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Profile: Brian Wilson

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Latest articles from Brian Wilson

Sir David Amess

Brian Wilson: How do we protect our MPs? It's trickier than some people pretend

IS there an explanation for the murder of Sir David Amess that can be addressed through legislation or prohibition in the aftermath? Almost certainly not but the temptation to persuade ourselves otherwise is always strong.

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A nurse at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert

Brian Wilson: Scotland has to match the honesty of the select committees' Covid findings

Nobody goes into politics with the ambition to confront a pandemic likely to kill thousands of one’s fellow citizens. By the same token, it is unlikely any politician who finds himself or herself in that position will be qualified for the role.

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Leader of the Scottish Conservatives Douglas Ross

Brian Wilson: Sturgeon vs Ross working class battle doesn't matter. Poverty does.

One of the more gruesome recent images conjured up by Scottish politics features Douglas Ross and Nicola Sturgeon descending upon a “working class community” to engage in a popularity contest, the fancy cars safely parked around the corner.

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There is a shortage of HGV drivers

Brian Wilson: We can't sort out lorry driver shortage by simply importing cheap foreign labour

THAT venerable BBC Radio Four institution, Any Questions, is always worth a listen. The format is straightforward – different locations around the country, four panelists, topical questions and a live audience.

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Whitelee Windfarm on the outskirts of Glasgow. There has been much focus on renewables in recent decades

Brian Wilson: What lies behind gas price rise disaster?

TWENTY years ago, as UK Energy Minister, I developed the mantra that a successful energy policy rested on three pillars – security of supply (ie keeping the lights on and the wheels of industry turning), affordability and carbon reduction.

Vaccine passport plan has divided opinion

Brian Wilson: SNP and Greens backed vaccine passports before they even knew any details

WHAT is the difference between a large pub and a nightclub and why is one more dangerous than the other? And, by the way, which way round? These are not abstract questions but urgent ones on which livelihoods depend.

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First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in the Scottish Parliament

Brian Wilson: Sturgeon's outrage over 'anti-English' comment is Holyrood at its worst

PARLIAMENTS are places of robust debate and if you can’t take it, you shouldn’t give it. Our First Minister seems to have some difficulty with that concept – the right of others to have a view, even if it is one that “deeply offends” her.

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Jim Sillars and Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson: Jim Sillars and I agree – Scotland would be a better place without grudge and grievance politics

ONE could hear them choking on their cappuccinos in Murrell Towers yesterday when Greta Thurnberg firmly declined to buy into the proposition that Scotland is a “world-leader” in combating climate change.

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Motorway traffic

Brian Wilson: Sanctimony will not make our roads any safer or create green jobs

The A96 between Aberdeen and Inverness is a dangerous road that claims human life on a regular basis. That is a statement of fact which sanctimonious verbiage cannot alter. The same can be said of several heavily-used Scottish routes – the A82 and A9 are ones with which I have longstanding familiarity but try to avoid.

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A general view outside the stadium after Rangers fans, gathered outside the Ibrox Stadium, to celebrate their team winning the Scottish Premiership title on March 07, 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images).

Brian Wilson: Sturgeon used to love calling for public inquiries. Now we need them into Rangers and ferry fiasco

WHOEVER is in government, there are calls for public inquiries into this, that and the next thing. It is a currency devalued by overuse but that does not mean there should never be independent inquiries into anything. Take the ferries debacle, to which I will return.

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