This is not a migrant crisis, but a humanitarian one
Parliament is in recess, and it’s been a great opportunity to catch up with constituency work.
I moved into my constituency office at the start of the week, and we’ve been working hard to get everything up and running.
It’s great to finally have a permanent place to work from, both for myself and my staff. I’m looking forward to my summer surgeries, and getting out to meet plenty more of you over the coming weeks. Humanitarian crisis
Like many others, I’ve been watching events unfolding at Calais, and can’t help but feel saddened at the UK Government’s approach to tackling the situation.
David Cameron’s use of the word “swarms” to describe people desperately trying to escape from a tent city was absolutely galling, and recalled a darker time in human history.
This is not a migrant crisis, but a humanitarian one.
We cannot lose sight of the fact that these refugees are people, some escaping indescribable horrors that most of us are fortunate enough to never have to witness.
The UK has a moral obligation to participate in efforts to relocate migrants, and Scotland is ready to play its part. The Tory Government however just doesn’t seem to be getting the message. Scrap the Lords
Last week was punctuated with events that further emphasized just how ridiculous our second chamber at Westminster is.
First off we had Lord Sewel, a married man who was Chairman of the Lords Conduct Committee, disgraced in the papers after a video allegedly showed him taking drugs with prostitutes.
The appointment of Michelle Mone later in the week only further served to underline the ludicrous and undemocratic farce of the House of Lords.
I’m pleased to see that the SNP campaign to abolish the House of Lords is gaining traction.
In recent weeks we’ve seen a flurry of activity from high profile members of other parties, signalling a change in attitude to the unelected second chamber.
Jeremy Corbyn, the now Labour leadership frontrunner, has given his backing to an SNP call for opposition parties to stop nominating new members for the House of Lords. Scottish Labour leadership candidate Kezia Dugdale has gone one further, and echoed the SNP’s calls for the absurd institution to be scrapped altogether.
Tim Farron, the new LibDem leader, has added his voice to the cause, calling for reform of a system he describes as ‘rotten to the core’. Hopefully he finds it rotten enough to stop nominating people to take a seat in the place.
The House of Lords is an anachronism, with no place in modern society. It is a dumping ground for ex-MPs, party donors, and cronies.
I’m proud that the SNP do not take seats out of principle, and perhaps if others were to follow suit, we could effect real change, and drag Westminster into the present day – or perhaps even the last century.