We Will Remember Them

I was immensely impressed by the turnouts at Armistice Day events throughout the constituency. In particular it’s humbling to see the work being done by many of our schools to make sure the next generation understand the sacrifices of our forebears and the awful reality of what modern war means.

I attended the service in Glenrothes where the only names on the war memorial are those of two young men who were sent to Iraq and never came home. I’m very grateful to everyone who laid wreaths on my behalf in Cardenden, Kinglassie, and at war memorials across the constituency.

The Hand of Friendship

Immediately before Armistice Day I was in Boblingen, Glenrothes’ twin town in southern Germany, celebrating the bonds of friendship between our towns. Highlight of the visit was a ceremony at which the City of Boblingen bestowed its highest civic honour on John Vaughan for his work in promoting the twinning link.

Brexit “Deal” A Disaster For Scotland

The proposed Brexit deal has taken over most of the Parliamentary calendar recently. I’m writing this article several days before the CFT is published so some of it may be out of date but at the time of writing, this is where we are.

The “deal” brought back from Brussels is unacceptable to the SNP and should be unacceptable to any MP from Scotland. It threatens tens of thousands of jobs in Scotland, fails to give adequate guarantees on citizens’ rights, and deliberately makes Scotland less attractive than Northern Ireland for future inward investment.

The SNP will not support anything that takes us out of the Single Market and Customs Union. 62% of Scotland voted to be in the EU and this expression of the sovereignty of the people can’t just be swept aside. The Prime Minister has finally admitted that staying in the EU is still an option but she refuses point blank to let Parliament or the public vote on this option now that we have seen just how grim the reality of Brexit is.

In 2014 we were told that voting “no” would guarantee our place in the EU. Now we all know that the opposite was true. In 2016 Scotland re-elected an SNP Government with a mandate that if we face being dragged out of the EU against our will, we will give Scotland’s people the chance to choose instead to become an Independent member of the European family. The UK Government’s complete lack of respect for Scotland throughout the Brexit process means that option is looking more and more likely.