Jonathon Shafi
@Jonathon_Shafi
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Socialist. Weekly newsletter on independence and Scottish politics: https://t.co/bD8numpQq5
Joined March 2012
Athens. This is a global mass movement and nothing less.
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Priti Patel has shown more solidarity with the statue of a slave trader than she has a single refugee. Tells you all you need to know about how rotten right-wing politics is.
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This isn’t the main #ceasefirenow demonstration, but a feeder march to the assembly point in Glasgow.
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This kind of reporting on mainstream outlets is few and far between. No one can defend this oppression in good faith.
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Biden, Cameron, Sunak, Blinken - the whole lot. Send them to The Hague.
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“Pro-British march.” Is there any awareness at the BBC as to how dangerous this reporting is? As we watch mobs attempting to *kill* black and brown people. A disgrace to journalism.
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Looks like Johnson won’t go on BBC for Andrew Neil interview. In itself: pathetic. BBC told Labour he was booked in. They went ahead with other leaders without confirmation from Johnson. A genuine scandal. Public trust lowest ever. And the last straw for many, for the BBC.
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Scottish health workers hold a rally in Glasgow, in solidarity with the doctors, nurses and medical staff of Gaza.
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It is illegal for the U.K. to provide or sell arms if there is risk of a violation of international humanitarian law. The ICJ has made it clear, formally, that there is such a risk. All arms exports to Israel must now be halted as a matter of law.
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After a shattering defeat, Corbyn is the only political leader in the UK who is asking the right questions.
I've written to Boris Johnson requesting an urgent Privy Council briefing and answers to questions following the US assassination of Qassem Suleimani.
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Proud of Glasgow today. Spoke and called for a ceasefire motion to be passed at the Scottish Parliament with a matter of urgency, and for Braverman and Sunak to resign. Pic credit: @ShawDonald
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Demonstrators demanding a ceasefire and an end to the siege of Gaza on the Royal Mile, Edinburgh. The portraits lining the march are to remember the journalists killed in Gaza under IDF bombardment.
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The latest Jeff Bezos demand on Washington Post opinion pages around “free markets and personal liberties” reminded me of this good sense from Jimmy Reid.
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The person who lay under the van, with their bike, making time for people to gather is a true hero. Courage and selflessness - as well as being a vital and impactful intervention. Well done.
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Glasgow protesters take to the streets in opposition to Sunak, the Tories and austerity. Unity is strength in the face of the attacks on union rights and cuts imposed by an unelected Tory PM.
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George Square - Glasgow - a sea of Palestine flags. We stand in solidarity with the Palestinians against the attacks on #AlAqsa #FreePalestine #SaveSheikhJarrah
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If you are Black, Asian, Catholic, an asylum seeker, anti-racist - the city centre of Glasgow is not safe. That cannot be allowed to stand. We need to see a full spectrum civic response. And we need to take back our streets from a group of people who do not represent Glaswegians.
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@Nigel_Farage People are in hospital. The blood has not yet dried. One of the injured is a young man from sierra leone. And you would have us turn in on ourselves. You are lower than vermin.
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Delivery driver at my door. Has not been provided mask, gloves, says it is busier than Christmas. Been made to work more hours, no extra pay. Meanwhile Prince Charles has a cough and gets an on the spot test. Don't delude yourself that we are in this together.
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The good people of Munich oppose a rally of the far-right by surrounding them with thousands of anti-fascists.
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Attal has just resigned. Commentators like this lose more credibility with each passing day. Ludicrous analysis.
An absolutely huge shock - and delight for Macron. Who can argue his gamble paid off. Gabriel Attal most likely stays as PM.
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Glasgow demonstrators conduct a sit down protest in Union Street. #ceasefirenow #freepalestine
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Protesters demanding #ceasefirenow are conducting a sit-in at Glasgow’s Queen Street station.
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French and Dutch dockers have said they will refuse to handle ferries staffed by P&O agency crews. That is the true meaning of internationalism, as opposed to the kind promoted by the European Commission.
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George Square in Glasgow saying with one voice: ceasefire now.
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Great photo of Stephen Hawking - to the right of Tariq Ali - marching against the Vietnam war in 1969. A man of great intellect and humanity.
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Today workers at Grangemouth refinery walked out over pay and formed a demonstration. Confidence to fight is rising.
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Quite a moment to see this on my feed. Was in the same year as Jasleen in school. An incredible achievement to win the Turner Prize and a principled acceptance speech. Bravo!
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Look how hyper-defensive and condescending Ed Balls is. Completely unprofessional, and callous, given the context.
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At times like this you can be castigated for simply raising need for evidence and due process. This is state propaganda, transmitted by the state broadcaster, aimed at the leader of the opposition. Nothing more or less.
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Boycott the Sun newspaper all over Scotland until it is no more a poison in our public life.
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Over 400k marched in London, without incident and undeterred by slander, for a just cause. To mark #IWD all the speakers were women. Charlotte Church was among them - someone worthy of the term national treasure.
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An incredible photo of the demonstration in Glasgow calling for #CeaseFireNow and justice for the Palestinians via @ScotNational - joining protests across the world.
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1/2 The community have forced the Home Office to retreat. Black, white, Asian stood together in an act of class solidarity that will he remembered. Refugees are welcome here - let this be a warning that we will resist these attacks. No justice - no peace.
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Nicola Sturgeon says NATO shouldn't rule out No Fly Zone over Ukraine. 'shares concerns' about risk of direct military confrontation, but says should be considered on 'day to day basis'. These comments are unhelpful, and as many experts have already said, irresponsible.
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London today as the movement for an immediate ceasefire and justice for Palestine continues. Special responsibility for all of us in U.K. and US.
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As we stand on the brink of Starmer voting through a brexit deal, it should be clear that the “People’s Vote” was primarily designed to undermine the left. Starmer opposed a Corbyn led Brexit only to end up supporting a Tory Brexit led by Johnson.
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The political editor of The Sun has attacked the FM of Scotland for advising people to wear facemasks if they can. He says this is deliberate ploy to undermine the UK Gov. This would be laughable - had the UK Gov not been so criminally negligent over PPE stocks.
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The furlough scheme will cost £100 billion by October. The cost of Trident renewal is around £205 billion. One saves lives, the other would kill millions. It is time to prioritise human security above “national security”.
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Alistair Campbell is responsible for opening the gates of hell to millions of Iraqis. Sturgeon happy to pose with him. Proud even. Totally done. The SNP will never, ever, get my vote again as long as she is leader.
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Very interesting that Blair, Clinton and the rest of them argue that immigration is a legitimate concern but not austerity, privatisation and wealth distribution.
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Farage rarely mentions Glasgow. But when an attack takes place at a hotel housing asylum seekers (not, as he puts it, “illegal immigrants”) up he pops. The man is pond life. We will emerge from this united despite people like him utilising events as a means to sow division.
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Reports of a quarter of a million in London. 70+% according to YouGov want a ceasefire. The UN has warned of a second Nakba. We stand against the collective punishment of Gaza in Glasgow today.
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The Home Office will be apoplectic about today. It really is a marker - and one that can be built upon. They see themselves as all powerful when it comes to detentions and are a central organ of the British state. But a community coming together has humiliated them.
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On the day Dennis Osborne is found guilty, Newsnight invite Tommy Robinson on. When we look back at this period the BBC will be seen to have played a central role in popularising the key spokespeople of the far-right.
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Solidarity action with the @RMTunion @RMT_Scotland in Glasgow central station this morning. #railstrikes
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Bradshaw is defensive because of his connections to the thoroughly racist and Islamophobic Henry Jackson Society. They can’t properly name the problem, because the problem is institutionalised and central to state ideology. And they know it.
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The Sturgeon era can be defined simply: never has so little been achieved, with so much power.
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Glaswegians will unite against racism and fascism. Last year we came together to oppose racist attacks in George Square and we will do so in our communities too. Nicola Sturgeon dealt with those odious characters well, reflecting the proud anti-racist traditions of our city.
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Opposition parties call for SNP to stop independence campaigning during pandemic. Begs the question: what campaign? There is no such thing. The surging support for independence flows from Johnson and the irrelevance of Starmer as Westminster opposition.
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After 15 years of austerity, and the promise that the pain will be worth it, the establishment are having the same conversation: what can we cut, and who can we blame. The truth is British capitalism has failed. It is a busted flush: it has no future to offer and they know it.
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This is the bunch of far-right thugs incited by Braverman, near the Cenotaph, just shortly before 11am. This is how they “pay their respects.” The generation who fought fascism would be appalled.
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Steve Bannon on ITV breakfast, Rees-Mogg on radio 4, Farage making film about Trump visit for BBC. Get on the streets in huge numbers to change the discussion. Make sure they can't ignore us.
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Some commentators clutching to the idea the SNP may not get an outright majority (difficult in the extreme to achieve given the electoral system). Reality is SNP and Greens will form a parliamentary majority and will have a clear mandate for an independence referendum.
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Mercy Baguma, a refugee from Uganda, lost her job in Glasgow after her limited leave to remain in the UK expired. She died of extreme poverty, next to her baby. Yet people like this have been demonised, and blamed, for the failures of the system. Should not be happening in 2020.
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Whatever your take on things consider this: 100K independence supporters marched past a unionist protest designed to provoke a reaction, shouting vile insults. Not one of that 100K did anything other than walk on by in good spirits. That is a testament to the movement.
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The lack of serious media coverage and comment on the ICJ is a striking example of propaganda by omission. Breeding ignorance on critical and historic matters is the opposite of journalism. It is entirely dishonourable, but at the same time, a stunning admission.
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Labour MPs withdrawing their signatures to Stop The War letter. If you disagree with it - I have had many respectful discussions who those who do - fair enough. But to sign it, then remove your name because the you were whipped, lacks any principle whatsoever on the issue.
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The First Minister of Scotland finds out in the *Sunday papers* that the U.K. Gov is changing message on Covid-19. And correctly states that Scotland will not be altering course at this time in response. As this dynamic develops, so too the long demise of the Union.
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Takes a lot of courage to do this. An act of leadership.
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Ian Blackford again claiming there could be an independence referendum as early as “late 2021.” Total and utter nonsense. Insulting, actually.
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In 8 weeks time, Scotland's £3 Billion green and renewable energy port-folio will start to be sold off to global investors. A corporate stitch up of the highest order. These assets should be owned in common by the people of Scotland.
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Glasgow solidarity with the @RMTunion demonstration arrives at the picket line. We will ramp up solidarity for all workers taking strike action. Unity is strength. #RailStrikes
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Huge demos in Manchester and London. On way to Glasgow protest and never felt this way before marching - this is a moment that requires making a stand.
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Hundreds of Glasgow taxi drivers have effectively been made redundant today as Low Emission Zones come into force. Upgrading cars financially crippling - and council aid is worse than paltry. Meanwhile BP and Shell get to own Scottish wind. Just transition? Nothing of the sort.
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The SNP is running on empty intellectually. Not always an easy thing to say in Scotland. But the truth - as even those who say nothing (waiting to see where the wind blows next) - know deep down it is. So much power, so little done. So much hope, so little of it realised.
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Jeremy Corbyn MP and John McDonnell MP are to be interviewed under caution by police after attending the demonstration in London. This is a full frontal assault on the right to protest in general and on the Palestine movement in particular. It will be resolutely opposed.
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Incredible that a leading British MP’s family - terrified and holed up in a church in Gaza which has come under IDF fire (killing a mother and daughter) while food and water supplies run out elicits so little comment from fellow MPs, the PM and Shadow Cabinet. Moral collapse.
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A message to Farage and everyone else who attempted to stir up racism and division yesterday. Glasgow has a proud history of solidarity - and we intend to build on that. Keep your poison out of our city.
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Not only did the Scottish Government sell off wind power to BP, Shell, foreign governments etc - they set prices for Scotland's seabed at an *artificially low* rate. We have been ripped off. big time.
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The radio silence from David Cameron, apparently the Foreign Secretary, this many hours on from the ICJ statement speaks volumes.
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The Scottish Government's new "chief entrepreneur" is to be paid a salary of £192,000. Over the last year Scotland's six offshore wind farms paid just £150,000 to nearby communities. Scots are being ripped off left, right and centre.
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Scotland: we don’t have to be part of this circus. After this virus lets organise like never before - and send Johnson and the rest of the corrupt cesspit that passes for British politics packing.
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Some have wrongly interpreted the movement around Gaza as a product either of religion or of academic trends. In truth it is pluralistic, involves a strong class dynamic and is based on international solidarity. As these firefighters in Barcelona show.
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Glasgow emergency rally for Rafah - and all of Palestine - turns into a demonstration. We will not stop until there is justice: genocide should be a red line for all.
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75 years ago the nuclear bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. It immediately killed 80,000 people. Today, Trident’s 200 thermonuclear bombs are each *10 times more powerful* than the one used in 1945. With Scottish independence, we can finally rid the Clyde of these monstrosities.
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Edinburgh today - and a quarter of a million in London. In the same week Suella Braverman, who tried to ban the demonstrations, was schooled on live TV by a student protester. A historic movement.
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History will remember Corbyn as a hero. He has stood up to the whole establishment, his character assassinated daily. This is only the start of a sustained left-wing fightback. The next decade will see its numbers and roots in society grow as capitalism goes further into decline.
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It is a contemptible scandal. Scotland is to lose £60bn, including billions from the public purse, after ScotWind undersells to big oil and multinational corporations. A criminal misuse of national assets brought to you by the SNP and Greens, as they proceed with swinging cuts.
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Some argue there must be a Labour revival in Scotland to bring about a Labour Gov in the UK. I don’t think that will happen. But more importantly: independence is the best thing Scots could do for the English left - opens door to wider and deeper change across whole U.K.
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Hundreds have gathered to resist an immigration enforcement raid. Shame on the Home Office. Get down to Kenmure Street if you can - our community will not accept this. ✊🏾
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George Square looking amazing this morning - thousands already here. Going to be massive show of solidarity for Palestine. #FreePalaestine
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The SNP are set to force a vote in Westminster calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Given all that has happened since the last - from the ICJ ruling on plausible genocide, to the bombing of Rafah - this will put every MP on the historical record.
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Shell paid no tax on oil and gas production in the North Sea for the fourth year in a row. Meanwhile, the company won ScotWind bids to develop 5 Giga Watts of floating wind power. We are being fleeced.
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Boris Johnson makes a clear threat to the Scottish NHS and to removing health as a devolved power in PMQs. If such a thing were ever to happen, they should be prepared for mass civil disobedience and for a resounding Yes vote for independence.
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Thousands are outside Downing Street to protest the complicity of the UK Government in the Rafah massacre. Despair is not an option: we have to mobilise in larger numbers than ever. Saturday will be a global day of action - with national demonstrations in Glasgow and London.
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Today millions across the world demonstrated for an immediate ceasefire, justice for Palestine and to oppose the bombing of Yemen. Over 100 protests in 60 countries. A genuinely global movement against the drive to war.
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Humza Yousaf has written to the Foreign Secretary to propose that the U.K. call for a ceasefire to protect civilian life and for a humanitarian corridor. On this he is 100% correct and it is to the eternal shame of the British government that such a basic request has to be made.
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Ian Blackford says Scotland could "keep the pound for years," and transition to Scottish currency only when "tests" are met. All of this during a major economic crisis. It's a recipe for privatisation and austerity. And Scots would have less sovereignty than they do even now.
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1/ The Labour Party is the most adept vehicle at sucking the political lifeblood out of young radicals. Some leave, dispirited. Others spend a lifetime in a never ending faction fight - a dehumanising and *depoliticising* experience.
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The ownership of a third of Scotland's major wind farms is linked to tax havens including Cayman Islands, Luxembourg, Guernsey and Jersey. 39 out of 50 of these are owned outwith Scotland. Our green assets are being sold off - and we the people are being ripped off.
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British Airways workers at Heathrow have voted to take strike action over the summer. 95% voted to strike on an 81% turnout. Solidarity to them.
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Ian Blackford on Sky News says he wants to strengthen Scottish pensions and laments the suspension of the triple lock. Awkwardly, the Growth Commission also dropped the triple lock. Yet again independence supporters let down by glaring contradictions and a half-baked prospectus.
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All evictions banned in Scotland during Christmas and New Year period thanks to campaigners - a victory. And one to build on.
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