EAST END ATHLETICS BOYS CLUB

WINNERS

Well while trawling the net this evening to find the Paisley and District Football League webpage I found the webpage of my local football team, I have supported them through grants in the past and I am absolutely delighted that the website tells us that they are 20 years old this year!

One of the first groups to contact me as a Councillor was the East End Athletics Boys Club, they came to me because of problems with the booking of playing fields, I can only hope that I was helpful in this regard. I have supported the group and I was delighted to see the number of accolades that boys have won recently. I would urge of of you to check out their website! It is absolutely fabulous and the first link on their site is to the anti racism standupspeak.com website I would urge you to check that out as well.

WENDY VS WEE NICKY

SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY DEBATE

(photo from the Scotland on Sunday website by Bill Hendry)

If you click on the title above you will see the article in the Scotland on Sunday regarding the debate taking place this evening on Independence. As you have no doubt guessed the debate features Wendy Alexander MSP and wee Nicky Sturgeon list MSP. I have no dubt in my mind who will win the debate (Wendy of course) as the Nationalist case for Independecne is so weak that it is based on Elaine C Smith's idea that River City is better than Panorama!

The debate on the Union -as covered here during the week- for Newsnight Scotland was an interesting and excellent debate, it showed up the case for Independence for what it actually is, a fight for power for the sake of it by narrow minded and power hungry politicians such as Ms Sturgeon, god only knows how many elections she has stood for under FPTP (First Past The Post).

I intend to 'interview' our local MSP's next week regarding the re-election campaign and the case for staying in the Union so stay tuned for more information.

COMMUNITY HEALTH PARTNERSHIP

RENFREW HEALTH CENTRE

The updated position on the Renfrew Health Centre was reported to the Community Health Partnership this afternoon and I am pleased to say that it was looking good. Obviously the final decision rests with the Scottish Executive but, with the Health Minister visiting next week I am hopeful that we will have the confirmation of it's continuing positive reinforcement from the Scottish Executive. This afternoon Cllr Tommy Williams the Chair of the Renfrewshire CHP thanked the hard work carried out by everyone involved in the project.

Despite the SNP claims that the Renfrew Health Centre was never going to built nd that it was a broken Labour Promise the plans are in place for it to go forward, this is a lesson to everyone in Renfrewshire, just cause Cllr McKay and his cronies say it, doesn't make it so! Do your own research ask questions, please don't just take his word for it, because more often than not it is wrong/inaccurate or deliberately misleading.

I am delighted that Renfrew Health Centre was a manifesto commitment at the last election and is yet another commitment fulfilled!

COUNCILLOR RAYLEEN KELLY

CHILDRENS PANEL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Yesterday was another long day, although it was really interesting, first their was the Labour Group meeting in the Council chamber and a full day of Constituent enquiries being chased up and letters written. At half six I attended the Children's Panel reappointment interviews, these are taken by the Children's Panel Advisory Committee members.

Just so it is clear the make up of the Children's Panel Advisory Committee (CPAC) is five members appointed by the Scottish Executive/ First Minister and two members appointed by the local authority, you have probably guessed that I am one of the local authority appointees. As there were an uneven number of interviewers, and I had been unable to attend the re appointment training I sat in on the interviews being undertaken last night, I must admit to being extremely impressed with all of the people interviewed, all of those seeking reappointment were interesting and had excellent answers, they had obviously gained a lot from their experience as well as giving a lot to the children they had seen.

I personally wanted to thank them and the CPAC members it was a long night but all of the interviews were done and we were home for 10pm, even managed to catch some of the snow!

The next meeting of the CPAC is tomorrow afternoon, and again I am looking forward to an interesting meeting.

CELEBRATING THE UNION

TOGETHER WE STAND

Personally I am celebrating the Union between Scotland and England it brings together the great nations and gives them each an equal say in how our countries move forward. With Scottish people determining the direction of policy in a whole range of issues from Health to Education, Social Work to Policing and the Economy, I believe the issue of independence is immaterial. It is an issue that the SNP/SSP/Solidarity and the other fringe parties think that the Scottish people are concerned with, we are not.

I don't think that the future for Scotland is trying to work through a complicated and unnecessary separation process, trying to work out whether the Scottish people want the type of independence put to them by any number of Nationalist groups, and the setting up of institutions and working out how to pay for them. I think that the way forward is to work within the system as it is at present, I really do believe that what the Scottish people want is better and safer communities, better education, health, policing, and a more open and tolerant society. There are pro's and con's to every arrangement but I believe the pro's outnumber the con's in this Union, and I believe that the only way to get the safer communities, better education, health and policing is to vote for the Labour Party in May.

A great deal has been done but still more to do, expectations continue to rise and our ambitions for our fellow countrymen with it.

So Celebrate the Union, get the £2 coin which is launched later today and think about the things that not only make you proud to be Scottish but British, the two are not contradictory despite what some might tell you.

TALKING UP SCOTLAND

POSITIVE MESSAGES

I don't normally trawl the nationalist blogs and websites but when researching something else this evening I found a highly entertaining story in which the SNP accused Labour of being negative about Scotland! What a laugh! Look at the video below for Labour's view of a positive Scotland.

I don't know about you all but the SNP locally in Renfrewshire are nothing but negative, their ex leader (disgraced) Cllr I Nicolson in 2003 accused the Chief Executive of the Council of improprieties in hiring and firing, they have lost two Cllr's recently one for verbally abusing Council staff and the other following his mate, well he did represent him at the Standards Commission and accuse his own leader (Cllr McKay) of conspiring with the Labour Party to get rid of ex SNP, now independent, disgraced Cllr Vassie.

Indeed as recently ago as November of 2006 the now leader of the SNP (for the time being anyway!) McKay advised the Council meeting that there is a nightly boxing match at County Square, and that the street art was graffiti!

I don't write the above to be negative but to show the hypocrisy in the SNP, Labour locally has talked up Renfrewshire for years, we have promoted it where ever we have went, even on holidays. Locally we are building new schools, new elderly care homes, a new respite unit and new sporting facilities to name but a few of the positive and long lasting things that Labour have achieved!

Remember this at the elections in May and vote for your Labour candidates!