The Milburn review presents itself as a plan to help young people into work, but Dr DYLAN MURPHY argues it is laying the groundwork for a harsher benefits regime
DURING the general election campaign, First Minister John Swinney described the SNP as having a “left-of-centre manifesto” and said a partnership with trade unions would be at the “core” of the Scottish government’s approach.
To say education unions were bemused by this assertion is an understatement. As one speaker at one of their rallies outside the Scottish Parliament in June put it: “There’s nothing left wing about waving through cuts to pay and cuts to public education for the working class.”
College lecturers have rightly had enough. At time of writing, the Educational Institute of Scotland/Further Education Lecturers Association (EIS-Fela) — is reballoting members to seek a mandate for further strike action over pay.
The new Scottish Parliament looks set to continue a cycle of managerial tinkering while public services face the axe, writes STEPHEN LOW
Years of underfunding are eroding Scotland’s local services and deepening inequality in communities, says VINCE MILLS
Cuts are sweeping campuses as cash-strapped universities slash staff and politicians fail to act on a growing funding emergency. VINCE MILLS reports
It is time to stop tolerating the governing elites incompetence which makes our lives a daily misery, argues MATT KERR


