Douglas Alexander MP

Labour MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South

Paisley Daily Express Column - 2 Dec 2009

CUTS IN THE CLASSROOM

Another week, another story about the cuts in our classrooms. This week I met a local teacher who told me she’s now having to fundraise simply to install the whiteboards her pupils need.

Renfrewshire Council have inflicted cuts to both our secondary and our primary schools, and as I heard again last week, it’s the pupils who pay the price.
 
REID KERR DOES PAISLEY PROUD

It was good news that the Annual Fresher's Fayre that took place at Reid Kerr College recently was a great success

Over 1,500 students visited the event over two days and a great many organisations from Renfrewshire came along.

Being a student is a great opportunity for young people to try new subjects and learn new skills and so it was good to hear that so many of the students at Reid Kerr were keen to find out how they could make the most of that experience.

It is also good to see local businesses and community groups getting involved with the College and building relationships with staff and students.

Reid Kerr College does Paisley proud. It’s an excellent facility for Renfrewshire and events such as this Fayre help to further cement the excellent reputation of the college in our area.  

INTERVIEW DOESN’T MARR WEEKEND

It was a typically busy weekend. After a round of local surgeries and visits on Friday, on Saturday I held a further three hour surgery with my colleague Hugh Henry in Johnstone. From there I travelled up to Glasgow to make a speech at the Scottish Labour Students Conference. By Sunday morning I was in London for an interview on the BBC’s Andrew Marr programme before attending a meeting at 10 Downing Street. Maybe this coming weekend will be less busy…but somehow I doubt it!

DEVOLUTION TEN YEARS ON

Last week was a big week at Westminster with the launch of the Government’s response to the Calman Commission.

The Commission was established to look at the operation of devolution after its first decade, and provide ideas for strengthening Scotland’s place in the UK. Its report proved to be an impressive piece of work – and charts a new course for devolution.

Ten years on, devolution has proved its worth. The SNP Government’s announcement this week of their plans to separate Scotland from the rest of the UK just serves to show how out of touch they are from people’s real concerns about the economy, jobs and protecting our schools and hospitals.