March 2016

2016 Scottish Parliament Election Candidates

 Steven Kellow    Politics  

All major parties have now released their candidate lists for the Holyrood elections in May. Use the table below to browse the candidates in each constituency and check out the regional lists for each party at the end of the page. Constituency Candidates Constituency Region SNP Labour Conservatives Lib Dem Aberdeen Central NE Kevin Stewart Lewis MacDonald Sebastian Leslie Ken McLeod Aberdeen Donside NE Mark McDonald Greg Williams Liam Kerr Isobel Davidson Aberdeen South and North Kincardine NE Maureen Watt Alison Evison Ross Thomson John — Read more →

The Scotland that could have been

 Steven Kellow    Politics  

Had Scotland voted Yes in the independence referendum in 2014 today would have been the preferred date of independence as announced by the SNP Government and would have marked the start of Scotland’s journey on its’ own two feet. It’s hard to believe that it’s only 18 months that have passed since then; surely for Labour supporters it will feel like a lifetime ago.  Scotland has changed significantly since we voted on our future, and the terms of any future independence debate – and there — Read more →

The sour sugar tax

 Steven Kellow    Politics

Yesterday George Osborne announced his latest Budget for the country and one of the key announcements was the introduction of a tax on sugary soft drinks that would come in to force in 2018. The tax, or “soft drinks industry levy” as it is officially known, will be paid by companies who produces soft drinks at a rate of 18 pence per litre above 5g of sugar per 100ml and 24 pence per litre above 8g of sugar per 100ml.  This could have major impacts — Read more →

House of Cards – Season 4: Review

Frank is back, bolder than ever

 Steven Kellow    TV & Film  ,

Season 1-3 spoilers on page 1, Season 4 spoilers on page 2 Gripping.  Enthralling.  Intense.  All are words that have been staples of summarising House of Cards to people over the years and trying to properly convey, without spoilers, the feeling the show gives its audience.  While last season took a break, for the worse, from this tried and tested relationship with the viewer, season 4 picks up the pace yet again and delivers 13 episodes of television excellence that leaves you wanting more. For — Read more →

Adapting to devolution in Scotland

 Steven Kellow    Politics  

Download PDF Devolution was a process that radically changed the landscape of Scottish politics and the way in which policies could be developed for the nation.  Such fundamental change of the Scottish political arena naturally required political parties to adapt themselves to compete in a new paradigm that had a different set of demands than Westminster politics. This essay shall examine the ways in which Scotland’s major political parties have adapted to the era of devolution, examining the different facets of party structure, policy and — Read more →

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