John Wilson (Scottish Green Politician)
John Gordon Wilson (born 28 November 1956) is a Scottish politician. He was formerly a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland region from 2007 until 2016. He sat as a Scottish National Party (SNP) member and then as an independent after 2014. He stood unsuccessfully as a Green Party candidate in the Coatbridge and Chryston constituency at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election and then as an independent candidate in the 2017 Scottish local elections. Education and early career Wilson was educated at Camelon High School in Falkirk, then at Coatbridge College and Glasgow University. He has an MA in Politics and Economic History. He was a director of the Scottish Low Pay Unit from 2001 until 2007. Political career Wilson joined the SNP in 1999. As a member of the SNP, he was elected to the Scottish Parliament to represent Central Scotland at the 2007 election. The following day the results of local election held on the same day were returned- he had als ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Committees Of The Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament committees are small groups of Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) who meet on a regular basis to scrutinise the work of the Scottish Government, conduct inquiries into subjects within their remit and examine legislation. Much of the everyday work of the Scottish Parliament is done by these committees. Committees play a more prominent role in the functioning of the Scottish Parliament than in many other comparable parliamentary systems. Partly this is intended to curb executive dominance, partly to empower backbench members as they carry out the work of scrutinising government, partly to encourage public and expert involvement, and partly due to the unicameral nature of the Scottish Parliament, meaning there is no revising chamber. Some key committees, known as Mandatory committees, are required by the Scottish Parliament's Standing Orders and are established at the beginning of each session and their remits determined by parliamentary rules. Subje ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Coatbridge College
New College Lanarkshire Coatbridge Campus, previously the independent Coatbridge College was Scotland’s oldest further education college, founded in 1865. The College has over 250 staff members and approximately 7,000 students. The College provides further education to the people of North Lanarkshire, in particular those who live in Coatbridge and Airdrie. The 1970s saw Coatbridge College move away from traditional heavy industries and it changed its focus to commerce. In 1984 the College was extended to create computing suites, hairdressing and beauty salons, a refectory area, sports facilities and a large Theatre, which was later named the Ian Bannen Theatre. In 2013 there was a proposal to merge Coatbridge College with other further education colleges in North Lanarkshire, but Coatbridge pulled out. However, the merger into New College Lanarkshire (with the former Motherwell College and Cumbernauld College) took place the following year. Campuses The College is curre ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2014 Scottish Independence Referendum
A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was, "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side won with 2,001,926 (55.3%) voting against independence and 1,617,989 (44.7%) voting in favour. The turnout of 84.6% was the highest recorded for an election or referendum in the United Kingdom since the January 1910 general election, which was held before the introduction of universal suffrage. The Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013 set out the arrangements for the referendum and was passed by the Scottish Parliament in November 2013, following an agreement between the devolved Scottish government and the Government of the United Kingdom. The independence proposal required a simple majority to pass. All European Union (EU) or Commonwealth citizens residing in Scotland age 16 or over could vote, with some exceptions, which produced ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two North American. Established in the aftermath of World War II, the organization implemented the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949. NATO is a collective security system: its independent member states agree to defend each other against attacks by third parties. During the Cold War, NATO operated as a check on the perceived threat posed by the Soviet Union. The alliance remained in place after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and has been involved in military operations in the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. The organization's motto is ''animus in consulendo liber'' (Latin for "a mind unfettered in deliberation"). NATO's main headquarters are located in Brussels, Belgium, while NATO ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Quango
A quango or QUANGO (less often QuANGO or QANGO) is an organisation to which a government has devolved power, but which is still partly controlled and/or financed by government bodies. The term was originally a shortening of "quasi-NGO", where NGO is the acronym for a non-government organization. In its pejorative use, it has been widely applied to public bodies of various kinds, and a variety of backronyms have been used to make the term consistent with this expanded use. The most popular have been "Quasi-autonomous national government organization" and "Quasi-autonomous non-government organization", often with the acronym modified to "qango" or "QANGO". As its original name suggests, a quango is a hybrid form of organization, with elements of both NGOs and public sector bodies. The term is most often applied in the United Kingdom and, to a lesser degree, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and other English-speaking countries. In the UK, the term quango covers different "a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Skills Development Scotland
Skills Development Scotland (SDS) is the national skills agency of Scotland. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. History Created on 1 April 2008, SDS is a merger of former organisations and services which delivered skills related services across Scotland. The former organisations or services that now make up SDS are: * Careers Scotland * Elements of Scottish Enterprise's skills function * Elements of Highlands & Islands Enterprise's skills function * Scottish University for Industry (learndirect Scotland, learndirect Scotland for business, ILA Scotland and The Big Plus) * Training for Work * Skillseekers * Modern Apprenticeships In 2010, the agency found itself facing funding cuts of more than £20million and needing to find 125 voluntary redundancies, one tenth of its workforce. Structure Skills Development Scotland has a presence in most major towns across Scotland. The Big Plus The Big Plus is an awareness raising campaign i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Climategate
The Climatic Research Unit email controversy (also known as "Climategate") began in November 2009 with the hacking of a server at the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia (UEA) by an external attacker, copying thousands of emails and computer files (the Climatic Research Unit documents) to various internet locations several weeks before the Copenhagen Summit on climate change. The story was first broken by climate change denialists, who argued that the emails showed that global warming was a scientific conspiracy and that scientists manipulated climate data and attempted to suppress critics. The CRU rejected this, saying that the emails had been taken out of context. FactCheck.org confirmed that climate change deniers misrepresented the contents of the emails. Columnist James Delingpole popularised the term "Climategate" to describe the controversy. The mainstream media picked up the story, as negotiations over climate change mitigation began in Co ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2011 Scottish Parliament Election
The 2011 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to Members of the 4th Scottish Parliament, elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the Additional member system, Additional Member System used to elect Member of the Scottish Parliament, MSPs was allegedly originally implemented to prevent any party achieving an overall parliamentary majority. The Scottish National Party (SNP) won a landslide victory, landslide of 69 seats, the most the party has ever held at either a Holyrood or Westminster election, allowing leader Alex Salmond to remain as First Minister of Scotland for a second term. The SNP gained 32 constituencies, twenty two from Scottish Labour, nine from the Scottish Liberal Democrats and one from the Scottish Conservatives. Such was the scale of their gains that, of the 73 constituencies in Scotland, only 20 came to be represented by Member ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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North Lanarkshire Council
North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also borders East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk, Stirling, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian. The council covers parts of the traditional counties of Dunbartonshire, Lanarkshire and Stirlingshire. The area was formed in 1996, from the districts (within Strathclyde region) of Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Motherwell, and Monklands, as well as part of the Strathkelvin district (Chryston and Auchinloch), which operated between 1975 and 1996. As a new single-tier authority, North Lanarkshire became responsible for all functions previously performed by both the regional council and the district councils. History The largest part of North Lanarkshire, in the south of the county, has its roots in the historic county of Lanarkshire, which has existed since ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Councillor
A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unlike most provincial elections, municipal elections are usually held on a fixed date of 4 years. Finland ''This is about honorary rank, not elected officials.'' In Finland councillor (''neuvos'') is the highest possible title of honour which can be granted by the President of Finland. There are several ranks of councillors and they have existed since the Russian Rule. Some examples of different councillors in Finland are as follows: * Councillor of State: the highest class of the titles of honour; granted to successful statesmen * Mining Councillor/Trade Councillor/Industry Councillor/Economy Councillor: granted to leading industry figures in different fields of the economy *Councillor of Parliament: granted to successful statesmen *Off ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2007 Scottish Parliament Election
The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999. Local elections in Scotland fell on the same day. The Scottish National Party emerged as the largest party with 47 seats, closely followed by the incumbent Scottish Labour Party with 46 seats. The Scottish Conservatives won 17 seats, the Scottish Liberal Democrats 16 seats, the Scottish Greens 2 seats and one Independent (Margo MacDonald) was also elected. The SNP initially approached the Liberal Democrats for a coalition government, but the Lib Dems turned them down. Ultimately, the Greens agreed to provide the numbers to vote in an SNP minority government, with SNP leader Alex Salmond as First Minister. The Scottish Socialist Party and the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party, which won seats in the 2003 election, lost all of their seats. Former MSP Tommy Sheridan ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyrood. The Parliament is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), elected for five-year terms under the additional member system: 73 MSPs represent individual geographical constituencies elected by the plurality (first-past-the-post) system, while a further 56 are returned as list members from eight additional member regions. Each region elects seven party-list MSPs. Each region elects 15 to 17 MSPs in total. The most recent general election to the Parliament was held on 6 May 2021, with the Scottish National Party winning a plurality. The original Parliament of Scotland was the national legislature of the independent Kingdom of Scotland and existed from the early 13th centur ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |