Latest News –  Martin Whitfield MSP

Martin Whitfield MSP today joined Anas Sarwar MSP on a visit to an innovative project aimed at helping young people find their creative mojo. Creative Natives is a partnership between Community Enterprise and Cyrenians. It provides a space where young people, aged 14 to 24 years old, can grow their creative potential, confidence and connections in an Art and Design studio. The project offers an inclusive, inspiring, fun space where young people can express themselves through drawing and painting, sculpting, music making, animation, crafting and film making, or even picking up a paintbrush for the first time. Speaking after the [...]

Martin Whitfield MSP has tabled a motion at Holyrood highlighting the significant contribution Torness power station has made to Scotland’s clean energy generation and welcoming the news that the plant’s life could be extended beyond 2028. The parliamentary motion came about after the latest UK energy statistics revealed that nuclear energy generated 16 per cent of Scotland’s total electricity in 2022. It also followed an announcement by EDF Energy that it is considering plans for extending the lives of its operational UK nuclear power stations, including Torness, with a further £1.3bn investment in its British nuclear fleet up to 2026. [...]

Martin Whitfield MSP has visited an East Lothian-based aviation heritage group for an update on its work, including a unique Sopwith 1 ½ Strutter construction project. Mr Whitfield first visited the Aviation Preservation Society of Scotland (APSS), a charity committed to preserving aviation history for future generations, in 2018 shortly after it had moved to its current base at Congalton Gardens near North Berwick. Five years on from that visit, the group has now completed work on the construction of the First World War biplane, which it began some 24 years ago. The Strutter is the only operational plane of [...]

Currently, across the UK over 90,000 people are diagnosed with one of the less survivable cancers (pancreatic, liver, oesophageal, brain, stomach and lung) every year. Despite accounting for over 40 per cent of common cancer deaths, the less survivable cancers still suffer from low awareness amongst the public and health professionals compared to other cancers. Delays in diagnosis have a detrimental effect on survival of these rapidly-advancing diseases, which are currently difficult or impossible to treat at later stages. Today (Thursday 11th January) is Less Survivable Cancers Awareness Day and Martin Whitfield MSP is joining campaigners and colleagues to help [...]

Martin Whitfield MSP has welcomed the success of rural businesses in the South Scotland Region in being named among this year’s Scottish finalists in the Countryside Alliance Awards. The Awards are the Countryside Alliance’s annual celebration of British food and farming, enterprise and heritage through our hard-working small businesses. The ‘Rural Oscars’, as they are also known, are now in their seventeenth year and have become the definitive rural business award to win. They are set apart from other award schemes because they are driven by public nomination, offering customers the chance to highlight why their favourite businesses are worthy [...]

As temperatures drop Martin Whitfield MSP is reminding people across South Scotland about the help and advice available from the Worried this Winter campaign. Run by the Citizens Advice Network, the campaign is encouraging anyone who is anxious about their energy bills or the cost of living to seek advice this winter. It was launched following research showing that energy bills are the top concern for over 2.2 million people in Scotland this winter, while a further 1.4 million are worried about being able to properly heat their home. The campaign aims to make the public aware of the various [...]