There have been penalties for those who looked the other way when Epstein was convicted of child sex offences and decided to maintain relationships with the financier — but not for the British ambassador to Washington, reveals SOLOMON HUGHES
20 years after devolution, there is much unfinished business
In contrast to the conciliatory platitudes offered by other party leaders, RICHARD LEONARD made a distinctly political speech as Holyrood hosted the Queen for its 20th anniversary celebrations
CUT THE POMP: Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard (right) addressed the Queen during a ceremony marking 20 years of the devolved parliament
Labour’s new Treasury unit will ‘challenge unnecessary regulation’ by forcing nominally independent bodies like Ofwat to bend to business demands — exactly what Iain Anderson’s corporate clients wanted, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
DR DYLAN MURPHY looks at a Big Brother Watch report which exposes the government as an enabler of DWP secret spying on benefit claimants
The EU faces a critical choice: will it remain in the shadow of an increasingly unreliable US ally, or will it forge its own path in a multilateral world where co-operation with China is essential, asks MARC VANDEPITTE as leaders meet for the EU-China Summit
A lot of discussion about how the left should currently organise – including debate on whether the Green Party is a useful vehicle for advance – runs the risk of refusing to engage with or learn from the reasons the left was defeated previously, argues KEVIN OVENDEN
For Egypt trade trumps the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians, but how long can the country’s ‘misleaders’ – and others in the region – continue their indifference against the popular will of their own people, asks ROGER McKENZIE
I STAND proudly as the leader of the party which in government delivered devolution. I stand proudly as the leader of the party which in opposition defends devolution.
Because it is an unassailable truth that each generation has to win the same battles over again. I stand proudly, but with great humility. Today is a time for reflection, and to think of those we have lost. I think especially this morning of Donald Dewar, who at the opening of this parliament 20 years ago said: “Today there is a new voice in the land, the voice of a democratic parliament. A voice to shape Scotland, a voice for the future.”
And he would be the first to say that we have much unfinished business. We began to reform the ownership of our land, [as Scottish writer Lewis Grassic Gibbon wrote in the early 20th century]: “The land out there, under the sleet, churned and pelted there in the dark.”
More from this author
As bus builder Alexander Dennis threatens Falkirk closure and Grangemouth faces ruthless shutdown by tax exile Jim Ratcliffe, RICHARD LEONARD MSP warns that global corporations must be resisted by a bold industrial strategy based on public ownership
The super-rich falsely claim inheritance tax changes will devastate small farmers, while millionaire landowners continue enjoying numerous tax advantages — why is the SNP supporting this nonsense, asks RICHARD LEONARD
The 500 refinery jobs under threat at Grangemouth and underfunding in further education should be at the top of a new Scottish leader’s to-do list, argues RICHARD LEONARD MSP
RICHARD LEONARD MSP looks at the life and ideals of the famous miners' leader and all-round champion of working-class politics
