In Education Committee, I have often spoken about the importance of @uniofaberdeen.bsky.social PGDE to recruit and retain students in city and Shire. @pressandjournal.co.uk www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/politics/...

Out campaigning this lunchtime with @kirstymcneill.bsky.social for our great Aberdeen Central candidate at the Scottish Parliament elections, Jenny Laing. Lots of good doorstep conversations and despite the forecast it was dry!! #labourdoorstep @scottishlabour.bsky.social

Delighted with this news.

This investment will change lives. It'll go towards bespoke, calming spaces to help children with additional needs get the support they need at a good, local school on their doorstep. Labour is building schools where every child can achieve and thrive. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Thank you to @cfine.bsky.social for hosting us today. It was good to hear about the range of services you offer. Also to hear from your employees and volunteers about the work they do and the positive impact it makes. Cllr Allard, Cllr Mennie and I got quite efficient in packing pallets!

The annual reminder, that how many pupils get 5 Highers grade A-C is a very narrow indicator of how good a school is.

At my sheltered housing surgery today, residents could not believe that rents were going up by 9.5% when properties that could be let were sitting empty for a year. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aber...

Keeping with the Christmas theme 🎄King's College looking beautiful @uniofaberdeen.bsky.social

And Spotify tells me, Pod Save America is my favourite podcast. I have to say this is not a revelation either to me or my family! What was alarming though was my music listening age is 69 😱 @podsaveamerica.crooked.com #SpotifyWrapped. www.spotify.com/wrapped-shar...

It's December, so the Christmas coffee cup is out again 🎄 #reuse #Christmas

Thought this was a very interesting piece from Barry. I wasn't aware that the OBR had revised the revenue from VAT on private school fees up. I have had people tell me "this is the politics of envy" and that I was wrong to think private schools are businesses, so good to see this policy analysis.

In case there are parents reading this headline, it is not quite at that stage. I put forward an amendment which the Administration agreed to, to review all the catchment areas of Bucksburn, Dyce and associated primary schools before the Council commits to the statutory consultation.

A reminder of what happened last time a UK govt tried to reduce bills by "cutting the green crap" Analysis: Cutting the ‘green crap’ has added £22bn to UK energy bills since 2015 www.carbonbrief.org/...

There's still time to vote for this year's People Champion. Cast your vote today: https://orlo.uk/S9T8R Voting will close at 5pm on Fri 7 November.

Head Teacher (Finzean School) - ABS45653 cc @AbshireJobs #AbshireJobs

The community consultation on the Northfield community campus will start next week. I will share when I have it. Plans may include a new academy, 2 to 3 stream primary and other services. I remain concerned that the business case bypasses Education Ctte, but pleased to see the consultation begin!

We've had a wonderful week touring Morocco from Marrakech to the Sahara. Today has been a chill day by the pool before heading home. By listening to @podsaveamerica.crooked.com and Electoral Dysfunction and reading this, am I easing myself home?

⏰ Make sure you've submitted your questions for LWN's online Deputy Leader Hustings — the deadline is tonight! Join us on Zoom on Mon 13 Oct at 8pm to hear directly from Bridget and Lucy as they answer the questions that matter to you. Register now and submit your Qs: www.lwn.org.uk/deputy_leade...

A historic shift and evidence of the global transition from fossil fuels to renewables. While some in the UK want to take us backwards, to an outdated age, against the international trend - this government will power forward to our clean energy future. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

*** Weather warning reminder *** Met Office yellow weather warning for wind in #StormAmy for Aberdeen today from 3pm until 12midnight tomorrow. Heavy rain today too. Amber warning for wind & yellow warning for rain in parts of Aberdeenshire. Latest info @ https://orlo.uk/qWL0w

Great to join the #Kingswells litter pick this morning. We focused on the park & ride. Thanks to all the volunteers out and about keeping the village tidy #cleanupaberdeen

I'd just settle for a proper cycle lane rather than a faded white dashed line, but this sounds amazing. Considering the recent horror at the suggestion of traffic lights prioritising buses, then this won't be coming to Aberdeen anytime soon.

This morning, I attended the Aberdeen civic prayer breakfast. The Rev Poobalan, chaplain of @robertgordonuni.bsky.social spoke about the work of Homewards Aberdeen to address homelessness in the city. homewards.org.uk/locations/ab...

Reform will apparently pledge today that they'd abolish indefinite leave to remain - including retrospectively, to people already granted it. Obviously this is a moral abomination but it is also a practical and legal impossibility.

Disappointed that the Administration couldn't agree with me today, that with this many unknowns, the business case should come back to Education Committee for scrutiny before the 2026/27 budget in March.

🚨 BREAKING: Communities run through the just-announced Strategic Priorities for Great British Energy. This Government is delivering on its commitment to roll out clean, green, community-owned energy. 🌱

My husband and I just celebrated 22 years together, which is longer than both of Nigel Farage's mixed-sex marriages combined.

We enjoyed a sunny September day in Aberdeen welcoming Glashieburn School to WOW - the walk to school challenge. 🐬🐬🐬 How is your #BackToSchool going?

I think I have only one follower on here that lives in my ward, but this was a wee win that made me happy today! The Council marked out a bus stop on Stronsay Drive. Buses will be able to stop at the kerb and elderly residents will be able to get on more easily. #publictransport

Growing up near the Union Canal, I'm very fond of it. I had many walks along it to de-stress when studying and my first awkward teenage romantic moment was on a bridge over it. Lovely to see the work of the volunteers recognised. The canal is a magnificent example of Scotland’s industrial heritage.

📢 BREAKING: Final two candidate for Labour Deputy Leader are Bridget Phillipson and Lucy Powell.

Always a great start to a Wednesday with the bike bus #activetravel

🚨 BREAKING: 1 million people faced hunger and hardship in Scotland last year due to a lack of money. This includes 210,000 children. Scottish and UK governments must act NOW to end hunger. We demand better than millions facing hunger in our communities. Read more here: bit.ly/HungerInScot...

Make no mistake, let there be no doubt. We were elected to deliver this Employment Rights Bill and that is what we will do. We won’t accept any watering down by the Lords. In full. No ifs, no buts.

Headed to the Mela in #Aberdeen this afternoon. Great atmosphere with good food and entertainment. Lots of families enjoying themselves. The Mela always an example of what a wonderful, inclusive and diverse city Aberdeen is.

As part of the next Local Development Plan, @aberdeencc.bsky.social has carried out an assessment of every play park in the city. My ward has more play areas than any other ward in the city. However, it also has some of the poorest quality. Many of the poorest are in new build developments.

Cycled to the city centre for planning training this morning. On the way home, there was a cyclist playing music through a speaker as he cycled. He wasn't a teenager, but a lycra clad man in his 30s or 40s. Is this a thing? Disco on a bike? #cycling

Ready to listen to @michaelshanksmp.co.uk at the opening plenary session of Offshore Europe 2025.

While Kemi Badenoch follows in the ‘drill baby-drill’ footsteps of Trump/Farage, the people who actually know (aka climate scientists) are bringing forward the risk (by 50 yrs) of a collapse in the Atlantic circulatory system (AMOC) that protects the UK from severely cold temperatures #ClimateCrisis

Interesting article. Only this week, I was telling someone who was thinking about getting an electric car, that we drove from the north of Scotland to camp in the Peak District this summer & it was fine. There's a lot of anxiety about range, but there's a lot more charging points now.

Great experience on Saturday at Aberdeen runway run. It is somewhat peculiar though to run in the dark at midnight in a straight line! Weird, but good! The run supported two fantastic, local charities, Fersands & Fountain community project and Abernecessities. Thank you to everyone who sponsored me.

I missed the bike bus this week because we had Council. The Countesswells parents and kids were on their bikes for it and I cycled to the city centre instead. Getting more kids travelling actively to school is so important. If any city or Shire schools want to talk about this, then get in touch.

Pleased to see bike-friendly buses coming to Aberdeen and the North East. Fantastic that you could just get a bus from the city to Cairngorms NP. I loved this idea when I saw it in the Canadian Rockies. Good to have it now here! #cycling #beautifulabdn #Cairngorms www.nestrans.org.uk/news/ride-on...

First full council meeting after the summer recess and the trusty old bike is back. Lovely cycle to the Town House this morning. #activetravel

I've only just seen this story about treated water being delivered to islands in Shetland by boat and the knock on impact to the community. Just one of the signs of climate change in Scotland. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

We’re ending austerity - the chart

We're releasing our new report with @lcefuk.bsky.social tomorrow. Community energy brings communities together to produce power that's clean and green, but democratic and people-powered too. Read all about the work already being done in Power in Our Communities.

And out this afternoon in Stonehouse with Pam Duncan-Clancy MSP. #labourdoorstep #votelabour @scottishlabour.bsky.social

Great to be out this morning campaigning for Davy Russell in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election with @richardbakermp.bsky.social @clairebakermsp.bsky.social #labourdoorstep #votelabour

Weeks ago, John Swinney told parliament the govt was reviewing guidelines around school mothballing. I asked when the work started, and what has been done so far - and got no answers. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2520366...