Born in Coleraine, Northern Ireland in 1959, Tommy was educated at a local grammar school and, equipped with the requisite A levels, moved to Scotland to study medicine at Aberdeen University. He graduated with a degree in politics and sociology – the start of a lifelong interest in politics.
He returned to Scotland in 1993 and established the Stand Comedy Club in 1995, which he started as a hobby and built into a successful business. Tommy lives in Minto Street with his partner Kate and cocker spaniel Henry.
We're past the halfway mark in the SNP depute leadership contest. Ballot papers go out in just 10 days’ time. This has been, and will continue to be, a good natured campaign – able candidates offering different views of what the job entails, discussing things in a respectful and thoughtful way.
So far there have been 17 hustings up and down the country with many more still to come. A few members have come up to me after these events a little frustrated. They complain that the meetings are meant to help people make up their minds and yet after hearing our presentations they are less sure of how to vote than beforehand.
I should start by saying that I have campaigned for animal welfare since I was a teenager so I strongly sympathise with the points constituents have raised about the South Korean dog meat trade. It's good news that younger South Koreans are choosing not to eat dog meat and I'm encouraged that this is being discussed more widely including at conferences. However, I would add a note of caution, I believe we must be sensitive when making judgements about another country's customs. I would gladly support the efforts of South Koreans who themselves want to change this practice, and would support the South Korean Government if it were to offer financial support during a period of transition for those involved in the dog meat trade.
The SNP is supportive of charities working with international counterparts to improve dog welfare globally. For example, the Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare Education, established at the University of Edinburgh’s Royal School of Veterinary Studies in 2011, is closely partnered with a number of international animal welfare charities and veterinary organisations. Their efforts to secure a greater level of animal welfare globally are important and we must continue to support organisations like this. My colleagues Martin Docherty-Hughes MP, Margaret Ferrier MP and Dr Paul Monaghan MP who, on behalf of the Scottish National Party, called on the UK Government to speak against the IOC’s judgment and ask the South Korean Government to respond to the dog meat issues identified at the debate, with a view to making the abuse of dogs in this trade illegal. I am in full agreement my colleagues on this.
Have you walked down the street in your community, seen something you would like to change, and wondered how easy it would be to make that happen? Maybe it’s a neglected bit of land that could become a community garden. Maybe it’s a new development that you feel needs input from local people who will be affected. Maybe it’s improvements to cycle provision, or somewhere crying out for benches or a wall that needs painted.
Democracy functions on many levels, and in some ways the closer you are to the coal face the more you can be part of making actual, tangible changes happen. On Monday nominations opened for Community Councils across Edinburgh and I hope that many of you will consider putting yourselves forward for them.
We’re pretty much halfway now in the ten-week campaign to find a new depute leader of Scotland’s main political party. And in stark contrast to other parties, the SNP contest seems a positive and good-natured one.
Sadly, there are no women in contention, but members do have a choice of four able blokes – any of whom could make a decent fist of the job.
The contest for depute leader of the SNP is at the half-way mark. And it’s been an exemplar in how a democratic organisation should conduct itself. Able, thoughtful candidates have treated each other with respect and engaged with hundreds of party activists at dozens of hustings throughout the country. There’s just one thing that could have been better – it’s a shame this has ended up as a blokefest
The absence of any female candidates is a great disappointment and the contest would have been a richer one had there been some. We ought to ask ourselves why this happened. And we ought to make sure that it doesn’t mean that the position of women in Scotland and in our party gets less attention. I’ve heard a number of people remark that whilst it a shame there’s not a woman standing it’s okay since the party already has a strong female leader, and indeed is one of very few governing parties with a gender-balanced cabinet.
There have been some daft arguments put against allowing people in Scotland to have a choice about the future of their country.You have no mandate Ruth Davidson tells Nicola Sturgeon. Really? Did the SNP not mention this in their manifesto for the Scottish Parliament election last year? Let’s check. Maybe it’s buried away somewhere. No wait. Page 24 has a whole section on a second referendum. It s...
I’ve been denounced – again!This time I appear to have incurred the wrath of the Catholic Church in Scotland’s hierarchy. A front page report in yesterday’s Scottish Catholic Observer claims I have a “plan” to outlaw Catholic schools and that my views are “chillingly intolerant”. Sadly due to the deterioration of Scottish journalism once great newspapers like The Scotsman have simply rehashed the ...
The hills around Jerusalem were drenched in sun the last time I was here. It brought out their significance and history. This week, though, the Holy Land has been visited by a Scottish winter. As I peer through the steamed up windows of our VW Transporter, it’s decidedly dreich out there.I’m here on a parliamentary delegation to see if the political mood matches the weather. The trip is organised ...
I write from the train, speeding towards London to begin another week traipsing the corridors of impotence. This week, as many, will be wall to wall Brexit as we debate the terms on which we should be leaving the EU, and try to protect Scotland’s position amid the chaos.But something else is dominating the international agenda and consumes the imagination of every person who dares hope for a bette...
You’ll not be surprised to hear that ever since the UK voted to leave the European Union, I have been receiving lots of letters and emails from constituents raising their concerns. While there have been a couple of requests asking me to respect the UK wide result and vote to trigger article 50, the vast majority have asked me to do all I can to protect Scotland’s place in Europe.That’s not a surpr...
