Ahead of TUC congress next week in Manchester, STUC President Lynn Henderson makes the workers´case for democratic reform at Westminster, arguing that ending first-past-the-post will lead to more progressive policy

THERE´S no denying that devolution has granted the people of Scotland greater autonomy over our own affairs.

But devolution has also shown that there are other ways of doing politics than the stale model used at Westminster.

It has given us a focal point, and the Scottish Parliament has developed its own voice and confidence.

Changes were revealed hours before England’s semi-final World Cup match, though a spokesperson said this was coincidental

A UK PARLIAMENT spokesperson has denied that the addition of the St George's Cross in a repainting of Big Ben is a snub to the other nations of the UK.

The UK has refused to sign the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which if ratified by 50 countries will make the possession of nuclear weapons illegal

ANTI-TRIDENT protestors from Scotland have chained themselves to the UK Parliament, demanding the government signs the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and disarms its Trident nuclear missiles.

Three per cent of GDP on Defence would make the UK the biggest Defence spender in Europe by far, with Greece in second at 2.4 per cent of GDP

A NEW parliamentary report published today by the House of Commons Defence Select Committee has called for a significant hike in funding at a cost of £20 billion per year, a figure described as “staggering” by the SNP’s CND convenor, Bill Ramsay.

SNP MP Ronnie Cowan, vice-chair of APPG on drug policy reform, argues that the UK’s denial of the therapeutic value of medical cannabis is no longer tenable, given the government’s approval of cannabis production by British Sugar and links to the top of the industry

OVER 30 US states now have access to some form of cannabis derived medicines. A rapidly growing number of European countries - around a dozen to date, allow various forms of medical cannabis, as does Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia and Jamaica.

Speaker of the House John Bercow appeared confused about how to respond to SNP request for a vote

THE SNP’s MPs have walked out on mass at Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, after the Speaker of the House refused a call by Ian Blackford to have an emergency vote and demanded he leave the chamber.

Christine Cooper and Richard Murphy both argue that the big four accountancy firms had proved themselves unreliable in signing off corporate balance sheets in a way that accurately assesses risk

ACCOUNTANCY experts have told CommonSpace that the Scottish Government should act on the findings of a new UK Parliamentary Committee report which called for the break up of the big four accountancy firms in light of its failures in the collapse of project management firm Carillion in January.

Self-confessed politics geek Gareth Hay wonders whether the word "democracy" should be due a dictionary definition update

DEMOCRACY is often described as "the rule of the majority". In the same way as the definition of "literally" was changed in recent years to also include the exact opposite definition, dictionaries may be forced to list a contrasting definition of democracy.

Ahead of second reading of Brexit bill, CommonSpace explains the key points

THE Conservative government’s EU Withdrawal Bill will have its second reading the House of Commons on Thursday (7 September) and Monday (11 September), where MPs will debate the bill before voting on whether to pass it to the next stage.

The bill, which sets out the regulations for the transfer of powers back from the EU, has been widely criticised by opposition parties and pro- EU Tories since it was made available at the first reading on 13 July.