Politics: Parliament work continues as leadership contest ramps up
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
In recent weeks, the news cycle at Westminster has again been taken up with party political matters.
However, in the middle of this, the work of our Parliament goes on and I am pleased to have worked on the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill which passed Committee stage in its passage to law.
This was thankfully ahead of schedule and despite a lot of resistance from the SNP and Labour who, true to their character, are still putting half-baked ideology before the science.
By the time this is published, more will be known about the contenders looking to be the next leader of the Conservative Party.
That person will also be our next Prime Minister.
This will no doubt dominate the news as the contest goes on and I look forward to the spotlight this will bring on policy and what the Conservatives offer the people of the UK.
Regular readers of my column will know my feelings about the scourge of flytipping.
Recently, frankly shocking data from Aberdeenshire Council showed that despite more than 5000 incidents of flytipping in Aberdeenshire over the last six years, only 15 Fixed Penalty Notices were handed out.
That’s just 0.3 per cent.
I have been calling for tougher penalties for fly-tippers and support my MSP colleague, Murdo Fraser in his attempt to get a Bill through the Scottish Parliament to do just that.
This Bill would increase the current penalties, put more responsibility on the person dumping the rubbish rather than the owner of the land the rubbish was dumped on and improve data collection so that enforcement is more effective.
Unfortunately, the booking system that was put in place at recycling centres, and kept despite massive public opposition is making it undeniably more complicated to dispose of rubbish the right way.
It’s put up more barriers for my constituents – literally.
This, despite desperate reassurance from the Council, is bound to have an impact of flytipping which is a much easier proposition to many than going online, booking a slot and handing over a lot of personal data to the council at the same time.
For the first time in hundreds of years, the 10th-century Book of Deer has returned to the north-east, where it may have originated.
The rare example of a pocket gospel will be on display at Aberdeen Art Gallery, on loan from Cambridge University Library.
The exhibition is supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and runs from Saturday, July 9 through to Sunday, October 2 and is free to visit.
The Book of Deer is of enormous cultural importance to Scotland and has particularly strong links to Banff and Buchan.
Written primarily in Latin, it dates from between the years 850 and 1000 and is believed to be the earliest surviving manuscript produced in Scotland.
Finally, this weekend sees the New Deer Show back after a two-year hiatus and I am looking forward to attending.
It will be great to see so many people back together to celebrate agricultural life.
And soon after, the Turriff Show itself will be back too.
Readers will know the scale of the Turriff Show already and the economic activity it brings to the town.
I am sure that residents and local businesses alike will welcome the chance to show off what Turriff has to offer.
