Fergus Ewing MSP

I do not suggest the AG  had delayed this at the behest of the Scottish Government, but it is very very convenient for Scot Gov.  If there is no collective noun for quangos in Scotland, let me suggest one :   “A convenience of quangos” 3/3

This  report wont  be concluded  till after the election.  Had it been started last October, as I  had asked in a detailed letter to the Auditor General of 26th October,  then it would of course have been in the public domain before the May election.  2/3

Today’s “Scotsman” report  the Auditor General will conduct an investigation into the sell of off Scotlands Offshore wind rights for £25 Million per Gigawatt (Scotwind).  In England they achieve £1000 Million per Gigawatt , 40 times more in their sale. 1/3

Otherwise the Government will lose tens of millions in rates because businesses will be forced to close. 2/2

. @FionaCampbell74 today reports that in a survey of self catering businesses nearly one in five will close with the impact of eye watering rates rises.  The answer, as Scot Gov have been advised, is to postpone the revaluation for these properties and those in hospitality. 1/2

This afternoon @VoteEwing will raise my case in the Scottish Parliament and ask what @scotgov plan to do to ensure Scots law becomes fully compatible with ECHR (human rights) legislation in light of Lord Lake's landmark ruling.

I sincerely hope they will have the courage to vote with their conscience and with the communities we are here to serve, rather than follow party lines. 3/3

I've listened carefully, and I will be voting against these plans this evening. It is disappointing that some Highland MSPs have so far refused to make their position known. 2/3

There is a crucial vote tonight on the proposed Moray Firth Flow Parks. I have been inundated with correspondence from constituents living in Nairn and the wider Higblands. The message is clear: people have serious, legitimate concerns.  1/1

I urged the Scottish Government to work to increase the use of drones for this purpose and thus reduce the time it takes to identify and fix faults on lines and restore power more quickly to rural homes.

SSE have had hundreds of engineers working to restore power. Fair play to them and thanks for their efforts. They now use drones to work out where the faults lie on lines, thus saving much time.

Independent MSP Fergus Ewing (@VoteEwing) calls for public money to be clawed back from arts venues that limit free speech after Summerhall said it was an "oversight" to allow Kate Forbes to appear during the Fringe.

Arts Sec Angus Robertson refuses to rein in his unelected quango creative Scotland. That means they are free to hand out millions to venues that censor free speech- as Summerhall did to Kate Forbes on the ludicrous pretext that she was a threat to “safety and welfare”of others.

“The further society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it.” — George Orwell 5/5

And why are millions of taxpayers’ cash being dished out to those who would ban freedom of expression? I have countless constituents with special needs kids whose lives would be transformed for a fraction of these eye-watering amounts. 4/5

After a week of silence, our FM eventually gets round to support his DFM and criticise the disgraceful “cancellation” of Kate Forbes by Summerhall arts venue in Edinburgh. 1/5

Does our FM believe such intolerance in our country should be rewarded by yet more taxpayers money on top of the £600,000 that has already recently been given them?

I call on John Swinney as FM,  unequivocally to condemn the decision by Summerhall Edinburgh arts venue who have now “cancelled” Kate Forbes alleging that in some way she puts performers & artists “safety & well being at risk”- an absurd & manifestly ill founded assertion.