Red Robin

About Red Robin

The Red Robin was founded to create a distinctive left voice in Scotland. We provide serious news from a left perspective. We want to bring you exclusive content from key figures in the Labour movement.

Glasgow Council Workers vote for industrial action ballot

Red Robin - 19 December 2018

Members of Unite the union and Unison voted overwhelmingly to support a ballot on industrial action at the arms-length body, Glasgow Life.

Unite members voted by 94 per cent in a consultative, while Unison members voted by 87 per cent. The consultative ballots by both unions covers seven Glasgow Life leisure centres those being the Emirates Arena, Gorbals, Springburn, Tollcross, Bellahouston, Kelvin Hall, and Scotstoun.

Unite and Unison pointed to a number of "failings" by Glasgow Life, including "a lack of due diligence towards the welfare of staff, and a failure to consult with staff through elected safety representatives on changes to working patterns." The unions say that imposed changes to the working practices has resulted in "inadequate staffing levels to ensure fire safety and staffing of buildings due to increased working hours."... See more

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College lecturers set to take further strike action

Red Robin - 19 December 2018

Turnout in the ballot was 52 percent, with 90 percent of those voting backing the move to strike action, above that needed under the Tories' Trade Union Act.

The offer, a 2.5 percent increase over three years has been labelled as a 'real-terms pay cut' by the Educational Institute, who also said it would mean a functional pay cap for Further Education Lecturers at a time where the cap is being lifted in rest of the public sector.... See more

Labour pledges shelter for every rough sleeper during freezing weather

Red Robin - 18 December 2018

The party has pledged that every rough sleeper would be provided with emergency shelter under a Labour government.

Responding to plans by the Government to invest £5m in creating 'eleven rough-sleeping hubs', Labour has promised to set up a £100m fund to eliminate rough sleeping during the winter months.

Housing Secretary James Brokenshire admitted that: “No one should ever have to face a night on the streets, and as a government we are taking steps to ensure people are never faced with this as their only option."... See more

Teachers union welcomes calls for increased support

Red Robin - 18 December 2018

The EIS welcomed a call from a key children’s rights body for more support for teachers who are confronted with challenging behaviour from pupils at school.

A report criticising the use of “ungoverned” and 'potentially illegal use of restraint and seclusion' taking place in Scottish schools has been welcomed by the largest Scottish teaching union, the EIS after it called for increased training and support for Scottish teachers confronted with difficult behaviours from children at school.... See more

Corbyn : 'Something is very seriously wrong in our political and economic system'

Red Robin - 15 December 2018

The Labour leader is set to address organisations that tackle poverty and inequality during a visit to Edinburgh, and pledge to end homelessness and inequality in Scotland.

Corbyn will attend a Christmas lunch for families who are relying on foodbanks, hosted by Labour’s new Community Organising unit. He will highlight increasing levels of fuel poverty, homelessness and foodbank use in Scotland and Labour’s plans to tackle those issues.

Labour is seeking to draw attention to the issue. with statistics showing one in four Scottish children, around 230,000, are now living under poverty.... See more

ScotRail 'let off the hook' by SNP as performance plummets

Red Robin - 15 December 2018

Michael Matheson has been accused of letting ScotRail 'off the hook' after figures reveal the struggling firm has once again missed its minimum standards stipulated in its franchise agreement.

Government figures published today show that just 83.4 per cent of services were on time over the last month. Additionally, the average performance for the year stood at a mere 87.3 per cent, despite ScotRail’s minimum target for this period being 92.32 per cent.... See more

Scottish Government under fire over two child cap policy

Red Robin - 15 December 2018

After revelations that the Department for Work and Pensions has received no contact from the Scottish Government about steps that could be taken to end or mitigate the Tories two-child cap policy, Labour has called on the SNP to back moves to end the controversial policy.

After an interview with The Times, the SNP's Finance Secretary appeared to claim he had made contact with the DWP to ascertain whether the Scottish Government could mitigate the policy, however comments from the DWP have since proven otherwise.... See more

RMT claim victory in ScotRail dispute

Red Robin - 06 December 2018

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers claimed victory today in a dispute ScotRail over working conditions and pay, after members refused to work overtime until their case was settled.

The action caused widespread disruption to train services across Scotland, although the company blamed changes to the staff training timetable for the cancellations.

In a statement, Mick Hogg, the RMT's regional organiser in Scotland welcomed the outcome.... See more

ATM fees hurting the elderly and rural communities

Ged Killen - 03 December 2018

The Scottish Labour MP has spoken out before a debate on ATM closures across the UK, and warned that unless "low-income families, the elderly and rural communities" are likely to be penalised in the transition to a cashless society.

The Member of Parliament for Rutherglen pointed to research by Which? UK, that found that over three quarters (78 per cent) of consumers in the two lowest household income groups rely on cash, using it two to three times a week, with four-fifths (80 per cent) of retirees use it frequently.... See more

ScotRail accused of 'scrooge' tactics after ending free travel for kids

Red Robin - 03 December 2018

The crisis-stricken firm is set to end free rail travel for children, with parents expected to cough up £1 when they want to travel with their kids.

In a statement, Scotrail confirmed the introduction of the new tickets, adding: “We are committed to providing our customers with the opportunity to travel across our services and the Kids for a Quid offer is available on a wider range of adult tickets."... See more

Sturgeon accused of 'parroting' DWP line on debt repayments

The Red Robin - 8 November 2018

The First Minister faced calls from Richard Leonard to back Labour's calls for debtors to be informed of the money they owe public bodies within 5 years.

Speaking at First Minister’s Questions, the Scottish Labour leader urged the SNP to back Labour’s amendments to the Prescription (Scotland) Bill, which the government voted down this afternoon... See more

Thornberry condemns British Government and UN Security Council over Yemen

Red Robin - 8 November 2018

Emily Thornberry has today called for an immediate ceasefire in Yemen, a new UN Security Council resolution to solve the crisis, and a full investigation into alleged war crimes during the three year conflict.

In a speech to the International Parliamentary Conference for Peace in Yemen at The National Assembly in Paris Thornberry said parliamentarians should united to "condemn" the government and UN Security council “for not taking action immediately[…] to bring this war to an end”... See more

Calls for investigation into Police Scotland complaints

Red Robin - 7 November 2018

Daniel Johnson, Labour's justice spokesperson, has written to the Justice Secretary to call for an investigation into the handling of complaints of Police officers.

The calls come on the back of "disturbing" reports that complaints against officers were allegedly incorrectly recorded and processed, meaning officers avoided independent investigation.... See more

Leading polling company corrects SNP over poll claims

Red Robin - 6 November 2018

The leading polling company Survation have been forced to correct the SNP over their false claims that a poll showed a lead for independence.

The SNP's Holyrood Head of Communications and Research published several tweets on the issue including a quote from Keith Brown, the SNP Depute Leader.... See more

Tory delay on fixed odds betting cap a 'unacceptable'

Paul Sweeney - 1 November 2018

The Glasgow North East MP hit out at the Government's decision to delay the implantation of a cap on the controversial gambling terminals, which have been likened to 'crack cocaine' by critics.

Under Tory plans, the cap will now be delayed from April till October 2019.

The decision has caused Tory Minister Tracey Crouch to resign, while Mr. Sweeney has urged the government to U-turn on the decision... See more

Union calls for immediate halt to fracking after earthquakes

Red Robin - 31 October 2018

After a series of serious tremors, including an earthquake measuring 1.0 on the richter scale, Unite the union has today demanded fracking cease immediatly at the Quadrilla site.

After a series of 19 tremors at a fracking site in Lancashire, Unite said operations should be halted until an investigation takes place as to why the company is routinely causing quakes above the 0.5 level allowed under Quadrilla's contact.... See more

Nationalisation calls grow as ScotRail chaos continues

Red Robin - 31 October 2018

Serious failings at ScotRail have encouraged calls for the Scottish government to scrap the contract with the firm, after figures revealed over 110 peak time services were cancelled in the last six months between Kirkcaldy, Cardenden and Ednburgh.

Acoding to the figures, from a Freedom of Information request,ScotRail have also regularly failed to meet their Public Performance Measure (met when a train arrives at its destination on time, or within 5 minutes of schedule). According to the franchise agreement, ScotRail’s ‘Moving Annual Average’ for punctuality must be above 88 percent or it risks being found inbreach of contract.... See more

Glasgow Council Workers give strike notice over Equal Pay

Red Robin - 4 October 2018

More than 8,000 council workers are to take strike action later this month over the failure of Glasgow City Council to settle outstanding settlements for historic pay inequalities in the city.

Both GMB and Unison submitted a statutory notice for industrial action yesterday, confirming the unions will take forty-eight hours of strike action on Tuesday the 23rd and Wednesday the 24th of October.... See more

Glasgow Council Workers give strike notice over Equal Pay

Red Robin - 4 October 2018

More than 8,000 council workers are to take strike action later this month over the failure of Glasgow City Council to settle outstanding settlements for historic pay inequalities in the city.

Both GMB and Unison submitted a statutory notice for industrial action yesterday, confirming the unions will take forty-eight hours of strike action on Tuesday the 23rd and Wednesday the 24th of October.... See more

FMQs: Leonard pressures government to raise child benefit

Red Robin - 4 October 2018

Nicola Sturgeon faced calls from Richard Leonard to increase Child Benefit, which Labour says would lift 30,000 children in Scotland out of poverty.

Speaking at First Minister’s Questions today, the Scottish Labour leader challenged Nicola Sturgeon to deliver a £5 per week increase to the payment, a policy supported by a large swathe of children’s charities, anti-poverty organisations, faith groups and the Scottish Trade Union Congress.... See more

Labour will campaign for Federalised UK

Richard leonard - 24 September 2018

The Scottish Labour leader, Richard Leonard, will use his conference address to call for a federalised Britain, with power devolved to the local level, including local councils and English regions. The Scottish Labour leader will also say that Labour will guarantee that powers returning from the European Union will be transferred to the devolved governments.

“The redistribution of power means something else. Constitutional reform.” said Leonard.

"Of course, this is not a demand limited to Scotland there is a restlessness in England for more powers at a local and regional level.”... See more

Scotland needs Democratic Socialism, not Nationalism

Red Robin - 23 September 2018

Speaking at The World Transformed conference, Richard Leonard sought to make his case for Scotland within a socialist UK. In his address, Leonard outlined the benefits of a Labour government at a national level for Scotland, including £70bn in additional investment in the country over a decade.

Speaking ahead of the event, Leonard said: “Labour is the biggest political movement in Europe, and we have energised people across the UK with our clear anti-austerity policies. I want that movement to understand only radical Labour governments within the UK deliver the real change that communities in Scotland need."... See more

Pressure grows on the government to end indefinite detention

Diane Abbott - 23 September 2018

Developments over the summer have seen pressure mounting on the government to do the right thing and end indefinite immigration detention. This is a demand Labour has been making for some time, and which has become all the more urgent with recent figures showing that the number of people held for over six months in immigration detention centres in the UK has increased.

Just before Parliament closed for the summer recess, Home Secretary Sajid Javid finally pledged to look into how time limits on the detention of immigrants work in other countries. This was quite a development considering that the government had previously not even been prepared to accept we have a system of indefinite detention in place, and now we must increase the pressure on them to end the practice.... See more

Tories have failed to learn from Grenfell atrocity

Dianne Abbott - 19 September 2018

Labour's Shadow Home Secretary has blamed the "legacy of Thatcherism" for the disaster, and said the government has not done enough to protect the fire brigade from cuts.

Abbott recently spoke at the launch of the Fire Brigades Union's report, 'Background to an Atrocity', which blames deregulation and privatisation for the loss of capacity by Britain's firefighting services to respond to emergencies effectively. She also pointed to the loss of over 12,000 fightfighters since 2010 as the Conservatives putting public safety at risk... See more

Calls for Sturgeon to apologise over £30bn 'Oil Lie'

Red Robin - 17 September 2018

The SNP's projected revenue from oil in the 2013 White Paper on independence was out by nearly £30bn, almost equivalent for the entire Scottish budget for a year.

During the Yes campaign, the SNP had predicted that oil revenues would have reached £32bn by 2019, but according to the Office of Budget Responsibility, the real figure is projected to be around £2.1bn.... See more

1,800 women 'let down' over breast cancer screenings by SNP

Red Robin - 14 Spetember 2018

Almost 1,800 women have not been invited to their final breast cancer screening session in a serious failure in Scotland’s health system, the Scottish Government has admitted.

The then-SNP Health Secretary Shona Robison had told Parliament in May in regards to a similar problem in England that “the issue does not affect the NHS in Scotland” and “patients should be reassured that there are no problems with our breast screening programme records or information technology systems.”... See more

SNP failing on key NHS standards - Sarwar

Red Robin - 11 September 2018

The Scottish government has missed 11 out of 19 NHS standards, including waiting times, cancer detection and A&E delays, with performance down on 2017 in key areas.

Local Delivery Plan Standards are priorities that are set and agreed between the Scottish Government and NHS boards to provide assurance on NHS Scotland performance. An independent review of the standards was carried out and concluded last year, with a number of recommendations.

In her programme for government, Nicola Sturgeon promised that a waiting times improvement plan will be published later this month.... See more

Sadiq Khan: Universal Credit rollout must be paused

Red Robin - 31 August 2018

The London mayor warned that the policy poises ‘significant threat of harm’ to society's most vulnerable.

As part of the official submission to the DWP's consultation, Sadiq Khan called on the government to halt its plans to migrate two-million welfare claimants over to the new system by mid 2019.

The Universal Credit system has been plagued with problems, with IT issues, lack of funding and delayed payments causing many recipients to fall into poverty and homelessness after being unable to pay rent.... See more

Too much of our economy is foreign owned

Jackie Baillie - 28 August 2018

Scottish Labour has called for an alternative economy policy that would see Scottish workers given the right to take over firms that are being sold-off or closed down, warning that the current system is in danger due to the unusually high amount of foreign ownership in Scotland.

In an opinion piece for Scotland on Sunday yesterday, Scottish Labour's economy spokesperson, Jackie Baillie, said that "We need to look at who owns the Scottish economy and why we are so vulnerable to external shocks – and why so much wealth leaks out from our country."

"Too much of our economy is foreign owned, liable to the whims of the balance sheet with no regard given to the impact closures can have on communities."

"The SNP’s cuts commission – the real long-term plan the nationalists have for the Scottish economy – proposes more foreign investment and ownership. This is a model which leaves Scotland vulnerable to global shocks rather than the solid foundations of an economy where working people have a real say." she said.... See more

Ambulance waiting times up drastically in Scotland

The Red Robin - 27 August 2018

Between 2013/14 and 2017/18, the number of emergency calls which took more than 10 minutes to be responded to almost doubled to 305,000.

Figures obtained by Scottish Labour show that in 2014-15 there were 153,878 case where an ambulance took longer to arrive than 10 minutes, compared with 305,061 in 2017-18.

Meanwhile patients waiting over two hours for a response rose by 645%.

The figures come after Labour revealed last month that the number of single-crew ambulances being dispatched in Scotland rose by almost 50% during this same period.... See more

Front-line Police numbers fallen by a third under Tories

The Red Robin - 27 August 2018

Figures show that 7,000 traditional neighbourhood police officers have been reassigned or left their jobs since March 2015, while the number of police community support officers has also fallen by 18% over the same time period to just over 10,000.

Meanwhile the number of officers assigned to back-office and administrative roles have multiplied by a quarter in the last three years.... See more

Corbyn: Asylum seekers deserve our help and support, not persecution

Red Robin Blog - August 22, 2018

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard will today meet asylum seekers threatened with eviction by outsourcing giant Serco in Glasgow.

The Labour leaders said they also planned to meet and pay tribute to organisations and community activists campaigning on behalf of those facing eviction.... See more

Corbyn proposes radical shake-up of British media

Red Robin - 23 August 2018

Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, has floated a series of radical proposals to build “a free and democratic media for the digital age” in the prestigious Alternative MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival today.

The Labour Leader argued that “to improve our media, open it up and make it more plural, we need to find ways to empower those who create and consume it over those who want to control or own it.”... See more

SNP urged to "stop dragging their heels" over public rail bid

Red Robin - 23 August 2018

Scottish Labour has called on the Scottish government to make progress on replacing the current franchise with Abellio with a system of full public ownership.

It comes after Transport Secretary Michael Matheson used a government initiated question to repeat the news that David MacBrayne Limited has expressed an interest in exploring the possibility of a bid for a Scottish rail franchise contract... See more

Now we can see the true cost of NPD

Jackie Baillie - 08 June 2018

Shadow Economy spokesperson Jackie Baillie takes a look at the shocking level of offshore private finance in Scottish public contracts.

£11 billion each and every year - that’s what we spend on procuring goods and services for the public sector in Scotland. Everything from hospitals and new schools to improving our roads infrastructure and building bridges.

Scottish Labour has long advocated that procurement can help grow the economy, both by maximising supply chain benefits and enabling local businesses to win contracts, which directly benefits local economies. Procurement is also a route for securing improved workers’ rights and, most notably, Scottish Labour tried to get a requirement to pay the real living wage on the face of the Procurement Act, something which the SNP voted against 5 times... See more

 

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