Katy attended the Centre’s Garden Party on Thursday 14th August, where she was welcomed by the Centre’s manager, who took her on tour of the centre and described the work of the centre. Katy also admired the newly completed quilt, sewn by local women as part of their weekly Patchwork class, funded by North Glasgow Healthy Living community and talked to the Centre’s Chairperson, Mary McEwan. The quilt was formally launched by the Lord Provost at the Garden Party. Katy said:

“I am very impressed by the variety of activities and support available at the centre. It has a very welcoming feel and is clearly a well used local service. It is important that local organisations doing such good work are supported to maintain their funding so they can continue to help women across the north of Glasgow.”

Katy has been lending her support to Ian Robertson, Liberal Democrat candidate in the Glasgow East By-Election. BBC News covered the closing stages of the campaign, where Katy highlighted the high level of support that Liberal Democrats in Glasgow have been receiving, saying:

“What’s been really exciting here is the amount of people that have come from across the country to help.”

Liberal Democrats in Glasgow North have welcomed the launch of the Liberal Democrats’ vision for Britain by Party Leader Nick Clegg MP. Called ‘Make it Happen’, the paper will be debated at the party’s conference in Bournemouth in September.

In ‘Make it Happen’ the Liberal Democrats say:

• They will cut taxes for ordinary families
• They will switch taxes from people to pollution - so it pays to go green
• To improve standards in education, they will fund extra help for those who need it most
• They will put Britain at the heart of Europe to make us a force for good in the world
• They will stop ID cards so we can keep control of our privacy
• They will change the voting system so everyone’s voice counts
• They will bring communities together with local people in charge

Katy Gordon, Spokesperson for Glasgow North, said:

“I am delighted to be able to back ‘Make it Happen’. It sets out how the Liberal Democrats will run Britain.

“No resident of Glasgow North has escaped the rising cost of food and fuel. The credit crunch is biting hard and local people are feeling the pinch.

“Nick Clegg has set out how we can help ordinary people through cutting taxes on those on low and middle incomes. Thousands of people in Glasgow North will benefit from this.

“We are taking the plans in ‘Make it Happen’ to the people of Glasgow North during the summer to get their response. And in September, we will be heading to the Liberal Democrats’ conference where we are looking forward to taking part in the debate.”

Tavish Scott MSP took time out from canvassing in the Glasgow East by election yesterday to hear about the housing problems of Maryhill residents.

As part of the launch of his Liberal Democrat leadership campaign, he was keen to learn more about the concerns of local people. Katy Gordon, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson for Glasgow North, and Tavish visited Marie McDonald and her daughter, who bought their home in Maryhill under Right to Buy legislation several years ago. Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) are now in the process of knocking down all the housing in their area in a 12 year rebuilding programme and are dragging their feet on offering Mrs McDonald alternative accommodation.

Tavish said:

“This illustrates the need for investment across Glasgow and Scotland in affordable housing to take place as quickly as possible. I was amazed to find out that it’s going to take 12 years to complete this regeneration.”

Katy added:

“While there is a lot of focus on new affordable housing, it is also important to look after the homes we already have. A lot of residents across the constituency have problems with common repairs being carried out late, badly or overcharged for. Many tenants struggle to get deposits back from unscrupulous landlords.

“It is time to look at making it easier for residents and tenants to get their voices heard. Mrs McDonald has been in limbo for nearly 2 years now and it is time for GHA to resolve the situation.”

“It is good to see Liberal Democrat MPs setting an example and showing that they have nothing to fear from open, independent scrutiny of their expenses.

“I hope that the Labour and Conservative leaderships will follow Nick Clegg’s lead in implementing these measures, and we can begin to restore public confidence in politicians.”

Katy said:

“As the NHS celebrates its sixtieth birthday next month, the state of the health service will be as hotly debated as ever. Throughout the past six decades every Scot will have benefited from NHS services. There is no other institution that commands the degree of public pride and respect as the National Health Service.

“I believe that the NHS should stay true to its founding principles. This to me means a health service that works 24 hours to look after the health of all of our patients.

“That’s why I conducted my recent NHS Health Survey, and am still welcoming comments from residents giving me their thoughts on local services.

“Liberal Democrats are calling for a full review of the way the NHS provides care in the community but we are not advocating a return to the dark days when GPs alone shouldered the burden of arduous on-call rotas.

“Instead of bullying doctors into providing limited services for extended hours, Ministers should be sitting round the table with doctors and representatives from other key health areas to plan the best way to provide a 24 hour care in the community.

“2008 must be the year individual patients regain 24 hour health care in their local community.”

As part of Friends of the Earth Scotland’s Packaging Awareness Day, Katy joined Glasgow Councillors and members of the public outside the Sainsburys supermarket in Crow Road last weekend, Partick to demonstrate against excessive packaging.

Shoppers were encouraged to sign a petition calling for an end to excessive product packaging and the use of compostable and recyclable materials.

Jake Wilson, from Glasgow Friends of the Earth commented:

“Food packaging costs households £470 per year – that’s one sixth of the average food budget! In addition, over 40 percent of household rubbish that goes into landfill is supermarket packaging.”

“Most of it is unnecessary and is only adding to Scotland’s growing waste mountain.  Over-packaged goods waste a huge amount of valuable resources -  we hope that Sainsburys will listen and reduce the amount of packaging accordingly. The real challenge is to avoid waste in the first place – we want to see supermarkets composting their own food waste and providing biodegradable sources of packaging.”

Katy commented:

“I’m glad to be supporting local efforts at reducing excess packaging. The Liberal Democrats are leading the efforts in Parliament to tackle this problem. “

A spokesman for Sainsbury’s said:

“We are completely committed to reducing the amount of packaging we use and making that packaging we do use recyclable.”

Katy and Cllr Mary Paris joined local residents at the Cadder Gala Day festivities. After Mary opened the gala, they spoke to local residents and organisations in the community centre and braved the rain showers to see the ever popular climbing wall, new canoing event and the fairground rides.

Katy was joined by Robert Brown MSP and Cllrs Mary Paris & Kenneth Elder at the inaugural Friends of Old Station Park Gala Day. The Liberal Democrat stall proved popular, as did the free pizza. Katy commented:

“The day has clearly been a success, both in getting people to use the park and also to see the plans for its refurbishment. This is a great but underused space. Whether by cutting back the overgrown trees to increase visibility, fixing the paths or coming up with better suggestions for usage, it is important the the community has their say. My colleague, Cllr Elder will certainly be respresenting the views of residents as part of the FOSP committee. I was also delighted to win the top raffle prize of the FOSP cake. I will need to do a lot more campaigning out and about to work off the effects!”

Katy and Cllr Mary Paris greatly enjoyed the inaugural Maryhill Community Council Gala Day at Ledgowan Community Hall. There was huge support from the local residents, particularly for the talent contest. Katy said:

“This has been really well organised, with different activities to appeal to all. There are a number of local organisations here to raise awareness of their work and the healthy eating stall was particularly popular. I hope the gala is repeated next year and it just shows you what can come from an idea by one local resident who wanted to bring the community together and give young people something positive to be involved in.”