UNIVERSITY OF Edinburgh students and opposition MSPs successfully put a halt to the Scottish Nationalist Party’s (SNP) plans to increase the legal drinking age by joining forces outside the Scottish Parliament last Thursday.
The protest saw a collection of young people and MSPs gathering to display their opposition to the stigmatisation of young people through speeches against the proposals and by chanting “citizen, not criminal”.
The SNP launched their radical approach to tackling alcohol misuse and alcohol-related crime by getting tough on the 18-21 year olds who they believe to be at the cause of the problem. The SNP’s Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill supported the policy stating that "we can no longer sit back and let alcohol misuse continue to take its shocking toll on our criminal justice system, health service and economy.” According to the SNP website alcohol misuse costs Scotland’s tax payers £2.25 billion a year.
This extremist policy united students, young people and MSP’s in opposition to the SNP. Mike Pringle, Liberal Democrat MSP for Edinburgh South, said "These proposals are a reactionary and misguided move by the SNP Government, designed to appear tough rather than solve the problem.”
He continues "surely Scotland should not become a place where at age 18 you can bravely fight for your country, or vote in an election, but are not trusted to buy a bottle of wine to enjoy with friends over an evening meal or a couple of beers to watch the match with?” It seems that most politicians agreed with Pringle’s stance as 72 MSPs voted against the motion on Thursday evening, defeating the SNP’s proposals with a majority of 72 to 47 votes.
Tom French, former University of Edinburgh student and co-ordinator of the Coalition Against Raising the Drinking Age in Scotland (CARDAS), submitted a 10,000 signature petition against the policy and led the protest at the Scottish Parliament. He labelled the SNP’s proposals as ‘daft and discriminatory’ and said the proposal is “a gimmick to make the SNP appear tough on crime and order.”
French thanked everyone who participated in the CARDAS campaign after the results from the debate were announced, stating on a Facebook message that “We’ve won an overwhelming victory and it is down to each and everyone of you. Thank you.”
Tuesday 7 October 2008
Drinking Age Protest-unpublished.
UNIVERSITY OF Edinburgh students and opposition MSPs joined forces outside the Scottish Parliament last Thursday in a bid to put a halt to the Scottish Nationalist Party’s (SNP) plans to increase the legal drinking age from 18 to 21 for off-sales purchases.
The SNP launched their radical approach to tackling alcohol misuse and alcohol-related crime by getting tough on the 18-21 year olds who they believe to be at the cause of the problem.
The SNP’s Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill supported the policy stating that "we can no longer sit back and let alcohol misuse continue to take its shocking toll on our criminal justice system, health service and economy.” According to the SNP website alcohol misuse costs Scotland’s tax payers £2.25 billion a year.
This extremist policy united students, young people and MSP’s in opposition to the SNP. Mike Pringle, Liberal Democrat MSP for Edinburgh South, said "These proposals are a reactionary and misguided move by the SNP Government, designed to appear tough rather than solve the problem.”
He continues "surely Scotland should not become a place where at age 18 you can bravely fight for your country, or vote in an election, but are not trusted to buy a bottle of wine to enjoy with friends over an evening meal or a couple of beers to watch the match with?”
Tom French, former University of Edinburgh student and co-ordinator of the Coalition Against Raising the Drinking Age in Scotland (CARDAS), submitted a 10,000 signature petition against the policy and led the protest at the Scottish Parliament. He labelled the SNP’s proposals as ‘daft and discriminatory’ and said the proposal is “a gimmick to make the SNP appear tough on crime and order.”
The protest was a collection of young people and MSPs that displayed their opposition through the chant “citizen, not criminal” in a bid to change the SNP’s mind. If the SNP’s proposal goes through the new Licensing Act will come into force in September 2009.
The SNP launched their radical approach to tackling alcohol misuse and alcohol-related crime by getting tough on the 18-21 year olds who they believe to be at the cause of the problem.
The SNP’s Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill supported the policy stating that "we can no longer sit back and let alcohol misuse continue to take its shocking toll on our criminal justice system, health service and economy.” According to the SNP website alcohol misuse costs Scotland’s tax payers £2.25 billion a year.
This extremist policy united students, young people and MSP’s in opposition to the SNP. Mike Pringle, Liberal Democrat MSP for Edinburgh South, said "These proposals are a reactionary and misguided move by the SNP Government, designed to appear tough rather than solve the problem.”
He continues "surely Scotland should not become a place where at age 18 you can bravely fight for your country, or vote in an election, but are not trusted to buy a bottle of wine to enjoy with friends over an evening meal or a couple of beers to watch the match with?”
Tom French, former University of Edinburgh student and co-ordinator of the Coalition Against Raising the Drinking Age in Scotland (CARDAS), submitted a 10,000 signature petition against the policy and led the protest at the Scottish Parliament. He labelled the SNP’s proposals as ‘daft and discriminatory’ and said the proposal is “a gimmick to make the SNP appear tough on crime and order.”
The protest was a collection of young people and MSPs that displayed their opposition through the chant “citizen, not criminal” in a bid to change the SNP’s mind. If the SNP’s proposal goes through the new Licensing Act will come into force in September 2009.
Tough times for landlords-published in the Student 30/9/08
EDINBURGH'S RENTAL boom is coming to an end and tenants are set to take back control from letting agents and landlords.
The nationwide rental boom, caused by the ever-looming credit crunch and the crashing of the property market, saw many tenants coming under stress and financial exertion due to a higher demand for rental properties than houses available.
The house market crashed earlier this year with house sales descending to a 30 year low and mortgage approvals down by 71%. First time buyers were put under particular strain with their weekly mortgage costs rising by 21% and mortgage companies insisting on large deposits for them to get on the property ladder. Many people were forced to turn to renting as a product of the turbulent property market conditions.
This increasing demand for rental properties meant that landlords and letting agency were able to discriminate against tenants. According to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) rent on flats increased by 7% between May and August, making the average flat rent in the U.K. £253 per week. As well as a nationwide rent increase, landlords also began to demand extortionate deposits and produced biased contracts for tenants to sign.
The rental boom is finally set to come to an end, with the wheel coming full circle. Peter Grant, co-founder of Edinburgh letting agents Grant Management, states that “there are more properties available to rent. Owners are not able to sell so they are turning to letting out”. This increase of prospective rental properties on the market means that there is more competition for landlords and consequently more choice for prospective tenants.
Peter Grant continued “the supply has gone up and the demand has gone up”, concluding that the rental market has reached an equilibrium of properties and prospective tenants. He did warn that students should not take a back seat in searching for rental properties, stating that students will get the best deal for their money if they “think ahead and get organised”.
The nationwide rental boom, caused by the ever-looming credit crunch and the crashing of the property market, saw many tenants coming under stress and financial exertion due to a higher demand for rental properties than houses available.
The house market crashed earlier this year with house sales descending to a 30 year low and mortgage approvals down by 71%. First time buyers were put under particular strain with their weekly mortgage costs rising by 21% and mortgage companies insisting on large deposits for them to get on the property ladder. Many people were forced to turn to renting as a product of the turbulent property market conditions.
This increasing demand for rental properties meant that landlords and letting agency were able to discriminate against tenants. According to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) rent on flats increased by 7% between May and August, making the average flat rent in the U.K. £253 per week. As well as a nationwide rent increase, landlords also began to demand extortionate deposits and produced biased contracts for tenants to sign.
The rental boom is finally set to come to an end, with the wheel coming full circle. Peter Grant, co-founder of Edinburgh letting agents Grant Management, states that “there are more properties available to rent. Owners are not able to sell so they are turning to letting out”. This increase of prospective rental properties on the market means that there is more competition for landlords and consequently more choice for prospective tenants.
Peter Grant continued “the supply has gone up and the demand has gone up”, concluding that the rental market has reached an equilibrium of properties and prospective tenants. He did warn that students should not take a back seat in searching for rental properties, stating that students will get the best deal for their money if they “think ahead and get organised”.
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