An MP has outlined his fears that passport chaos could cost families across Renfrewshire their holidays this summer. The two years covering the pandemic saw passport applications drop to their lowest level for over two decades, as families avoided international travel and tight restrictions were placed on people entering or leaving the country. But as international has increased over recent months, so has the backlog at the Passport Office, with waits of over three months now

The soaring cost of living crisis deepened on Wednesday as new figures revealed that inflation has hit 7% - the highest in 30 years. And the lack of UK government intervention to help households meet the record rise in living costs was slammed by a local MP today. SNP man Gavin Newlands said the failure of the Tory government to act was “reckless” and slammed the Chancellor for failing to do more to help struggling families. The new figure doesn’t include energy costs, which

It’s time for Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak to go. That’s the verdict of Paisley and Renfrewshire North MP, Gavin Newlands, following the news that the Prime Minister and Chancellor were issued fixed penalty notices by the Met Police for their involvement in illegal parties in Downing Street during the covid lockdown. The news broke as it also emerged the PM’s wife was also slapped with a fixed penalty for her role in the scandal. Strict public health regulations during lockd

UK Government plans to sell off Channel 4 have been slammed as, “stupid and ignorant” by a Renfrewshire MP. The announcement by the UK Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries, was made on Monday and was immediately condemned by viewers and industry workers alike. Currently the broadcaster is owned by the UK Government but is run on a commercial basis alongside sister channels such as E4 and More 4. Last year the company generated a surplus of £74m to be reinvested into original pro

The Chancellor’s recent Spring Statement was a failed opportunity to get real help for households struggling with the cost of living crisis – but instead we had a “plan” that was really an insult to everyone trying to keep their head above water. Knocking a few pence off fuel tax and making loft insulation a few pounds cheaper isn’t going to protect families who are seeing sky-high rises in energy costs, food, and fuel. He failed to reverse his increase in National Insurance,

The cost of living crisis is the biggest and most serious challenge to our standard of living in decades, yet by the UK Government’s response, you’d think we were living through perfectly normal times. It is unacceptable that households are now being forced to choose between heating and eating. We are a wealthy country and yet millions of people are facing a drop in their standard of living unseen since the 1970s. We should be clear – the fault for this lies almost entirely

New statistics show nearly 45,000 over-60s in Renfrewshire are now benefiting from free bus travel, while the overall number of bus passes in Renfrewshire has rocketed by over 15% over the last five years. The figures from Transport Scotland also show an increase of over 20% in the number of over-60s passes issued since 2016. In total nearly 50,000 passes were on issue to Renfrewshire residents last year, with the bulk of these held by over-60s. Renfrewshire outstripped the n

A BBC report has revealed that big regional divides in standing charges on standard electricity bills will see customers in Scotland pay some of the highest charges in the UK - with consumers in Renfrewshire and the rest of the South of Scotland facing a 100% increase. The price per day in South Scotland for a Single Rate Electricity Meter from April 2022 will increase from 24p to 47p. With the exception of South West England, Scotland already pays the highest standing elect