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ITV News
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- ITV News
Hundreds come together to commemorate Armed Forces Day in Cumbria
People across the Border region have celebrated Armed Forces went along to an event at Carlisle Football Club's Fanzone at Brunton Park to see military vehicles from World War Two, and to enjoy performances of military music, parades and stalls. Armed Forces Day is a chance to commemorate the links and extensive history that the military services have in our region. Keith Richardson, from the Royal British Legion in Carlisle, said: "Armed Forces Day is very, very important to current service members, veterans and their families. And there's been an absolutely excellent turnout here. This is the first time that we've had so many forces charitable associations here, and they've all been networking with each other, which is great for the veterans community." He said that it was particularly poignant to remember veterans because it is the 80th anniversary of VJ Day on August the 15th. Cumbria has a strong affiliation with the local regiment and many of its serving soldiers were still fighting in the Far East during the second world war - even after Victory in Europe had been declared. He said: "VJ day that's coming up shortly is very, very important for Cumberland because the the Kings own Border Regiment or the Border Regiment as they were, were still fighting in Japan. "So the locals were still fighting in Japan until VJ day on the 15th of August. So it's very important that we still keep the traditions going and make people remember, because the British Legion and the other charities remember what has gone before us and try and help those that are struggling with any difficulties." Elsewhere in the region, the Armed Forces Day flag has been flying on buildings such as in Coldstream where the British Army's oldest continuously serving regiment the Coldstream Guards, were formed in 1650. Councillor John Greenwell, Champion for Armed Forces and Veterans at Scottish Borders Council, said: "The Borders is steeped in military history. In Coldstream, we're about to have our Civic Week, which commemorates the Battle of Flodden, in 1513. We have the Coldstream Guards, the KOSB."
Scotsman
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
It all boils down to skills, planning and housing
As the events around the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe draw to a close, I've been struck by a dawning appreciation of how my grandparents must have felt in those bright spring days of 1945. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... There will undoubtedly have been a national sense of hope and optimism. I wonder if by late summer, when the war in the Pacific concluded with VJ day, my grandparents ever stopped to think that they were entering the 'post-war era'. Pockets of war, and indeed the Cold War itself, have punctuated global affairs since 1945, but those of us born since have never known the sacrifice and privations of war on that scale. We are fortunate to be among the generations who have only ever really known the long peace that Victory in Europe ushered in. Housing costs are eating up incomes, says Alex Cole-Hamilton But the world is changing. Security assumptions and alliances which underwrote that peace are beginning to fracture and fall away. Globalisation is giving way to ambitions of imperial expansion. Free trade is being replaced by punishing tariffs and ordinary people across Scotland are paying the price with soaring costs for everyday essentials, energy and the raw materials that build our homes and fuel our economy. As such Britain and by extension Scotland must look to our own security and national self-sufficiency. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad While much of the responsibility for that rightly rests with Westminster, there are things the Scottish Government can and must do to help strengthen Scotland for what is to come. This week the First Minister will set out the programme for government which will define the final year of this Parliamentary session. I took my chance to make the case in parliament for the priorities this government should focus on so that Scotland is ready for a time of global uncertainty, and so we can protect Scottish people and businesses from the worst of its impact. That starts with growing Scotland's economy. That goal is fundamental to how we pay for everything else – GP appointments, social care, schools, potholes, everything. For the Scottish Liberal Democrats that boils down to three key areas of policy; skills, planning and housing. Without a skilled workforce ready to power the industries of the future – like defence, renewables, AI, and precision medicine – Scotland risks being left behind, with those jobs going overseas. Over the past two decades the SNP has presided over the quiet death of further education and reduced our ability to produce the skilled workers Scotland needs. We need to reverse that decline, and fast. Scotland is also actively driving away investment with a planning regime that is ridiculously slow. In parts of Scandinavia, planning takes about seven weeks from application to shovels in the ground – in Scotland planning applications are measured out in years. A faster, simpler planning process would attract investment. Finally, housing. It's eating up more and more of people's pay packets and it means businesses like care homes cannot get workers because they have nowhere to live. Putting more money in people's pockets would be good for the economy while creating and supporting good jobs across the country. People are tired of feeling like things are getting steadily worse with little or no clear plan for how to improve them. Liberal Democrats believe that focusing on these areas will be essential for Scotland to grow our economy while bolstering our self-reliance in changing and uncertain times. Alex Cole-Hamilton is Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and MSP for Edinburgh Western
