessions from the SNP Government in the field of justice. Will the trend continue or... |
| Business |
Legal tender
Will Peakin 1 March 2010
The public sector has not realised its obligations to reduce emissions and could be in for a shock at the... |
Seeing the light
Will Peakin 1 March 2010
Is Scotland in danger of being left behind on high-speed internet access or will BT’s move level the... |
Columnists
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Also in this issue
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Henry McLeish |
| Very personal care |
| Politicians – believe it or not – are people, too. Recent personal events have confirmed for me the rightness of one of the most important and much-criticised policies for which... |
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Changing places
1 March 2010
Dr Neil Hudson, the impossibly good looking Conservative Westminster candidate for the seat of Edinburgh South and a qualified vet, faced a delicate... |
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John Curtice |
| Choice, choices |
| The past few years have not been kind to the Liberal Democrats. Since the last UK General Election they have managed to lose not one UK leader, but two. Th... |
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Spotted
Spotted - Issue 229
Sir John Elvidge rushing into the Scottish Parliament shortly after the members of the independent review group were announced…Billy McElhaney (Jimmy Mullen from River City) in the queue at Tesco…... |
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Diary
Blowing hot and cold
‘Elf ’n’safety have been at it again but this time with the worthy folks at the Macaulay... |
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Rab McNeil |
| Inside the madhouse |
| Might it be a good idea to have an in-shop psychiatrist at Holyrood? I’m not being facetious. I’m worried. After all... |
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Lib Dem Government would scrap the Scotland Office
1 March 2010
Getting rid of the Scotland Office is a “job waiting to be done”, says Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael, dubbing the current Scottish Secretary Jim... |
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Aquaculture planning improvements announced
