MSPS voted 65-61 in favour of repealing the controversial anti-bigotry law

THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT suffered a defeat on one of its flagship policies on Thursday afternoon when MSPs voted in favour of the repeal of the Offensive Behaviour and Threatening Communications at Football (Scotland) Act.

The vote was triggered by Labour MSP James Kelly’s Member’s Bill to repeal the act, which following its initial success, will now move on to examination at committee level before a final vote.

Following the Scottish Government’s ban, SNP MPs now seek to make the devices illegal across the UK

THE SNP is taking their battle against electronic shock collars to Westminster, demanding that reserved powers are employed to make the sale and use of such devices illegal across the UK.

Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham announced her decision the evening prior to a Holyrood debate on the issue

ELECTRIC SHOCK COLLARS used in the training of dogs and condemned as cruel by many animal welfare campaigners will be banned in Scotland, the Scottish Government has announced.

The decision followed several months of heightened attention to the issue, and was revealed on the evening of January 24, a day prior to a scheduled Scottish Parliament debate on the issue led by Conservative MSP Maurice Golden.

SNP MSP’s call for UK-wide ban gains cross-party support and endorsement from animal welfare groups

THE SALE AND USE of shock collars and electronic ‘training devices’ which inflict pain or distress upon dogs should be banned in Scotland and throughout the UK, SNP MSP Ben Macpherson has argued.

Wightman continued his Homes First campaign with a parliamentary debate on short term lets

ANDY WIGHTMAN MSP, housing spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, cemented his ‘Homes First’ campaign launched earlier this week with a debate in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday on the rapid, unregulated growth of short-term lets in Scotland.

SNP MSP Ben MacPherson wins support from left-wing MSPs over “punitive” charges

POLICE SCOTLAND AND THE SCOTTISH FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE should be exempted from paying VAT by the UK Treasury, and be refunded the £140m they have paid in VAT since 2013, argued SNP MSP Ben MacPherson during a Scottish Parliament debate on Tuesday evening.