You Tube...

I see from today's Greenock Telegraph that the SNP candidate for Greenock and Inverclyde has made a video to launch his campaign, in which he claims credit for record investment in social housing in Inverclyde, the £5.5m contribution from the Scottish Government for the shared campus in Port Glasgow and £2m for regeneration of our three town centres.

He fails to point out that if the local SNP's campaign against stock transfer had been successful we would not have had the record investment in social housing approved by the previous Labour-led Scottish Executive.

He fails to point out that the reason we are having a shared campus in Port Glasgow is down to the courage and conviction of Inverclyde's Labour Councillors and that the £5.5m was secured after effective lobbying by these Councillors through COSLA and with the support of our two local Labour MSPs, Duncan McNeil and Trish Godman.

And he also fails to point out that his SNP colleagues on Inverclyde Council recently voted against a £1m investment in Port Glasgow Town Centre.

Labour's 2 week cancer waiting time guarantee...

Labour has always been the party of the NHS. We created it, we supported it and we defended it in its hour of need. And if I am First Minister, I will protect the NHS again. But there are some areas I want to see improvements in. One of them is cancer test waiting times. Cancer continues to claim the lives of too many Scots and casts a dark shadow over too many families. We must step up our efforts in the fight against cancer so we can diagnose it faster.  That is why today I launched Labour’s pledge to bring in a new right to see a cancer specialist and get results within two weeks, halving the current waiting time.   Families need politicians to be focused on what really matters. That is why reducing cancer waiting times is so important. Waiting times for cancer diagnosis have already come down in Scotland as a result of the investment of the previous Labour Government, but the SNP have not done enough to carry this work forward.   Now the Tories are back, we see what they really want to do to our NHS, but here in Scotland I am determined to do things differently. I know how worrying a time going to the GP with suspected cancer can be. That’s why I am so proud that Scottish Labour has pledged to halve the waiting time for specialist results. Your sincerely Iain Gray Scottish Labour Leader

Deadline for Postal Vote Applications...

Voters in Inverclyde have until Thursday 14^th April to apply for a postal vote in next month’s Scottish Parliament Election and UK Referendum.

Voting by post is an easy and convenient way to vote for people who are unable to get to the polling station.

Anyone aged 18 or over who is on the electoral register can apply for a postal vote. You don’t need to give a reason why, just fill in the application form available on www.aboutmyvote.co.uk , print it, sign it, and send it back to the local electoral registration office. Postal votes are usually sent out about a week before election day and once you have got it, mark your vote on the ballot paper and make sure you send it back to that it arrives by close of poll – 10pm on Thursday 5^th May.

Postal votes can be sent to a home address or to any other address specified. They can be sent overseas although voters should consider whether there will be enough time to receive and return their ballot paper by election day.

One alternative is voting by proxy – appointing someone to vote on their behalf.

Postal vote applications should be sent to Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board, The Robertson Centre, 16, Glasgow Road, Paisley PA1 3QF by 5pm on Thursday 14^th April.

Friday 15^th April is the deadline to register to vote.

Thursday 21^st April is the deadline to apply to vote by proxy.

Details of how to apply and to register to vote can be found at www.aboutmyvote.co.uk

What does Alan think?

I see that the Lib Dem former leader of Liverpool City Council has urged Party Leader and Depute Prime Minister Nick Clegg to pull out of the coalition government in a confidential letter seen by the BBC.

Warren Bradley urged his party leader to act before it "disappears into the annals of history".

He said Lib Dem councillors were set to lose seats in 5 May's local elections and the coalition was to blame.

Mr Bradley, who led the council for five years, said: "The boil is about to come to a head and burst (probably on election night)."

In the e-mail marked "In Confidence - Private", he writes: "Many other long-serving councillors could be defeated not because of their record, but because of your record and the perception of what we as Liberal Democrats now are."

Mr Bradley, who has previously been critical of the leadership, calls for the end of the coalition: "We have to be independent and we have to sever ties from the coalition; if we fail to do this, we have only our parliamentarians to blame."

I wonder if Alan Blair, the former Lib Dem Leader of Inverclyde Council, shares his colleague's concerns about the coalition?

The week ahead...

A relatively quiet week:

Monday
At work all day with no evening Council commitments, so I hope to continue with the delivery of letters to postal voters in Port Glasgow
Tuesday
7.30 Start work in Glasgow
3.00 Leave work to travel to Greenock
4.00 Meeting with officers
7.00 Meeting of Three Wards Community Council
Wednesday
7.30 Start work in Glasgow
1.30 Leave work to travel to Port Glasgow
2.00 Attending a tenant led inspection of the Kelburn estate
4.30 Weekly meeting of the Administration Group
5.30 Weekly meeting of the Labour Group
6.30 Delivering postal voter letters in Port Glasgow
Thursday
7.30 Start work in Glasgow
2.00 Leave work to travel to Greenock
3.00 Briefing by Strathclyde Fire & Rescue
4.00 Meeting of Inverclyde Council
6.00 Delivering postal voter letters in Port Glasgow
Friday
At work all day with no evening Council commitments

Library opening delayed...

The opening of Kilmacolm's new library, which was to have taken place this month, has been delayed until next month.

The library is to move from its current home in the Kilmacolm Institute building to a new home in the recently refurbished former school board building across the road. Unfortunately due to a water leak in the school board building the fit out of the library has had to be delayed.

Work on the fit out is now due to start on Monday 9th May and the library should open in its new home before the end of the month. In the meantime the library will continue to operate from its existing premises.

While this delay is disappointing I am sure that the new library will be well worth the wait. It will be fitted out to a very high standard, with services available including a children's section and a learning zone with 11 public access PCs and an interactive whiteboard.

Contractor appointed for new Parklea community stadium...

I am delighted to report that Barr Ltd have been appointed as the contractor for Phase 5 of the redevelopment of Parklea Playingfields in Port Glasgow and that work is scheduled to start on Monday 18 April.

Phase 5 comprises of the following works:

The provision of car parking, paths and associated balance of road infrastructure;

A new community stadium including changing accommodation and associated lockers for all pitches, reception, toilets, community function room, kitchen and first aid facility; and

A multi sport 3G artificial grass surface measuring 118m x 72m, big enough to accommodate 7-a-side football tournaments and American football in an environment capable of hosting junior football and their spectators.

This further investment means that we are well on our way to delivering on the Labour-led Administration's promise to make Parklea a centre of excellence for football in Inverclyde.