Latest news with #OrangeWalks
The National
a day ago
- Politics
- The National
MSP demands answers from Police Scotland over Kneecap 'safety concers'
It comes after Kneecap were axed from TRNSMT amid concerns raised by police over safety. They were due to perform at the festival on July 11 but organisers said the band would not be part of the line-up after concerns were expressed by police about safety at the event. Police Scotland said any decision on the line-up is for TRNSMT organisers, and that no prior consultation with the force was made before acts were booked. READ MORE: Kneecap announce new gig after being axed from TRNSMT James Dornan, MSP for Cathcart, has requested several pieces of information as well as for Police Scotland to reconsider their decision and to request for TRNSMT to reinstatement Kneecap on the line-up. The MSP wrote: "In order to alleviate public concern regarding potential threats or disruptions at the event, would be grateful if you could clarify the following: What credible information did Police Scotland possess indicating there was a risk of an attack or significant disruption should Kneecap perform on the proposed date? Were there any representations made to you by organisations- including religious bodies -individuals, public authorities, or political representatives, from any jurisdiction, that influenced this decision? Did the group's well-publicised pro-Palestine, criticism of the Israeli government, and anti-genocide stance contribute to this outcome? To what extent did the fact that the concert was scheduled for 11 July - the day before Glasgow hosts two major, and several smaller, Orange Walks - influence your advice? "While I recognise that certain information may be withheld for security reasons, it is crucial for public confidence that decisions of this nature are free from undue influence by political or (semi-) religious organisations. "It is equally important to understand if threats of public disorder prompted this course of action." Dornan further highlighted that the Irish band has "performed at numerous venues, both independently and alongside other artists, without incident or threat". Dornan (above) concluded by challenging chief constable Jo Farrell, writing: "The only reasonable conclusion, absent further information, is that Police Scotland feared that a high-profile, openly Irish Republican, pro-Palestine group might provoke hostility among some attendees of our multicultural, multi-faith city. "If this is the case, I, along with many others, would be deeply disappointed that Police Scotland has yielded to such pressures." Police Scotland have been contacted for comment. In April, First Minister John Swinney had called for the organiser of the July festival to reconsider the group performing, following footage emerging that allegedly showed a member saying: 'The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.' Earlier this month, Kneecap member Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged under the name Liam O'Hanna by the Metropolitan Police with a terror offence over the alleged display of a Hezbollah flag at a gig in November last year. The group, also made up of Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh, apologised last month to the families of murdered MPs but said footage of the incident had been 'exploited and weaponised'. They also said they have 'never supported' Hamas or Hezbollah, both of which are banned in the UK.
Scottish Sun
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Succession star Brian Cox takes scathing swipe at Glasgow over ‘sectarianism & Orange walks'
The Scots actor looks back on an award-winning sitcom BRIAN Cox has claimed his fellow Dundonians have a more positive mindset than Glaswegians because they are unaffected by sectarianism. The award-winning actor was brought up in a Catholic family in Dundee but said he never experienced any prejudice over his religion in the city. Advertisement 2 The succession star branded Orange Walks in Glasgow as 'odd' Credit: Tom Farmer He said being free from bigotry gave people on the east coast a can-do attitude and a bright, optimistic sense of humour. By contrast, the Succession star said he felt many people from the west of Scotland have a "poor me" mentality which stems from the "burden" of sectarianism. Cox, 78, said the positive mindset fed into his portrayal of Dundee burger van owner and would-be politician Bob Servant in the BBC comedy series. He said: "What I loved about the script was it was very, very much our humour as opposed to west of Scotland humour. Advertisement "A lot of TV things in Scotland are all very Glasgow and west coast, you've Rab C Nesbitt and Still Game and all that. "I'm an east coaster and my humour is east coast. It's kind of wacky and off the wall. "It's not 'poor me' like Glasgow. Dundee is very bright and very up and very high and Bob is an endless optimist. "He's a complete whack job but he's unique in that sense, I don't think there are many other characters like him. Advertisement "Bob's recovery is incredible, he doesn't get daunted, he always finds another path. He goes 'That didn't work, I'm going to do this'. "I think that's very east coast, that we always find another way of doing something. Tense scenes in Glasgow as Celtic fans in stand off with Orange walk followers "We haven't got the burden of sectarianism at all, we don't have any of that. "I always found it so odd that there were these Orange marches in Glasgow. Advertisement "It would have meant nothing in my hometown because we all got on." Bob Servant, which is set in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, ran for two series on the BBC before ending in 2015. 2 Brian Cox has taken a swipe at Glasgow over 'sectarianism' and Orange walks Credit: Getty Cox looked back on the show in a new BBC 4 programme called 'Brian Cox Remembers Bob Servant'. Advertisement Writer Neil Forsyth published a Bob Servant book - a series of hilarious back-and-forths between the Dundonian and an array of spam emailers - which was named by author Irvine Welsh as the funniest book he'd read. Welsh's boost was enough to get it republished, at which point BBC Scotland bought the rights to it. Cox was cast in the role after the actor's son discovered the book in the bathroom at his New York home and persuaded his dad to take the part.
The National
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Why are Scottish Greens the 'natural home for the left in Scotland'?
Only the Greens can offer left-wing opposition, Ellie told us. While I find no fault with her criticism of the 'usual suspects', when it came to actual policy I noticed (cue tumbleweed) an ominous silence. Perhaps, then, we should examine the Greens' achievements when they were in government with the SNP between 2021 and 2024. What were some things they did to improve the lives of working-class people during that time? They tried to ban gas boilers. And there was the deposit return scheme. Oops! A natural home for the left in Scotland? On the other hand, the Scottish Socialist Party in Holyrood put forward a bill to abolish poindings and warrant sales. There was our bill for free school meals. And our bill to end prescription charges – later enacted by the SNP, to their credit. Today the SSP are campaigning on the streets to save our NHS from the worst crisis in its history, and for a genuine National Care Service built on the founding principles of the NHS. These, Ellie, are policies. This is activism. Choose a party that will work to materially improve the lives of working-class people in Scotland. Choose the SSP. Michael Davidson Edinburgh SALLY Wainwright suggests (Letters, May 14) that it is compassionate to require trans people to use the new gender-neutral toilets at Holyrood. Of course it is a good idea to provide such facilities in addition to women's and men's, for those who prefer to use them. But that is a very different thing from enforced segregation. Is it compassionate to refuse to accept that trans people are trans, calling their identity a 'lie', as Ms Wainwright does, and referring to trans men like parliament staff member Dylan Hamilton as 'trans-identifying women'? Is it compassionate to ignore the fact that for decades trans people have been using toilets matching their gender identity, without incident, and to now insist that they somehow pose a risk so must be excluded completely? READ MORE: UK ranked second-worst in western Europe for LGBT+ laws And how will this be policed? Earlier this month there were media reports of a lesbian couple being thrown out of a women's toilet because one of them had a fairly masculine appearance, and was 'suspected' of being trans. This harassment is likely to happen more and more. Policing this policy is impossible, unless you're going to require all trans people now to wear a coloured triangle so they can be identified and segregated. Ms Wainwright writes that no-one should be 'forced to use a facility which does not align with the way they feel about themselves'. I very much agree, but that is exactly what she is supporting. I suggest that we should go on as we happily did before, with no enforced exclusion, and trans people's privacy and dignity respected and maintained. Tim Hopkins Edinburgh YOUR recent article on the number of Orange Walks due to take place in our country should remind everyone of the part our fellow Scots play in keeping us under the thumb. They are only the visible tip of a huge iceberg of entrenched Unionism endemic in Scotland, where roughly half of our countrymen and women (those who can be bothered to vote, that is) are happy to exist as an ignored minority in the wider UK. READ MORE: Over 100 Orange Walks to take place in Scotland in one day There is something very wrong in our small country, and has been for centuries. Cultural Unionism, resistant to factual evidence, might take years to die out. As an oldie myself, I've always resisted the claim that it's an older generation that keep us thirled to Westminster, but I'm coming round to accepting that it could be true. Only the passage of time will tell. Jim Butchart via email ISOBEL Lindsay's letter in Tuesday's National put me in mind of a visit my primary school had in the 1950s from a man from Chapelcross power station, whose cooling towers used to be a landmark from the A74 (now M74) south of Lockerbie. I vividly remember holding a uranium core to feel how heavy it was. In those days we were told nuclear-generated electricity would be so cheap, it would not be worth billing! How's that worked out then? Of course we were not told that the core purpose (pun?) of the nuclear programme was not electricity at all, but to produce fuel for the nuclear weapons programme. There is no justification at all for new nuclear power stations in Scotland. Robert Moffat Penicuik
The National
12-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Keir Starmer branded 'pound shop Farage' in immigration crackdown
In a Downing Street speech, the Prime Minister said that the UK risks becoming an 'island of strangers' without controls on immigration. He added Labour Government would 'take back control of our borders' and close the book on a 'squalid chapter' for politics and the economy. Ministers are looking to bring down net migration figures, which stood at 728,000 in the year to mid-2024. Starmer said on Monday he wanted levels to have fallen significantly by the end of the Parliament, without setting a numerical target. READ MORE: Tommy Sheppard: We need a believable strategy on route to independence Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice said Starmer has been 'listening and learning' from his party as he announced white paper proposals including migrants having to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship. Maggie Chapman, the Scottish Greens justice spokesperson, accused Starmer of 'throwing migrant workers under the bus' as she called for Scotland to have powers over immigration. 'It is staggering to think that Keir Starmer was once a human rights lawyer, because this whole speech has been ripped right out of Nigel Farage's playbook,' she said. 'The UK Government has the power to improve wages and conditions in workplaces across our country any time that it wants to, but Labour is refusing to do this, instead choosing to scapegoat and blame migrant communities, outdoing the Tories. 'It is a cynical, cruel and authoritarian response to Reform. It will only serve to damage public services while throwing migrant workers under the bus with racist, restrictive and totally self-defeating policies. 'You don't beat the far right by pandering to them, but Labour seems determined to test this to destruction. 'It is time for Scotland to have powers over immigration so that we can build a system that welcomes and respects migrants and supports our services rather than undermining them.' Veteran SNP MP Pete Wishart (below) said Starmer's announcement was not in Scotland's interest, adding such plans show he 'does not care' about the nation. (Image: Jane Barlow) He said on Twitter/X: 'By the 2030s Scotland will be in population decline with a smaller working age cohort unable to support an increasingly elderly society. Starmer has just announced an immigration policy that is counter to the Scottish interest. And he just does not care.' Wishart added Starmer is using 'the language of Reform/leavers'. Under the proposals, language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English. Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning that they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language. READ MORE: Over 100 Orange Walks to take place in Scotland in one day Elsewhere, skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages. Echoing the slogan used by Brexit campaigners during the 2016 EU referendum, Starmer said: 'We will deliver what you've asked for time and again, and we will take back control of our borders.' The announcement comes less than a fortnight after Reform UK surged to victory in local council elections across England. The problems in our society are not caused by migrants or refugees. They are caused by an economic system rigged in favour of corporations and billionaires. If the government wanted to improve people's lives, it would tax the rich and build an economy that works for us all. — Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) May 12, 2025 Laura Mitchell, the SNP's candidate for Moray at the Holyrood elections, said Starmer's language in his speech was 'appalling'. 'To try to evoke fear of the 'stranger' makes him nothing more than a pound shop Farage. Shameful, spineless, and short-sighted,' she said on social media. Ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn added: 'The problems in our society are not caused by migrants or refugees. 'They are caused by an economic system rigged in favour of corporations and billionaires. 'If the Government wanted to improve people's lives, it would tax the rich and build an economy that works for us all.'
The National
11-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
How many Orange Order walks are in your council area in 2025?
An analysis by The National found there will be 280 loyalist marches across the country, according to notices lodged with local authorities. A total of 17 council areas will see parades from the Orange Order and the Apprentice Boys of Derry, a separate loyalist organisation. READ MORE: Over 100 Orange Walks to take place in Scotland in one day Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, in 2019, there were 414 loyalist parades across Scotland, with almost half (192) in Glasgow, which has historically held a higher number of marches. Overall, Glasgow (106) will still see the majority of loyalist marches in 2025. North Lanarkshire (72), South Lanarkshire (32), and Falkirk (12) have the next highest number of parades scheduled. You can see the number of loyalist marches held in Scotland in 2025 below. West Lothian and North Ayrshire have nine each, Renfrewshire will host eight, while East Lothian and East Ayrshire will see six each. There will be five in Edinburgh, three in Perth and Kinross and East Renfrewshire, and two in West Dunbartonshire, South Ayrshire, Inverclyde and East Dunbartonshire. In April, there was one loyalist march in the Highlands. You can see the number of loyalist marches held in Scotland between 2019 and 2025 (excluding the pandemic where restrictions were in place in 2020) below.
