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Daily Record
5 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Record
Orange Order to meet SNP Government officials after accusing John Swinney of 'silence' over air gun attack
John Swinney described acts of violence against the Orange Order as "completely and utterly unacceptable". The Orange Order is to hold a meeting with SNP Government officials after an air rifle was fired at a procession, John Swinney has said. Thousands of OO held their annual "Big Walk" through Glasgow earlier this month as part of celebrations to commemorate the 1690 Battle of the Boyne. Police later reported that four people were struck with "air weapon pellets' while the march continued along Sauchiehall Street, near Kelvingrove Park, with no serious injuries reported. The organisation also claimed its halls have been vandalised and that female members have been abused online. A senior lodge leader later claimed "silence" from the First Minister was giving a "green light" to attacks on Protestant groups. Grand Master Andrew Murray laimed "the silence from the first minister itself almost gives a green light to attack our parades". Murray denied there was any sectarian aspect to the marches. He added: "We have a place in society, we're a law-abiding organisation and we work cross community." The First Minister today confirmed officials will speak to representatives of the Orange Order on Wednesday, with community safety minister Siobhian Brown due to do the same at a later date. "The Scottish Government is meeting with representatives of the Orange Order today,' he said. "Officials will take that forward and in due course, the community safety minister will meet with the Orange Order. "In recent days, members of the Orange Order have been subjected to acts of violence which are deplorable and they are unacceptable to whoever they affect within our society. These matters are currently being taken forward by Police Scotland.' David Walters, executive officer of the Orange Lodge of Scotland, claimed that if any other group had been attacked then the incident would have been taken more seriously. He cited an example of "abhorrent" vandalism at a Catholic school in East Renfrewshire, which Swinney subsequently visited to express solidarity. Walters said: "The first minister, in days, was over at that school for graffiti, yet when eight people are shot we don't see sight or sound of him." Asked why he though that was the case, he replied: "I think it's because we're a unionist group." Thousands of people marched in Glasgow on July 5. The biggest Orange Order walk in Scotland generally takes place the weekend before July 12 celebrations in Belfast. Police Scotland said the procession was passing along Sauchiehall Street, near Kelvingrove Street, when the the suspected air gun attack happened. The force said the following day that four people had been hit and that it was investigating the "dangerous" incident. Elsewhere, four people were arrested following Orange Order processions in Lanarkshire.
Daily Record
12-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Pubs in Scotland continue to struggle despite heatwave boost for businesses
EXCLUSIVE: Hospitality chiefs have called on the SNP Government to reform the business rates system which puts bars north of the Border at a "competitive disadvantage" to those in England. Pubs across Scotland are continuing to struggle due to rising costs despite enjoying a bumper weekend as a heatwave grips the country. Hospitality chiefs have today called on the SNP Government to reform the business rates system which puts bars north of the Border at a "competitive disadvantage" compared to those in England. UKHospitality Scotland, which represents members of the licensed trade, said the industry was being squeezed by sky-high energy bills and the impact of employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) being hiked by the UK Government. The trade body warned pubs and bars were now shedding jobs as a result of the NIC hike and is demanding a rethink ahead of the autumn Budget. Pubs are currently closing across Britain at a rate of one a day. The Record previously revealed how 56 bars closed for good in Scotland last year, compared to 42 that shut down in 2023. Around 1,000 pubs have closed north of the border over the last 20 years, with the total dropping from the more than 5,000 operating in 2004. In a letter to Keir Starmer, the trade body warned the 2024 Budget had directly contributed to a reversal in hospitality's ability to create jobs. Between October 2024 and May 2025, the sector lost 69,000 jobs across the UK. In the same period the previous year, hospitality created an additional 18,000 jobs. Leon Thompson, Executive Director of UKHospitality Scotland, said: "The damaging impact of increasing employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) is being felt by businesses and teams across Scotland, with thousands of Scottish hospitality jobs undoubtedly lost since the Budget. "While the damage caused by employer NICs was a decision made in Westminster, we still need Holyrood to step up and back our businesses with vital support. "The Scottish Government needs to speed up in delivering its promise to reform the broken business rates system, before it's too late and Scottish businesses are put at a further competitive disadvantage to those in England. "It's also critical that the Scottish Government maintains and extends business rates relief for the sector at the Scottish Budget later this year - this is the lifeline our venues need." Kate Nicholls, chair of UKHospitality, said: "In the years following the financial crisis we created one in five net new jobs and today employ 3.5 million people. The Government needs sectors like hospitality to create jobs and meet their ambition to get more people back into work. "We have a proven track record of being able to deliver those jobs in every part of the country and for people from all backgrounds. "The NICs change was socially regressive and had a disproportionate effect on entry level jobs." Shona Robison, the Finance Secretary, said: "Businesses are being hit by the impact of the UK Government's decision to raise employers' National Insurance contributions and rising energy costs continue to bite hard. "While many levers to grow Scotland's economy lie with the UK Government, we are providing a package of non-domestic rates reliefs worth an estimated £733 million in 2025-26, including 40% relief – capped at £110,000 per business – for hospitality premises liable for the Basic Property Rate. "Around half of properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors also continue to be eligible for 100% Small Business Bonus Scheme relief – the most generous small business rates relief in the UK.'
Daily Record
10-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Young Scots are rightly furious at a housing emergency that proves the system is against them
Scotland's housing emergency affects people of all ages but it's younger Scots who are the hardest hit. And many are understandably furious at a system that seems set against them. Access to family wealth - and not what you do for a living - has quickly become the single biggest determining factor of whether you can afford to buy a home, or whether you are left taking your chances with an overheating rental market. In 1974, the average cost of a home in the UK was £10,027. Last year, the figure stood at £265,012 - an increase of £254,985. Needless to say, average wages have not kept pace. If house prices had risen only in line with salaries they would be £76,000 - or 29 per cent cheaper than they are. There was a "modest improvement' in affordability across Britain last year as wage rises outpaced house price growth and mortgage costs fell slightly. But first-time buyers still typically pay about five times their earnings for a home. This isn't because younger generations have become more picky about where they live. Few first-time buyers would have any expectation they could afford to live in central Edinburgh, for example. The capital has long been viewed as a mini-London in property terms, but the shortage of affordable homes in the city is now at crisis levels. There are more children stuck living in temporary accommodation in Edinburgh than in the entirety of Wales. Local councillors pay lip service to this scandalous state of affairs, but they know they are effectively powerless to intervene. The number of expensive hotels, private student accommodation developments and short-term rentals have exploded over the last 20 years. Social housing struggles to get a look-in. The knock-on effect is areas like West Lothian, west Fife and increasingly Falkirk have become dormitories for the capital's workforce, massively inflating local housing costs in the process. In Glasgow, with its booming university sector and associated tech industries, the private rental market has exploded since 2010. The cost of renting a two-bed flat jumped by 22 per cent in 2022 alone. Parts of the city's west end and southside are now as every bit as expensive as Edinburgh. Scotland's biggest cities are where the majority of well-paid jobs are. People are drawn to them because of economic reality, not for their trendy coffee shops. Some 70 per cent of Scots live along the M8 corridor across the central belt. There may be multiple new housing developments alongside the motorway, but supply is still failing to meet demand. And where the market fails, the Government usually intervenes. So why hasn't Holyrood done more? The short is answer is money, or a lack of it. The SNP Government was ahead of the game in ending the disastrous right-to-buy scheme, which decimated social housing stocks across the UK. But Scotland desperately needs more affordable homes built. We can't make do with the existing stock. It's a crisis that can't be ignored. Housing deserves to be a key issue at next year's Holyrood election campaign.
The National
09-07-2025
- Business
- The National
Scottish Tory claims SNP 'cutting funding from Unionist areas'
David Mundell, the MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale, and Tweeddale and a former Scottish secretary, made the allegations during Scotland Questions at Westminster on Wednesday. He said: 'Does the Secretary of State share my view that whatever the budget SNP Scottish Government have, they have cynically and systematically deprived funding from areas that do not support independence, leaving councils like Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders and their health boards struggling to provide basic services?' READ MORE: Insider lifts lid on workings of Corbyn-Sultana project in Scotland Scottish Secretary Ian Murray responded: 'The whole of Scotland voted against independence in 2014. 'It seems to me that the SNP Government strategy is to starve all of Scotland's public services of the vital funding they require.' The Conservatives have faced their own allegations of 'pork-barrel politics' – where Tory-supporting areas are given more government support than opposition-supporting ones in a bid to shore up votes. Writing in 2020 of Boris Johnson's 'Towns Fund', professor of politics Chris Hanretty said: 'There is robust evidence that ministers chose towns so as to benefit the Conservatives in marginal Westminster seats.' He added: 'Choosing towns to benefit a particular party goes against the seven principles of public life (the 'Nolan principles'), and in particular the obligation to 'take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias'. Former Tory leader Boris Johnson was accused of pork-barrel politics (Image: Jonathan Brady/PA) 'These decisions should therefore be examined both by the Public Accounts Committee and (since the decisions potentially involve a breach of the Ministerial Code, which incorporates the Nolan principles) by the Cabinet Office upon referral by the Prime Minister.' In 2023, the SNP raised concerns that levelling up funding in Scotland had disproportionately gone to Tory-supporting areas. 'This is no longer Levelling Up, this is pure naked pork-barrel politics with public money being used to try and buy electoral advantage", then-SNP president Michael Russell said at the time. Dumfries and Galloway council is currently controlled by the SNP, after the Tory administration collapsed before a no-confidence vote in June. The Scottish Borders council is controlled by the Conservatives. READ MORE: Seamus Logan: Keir Starmer's lack of principle will finish off the Labour Party In May, the Accounts Commission warned that all of Scotland's councils were facing a combined budget shortfall of £647 million in 2025/26. 'Whilst councils have partly met this shortfall through service savings and increased charges for services, continuing to use reserves and make one-off savings isn't sustainable,' the commission said. It further added: 'Capital funding from the Scottish Government is increasing but has not returned to previous levels. Councils remain heavily reliant on borrowing to fund their planned £4.7 billion capital investment in 2025/26.' The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.
Daily Record
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Record
'Child marriages' in Scotland could be banned as SNP Government to look at raising age of consent
Scots can currently get married at the age of 16 without the approval of their parents or legal guardians. Scotland could ban "child marriages" after the SNP Government confirmed it will formally consider raising the age at which people can tie the knot from 16 to 18. Charities including Barnardo's have long argued that allowing people to marry when under the age of 18 contributes to sexual violence and domestic abuse. Scots can currently get hitched at the age of 16 without the approval of their parents or legal guardians, unlike in England and Wales where the legal age was raised to 18 in 2023. Official figures show that from 2016-21 there were an average of 17 marriages where one person was over 18 and the other aged from 16-17, and three marriages where both parties were under-18. The SNP Government confirmed today in a written answer to Alba MSP Ash Regan that it would consult on raising the age of consent to 18. Ministers will also consult on whether to legislate to extend the existing forced marriage or forced civil partnership offence so that any conduct with the intention of causing a person under 18 to marry or enter a civil partnership would be a criminal offence. Regan, who has campaigned on the issue, welcomed the move. "Child marriage is a hidden crime, but I am concerned that it is very much a live issue in Scotland," she said. "In Scotland, the legal age is 16 and no parental consent is needed. Campaigners have previously highlighted that this leaves girls vulnerable to grooming and coercion. "I want to see new safeguards to prevent coerced marriages for under-18s, to protect their childhoods and their life chances , so I welcome that the Scottish Government has confirmed to me that they will consult on the matter before the end of this year." Legal experts have previously warned that raising the legal age at which Scots can get married could be more difficult than in England as 16 and 17-year-olds north of the Border are not considered children in the eyes of the law. Dr Rob Clucas, director of the Centre for Child & Family Law at Napier University, said: "Forced marriage is a global evil that disproportionately affects young women in different-sex marriages, and it should be eradicated. "Forced marriages do occur in Scotland, as does early marriage and civil partnership – though these phenomena are not identical, and it is not clear how harmful early marriage or civil partnership is in Scotland, it may sometimes be neutral or beneficial. "Research is needed to establish this. If we take our young people's autonomy seriously – and we should, for 16 and 17 year olds in Scotland are not children – we ought to be wary of infringing their rights, even temporarily. "This may be particularly important for young people in same-sex relationships, for whom there is no culture of forced marriage or civil partnership, but who may need to escape unsupportive families. "Forced different-sex marriage, and the disadvantages attached to early marriage, seem to be the consequences of patriarchal cultures that do not value women, and these should be our primary target."
