April 2016

Why I’m Voting SNP & RISE

 Steven Kellow    Politics  

By most measures the 2016 Scottish Parliament election has been a very boring one.  Excitement normally stems from unpredictability, such as the atmosphere around the independence referendum or even last year’s General Election.  This year the result is already a foregone conclusion – the SNP will win, and win big. This doesn’t mean though that the election is any less important.  The Scottish Parliament is set to have more power than ever in the next five years and the decisions made at Holyrood will impact — Read more →

2016 Labour election manifesto summary

 Steven Kellow    Politics  

Economy and Tax Use the powers of the Scottish Parliament to make different choices and stop the cuts. Create fairness by ensuring spending on public services will rise in real terms. Set the basic and higher rates of income tax just 1p higher than that of George Osborne to stop the cuts and make public services better. Set a higher 50p rate for the top 1%, who earn over £150,000 a year, and investing that in schools. Scrap the unfair council tax and leave 80% of — Read more →

Gaelic in post-devolution Scotland

Dissertation for MA Gaelic Studies and Politics

 Steven Kellow    Gàidhlig, Politics  

Download PDF Contents: Introduction Gaelic in the devolved political arena Party attitudes towards Gaelic Gaelic manifesto pledges in Scottish Parliament elections Gaelic and the independence referendum Discussion The Scottish Parliament and Gaelic public policy Gaelic legislation pre-devolution The Scottish Parliament as an instrument for Gaelic development The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 Gaelic in UK and Scottish post-devolution legislation The progression of Gaelic funding Discussion Gaelic’s status in modern Scotland Gaelic’s population problem Gaelic-medium Education Gaelic and public opinion Gaelic’s public visibility Discussion Conclusion Bibliography — Read more →

SNP 2016 election manifesto summary

 Steven Kellow    Politics  

Health Increase NHS spending by over £500 million more than inflation during the next Parliament Reform the NHS by investing £1.3 billion in health and social care partnerships, reforming primary care and increasing the number of GPs and nurses in communities. Invest £200 million in expanding the Golden Jubilee Hospital and creating new elective treatment centres in Aberdeen, Inverness, Dundee, Livingston and Edinburgh. Put in place a new ten-year plan to transform mental health and invest £100 million to improve mental health services Invest £100 — Read more →

Split email address into first name and last name

 Steven Kellow    Technology  

Just a little bit of code here, thought it would be useful to share. If you’re ever working with a system that registers users and would like to know user’s names to personalise things a little, you’ll understand the frustration of people not co-operating in giving you their names! These simple scripts, either Javascript or PHP, can be added on to your registration page and will let you pick up first names and surnames from email addresses.  Hope it helps! Feel free to test out the — Read more →

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