Iain Gray MSP was at the official opening of the Prestonpans Battle Tapestry exhibition at the Scottish Parliament this week, with Deputy Presiding Officer Christine Grahame, Chief Stitcher Dorie Wilkie, and Arran Johnston of the Prestonpans Battle Trust. The tapestry, which will be on display at the Scottish Parliament from until 20th July, tells the story of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s triumphant passage to Scotland. It includes 10 million colourful stitches, took 25,000 painstaking hours t...

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Iain Gray MSP has presented certificates to graduating students at the renowned Chippendale School of Furniture in Gifford, including Australian Nigel Goodwin who won Student of the Year. The retired tax inspector, from Murrumbateman near Canberra, was awarded the Student of the Year prize from Scotland’s only furniture design school, and is taking a little piece of Australia back home with him. As well as presenting the certificates, Mr Gray is also sponsoring an exhibition o...

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County MSP Iain Gray has expressed grave concerns about a shakeup of Schools governance announced by Cabinet Secretary for Education John Swinney, in the face of opposition from local parents and teachers. Iain Gray said: “When John Swinney suggested centralising our schools and side-lining our democratically elected Council from the running of local schools, many County parent Councils expressed grave concerns, which I shared. “In fact, Parents, teachers, head teachers, education...

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Newly published figures have revealed that average student debt in Scotland has doubled under the SNP government. The SNP promised to scrap student debt upon coming to power in 2007. Instead it has soared from around £6,000 to £11,740. Figures published by the Student Loans Company today also show that average student debt in Scotland rose by 13 per cent last year alone. Labour said one of the key reasons for this is SNP cuts to student support, including bursaries and grants for stude...

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