Good evening – and happy anniversary!
Let me begin with my vision for Scotland.
By 2020 my children will be 14, and all going well, they will be starting to plan for their futures.
I hope the country they inherit will be outward looking, fair- minded, and multi-cultured. They will be proud of their past but feel citizens of Scotland, Britain, Europe and the world.
For most of us the beginning of a New Year is a time of optimism, a chance to make a fresh start. But for older members of our community the turn of the year can be a daunting prospect. The cold snap puts Renfrewshire’s most vulnerable residents at the risk.
That’s why I’m delighted the Labour-led Scottish Executive has expanded its popular Central Heating Programme.
The SNP have had a bad week. This was the week when the choice before the people of Scotland next May came into focus.
May 2007 marks the 300th anniversary of the Union and coincides with the Scottish Parliament elections at which the SNP will advocate ending that Union; a position that would trade significant union benefits for an irrationaa risky gamble on volatile oil revenues.
The SNP have had a bad week. This was the week when the choice before the people of Scotland next May came into focus. It was the week when Labour shone a light on the so-called oil fund and found that the cupboard was bare. The SNP set the tone last Saturday when they accused the nation’s statisticians of being involved in “a discredited, inaccurate and political exercise”. Such a cheap shot was simply a foretaste.
Remember the 1970s? The SNP do. The back of a Bay City Rollers album seems to be where the nationalists have rediscovered and dusted off their policy of “It’s Scotland’s Oil” and independence.
Alex Salmond was once in the oil business. Last week he was in Norway talking oil. This week he was issuing dossiers demanding we don’t “lose it to London”.
Buddies are on track for a massive jobs boost after MSPs gave plans for a direct rail service between Glasgow Airport and the City Centre the green light.
Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): I thank the convener for her stewardship of the bill through the parliamentary process. As the minister said, Parliament has already debated the economic contribution that GARL can make to the economic competitiveness of the whole of the west of Scotland—that is the essential case for the bill.
Crime is an issue that concerns many people of all ages in Renfrewshire. As such, I’m sure that many of you were delighted to hear that knife attacks are falling.
In 2004/05 blades were responsible for half of all homicides. In 2005/06 this figure dropped to a third. Falling knife crime has led to fewer murders. 134 people were murdered in 2004/05 compared to 93 last year.
