Jeremy Balfour MSP- January Newsletter
Welcome to my Monthly Newsletter. It is a way that I keep my constituents and other interested parties up to date with what I have been up to over the past month along with some of the wider goings on in Holyrood and Scottish Politics in general. This newsletter is in its infancy so if you have any comments on segments that should be included, please let me know at [email protected]. I hope you enjoy.
This Month in Holyrood
A brief overview of the goings on in and around The Scottish Parliament over the last month
- I hope that you have had an enjoyable and restful Christmas and I wish you a very happy and prosperous New year. Parliament has been in recess over the past couple of weeks and I have enjoyed spending time with family and friends celebrating the birth of Jesus. I am excited to get back to parliamentary business this year, representing the interests of the people of Lothian.
- During December, I was privileged to speak in a number of debates, including one on Disability in the Workplace. I was proud to speak on the topic and you can find an excerpt of my speech here.
- I was also proud to speak against the Scottish Government’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill. Even though my amendments the bill passed, I am committed to continue to speak out for the views and interests of women and girls whose voices have been ignored.
- You can find the most recent episodes of Out and About in the Lothians here. I had a particularly interesting conversation with James Morris from William Purves Funeral Director.
Comment
A brief Commentary on Hot Topics and Current Affairs
I like to spend the beginning of the new year looking back over the preceding 12 months, evaluating all things good bad and ugly before looking forward to the year ahead and my hopes for what it might bring. The first on my list of hopes could be describes as ‘New Year, New Parliament’.
The final couple of weeks of 2022 did not show the Scottish Parliament in it's best light. The final stage of the Gender Recognition Reform bill saw the Scottish Government flexing every muscle it could to avoid proper scrutiny and ram through bad legislation before it became political difficult for them. It is my hope that 2023 can see reform to the Scottish Parliament, if not in formal changes to the institution, then in the attitudes of the many MSPs who see parliamentary scrutiny as nothing more than an inconvenience for the executive. The intention of the Scottish Parliament was to be a place where competing ideas could be debated and scrutinised, working as a check against the governments worst instincts. I look forward to Holyrood returning to this culture, hopefully in the near future.
Whether or not we see change this year, I will continue to serve the people of Lothian in the Scottish Parliament to the best of my ability and look forward to working to make Scotland a better place.
5 Headlines
5 articles from the last month that are worth your time.
Stephen Kerr: The SNP's war against beauty in Scotland | Conservative Home
The SNP’s tax hikes won’t work | The Spectator
Nicola Sturgeon posted missing as Scotland's NHS lurches from one crisis to another - Scottish Daily Express
Council leaders call for SNP to scrap 'distraction' care service plans | HeraldScotland
Scottish Budget: John Swinney's sleight of hand can’t hide damage he’s doing to economy – Murdo Fraser | The Scotsman