Katy discusses the increasing need for a balanced goverment, Fairness for parents of young children. Katy represented the views from other women in Glasgow North on the portrayal of women in the media.

MPs, MSPs and delegates at last weekend’s Liberal Democrat Scottish Conference have backed the local community’s fight to save the lane.

Alistair Carmichael MP, Charles Kennedy MP and Hugh O’Donnell MSP have already been to the lane in person to give their support, as well as Scottish Lib Dem Leader Tavish Scott.

Alistair Carmichael MP, Lib Dem Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, said:

“Over 20 years ago, when I was a student at Glasgow University, I spent countless enjoyable hours browsing through the treasures of Voltair and Rousseau bookshop in Otago Lane. I well understand the outrage of local residents at the threat to this iconic West End lane posed by such an inappropriate development. Glasgow City Council should act to support character of the West End by refusing planning permission for this development rather than contributing to the destruction of what makes this part of the City special.”

Alison McInnes MSP, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Local Government, said:

“I congratulate Katy Gordon and the Save Otago Lane campaigners for their sterling efforts to protect a unique part of Glasgow’s West End. The planning reform Liberal Democrats introduced when we were in govenrment in Holyrood was specifically designed to give greater weight to the local plan, such as the council’s Glasgow City Plan, and a greater weight to community opinion.

It’s clear that the local community doesn’t want this overdevelopment and wants Glasgow City Council to stick to the principles set out in its own City Plan. The council and the developers must listen to what local people are telling them and abandon this overdevelopment.”

“It’s great that so many Liberal Democrats have joined the march today. There’s clearly a huge amount of will here in Glasgow to support the climate change talks in Copenhagen in achieving a deal.”

You can see more from the Wave on YouTube:

And have a look at Stephen Glenn’s blog for another Lib Dem perspective on the march.

Both Katy and Margaret backed the students’ campaign to tackle student debt in Scotland, and to scrap the fees in England and Wales. Katy said:

“We had a great discussion with the students about why the Lib Dems think university education should be free, and about the increasing problems of student debt. We also talked about how we would fund this free education, through things like better, fairer taxes, and looking at the numbers of people who choose different types of further or higher education.
At a time when everyone is concerned about their finances and job prospects, expecting students to start their working life with thousands of pounds in debts is unacceptable.”

On Saturday 20th September, Katy Gordon, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Glasgow North, called for the party’s Federal conference to tackle the negative impacts of body image pressure by supporting the Real Women policy paper.

She said that the paper, which aims, among other things, to tackle the unattainable body images presented to young women in fashion and beauty magazines, were ‘not about banning airbrushing’ but ‘working with industry regulators to… help women make informed choices’.

When discussing the policy paper with women from Glasgow’s North West Women’s Centre, Katy said, all the women independently suggested the proposals outlined in the paper. It is clear then that the paper is not, she said, simply ‘do-gooding liberals getting worked up over trivia’, but a way of ‘standing up for those who can’t speak for themselves… pressing for action when to do nothing would cause more harm.’

Update:  Some great comments on Katy’s speech on Neil Stockley’s blog, here.

On Sunday 6th September, Katy took part in the 10K Great Scottish Run, to raise money for Glasgow’s North West Women’s Centre. The centre provides a range of support to women who have been affected by discrimination, and sexual and domestic violence and offers a safe environment for women to work together to find practical solutions to improve their lives. After the race, Katy said:

‘My feet could certainly do with a rest after this, but I’ve raised hundreds of pounds for the women’s centre, so it has been worth every step. I’ve been training hard for several months, so I’m really glad all the effort has paid off, even beating my time last year.
I’ve also been delighted at the number of people who have sponsored me and that I’ve been able to raise the profile of the centre, as well as some much needed funds.  The women at the centre have been really supportive and I am pleased to be able to do something practical to support them.’

“Having worked with young people over many years with Careers Scotland (now part of Skills Development Scotland) and helped businesses both recruit young people and negotiate their way through redundancy programmes, I totally agree that it is vital that young people get the right advice at the right time to help them plan their careers, particularly in today’s tough economic climate. Unemployment is something that many constituents have expressed concern about, and giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the job market is vital to improving the current unemployment rates.  In fact, England could perhaps learn from the experience north of the border that an integrated all age careers guidance service is recognised internationally as the most effective way of supporting seamless transitions into learning and employment.”

Alastair Darling was the keynote speaker.  He was upbeat about the chances of economic recovery in 2010, despite the lagging indicators of the recession such as unemployment continuing to show the recession is hitting people hard.  Katy said:

“It is clear from the Chancellor’s speech that he is not serious about genuine reform of the financial services industry. There was nothing to indicate support of measures such as the High Pay Commission, or specific steps to curb the high-risk, short-term big-bonus culture that has already caused so much damage to the economy. We need genuine changes if this sort of financial crisis is to be avoided in future.”

Katy recently met students at Glasgow University to hear about their housing issues, particularly the difficulty many students have had in getting their deposit back at the end of a lease.  Katy is campaigning to introduce a National Tenancy Deposit Scheme, in which the deposit is held by a third party untl the lease ends.  A similar scheme works well in England and it could help hundreds of tenants in Glasgow North to avoid disputes with landlords when they move flats.

Lib Dem MSP Mike Pringle has also raised a motion in the Scottish Parliament calling for action on this issue.

“This is always a fun event and I was glad to return and see what has been acheived since my last visit.  I am also delighted that the network has welcomed my goal of fundraising for the network by running the 10K in Glasgow on 6th Sept.  This is a vital local organisation that really needs our support. My colleague, Cllr Mary Paris has been working hard with the network to ensure their funding is secured for the longer term so they can continue their good work.”

Liberal Democrat Justice spokesperson and MSP for Glasgow Robert Brown has attacked Glasgow City Council’s decision to use CCTV cameras in Glasgow to target school protesters occupying Wyndford Primary School in Maryhill.

It is claimed that the CCTV cameras, installed to improve safety at nearby flats, have been turned to cover the school entrance and to monitor who goes in and out of the school.

It is understood that the CCTV cameras are the property of Cube Housing Association which are administered through Glasgow City Council’s CCTV monitoring centre but are not actually the property of the council.

Commenting, Mr Brown said:

“This is a civil protest, not a criminal issue.

It is completely unacceptable if the Council have made use of CCTV cameras, put in place to protect the local community, to breach the civil liberties of members of that same community.

The redirection of the cameras, away from the flats they were installed to monitor, will compromise the security of these homes. The Council’s action is excessive, unwarranted and a breach of civil liberties.

People in Wyndford feel strongly about the fact that the heart is being torn out of their local community with the closure of both schools in the area.

I am writing to the leader of Glasgow City Council, as a matter of urgency, demanding an explanation of the situation. I will also be raising this matter with Scottish Ministers. There are serious questions arising as to the proper use of CCTV cameras when they are used not to deter crime but to target protesters.”

Glasgow North Liberal Democrat Westminster spokesperson Katy Gordon added:

“The Council are treating the Wyndford parents like criminals. This sort of “big brother” tactic is excessive and out of place in a local dispute like this.”