
James Kelly


Parliament must be ready for more 'difficult decisions' to tackle Climate Emergency, @ScotGov say
Scottish Government ministers, opposition politicians and environmental campaigners have all argued that abandoning the aviation tax cut alone will not be enough to address the climate emergency

It's all over: Offensive Behaviour at Football Act repealed
After years-long campaign, the OBFA finally falls by 62 votes to 60 in parliamentary vote
MSPS HAVE SUCCESSFULLY VOTED to repeal the Offensive Behaviour in Football Act (OBFA), narrowly defeating in the Scottish Government by 62 votes to 60.

After the OBFA: Introduce new law or withhold football funding to tackle sectarianism, charity says
As Holyrood prepares to repeal OBFA, anti-sectarianism charity Nil By Mouth says Scottish football cannot be allowed to self-regulate anymore
THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT should consider implementing Uefa’s ‘Strict Liability’ principles on Scottish football, whether by new legislation or by withholding millions of pounds of public funding, a leading anti-sectarianism campaign has argued.

Greens call for local tax reform as Scottish budget reaches final stage
The national budget must not become “an annual rear-guard action against local cuts”, says Patrick Harvie
THE 2018-19 BUDGET for Scotland is expected to pass its final stage today (21 February) thanks to support from the Scottish Greens, who have argued to further reforms after winning concessions on local authority funding.

Scottish Parliament votes in favour of Offensive Behaviour Act repeal
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.

In the spotlight: These are the names tipped to be the next Scottish Labour leader
We take a look at who might take Kezia Dugdale’s place as Scottish Labour leader
FOLLOWING Kezia Dugdale’s surprise resignation as leader of Scottish Labour, there is no shortage of possible candidates to replace her.
Dugdale herself became leader in 2015 after defeating Ken Macintosh with 72 per cent of the vote, following a relatively uncrowded leadership election.
Candidates for Scottish Labour leadership can be either MSPs, MPs, or MEPs. In order to be nominated, candidates require at least 15 per cent support from Labour MSPs, MPs and MEPs.

STUC Youth Conference backs repeal of Offensive Behaviour at Football Act
A motion at the STUC Youth Conference on Saturday discussed the repeal the ‘Offensive Behaviour at Football’
THE STUC Youth Conference has passed a motion in favour of repealing the controversial ‘Offensive Behaviour at Football’ Act.
Unite the Union moved the motion at the conference on Saturday, stating that it believes the legislation “is a rushed, ill-conceived and illogical piece of the statute, which only serves as an unwarranted attack on the freedom of movement and expression of football fans”.

LISTEN: We speak to James Kelly MSP and @FACkilltheBill campaigner Jeanette Findlay about how Scotland treats its football fans
Scottish Labour MSP James Kelly spoke to CommonSpace’s David Thomson ahead of a final vote at Holyrood this week on the repeal of controversial legislation aimed at football fans
ON THURSDAY (15th March), the Scottish Parliament will hear the final stage of James Kelly’s private member's bill to repeal the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act.

FMQs: Ruth Davidson and Richard Leonard haunted by party records
Both Richard Leonard and Ruth Davidson silent over criticism of their parties’ recent actions
SCOTTISH LABOUR LEADER Richard Leonard and Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson found themselves unable to escape their respective parties’ recent records during First Minister’s Questions, facing heavy criticism from First Minister Nicola Sturgeon over their engagement with the Scottish budget and Brexit.