Green belt site east of

Marking 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz If I was struck by one thing on my visit – it was that we absolutely must do everything in by Jeremy Balfour MSP Auschwitz, nothing quite prepares our power to ensure that nothing

The 27th January 2020 marked you for how chilling an experience like this ever happens again. We 75 years since the surviving it is until you are there yourself. all have a part to play in that by prisoners of Auschwitz were Walking through the gates, it is making sure that we act in such liberated from the concentration almost unbearable to think about a way that shows tolerance to camp. I had the privilege of being the people who entered and never those around us no matter their able to visit Auschwitz last month left… but we have to think about religion, race, gender or any other and pay my respects to the 1.3 it. If we do not remember those characteristic on which we differ. million people who suffered there at the hand of the Nazis. No matter how many times you hear accounts of visits to horrendous events we not only disrespect those that suffered; we risk a similar thing happening again. As horrific as Auschwitz was, we cannot change the past. What we can and must do, is make sure that history does not repeat itself.

SNP playing catch up with the NHS

by Gordon Lindhurst MSP

Our NHS staff across Lothian do wonderful work day in day out across our health service.

However, they are being badly let down by an SNP government which has had full control of our health service for almost 13 years.

The most recent waiting time targets for NHS Lothian made for appalling reading with almost one in five patients not seen within the SNP’s four hour waiting time

by Tommy Sheppard MP

The UK Government’s dismissive attitude to Scotland’s specific needs is growing increasingly tiresome. Every constructive suggestion of compromise made by the Scottish Government is flatly and high-handedly rejected.

Now, the Scottish Government has put forward a detailed, viable proposal for a devolved Scottish visa system to meet Scotland’s particular demographic and economic needs. The plan has been widely welcomed by employers and industry groups, including by the Federation of Small Businesses and Scottish Council for Development and target.

It becomes clearer all the time that the SNP have completely failed to prepare for the future in terms of staffing and funding our health service and are now playing catch-up.

That only does a disservice to patients and puts a greater pressure on our staff.

I challenged the SNP Health Secretary on the failure to meet the waiting time targets Industry.

Yet, the Westminster response has been airy dismissiveness. “Immigration will remain a reserved matter”, says the Home Office.

And it isn’t the first time. Remember the Scottish Government’s well thought out, open and reasonable paper Scotland’s Place in Europe. If you recall, this outlined a way of reconciling Scotland’s overwhelming vote to remain in the European Union with the wider UK vote to leave. This would have involved Scotland continuing to be part of the UK but keeping full access to the EU single in Parliament but was met with the usual deflection answers of focusing on issues at Westminster.

This is a complete dereliction of responsibility from the Health Secretary who should be looking closer to home and outlining how she will support NHS Lothian going forward.

That is the least our hardworking NHS deserve from the

Westminster’s airy dismissiveness

Government. market and retaining freedom of movement with continental Europe.

This reasonable and workable compromise was dismissed out of hand by Westminster. To add insult to injury, this is very like the outcome that Boris Johnson appears to have conceded for Northern Ireland and will place Scotland at a big competitive disadvantage for inward investment.

How much longer can Scotland afford to put up with a government in London that appears to care nothing for our needs and priorities?

SNP failing on schools

by Daniel Johnson MSP

The importance of education and a positive pupil experience is surely something that people of all political persuasions can get behind.

However, the current mismanagement of our schools nationally, creates great strain on our schools locally.

Lack of proper funding has seen class sizes in Edinburgh schools remain far higher than the average, with four schools in my own constituency with pupil rolls of 600 or above.

The Scottish Government will site local capacity issues, but surely a responsibility of government is to properly fund education, especially for our growing capital city that is crying out for investment across the board from The Scottish Government.

Constituents have shared their concerns with me about the inadequacies of education under the SNP, with standards and confidence slipping.

I will always listen to the concerns of parents to how their children’s schools are run and will not shirk in my responsibility to hold The Scottish Government to account on its failed record on education.

Dying for a breath of fresh air The Council’s City Mobility Plan includes a number of initiatives to reduce the need for private by Christine Jardine MP car use, but this must include a

Another month, another set of Low Emissions Zone (LEZ) that alarming data showing Edinburgh incorporates heavily polluted to have the worst air pollution of areas in the west of Edinburgh. any Scottish city. The analysis And quite rightly, the Council is from the Centre for Cities claims already under pressure to review Edinburgh also has the highest the proposed boundaries for the proportion of deaths attributable new LEZ. to pollution in Scotland, ahead of The current plans seriously Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen. risk concentrating pollution

More than one in 29 deaths are along hotspots in the west of caused by air pollution here, with Edinburgh, such as St John’s Road 157 deaths being directly linked and Queensferry Road. I urge to the pollutant PM2.5. These Council members to listen to the terrifying figures make it clear that thousands of Edinburgh residents we must be taking fast and direct who have already asked them for a action to tackle pollution in our city-wide LEZ. In light of these new city. figures, limiting the LEZ boundary is totally unjustifiable.

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