David Thomson reports for CommonSpace from the Scottish Lib Dem conference

THE SCOTTISH Lib Dems are calling on the Scottish Government to think again on Police Scotland.

At the start of their spring conference in Aviemore yesterday [20 April], the Scottish Lib Dems passed a motion that calls on Holyrood to set up an independent commission that will propose legislation “to repair the damage caused” since the force was set up in 2012.

Protestors in Edinburgh against the family cap and rape clause say nothing less than a full u-turn will address injustice

A DEMONSTRATION in Edinburgh against the UK Government’s controversial two child cap on tax credits and the associated “rape clause” on Thursday (19 April) offered a rallying cry to opponents of the policy to keep the issue in the spotlight and “stay angry”.

The SNP MSP Christina McKelvie has supported the survivors campaign

60 YEARS after the UK Government exploded a thermonuclear weapon on Christmas Island in the Pacific, service personnel who participated have issued a fresh call for justice asking Theresa May to finally address the health and environmental consequences of the UK nuclear weapons program.

Tory money – tough questions for Theresa May after tax officials refused to investigate the party’s biggest company donor

THE UK Government is facing tough questions after revelations that HMRC [HM Revenue and Customs] refused to assist a French investigation into the multi-national telecoms giant Lyca Mobile, the Tory party’s biggest corporate donor.

The First Minister offered no denial when questioned if the Scottish Government-owned airport was used in the latest military action against Syria

CONTROVERSY over the use of the Scottish Government-owned Prestwick Airport by United States military returned to the Scottish Parliament today [19 April], as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was unable to confirm whether or not Prestwick had facilitated this month’s strikes against Syria.

Theresa May’s ‘hostile environment’ policy comes under fire as Windrush scandal continues

FORMER HEAD of the civil service Sir Bob Kerslake has said that Theresa May’s flagship ‘hostile environment’ immigration policy was regarded by some government ministers as “reminiscent of Nazi Germany”.

Kerslake was permanent secretary of the department for communities and local government when immigration legislation was being developed which enshrined then home secretary Theresa May’s vision of creating a “hostile environment” for undocumented migrants.

Should the Queen receive a peace prize for leading the Commonwealth? Historian Dr Ewan Gibbs says it should go to the real anti-war activists 

AWARDING Queen Elizabeth II  a Nobel Peace Prize for her work leading the Commonwealth would be an “insult” to those who have fought British colonialism and imperialism, a Scottish historian has argued.

The veteran Labour right-winger Frank Field joined current and former Tory ministers and MPs in arguing that the UK monarch should be recognised for her role in leading the Commonwealth's "force for peaceful change".

Local Democracy Bill should give councils more powers and communities more influence, says Matt Baker of the Stove Network

LOCAL GOVERNMENT needs radical reform from the top and bottom to bring power closer to people, ‘Our Democracy’ campaigners have said.

Matt Baker, orchestrator at The Stove Network, a Dumfries-based development trust with over 500 members, and one of the coalition partners in the Our Democracy campaign, told CommonSpace that the organisation feels that it is “working in a vacuum of local democracy”.

CommonSpace reporter David Thomson covered this week's conference in Aviemore

While the UK Government has defended the legality of its latest intervention against the Syrian state, it has offered no response to the multiple, specific arguments that such action was illegal

IN THE AFTERMATH of the joint US/UK/French military strikes against targets within Syria last week – intended, according to Prime Minister Theresa May, to “degrade” the ability of the government of Bashar al-Assad to make use of chemical weapons – the UK Government has defended its actions as entirely legal, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.