Murphy calls for clarity on future referendum
POP4 may result in increased expenditure on cycling infrastructure
SNP Women’s Pledge
At the Talbot Rice next month
Centipede lunch this Tuesday!
Speaking ahead of his visit to Holy Rood High School later this morning, Jim Murphy called on Nicola Sturgeon to stop the spin and come clean on her plans for what he described as a second referendum. (We thought there was also a referendum on 1 March 1979?)
Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Jim Murphy said: “The choice Scotland faces is whether we take the road to a fairer economy with Labour or the road to a second referendum with the SNP.
“A vote for the SNP will put Scotland on the road to a second referendum. Nicola Sturgeon promised the referendum was a once in a lifetime event, then it was once in a generation, then it was 15 years and now it’s being planned for the 2016 manifesto.
“The priority for SNP MPs after this election won’t be improving the economy, it will be planning the second referendum campaign.
“A vote for Scottish Labour will put Britain on the road to a fairer economy. With Scottish votes Labour can get the Tories out of power, stop austerity, ban zero-hours contracts and end the need for food banks.
“Only Labour can stop the Tories being the largest party. With the Tories and Labour neck-and-neck in England, in Scotland we should vote Labour to make sure the Tories are not the largest party.
“The choice is simple – the road to a second referendum with the SNP or the road to a fairer economy with Labour.”
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Transport Minister Derek Mackay pledged additional spending on cycling as the sun came out for a fourth mass rally on Parliament yesterday.
Early morning downpours did nothing to deter the crowds – or dampen the spirits – who descended on Edinburgh on Saturday for the fourth Pedal on Parliament, the annual grassroots campaign for safer cycling.
Cyclists and marchers gathered at the Meadows to call for a cycle-friendly Scotland, including some who had ridden from as far afield as Glasgow, Moffat, and even Elgin.
A parallel event in Aberdeen, the first time a PoP event has been held outside the capital, also drew 150 cyclists. Despite tweeting a picture of herself on a bike the day before, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon did not attend, but Transport Minister Derek Mackay did, pledging that the Scottish Government would increase investment in infrastructure on top of last year’s record-breaking spending.
Introducing a minute’s silence for those who have died on the roads, David Brennan – who had ridden the route from the Meadows to Holyrood on the bike that was ridden by Andrew McNicoll when he was killed – said: “The fact that there are so few scratches on this bike, shows just how vulnerable we are on the road. We need to see conditions where everyone can ride and families do not suffer the tragedies the McNicoll family have.”
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SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon joined female SNP activists and actor and campaigner Elaine C Smith in Glasgow yesterday to launch the SNP’s Women’s Pledge, committing the SNP and its members to delivering policies that promote equality.
The pledge commits its signatories to build towards the day when there will truly be no limit to a woman’s ambition or what they can achieve; a day when if you work hard, the sky’s the limit and no glass ceiling will ever stop you from achieving your dreams.
Specifically, the SNP will:
• Support women into work by increasing free childcare, raising the minimum wage, ending exploitative zero hours contracts, ending the gender pay gap and supporting the call for a 50:50 gender balance on all boards by 2020
• Invest in women by continuing free education, increasing the number of apprenticeships and ensure women know they can pursue any career they choose
• End the cuts which are disproportionately affecting women by protecting welfare payments such as child benefit, carer’s allowance, child tax credits and savings credit for older women
• Care for the NHS by protecting its budget, securing its future in public hands and keeping it free at the point of use
• Ensure that no girl grows up or woman lives in fear of abuse and violence
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The University of Edinburgh’s Talbot Rice Gallery has announcd the launch of TRG3 a new programme focussing on young, emerging talent. Based in the Gallery’s iconic ‘Round Room’, the programme will involve a diverse range of both local and international artists with outcomes including exhibitions, performances, screenings, discussions and online content.
TRG3 will represent a new, challenging, experimental strand to the activity of Talbot Rice. It’s core aim will be to provide a platform for emerging artists to explore new ideas, develop ambitious work and produce a series of public outcomes. With the close support of the Talbot Rice team and the unique context of the University of Edinburgh, the emphasis will be on career development and knowledge exchange, aiming to provide a significant, formative experience in the early career stage of young artists.
The selection of participants will be decided through a thorough process of research and dialogue. Comprising 4/5 slots per year (each for approximately a 2 month period), participants will include: 2 recent UK graduates, one of whom will be from Edinburgh College of Art; an emerging international artists; plus participants selected from an Open Call, throwing the opportunity open to anybody to apply, thus broadening the diversity of the programme.
Talbot Rice will support the artists by providing physical space (the Round Room, plus two adjacent rooms recently developed for use as studio/screening room/workshop) as well as curatorial, technical and financial support. Utilising the Gallery’s unique position within the University of Edinburgh, strategic link-ups with staff members from across the University with specific relevant expertise will be created and developed, providing the participant with unprecedented access to specialist academics. There will also be the opportunity for participants to work with the unique treasures contained within the University of Edinburgh vast collections.
TRG3 will also have a particular focus on audience engagement, with each 2-month slot including a series of diverse public events. The nature of this activity, whilst entirely responsive to the nature and needs of each project, may foreseeably include; an exhibition, artists talk, workshop, open studio, performance, screening, public discussion etc.
The programme will also make full use of the potential of digital media methods. This will extend the reach of the work of the artists as well as providing a stable and constantly available platform for the diverse programme. Participants will be asked to lead and adapt this activity with required support from Talbot Rice staff, with emphasis on approaching this in ambitious and innovative ways.
The project website: www.trg3.co.uk will also contain live, updated information about the programme.
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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
