I would love to address a crowd as big as this one day – this was First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at the SNP’s Tour at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow last year (picture from the SNP’s Flickr page)

As you may have learned in recent times, I am hoping to become an elected representative, God willing. There is no doubt that putting your constituents first, looking after the needs of the  area you represent and being a first port of call are the primary objectives when holding political office. But, like life, politics is and should be an art. It should be colourful, it must be exciting and it must always aspire to become enthralling. Many people don’t cast a ballot compared to before, because they are uninspired by what they see on the television, hear on the radio or view online. Some say politics is show business for ugly people, but the real ugliness is politics being practiced in a monotonous manner.

As someone who enjoys public speaking, I was totally delighted to see how well Mhairi Black MP performed in the House of Commons when she stood before the chamber to make her maiden speech. She shattered the myth that age and inexperience are barriers when it comes to making people listen. She was witty, she was succinct and she was straight talking. Like her fellow SNP Westminster Parliamentarians, she put any doubts to bed about the competence and talent of the group and has got people excited about politics in Scotland and beyond. 

And whilst it was rather annoyingly disappointing that the BBC’s Reporting Scotland programme cast a negative light on Mhairi’s speech and didn’t give it the fair coverage it deserved (please don’t think I am expecting them to completely become SNP cheerleaders by the way, I just wanted them to put in a little more journalistic effort into how historic a moment it was to see a 20 year old politician make such a significant speech), it was very heartening to see social media in full swing, reacting to the event as a whole and even to see the print press from all over the political spectrum recognise how historic this occasion was. There has been a selection of superb maiden speeches since the election in May, but Mhairi Black’s one in particular gives a lot of hope that she will be potentially one of the most memorable characters of Scottish and UK politics in years to come.

She is a major source of inspiration for me. I have a new motto that I intend to utilise again and again in the months and years ahead – I vow never to be boring. Whether I become an elected politician or not, I want to entertain as well as inform my audience, because they deserve to be enthralled. They do not deserve to have their time wasted and won’t appreciate that either. The key to success with public speaking in politics is to deliver relevant messages in a reasonable manner that will enlighten those listening. 

The public deserve to have politicians who will treat politics as an art as well as a profession. It should be fun, it should be passionate and it should provoke minds. Public speaking is a key element of politics and it should be performed well. Style and substance must combine cohesively and marry with ease in order to make sure that the key messages are fed through to the electorate smoothly and with ease of understanding. There are many examples of politicians from the past and even now who grab my attention regardless of whether I agree with their political point of view or not – Alex Salmond, Nicola Sturgeon, Tony Benn, David Davis, Tommy Sheridan, Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, Charles Kennedy and even Jacob-Rees Mogg as well as Mhairi Black are just some examples alongside many more.

In conclusion, I repeat my main promise – I vow never to be boring. And if I put you to sleep, then for goodness sake give me a good damn shake!

This was George Square earlier this summer. But last year, it was buzzing during Glasgow 2014.

Athletes and many other people from across the Commonwealth were very impressed by the hospitality of the Scottish nation. They were made to feel at home despite the long distances that they had travelled. Every aspect of their welfare during their stay was carefully taken care of and cherished to the finest detail – whether that was accommodation, transport or provision of facilities.

Scotland’s success as a country is as dependent on how tall we stand on the world stage as well as how well we do at home. In the aftermath of London hosting the Olympics two years previously, there was without doubt a considerable amount of pressure on Scotland’s biggest city to perform and perform well. And they truly did and spectacularly at that.

In fact, Glasgow did so well in 2014, that it couldn’t be resisted to think about the potential viability of the same city within the same country taking on the responsibility of holding a future Olympic Games. But it shouldn’t be anticipated that this would be an almost immediate occurrence. The timescale would probably be about at least 20 years or so before we ever got to the point where the viability of a Scottish Olympics would begin to be even properly suggested, yet alone evaluated.

It should be anticipated that many readers of this article will be bemused by the idea of a Scottish Olympics at this current time, especially when other issues dominate people’s lives and their priorities lie elsewhere. The continuation of austerity by the UK Government is certainly no cheerful remedy nor does it encourage any out of the ordinary creativity and appetite for radical new ideas to emerge in terms of holding major events. 

Why should we move so quickly towards holding another major sporting occasion so soon after Glasgow 2014? Do we need more time to pinch ourselves after last year’s successful Commonwealth Games? There are many, many reasons why we should be cool on the idea of the Olympics coming to a country of the size like Scotland and of the size of a city like Glasgow – you can list a hundred and one reasons why we shouldn’t go about spending another few billion pounds on another major international event.

But why shouldn’t Scotland be the focus of the world’s eyes once more? It has to be acknowledged that the Olympics is a bigger event than the Commonwealth Games in terms of size, logistics and the variety of sports that are played. It also has to be appreciated that many of the previous host cities for the Olympics are considerably much bigger in size than that of Glasgow. For instance, London’s population is approximately ten times that of Scotland’s biggest city if you include Greater Glasgow.

And the prospect of a major proliferation of Glasgow’s population is non-existent. Yet this is unnecessary. Ironically, however, the prospect of an Olympic Games in Scotland would bring about a lot of economic benefit and much welcome regeneration and would increase the international profile of the city and the country. Unconnected to the Olympics specifically, we should always aspire to stay internationally relevant and punch above our weight as a country like other places such as Singapore and the Scandinavian nations. 

Ultimately, the potential legacy of a Scottish Olympic Games would be absolutely lucrative. Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games last year left a vital legacy where many areas were revamped after years and years of decline. Areas such as Dalmarnock were transformed. New sporting venues such as the Emirates Arena opposite Celtic Park are much valued public facilities as well as major focuses of major sporting occasion. The formation of the Athlete’s Village has now changed into a set of new homes for residents to move into. And the city as a whole is more at ease with itself than ever before, but that is of course not to say that it isn’t still without it’s major long-term problems.

It has to also be said that the nation’s self-confidence was boosted as a result of Glasgow 2014. We all felt good about ourselves. The so-called “Scottish cringe” was given the red card and we rose as a nation. If we are to secure our independence within the next decade, then what better way to make a name for ourselves internationally than to aspire to play host to the most major sporting occasion on the planet?

A Scottish Olympic Games would bring about similar benefits as did last year’s Commonwealth Games, but on a much bigger scale. Very few people now question Glasgow and Scotland’s capability to host such major international events. And if anyone fears that the city cannot compete with others such as London or Sydney then they need to remember this – quality, not quantity counts for everything. 

People make an event for what it is. Glasgow and Scotland rose to the occasion last year. They made Glasgow 2014 the greatest Commonwealth Games in history. And they would more than rise to the prospect of a future Olympic Games one day. We might be a small country of around five million people, but we are truly special.

Nae limits Glasgow! Nae limits Scotland!

On Thursday evening, I took part in a canvassing session for Julie Ford who is the Scottish National Party candidate for a by election that is due to take place in Glenrothes West and Kinglassie next month. She is charismatic, local and politically has her finger on the pulse – I am biased of course, but I genuinely think very highly of her. I am confident that she will score a very handsome victory and by this time next month will, God willing, she will be an elected councillor.

But whilst I was browsing through her website earlier this morning, something on her home page grabbed me with vigour. And it was this following paragraph in particular that struck me:

During my time at university, and for two years after, I worked in a pharmacy and became a trained dispenser. This profession opened my eyes, it made me realise that people don’t choose poverty, or a life filled with drugs – that is a sign that our society has failed them.

She couldn’t have been more right if she wanted to be. It was one of the finest pieces of writing I had ever stumbled across in a very long time, because it reminded me why I ended up becoming a member of the very same political party that Julie is representing in next month’s by election.

When I commenced my pre-registration training in Birmingham nearly four years ago, I found the idea of Scottish independence to be nothing more than a fantasy. But numerous things happened to me that challenged this thinking. For starters, I was away from home, alone, having to rely on my own self to get through a very intense year of training that lay ahead of me. I never genuinely realised that I was going to miss home as much as I did. And with that came something that God gifted me as a blessing that was to truly enhance me as an individual and brighten up my personality. 

My Scottish identity flourished like a fully grown thistle. The vast majority of people I came across, spoke and worked with admired my unique Scottish self. They appreciated the Caledonian spirit that I never got to fully appreciate myself until it became apparent to me. I was different to everyone else and I loved it. Now, generally speaking, one of my biggest anxieties in life is being boring or coming across as boring to anyone. You could call it thaasphobia if you wanted to, but let’s just say that I like to raise an eyebrow or two at the best of times! 

And during my time in the West Midlands, Scotland was adjusting to life under a majority SNP Scottish Government at Holyrood. Alex Salmond’s authority as First Minister had never been stronger, but Prime Minister David Cameron’s behaviour towards him over that prospective referendum on Scottish independence was absolutely dishonourable and a democratic disgrace. The Conservative Prime Minister who failed to even win a majority in 2010 trying to teach an SNP First Minister how to go about fulfilling a democratic mandate that had been so solidly won in 2011 with an overall majority inside a Scottish Parliament where the electoral system was designed to minimise such an occurrence from taking place? Get real Mr Cameron!

But in the context of this particular article, that is to an extent besides the point. By the time I commenced life as a pre-registration pharmacist, the Scottish Government had ended the two tier and discriminating disgrace that was prescription charges. A system which didn’t raise a meaningful amount of money for NHS Scotland, nor provided equal access for all patients in Scotland to access medicines when required. A system where if you were an asthma or COPD patient, but unfortunate enough not to fit within one of the exemption criterion at the back of a NHS prescription and on a low income, then you had to pay up. And a system which ate into the precious time of pharmacy teams up and down the country in terms of managing to get past the red tape and the time it took to double check on who was eligible for free prescriptions and who wasn’t.

Unfortunately, patients in the West Midlands and all over the rest of England could not enjoy the benefits of not having to pay prescription charges unlike patients in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. I had to watch on far too many an occasion patients having to agonise over which medicine they wanted to get dispensed which sadly resulted in them often not receiving all of the medicines prescribed to them on the prescription given to them. This in a sense is enough to even question the whole idea of prescription charges in the first place. And it is also dangerous as well, because omitting some of the overall treatment due to cost is the fault of the system in the first place and not the patient. If the patient is the first priority, then why on earth do prescription charges even exist in the first place? 

To be absolutely frank, I find the whole idea of prescription charges an absolutely indefensible one when a patient who is entitled to receive the full treatment that they have been prescribed can’t, because affordability becomes a serious issue due to low income. If someone is prescribed two inhalers that they must have and can only afford to pay for one, then it’s just counterproductive. There are many people in society today only getting by on the minimum wage and aren’t paid anywhere near the living wage (and not the one proposed by the Chancellor incidentally) – they hardly have any money left on the side for them to actually life their lives to the fullest. And with prescription charges currently at £8.20 per item, it eats into someone’s budget very easily. I can only wish that England’s Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, sees sense one day and abolishes this pointless levy. But I am not holding my breath frankly.

Despite all this, I have to act impartially and with obligation to the duties and responsibilities that I am expected to exercise and hold accordingly when I’m practising within the dispensary. But otherwise, you can see why as a pharmacist practising north of the border now how much I sincerely appreciate Scotland not having to impose a levy on prescription items. The SNP puts the right priorities first. I reject any suggestion of prescription charges coming back – it is a folly and futile way to raise any revenue for the health service. Those that say the richest in society should pay, fail to understand that it is the working poor that stand to lose the most if a levy on prescription items was still in force. And what’s more, taxpayers have paid for the medicine budget within NHS Scotland already. You wouldn’t pay for your weekly grocery shopping twice, would you? So why should you pay twice for your medicine if you need support from the health service?

The other thing that strikes me the most as a pharmacist is the suffering, sadness and struggle that many patients have to endure in their lives. Many of them find themselves in poverty, caused by circumstances that were outwith their control and have little chance of any way out. As someone who was fortunate enough to go to university and achieve a degree, the “walk on by” attitude is always a threat. Yet thankfully, I feel humbled enough to realise that the patients I take care of in my work are my fellow citizens. 

My experience as a pharmacist has taught me a lot more than how to measure and manage someone’s blood pressure effectively. It has shaped my politics. It has motivated me to make me a full time pragmatist – getting things done effectively to benefit others and just doing the right thing in general. It has transformed me into a progressive – supporting and championing policies which benefit all and improve equality. And, especially after coming home after my training nearly three years ago, the old me who was vulnerable to the once contagious “Scottish cringe” returned north of the border more secure, strong and proud of his Scottish identity and, ultimately, came out of the closet nearly a year ago and declared his full support for the independence of Scotland.

I have had to manage much of my own pharmacist career on my own two feet, particularly when I was a self-employed locum until late last year. I didn’t receive a lot of support and was stubborn enough to keep calm and carry on. As someone once said, independence is the most natural thing in this world and boy were they right! 

I have also been impressed by how pharmacy in Scotland has made it’s own place and distinctive identity clear within the profession, especially since the start of devolution. We have a community pharmacy contract which is proof that we are capable as a profession within our own country that we can make our own way and can also inspire others around the world when it comes to delivering healthcare. I would still like much more to be done in terms of gaining more autonomy for Scotland so that our NHS in Scotland is further protected, nurtured and less vulnerable to the regressive nature of the current UK Government. And ultimately, I want the prize of independence to be secured for Scotland so that we can take things to a whole new level and create the special and progressive society in Scotland that many of us wish for.

I have Julie to thank for the existence of this article. Without her powerful words on her website, it would have never brought about that reminder home to me as to why I ended up as a member of the Scottish National Party today. And because it matters so much, I am incredibly fortunate to find myself in a position today where I am a nominee for the party in the Mid Scotland and Fife region for the 2016 elections to the Scottish Parliament.

Yours for Scotland!

  It has been nearly one year since Scotland voted on the issue of independence. And it hasn’t been boring in the slightest!

In the aftermath of the vote, I produced a programme called “The Campaign For Scottish Independence: A Reflection” where a group of Yes voters, a prominent No campaigner and a chosen neutral observer for the documentary were all interviewed about the referendum.

Next week, I plan to publish a new programme onto YouTube which will mark one year on since the historic vote held in 2014. Were you a Yes voter or campaigning in favour of independence? Did you reject leaving the United Kingdom or defend the continuation of the Union? Or were you observing events from a neutral perspective?

Whatever your position, I want to hear from you. I intend to film for interviews this Friday only (11th September) in either the Edinburgh or Fife areas only and you may be considered – please e-mail me directly on officialanashassan@outlook.com if you are interested. 

Participation is voluntary only, hence no reimbursement is available. Sincere apologies for this, but you’ll still get an opportunity to become a star on camera! Please get in touch!

Welcome to Scotland. Welcome to a different political landscape.

What would have been dubbed as an extraordinary surprise six months ago became the most predictable and unsurprising occurrence at around half past eleven yesterday morning. Jeremy Corbyn, champion of the socialist left of the UK Labour Party, thrashed his other three leadership opponents to become the new Leader of the Opposition. A man who I suspect did not even expect to be in that position and probably still pinches himself at the prospect of the job that lays ahead of him.

I was very tempted to share my immediate views on social media once I first properly absorbed the news yesterday evening, but resisted. I didn’t want to rush to immediate judgements in the heat of the moment, especially in the wake of an election of a new leader who could potentially re-define the political landscape on the left across the rest of the United Kingdom. Now that the ripples in the pond has settled, I have concluded that my overall feelings on him are entirely neutral and nothing else.

He doesn’t overwhelm me with excitement nor will he tempt a vast number of people north of the border to join in the wave of activity that has defined much of this recent UK Labour leadership contest. He might sway a small handful of Yes voters to come back to Labour, but he won’t win back the vast majority of the 1,617,989 voters who cast their ballots for Scotland to leave the United Kingdom last year. The motivation to take Scotland to independence is irreversible and shall never be changed in any way, shape or form.

Despite having never met him, Jeremy seems like a very nice gentleman. He certainly will dilute much of the obnoxiousness which tarnishes politics in general. He is a man who doesn’t go around floating his ego left, right and centre for the sake of doing so and this is a refreshing approach. And I agree with some of his opinions on areas such as Trident, the arts and tackling inequality. But the fundamental issue in the current context of things is one that we both have irreconcilable differences in some other areas. And most of all, I want Scottish independence and he doesn’t.

I certainly think that Jeremy Corbyn will be more civil when it comes to understanding why people like me support Scottish independence. I do not expect him to behave with a high degree of contempt towards pro-indepndence supporters, unlike other pro-union politicians. But Jeremy Corbyn must not stand in the way of the aspirations of more and more Scots who are coming to the conclusion that enhancing Scotland’s autonomy is the way forward to make the nation a better place for everyone. Scotland’s politics and aspirations belongs to Scotland and the rest of the UK’s politicians and aspirations belongs to the rest of the UK.

Unlike a few others, I am in no mood to be sucked into the red flag waving utopia that has arisen in the wake of Jeremy Corbyn’s entrance into the limelight. By all means I sympathise a lot with policies of a socially democratic nature and support the excellent initiatives that the Scottish National Party have made happen since 2007. But I am also a pragmatist. Scotland does not belong to one side of the political spectrum. Scotland belongs to everyone living within our great nation and catering for the needs of all of our communities, urban and rural, is fundamental to the nation’s ongoing success.

And most of all, I am fundamentally in favour Scotland becoming an independent country within it’s own right. In order for the Scottish nation to truly flourish, we need the autonomy to take our economy, society and politics in the direction that applies to our country’s needs, otherwise the national interest of Scotland will be unacceptably damaged and severely compromised.

And finally, to quote former First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond:

“For Scotland, the campaign continues and the dream shall never die.”

At the end of the day, ethnic minority Scots like myself have nothing to prove to anybody. I mean, just look at the picture!

At the end of the day, Scotland would never exist the dynamic and outgoing nation that it truly is without continuous and uninterrupted immigration. Nobody living here is bigger than the nation. And let’s face it, who is defined as a Scot? The unambiguous answer is that it is every person who lives here, who wants to be part of Scottish society and those who have a link to the country in some way, shape or form whether it’s through family relations, for example.

The current political issue of immigration is not as much an issue for people here as it is elsewhere within the UK, because Scots have an appreciation for how spreading far and wide across the world works for numerous reasons. They may have family who live abroad in places like Australia or the United States for instance or they may have friends who work in countries such as Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates.

We aren’t a big country in terms of population after all and, regrettably, the lack of specific economic opportunity at times here has forced many Scots to leave home to seek a career elsewhere. Much was talked about the emigration crisis in the Republic of Ireland over four years ago when the country had to be bailed out and as far as Scotland is concerned, there isn’t much data available to illustrate specifically how many Scots have had to emigrate from Scotland to seek a livelihood elsewhere.

But in the current context of things, much of the focus within the news has been on the current refugee crisis. Some journalists have carelessly and wrongfully dubbed this current situation as a “migration” crisis. It is absolutely ignorant, crass and callous to think that those tens of thousands of people are voluntarily coming into Europe for the sake of doing so – they have been left with no choice, but to move across with all the risks they have had to put up with. And let’s face it, if you are prepared to risk getting to Europe on a raft, let alone a ferry, then what does that say? Life for many refugees coming to Europe must have been cataclysmically bleak at home.

Since the Big Bang, the world’s land hasn’t stand still and the composition of Earth has diversified. Scotland was once part of a continent called Laurentia which also included Greenland and North America. Scotland and England only physically joined each other when the lapetus Ocean disappeared around 400 million years ago. The first human beings to arrive and reside in Scotland were said to have been approximately 10,000 years ago. During time since then, the likes of the Celts and the Romans made a major influence upon the Scottish nation and in recent times more and more people from different areas such as Eastern Europe and South Asia have come to make Scotland home.

So how hypocritical would it be if us Scots started to feel uneasy about immigrants or refugees from other parts of the world coming to live in our country? Whilst in some quarters it is an issue to an extent for some, it actually isn’t for many more in our country. Frankly, the idea of adopting an anti-immigration attitude is a folly and an affront to Scottish identity and the history of our country. Having said that though, Scotland sadly has elements of it’s own history which are regrettable – for instance, sectarianism has poisoned parts of society especially across the west of the country.

But we are beginning to turn the corner, slowly but surely. Scotland has always been a multi-cultural country and naturally so. And in the wake of the current refugee crisis especially, we are rightfully willing to embrace any new arrivals into our country.

If you live in Scotland, want to be Scottish or want to be part of Scottish society, then you are in the team – and this is regardless of your race, religion or wherever your origins came from. A “them and us” attitude isn’t particularly Scottish and thankfully never will be, because we are a country that is at ease with ourselves. Whether we are sons or daughters of first generation immigrants or immigrants from hundreds of years ago, approximately all five million of us in Scotland are immigrants.

Posting my written correspondence to David Cameron and Francis Maude over TTIP

Whilst many of you are aware that I am seeking to become the lead candidate for the Scottish National Party for Mid Scotland and Fife for Holyrood next year, I do not necessarily just approach this particular issue from a political perspective, but I also approach this issue from the perspective of a healthcare professional. 

I passionately believe that NHS Scotland and the NHS in England, Wales and Northern Ireland must be completely protected from the potential consequences of TTIP. Patients who use the health service and personnel working for the NHS or who are providing NHS services stand to lose a lot if our health service is not fully immune from TTIP. 

As a community pharmacist, I can safely say that Scotland has the best community pharmacy contract in the world, because the services on offer for patients have the capability to address the real health needs of our population and are doing so. The decisions made about what the contract looks like and how it should function could never have been properly made if decisions were affected by fears over litigation.

  
I’m not suggesting for a second that everything is perfect, but matters would definitely be a whole lot worse if the health service was not protected from TTIP. Decisions about Scotland’s NHS should be made within our own country and not be affected by other factors which don’t necessarily take the best interests of patients and staff at heart. And the same protection and respect of a country’s autonomy to make decisions should apply to each of the other nations of the rest of the UK and across every other country which could be affected by TTIP.

You don’t need to rely on politicos like me to raise the concerns of many people over the impact TTIP may have on the NHS. Please visit the People’s NHS website through this link for more information.

Scotland’s NHS should ALWAYS be in Scotland’s hands.

  Something so simple yet so extraordinary happened to me last night at a supermarket in Kinross-shire. Here is the status update from Facebok that I shared: 

“When I state that I am NOT a boring man then I really do mean it. And here is a spectacular reason why that is absolutely the case.

I bought a few items from a local supermarket in Kinross. As I walked out of the store and headed towards my car, I started to panic. Panicking as I ended up losing my receipt. Now when one gets into a state of panic, chaos takes over. One of my purchased items was a tub of Greek Style Yoghurt which sneakily slipped away from my hands and crashed onto the tarmac of the car park. You can imagine the horror that took over my body as I absorbed the end result of this unfortunate occurrence.

Feeling like a defeated boxer in a ring (some of the yoghurt found its way onto my being as well), I trembled back into the store’s Customer Service desk with a plastic bag, a bar of chocolate and a tub of yoghurt that looked like it had twenty punches smashed through it during a heavyweight contest. But the staff were so generous and kind to take back my damaged good. As I returned the poor item, I was still asking myself what on earth I did with my receipt. By that point, I didn’t expect to be offered a replacement for my yoghurt, but that offer flew towards me like a blessing in disguise. Oh how surprised yet heartened I was when I received the replacement for what is my favourite style of yoghurt (I get through one tub in two minutes and thirty eight seconds straight! 😂).

Before even attempting to make my way back home, my overzealous self then worried about the shocking state of the tarmac. Luckily, free paper towels were on hand at the entrance of the store and I went over and helped myself to a moderately abundant amount which I utilised to clear out as much of the mess as possible. 

Now, it ain’t easy to completely remove yoghurt from tarmac, but boy did I give it as good as try as I possibly could (woeful in reality! 😂). I felt like a contestant on The Generation Game with Sir Bruce Forsyth shouting me on to get a grip! 😂😂😂

As the excesses of yoghurt cleared up, a lovely symbol had arisen in the shape of a nearly complete ❤️. I was so struck by it that I even took a photo and posted it on here for you to witness. I attribute the ❤️ as a symbol of the kindness, generosity and patience of the wonderful staff at Sainsbury’s in Kinross who were very good to me tonight. And although, I decided to clear up the mess on the tarmac as best as I possibly could, I’m glad I did.

I don’t know how many of you are religious or spiritual or not, but I certainly believe in God. Whilst he blesses me with the autonomy of running my life as best as I can, my fate and will lies in God’s hands and always will until I am recalled from Earth. Amid all the chaos and frustration of life, I do ❤️ people. And I ❤️ people who are good hearted and have a great sense of humanity about them, especially the staff of Sainsbury’s in Kinross. And I ultimately ❤️ God for what happened and generally. Thank you and thank you again!

Finally, each of you has good within yourselves. Use it, empower it and be the best that you can be, despite all the obstacles that lie potentially in the way.

Have a superb weekend! ❤️ Xxxxx”

If elected as an MSP to Holyrood next year, I will make it a personal pledge to ultimately see the abolition of homeopathy prescribing within NHS Scotland.

With an annual budget from the block grant given to Scotland by Westminster shrinking year by year, it is more important than ever that the Scottish Government continue to competently take the best decisions on public spending that are in the best interests of the people of Scotland. And especially in the area of health, devolved to Holyrood, this is more important than ever.

On the 20th September 2015, it was reported by The Scotsman’s Martyn McLaughlin that nearly £2 million was spent on homeopathy within NHS Scotland last year. When that is contextualised within the annual budget for the Scottish health service then it may seem like an absolutely insignificant sum.

But then again, it really isn’t. A figure of around £1.83 million (the actual amount spent on homeopathy within NHS Scotland last year) could fund for approximately 25 General Practitioners, 70 Registered Nurses or even 50 Prescribing Support Pharmacists. The money spent on homeopathy should be re-directed towards our primary and secondary care settings in order to give NHS Scotland a much needed boost in staffing resources.

As a qualified pharmacist myself and currently a nominee for the Scottish National Party for Mid Scotland and Fife, I hold much gravitas on this issue. If elected as an MSP to the Scottish Parliament next year, I will make it a personal pledge of mine to ensure that a moratorium is brought about and implemented. The SNP currently do not have a specific policy regarding the potential abolition of homeopathic prescribing, but I want to lead the way on this particular issue as it arguably falls within my professional remit.

It is essential that in the process of a moratorium being enforced that a consultation should take place in the aftermath to seek the viewpoints of all concerned stakeholders over the future of homeopathic prescribing. In that event, I will robustly argue and campaign with a personal view for the prescribing of homeopathic products to be ended permanently. And I also echo the calls by Dr Peter Bennie, chair of BMA Scotland, for no further money to be spent on homeopathy.

Homeopathy is no better than a placebo – this was a key finding from a House of Commons Science and Technology Committee report in 2010. Why any amount of taxpayers cash is being spent on an unproven and so called “treatment” is baffling and morally indefensible. And in the wake of the news report published by The Scotsman, I also welcome the excellent insight into the issue of homeopathy last week which was written by fellow Common Space columnist James McEnaney.

Action must be taken promptly to safeguard vital financial resources for NHS Scotland. And Scotland must lead the way in setting an example internationally.

The first ever edition of my new podcast series has arrived. In this first episode I take a look at my time taking part in a demonstration against franking on the Forth Road Bridge, rue my rejection from getting onto the final list for Mid Scotland and Fife for the SNP and take a look back at an extraordinary SNP Annual Conference in Aberdeen.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Every human being cherishes love. It’s natural. It is a fundamental element of life and even the human race wouldn’t survive without it. But love does manifest itself in several different ways and one of the ways it comes across is romantic love. And regardless of ethnicity, faith, gender, sexual orientation or social background, none of us are truly immune to it.

Finding love online has become a globalised phenomenon. There are websites which suit everybody’s needs from people wanting to find a date to people looking for a spouse. And without doubt, many couples would never have come together had it not been for finding love online. But the concept of online dating or so called online matchmaking has become symbolic of everything that is wrong with the way men and women interact with each other. For starters, the concept in principle is peculiar. Now there’s no intention to name any particular service or website, given that there is a vast choice online, but has demonising ourselves to looking at potential matches, flicking through people’s faces like a game of snap and reading about where someone’s last holiday destination was on a smartphone or laptop become a depressing sign of how backwards we have gone as a society?

And what on earth is wrong to talking to each other as people, face to face? It’s doesn’t even need to be solely about looking for love primarily, because the immediate aim is to be bold enough to go beyond our own comfort zones, build bridges and form friendships. We are guilty of creating pathetic excuses to erect unnecessary barriers when it comes to communicating with one another as people, whether someone is looking for love or not. Looking inwards wins nothing. But doing the total opposite instills hope.

As a member of the male gender, my heart sinks to the bottom of the ocean over the disgraceful way some fellow blokes message women online. Although it’s fair to say that messaging someone you like online is no walk in the park, it’s also fair to say that it can all be too easy for someone to make a poor impression of themselves if they don’t think about what they are communicating. The lack of charisma, friendliness and simple mannerisms from many people is frightening and whilst communicating with others online will never substitute real life interaction and face to face conversation (where it would be easier to show to the other person what your personality is really like), being amicable and polite does nobody any harm. But unfortunately, too many of my fellow blokes genuinely do not have what it takes to communicate in the right manner to members of the opposite gender. Is it any wonder that some women come out with the question, “where are all the men?” – I would assume from that question that they are referring to real men of real masculine values and not boyish blokes who haven’t been enlightened on what it really takes to be a real man.

That said, you are never going to please everyone, even if you come across well online. Every single person has their own desires and that has got to be respected so whilst potential rejection hurts, it is certainly no damning indictment on a person, unless their behaviour is anything but potentially desirable. One who is rejected time and time again will naturally be at risk of looking dangerously inwards and coating themselves with self-doubt (which is a key reason why looking for love online is a potential and real danger to self-esteem), but the main thing to remember is that everyone is different and, frankly, if someone rejects you then the reality is that it is their loss, certainly not yours and most definitely not the other way round! I think the antidote to finding love online could not be more simpler and there are three key things to consider.

Firstly, learning to love yourself. There is nothing better than learning to love yourself. And there is nothing cringeworthy about it either. And it isn’t arrogant to feel self-love either, because if anything in this world, it’s essential. Nobody is going to approve of you, what you do or what you are all about as a human being. And why should they? How dare someone subject themselves to second class status by seeking other people’s approval. You are who you are and you have the autonomy to make the decisions within your own life to be the person that you aspire to be. And you are who you are and if others have an issue with that, then it’s their bad!

Secondly, confidence. You could have all the personality traits in the world, but if confidence is missing then you are snookered. Being confident in yourself, your abilities and what you are all about as a person will transform the world around you for the better. It is one of the most powerful tools that a human being could ever have and by asking yourself “what’s right today?” rather than “what’s wrong today?” then your mindset is transformed for the better. People who say confidence is the equivalent of being pompous and up yourself are so deluded that they have no idea how out of touch they are on such a fundamental element of human behaviour. And if anything, a more confident person will subconsciously come across to other people and others will stand up and take notice.

And finally, why not be brave and bold enough to ditch finding love online? Even if it was only for a week, see how going about your own life on your own terms fares without having to resort to the depressing, empty and soul searching experience of trying to seek someone else’s approval on an app or website. It is clear that online dating or finding love online has become an abomination, because of the intoxicating culture and environment that has emerged from it. And believe it or not, there used to be a time when the Internet didn’t exist and yet the human race has survived through century after century.

To put it succinctly, and dare I say it colloquially, my conclusion could not be more simpler. Put yourself first, sod the rest of the world and move forward with your life!

Image courtesy of fotographic1980 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What do we entirely mean when it comes to the word “nice”? To quote Oxford Dictionaries online, it is defined as “giving pleasure or satisfaction; pleasant or attractive:”.

So in a world full of war, hostility and grievance, why do so many within society consciously and subconsciously discriminate against individual human beings who fit this precise definition of a word that has been commonly misunderstood and even abused?

Why have we as a society become so brilliant at undermining other people and even ourselves when it comes to having the potential to provide the antidote to the vitriolic negativity that makes our Earth a more and more unpleasant place to live? Are we just better are hating each other rather than truly loving one another?

The whole context of this blog article will without doubt be concerned with a specific area of life, but it can be arguably applied to the whole of life. But who is anyone to undervalue the real meaning of the word “nice” when it comes to finding love? When one reads the definition of the word then it is very clear that connotations such as boring and dull do not have a home.

And thankfully so, because too many people incorrectly think that a nice person equates to being a boring person. Nothing could be more further from the truth. You wouldn’t just describe a person with a radiant personality, many life interests, a sense of outgoingness, strong intelligence and good looks as off putting, would you? You wouldn’t describe a person who is charitable and looking out for the welfare of others as ignorant and uncaring, would you? And you certainly wouldn’t describe someone with ambition and drive as a person symbolic of predictable boredom, would you?

So why on earth do too many people find themselves falling for the trap of “nice guys or ladies finish last”? It is one of the most bizarre, distasteful and upsetting paradoxes in life. And it isn’t just a one off occurrence. It happens repeatedly in every corner of society, amongst a high volume of people and is somehow seen as the “norm”. It is one of the most shameful lines of thinking that has ever come about within the history of human civilisation. And those that celebrate and champion such an ideology are a contemptous reflection of themselves.

Because by believing, championing or saying that nice men or women finish last, you are actually predjudicing against people who hold qualities or traits that are humanely desirable. By backing such a statement, you are even infecting with the poisonous virus of doubt into their minds which could yet lead them astray into losing much of the quality that substantiates their positive sense of personality, values and well being. And overall, you are playing a part in creating an unpleasant atmosphere of bitterness, selfishness and true hate. Add this all up and you create an overall apocalypse of inhumanity.

Controversial this might sound, but I have seen far too many people in my time emotionally hurt, bitter and even angry after experiencing what I must imagine were forebodingly negative and unfulfilling relationships. When one exits such a relationship, there is no consolation prize. Rather, members of the opposite gender, or even the same, become more sceptical with each other. And this sets a dangerous precedent.

And all this at the same time whilst many great, great people will be going through their twenties and even their thirties and yet they will never know what it is truly like to be in love. And dare I say this, but there will be even individuals who might travel though life knowing nothing but true independence. That for the great cynics of love and relationships may be a great blessing, but loneliness isn’t exactly an ideal definition of positive defiance.

Being nice does not equate to being predictable and unexciting. Unfortunately, so many people’s perceptions have been completely misconstrued. It’s time to go back to basics.

  2016 will present an incredible opportunity for the Scottish National Party for the forthcoming elections to the Scottish Parliament. And, despite how good the polls have looked, nothing should ever be taken for granted!

I have decided that I want to produce and publish an uplifting video where I intend to heavily and emphatically promote why it is mandatory that we achieve #BothVotesSNP in next year’s election. But fellow SNP supporters, I need your help.

You don’t need to do very much at all and in fact your small contribution could make a HUGE difference. All I want you to do is to grab a piece of paper, write down #BothVotesSNP and, either using your smartphone or camera, record a video and say the words “Both Votes SNP” to the camera whilst showing your #BothVotesSNP piece of paper (or you can use other ways to get the hashtag on camera, but don’t do anything silly of course! 😂) – you can say it normally, shout it or even sing it as if you were singing a melody. It is completely up to you. 

Your video should be no longer than around 5 seconds long. Please send completed videos to officialanashassan@outlook.com by the 30th December 2015. 

The video should be available to view either around the time of the New Year. Many thanks for your support in advance!

Stronger For Scotland. Vote SNP.

Image courtesy of number1411 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I am heartened to see the excellent coverage all over social media of the solidarity of the junior doctors right across England so far today. It is of absolutely no surprise that many patients, fellow healthcare professionals and the public are putting their support towards a group of very important healthcare professionals who cannot be blamed for walking out in the midst of the ongoing shambles with regard to the negotiations over new contracts.

Whilst the strike doesn’t affect Scotland directly, events south of the border should serve as a lesson to everyone else on how NOT to treat healthcare professionals and how eroding respect towards them (which they have deservedly earned over their years of education and training) ends up with a situation as is apparent right now.

This rhetoric of creating a so called “seven day NHS” by English Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is a smokescreen for the reality that vindicates the fact that a health service running throughout the week and weekend actually exists. Clearly there are ongoing issues with regard to weekend care and improvements can always be sought for in terms of improving out of hours care south and even north of the border.

But the truth is that the UK Government are allowing words and rhetoric to take centre stage rather than real action. There isn’t a need to create an over exaggerated hype in order to improve healthcare at obscure hours during the seven day week. What Jeremy Hunt needs to do is to get off his soapbox and start initiating constructive solutions in order to make the patient experience better at evenings and weekends.

Perhaps he can devolve control of out of hours care to pharmacists, as has been successfully done in Scotland in recent years with the out of hours care Patient Group Directive. Perhaps he could even introduce a national Minor Ailment Service for England as has been done in Scotland. And perhaps, as far as A & E is concerned, he could invest in more staff.

Junior doctors are as human as everyone else and too often feel the weight of the world on their shoulders when working. Of course there’s no doubt that the position that they hold is a responsible one. But when you look at other countries such as Australia, you can tell why doctors over there have it so much better. There are more staff to consult, more resources available and less pressure on them.

And those that claim that today’s strike puts patient safety at risk are very much mistaken. The real risk is the continuing arrogance of the Health Secretary in England and the UK Government. They need to burst the bubble around them and understand the reality of the difficult situation that those junior doctors are facing on a daily basis and strive to make their lives easier for the benefit of all patients, the public and ultimately the National Health Service in England.

After days of writing this speech, failed attempt after failed attempt to produce a worthwhile speech and lots of frustration, I am delighted to reveal my own assessment, on camera, of how proposed cuts to the English community pharmacy network could have consequences for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as England.

With over 12,000 signatures so far to a online petition calling for those proposed cuts to be stopped (which there is a link to towards the end of this post) there is understandable widespread concern across pharmacy that any such measures could have a very negative impact for community pharmacy services south of the border.

I am opposed to any cuts to the English community pharmacy budget. At a time when investment is needed to meet the growing demand for community pharmacy services, this is not a time to take away resources. Any proposed cuts to English community pharmacy has the potential to have a negative impact north of the border as well as in Wales and Northern Ireland.

As far as Scotland is concerned, any negative impact upon the block grant given to Holyrood would be absolutely unacceptable. And I am also concerned about the impact market forces across the United Kingdom could have upon the wages and locum rates of both employee pharmacists and locum pharmacists across the board plus those wages of members of pharmacy teams right across these islands.

Whilst demand for community pharmacy services grows, it is only fair that community pharmacists, members of pharmacy teams and pharmacy contractors are rewarded accordingly for the hard work that they put in to keep services going and to fulfil the expectations of patients in order to deliver high quality patient care.

I’m concerned that proposed cuts to English community pharmacy could have an impact in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In this speech, I outline why I believe cutting the English community pharmacy budget is a bad idea and will create a situation where nobody (pharmacist, pharmacy contractor, member of pharmacy team and ultimately patients) stands to win from any proposed cuts. I also look at the whole issue from a Scottish perspective since I live and work in my home country of Scotland.

After viewing my speech, I would urge everybody concerned to please click on this link to sign a petition, that is currently on the Petitions UK Government and Parliament website, calling for the proposed cuts to community pharmacy in England to be stopped.

This is not an easy time for everyone concerned and the last thing community pharmacy south of the border needs is any form of cuts to the vital funding needed for those services which are needed on a daily basis to meet the health needs of the public.

Thank you in advance for your time and support.

Image courtesy of zirconicusso at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Towards the end of last year, I ran a poll online asking potential participants whether they agreed with the idea of fining patients who use the NHS as a result of binge drinking. Nearly 58% of people who responded to the poll voted against the idea, but over 40% sympathised with such a policy (link via my Facebook page). Albeit an online poll, the majority don’t support such an idea becoming reality, yet it isn’t such a taboo to such a significant minority of people.

But the problem of binge drinking generally is an issue that has become continuously discussed in terms of how to reduce it in order to reduce the problems that it causes as a result of it’s destructive nature. More awareness of the consequences binge drinking causes to society has slowly become more and more recognised over the years. For example, Dr Cliff Mann, President of the College of Emergency Medicine, once advocated a ‘zero tolerance’ approach by the police in order to make binge drinkers more aware that their actions have consequences (link via The Independent).

He cannot be blamed for his sentiments, given that he has first hand experience through his own professional life working on the frontline within emergency medicine. It cannot be doubted for a moment that irresponsible use of alcohol is causing serious and unwelcoming consequences to society and exerting pressure on the provision of the NHS. In 2014/15, according to ISD Scotland, over 35,000 acute hospital stays were down to alcohol. Although in past years this figure has been higher, this is still absolutely unacceptable.

Binge drinking is an utterly irresponsible, destructive and nauseating piece of behaviour which should be absolutely discouraged at every opportunity. It makes me passionately angry that for too many decades, taxpayers money has been used to try and treat the symptoms of a problem and not utilised effectively to treat the root causes. Alcohol is far too readily available and sometimes at an obscenely low cost in the context of things. But that said, although past personal sentiments on social media may suggest otherwise, I have slowly turned against the idea of introducing a system of fines on patients who use the NHS as a result of excessive and irresponsible alcohol consumption. And for two reasons.

Firstly, we don’t need to go this far at all. If Scotland is to successfully implement new legislation through the form of a minimum alcohol pricing bill then much of the root cause of the current problems faced will begin to be effectively tackled.  Increasing the price of alcohol simply makes sense. Consumers will think twice about their choices and for their own benefit. This is not about punishing people for choosing to consume alcohol, but rather for them to make better and more informed choices about what they purchase and consume. And also, it goes some way to changing the culture around alcohol.

And secondly, introducing a system to fine patients for being admitted to hospital as a result of binge drinking will bring about a series of unwarranted problems. Healthcare professionals on the frontline of our hospitals already suffer from an unacceptable level of verbal and even physical abuse, even without a system of issuing fines. So why make their working lives more of a misery by adding to their workload by determining who has been deemed irresponsible enough to be fined for binge drinking?

Proponents of a such a move to bring in fines could argue that fining patients may act as a way to cut down on the abuse NHS workers receive. But I doubt that this would become the resulting reality. And on a separate note, there is the real danger that vulnerable people who have had their lives utterly blighted by alcohol will not be granted the compassion that they need in order to move forward in being freed from the despair that the misuse of alcohol causes. Fining them for being admitted to hospital merely rubs salt into the wounds, which is not desirable nor in threat interests of both patient and society.

Make no doubts – I utterly abhor the abuse of alcohol. If I find myself elected into Parliament one day then it will be a key area that I will want to pursue and I would be more than willing to launch a major effort against the misuse of alcohol, in order to improve the health of people, the nation and society plus create a happier environment for us all. The misuse of alcohol ruins lives, compromises public safety, costs taxpayers a lot of money, exerts a lot of pressure on our public services and brings about a negative reputation to society as a whole.

And it is frankly unfair for responsible drinkers and teetotallers taxes to be tragically wasted on merely treating the symptoms of binge drinking, when the potential exists for this problem to be robustly tackled for everyone’s benefit. The Scottish Government’s proposal for minimum alcohol pricing will go a long way to bringing about the much needed change in culture that is so badly needed in order to make the streets of our towns and cities far more pleasant places to explore. Fairness must prevail for all.

Image courtesy of voraorn at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Scotland’s Minor Ailment Service (MAS) has been a well regarded success in the field of pharmacy over the best part of the last decade. It has opened up as a credible alternative to waiting for an appointment with the GP for many patients north of the border when it comes to treating a selection of self-limiting conditions for certain groups of patients who qualify to use this service.

And particularly given how I’ve been often hearing anecdotes of patients struggling to book an appointment with the doctor in recent times and where access to them is unavailable during out of hours times such as the weekend where pharmacies up and down the country are open, MAS has been truly appreciated for it’s availability and for being utilised as a way to treat minor ailments such as athlete’s foot, skin conditions and threadworms.

So is it not time to abolish the exemptions which determines the eligibility of patients for MAS, open up this service to all patients in our country, extend the autonomy of pharmacists in treating a wider range of conditions and transform MAS into a proper clinic-style service within community pharmacies across Scotland whilst enabling investment into appointing pharmacists to provide this revolutionised service whilst at the same time granting them full access to patient notes in order to provide the best quality of care? Such a service should not be seen as a way to demonise the autonomy of doctors, but rather to relieve the pressure on GP’s and other parts of NHS Scotland.

There is opportunity for real and radical change to improve the provision of such services and improve accessibility to healthcare for patients. It cannot be doubted for a second that pharmacists are a major asset to healthcare and seen as the medicines experts by society. You don’t need to book an appointment to speak to one or ask a question. And given that under devolution in Scotland we have seen radical progress and a well earned increasing recognition of the ability of pharmacists to provide a variety of useful services as set out within the community pharmacy contract, there is a strong track record which has the potential to be built upon for the future.

The Minor Ailment Service is a key element of Scotland’s community pharmacy contract. According to the following set of statistics from ISD Scotland, by the end of March 2015, nearly a million people in Scotland (around 1 in 5 of the Scottish population) were registered with the service. Over two million items were dispensed coming to a cost of £5 million in 2014/15. And every community pharmacy has patients who are registered with the service.

But why should our Minor Ailment Service be limited to patients who happen to fall within a certain age bracket or claim benefits? Why should a student aged 19 or a low paid worker who doesn’t fit within one of the exemption categories at the back of a MAS form be denied access to healthcare via MAS? As mentioned earlier, it isn’t all that easy these days to get an appointment booked with the doctor in many places. Demand on our health service is high and will remain so for a long while to come, whether it’s the peak of the winter or the middle of the summer. But with this difficulty, lies opportunity for Scotland’s pharmacists.

I believe that there is opportunity for the Minor Ailment Service to be extended to all patients across Scotland and to act as a service that allows pharmacists to treat patients for not just a common selection of self-limiting conditions as normally set out within various health boards formularies, but for a wider range of commonly encountered conditions probably via Patient Group Directives (PGD). It is down to health boards and NHS Scotland as a whole to determine which conditions should be treated by pharmacists, but PGD’s already exist in Scotland for conditions such as conjunctivitis and a recent one was launched to allow pharmacists to provide Varenicline for smoking cessation.

As a pharmacist, I have encountered many a prescription from a GP where the medicines prescribed were for conditions that could have easily been dealt with by a pharmacist. GP surgeries are under incredible pressure and much has been made through social media and even advertising campaigns to encourage patients to go to a pharmacy first in order to get healthcare advice. But isn’t it pointless, inconvenient and time consuming for a patient to walk into a pharmacy and only receive advice on an issue without getting the full care necessary there and then, because the pharmacist does not have the fully granted autonomy required to provide the necessary pharmaceutical care necessary?

An expanded Minor Ailment Service under the full circumstances as outlined within the third paragraph of this article will go a long way to creating a win-win situation for pharmacists and GP’s and become a credible alternative in contrast to the forthcoming savagery of the community pharmacy budget in England propose by the UK Government. But simply expanding MAS without investment in staffing resources and opening up access to full patient notes will not suffice. However,  given that the Scottish Government published Prescritiption For Excellence in 2013, the opportunities are endless for pharmacy in Scotland.

I would love to become the first ever pharmacist to be elected to the Scottish Parliament for the SNP, God willing, within the next few years.

Please feel free to listen to highlights of my talk which covers a variety of issues from waiting times within NHS Scotland to free prescriptions to minimum alcohol pricing (please press play at the top of this post).

And be assured that Scotland’s NHS will always be safe under the hands of the Scottish National Party! Enjoy! And Vote SNP this May!

 Here is a status update I posted on my Facebook page last night regarding this particular day:

“If Scotland had voted Yes around eighteen months ago, then nearly an hour ago we would have faced a new kind of Hogmanay where probably fireworks would have been witnessed lighting up the skies of our nation as independence of our country would finally have become a reality.

It would have been a very special moment in the history of our world, let alone politics or any other walk of life. But alas, we didn’t do it. The Yes Scotland campaign just didn’t do enough to convince enough of our fellow citizens that going it alone was the right thing to do and we need to be big enough to accept that.

We fell short on too many key areas such as the currency, pensions and even on the future of European Union membership. We were frankly too carried away with ourselves at the best of times and should have taken the initiative on those particular issues and on the overall momentum of the campaign as a whole. 

We only allowed fear, scaremongering and a lot of silly assertions from the opposing side of the argument to dominate the agenda during the independence referendum campaign. Fear harbours resentment and is therefore never a constructive way to go forward in this life, in any walk of life. We have seen since September 2014 many assertions made against independence fall apart.

I defiantly remain in the belief that Scotland is far better off being independent. I actually think the case for us being a fully self-governing country has grown stronger. But still not strong enough to be in a position of winning a future referendum on Scottish independence. We need many more years yet before we even find any future Yes Scotland campaign in a realistically and potentially winning position.

And hence, this is why it is all the more important for me and my friends in the Scottish National Party to keep working hard in order to win our party a record third term in office at Holyrood. There is frankly no other political party who has the required level of credibility and gravitas to lead the nation forward into another term of competent government and potentially towards a second independence referendum.

And finally, until the day I die, whilst I and my comrades shall always continue to respect our neighbours and friends internationally and advocate an outward looking vision for our nation, I shall remain proud of the fact that I am a Scot and live, work and enjoy my life within Scotland – the greatest nation on earth today, tomorrow and always. 👍

#BothVotesSNP”

Campaigning for David Torrance in Kirkcaldy

My local candidate David Torrance scored an absolutely sensational result in Kirkcaldy and he deserves a lot of credit and major congratulations. I am proud to have supported him in his campaign and I think he deserves to hold his head up high. He is an absolutely important asset to Kirkcaldy, the Scottish nation as a whole and it’s great to see him as an MSP again. And I also want to congratulate every one of the other SNP candidates who became elected. I campaigned for many SNP candidates across Scotland and to see many of them become MSP’s was fantastic and filled me up with pride.

On a different note, much has been made of Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson’s success this week. One would be harsh to play down the incredible results the newly second placed party achieved and her own personal talent as a politician, but Ruth needs to understand that she doesn’t call the shots. I expect her and her party to be a much more robust opposition than Scottish Labour, but they must respect the fact that it is the Scottish people that will decide whether another independence referendum will happen in the near future. And given the volatile political environment around us at this time across the UK, she has absolutely no right to stand in the way of any potentially increased demand by the electorate to re-visit the independence question.

But that said, I remain unconvinced that Brexit or not next month that there needs to be a snap second independence referendum. Instead, we must focus on re-visiting the Yes case and making major modifications to it in order to make it more robust and, more importantly, to listen to fellow citizens who didn’t back independence in 2014. We will never win a referendum on this issue until we take their concerns on board and act upon them in a positive manner. But if we can convince them that independence is the way forward, then we are moving forward.

I joined the Scottish National Party in November 2014 after that historic referendum two months earlier, because I simply believe Scotland should be an independent country. I absolutely welcome anybody to the cause and the party if they believe the same as I do. For me, this isn’t about socialism, conservatism or liberalism – I have no time to be glued up to any particular ideology. I just want my nation to be like any other ordinary nation and to be able to have the full autonomy to govern itself without compromise. What more can someone living in Scotland ask for?

In the end, I am pragmatic, progressive and pro-independence. Onwards and upwards. 👍