THE DEMOCRAT

Nicola explains what life is like four days after her kidney transplant On Friday 15th September, one week ago, Nicola Liddell  was driving her daughter,

Free ladies haircuts are back! These are appointments for residents of Dumbarton West (Brucehill, Castlehill and Westcliff) only. To book your slot please follow the

This is Mill Dam in Silverton. It used to be lovely. Now it looks as though it’s been “butchered”, for want of a better description.

By Bill Heaney Scottish students from deprived backgrounds are far less likely to get into university than their equivalents south of the border, new statistics

By Democrat reporter Minister for Higher and Further Education Graeme Dey’s inaction in supporting college workers is an ‘insult’ Scottish Labour has said today, after

Green Party co-leader was being interviewed for BBC when a man repeatedly shouted ‘deviant’ at him Probe: Patrick Harvie blamed ‘toxic forces’ for a rise

Lee James Dodds was only 32 when he died and his wife, Charmaine, hopes the inquiry will reveal why people like her husband lost their

Wilko has entered administration, putting 10 Scottish outlets at risk By Bill Heaney West Dunbartonshire took another kick in the teeth when the Clydebank store

By Lucy Ashton Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today accused Humza Yousaf of leaving a legacy of staff shortages,

Sheila Wilson, who is from Greenock, was previously a hairdresser and worked in salons before she decided to change career paths and get into nursing.

INVESTIGATION by BILLY BRIGGS in THE FERRET The use of snares for catching animals is to be banned by the Scottish Government after years of

Responding to the changes in the energy price cap, Liberal Democrat Scottish affairs spokesperson Christine Jardine MP ., pictured left, said:  “It’s a relief that

Drugs Minister Elena Whitham visits Enhanced Drug Treatment Service By Lucy Ashton NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde welcomes the reduction in drug related death figures

By Bill Heaney Scottish Liberal Democrats have today set out how the SNP and Greens will hammer households with a storm of council tax rises

By Bill Heaney The SNP must axe its planned council tax bombshell Scottish Labour has demanded, after an analysis by the party revealed that it

BLOG An Unconsummated Affair James Williams writes: The novelist Evelyn Waugh was perhaps the best known of the fugitives seeking shelter in Ireland from the

Published 27 August 2023 The majority of Apprentices at West Dunbartonshire Council will receive a substantial pay rise after the Council agreed to revise wages

Anne Enright: The author on her new novel, The Wren, The Wren, pretending to be a poet and the ‘male nastiness’ Sally Rooney encountered Anne Enright:

Council statement: On 20th December 2023 and 6th March 2024, West Dunbartonshire Council will meet to agree the budget for 2024/25. In this consultation, we

Ferries entering and leaving the port of Oban in Argyll. Pictures by Bill Heaney By Bill Heaney Scottish Labour has accused the SNP of betraying

Pam Gosal MSP   I recently submitted a motion to the Scottish Parliament to applaud the efforts of Glasgow Indians, an organisation which has gone from

Published 25 August 2023 Three short films which tackle climate change from the young person’s point of view have premiered at Alexandria Library this past

By Lucy Ashton Scottish Charity, TechFest, is calling on West Dunbartonshirepupils to submit their ideas for improving their local high street through a nationwide school’s

By Lucy Ashton Scotland’s national clinical director has said he is concerned about winter amid a summer upswing in Covid cases. Professor Jason Leitch, left, also

By Bill Heaney Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today warned that the new boss of the country’s Scottish Government-owned water company must work

  Alexander McKellar, who was jailed for 12 years for killing ex Navy officer Tony Parsons. By Democrat reporter A drink-driver who killed charity cyclist

By Lucy Ashton Scotland’s biggest council union is planning strikes that could close schools across the country next month. Unison members backed action in 24

By Aileen MacLennan Council measures to encourage and expand the use of Gaelic across Argyll and Bute are continuing to pay dividends. At a meeting

Singer-songwriter Sinead O’Connor, who died last month, spent time at the An Grianan Training Centre in her teens By Steven McIntosh Entertainment reporter for the

By Bill Heaney Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie MSP has today warned that lollipop staff are becoming an endangered species, after new figures

By Bill Heaney When was the last time you saw two policemen patrolling Dumbarton High Street together? Or looked on in dismay as you witnessed

NOTEBOOK by BILL HEANEY Residents are being urged to give their views on the redevelopment of Dumbarton’s Artizan Centre as part of a consultation launched

By Lucy Ashton  Two years on from the SNP launching their so-called ‘NHS Recovery Plan’ and the very existence of our health service is on

Already, Too Late – a boyhood memoir by Carl MacDougall. By Bill Heaney I didn’t hear that Carl McDougall had sadly died. I knew him

NOTEBOOK by Bill Heaney Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie has put the boot in to Dumbarton Football Club’s request for planning permission to construct housing in

By Aileen MacLennan Argyll and Bute Council has reaffirmed its commitment to tackling the poverty-related attainment gap in Argyll and Bute and to ensuring that

Glasgow Ice Centre said 40 curling clubs use the rink. By Lucy Ashton An  ice rink earmarked for closure could be saved by a bid

By Bill Heaney West Dunbartonshire Council has enhanced its support for veterans by designating two properties and associated support specifically for allocation to those who

Humza Yousaf’s party suffered a tough 2022 finance wise as they slumped to a £800,000 deficit and membership numbers fell even more by 40,000 to

24 August 2023 By Aileen Maclennan Councillors have approved plans to update the future shape of education services for children and young people in Argyll

New York’s Róisín Wiley says event is about celebrating women and Irish culture Róisín Wiley said the festival and its participants were a true representation

Video posted online apparently showed jet trailing plume of smoke before slamming into ground and erupting in flames near Moscow By Lucy Ashton Yevgeny Prigozhin,

By Lucy Ashton  Dame Jackie Baillie has reacted with concern to news that NHS24 does not record whether callers from Dumbarton, the Vale of Leven,

Sir Iain Livingstone, Tory spokesman Russell Findlay and First Minister Humza Yousaf. The former first minister was allowed to keep her security detail of six

Former SNP spin doctor who resigned in disgrace appointed as Peter Murrell’s replacement as party chief executive. Murray Foote resigned as head of media for

Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders ACF Cadets from E Company took part in a community open day at Clydebank fire station with the Scottish Fire and

Grass is growing thick and fast at the Church Street roundabout and remarkably around the seats at the new walkway on the riverside. West Dunbartonshire

Published 23 August 2023 ‘Reducing re-traumatisation will promote equality’ – report By Bill Heaney Work to reduce the re-traumatisation of victims and witnesses of crime

By Lucy Ashton Funding to help improve the health and welfare of cattle and sheep is now available for farmers and crofters. Up to £1250

By Lucy Ashton Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today claimed that the SNP have “done next to nothing” to

Dame Jackie Baillie, Health Secretary Michael Matheson, LibDem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton and First Minister and former Health Secretary Humza Yousaf.  By Lucy Ashton An average

Angus MacNeil with Nicola Sturgeon in 2015 but the pair were rarely on the same page – and he’s not impressed with her successor either.

By Bill Heaney and James Cook of BBC Scotland Progress on Scotland’s drugs death crisis is welcome but action is still needed to avoid further

Tick bites can cause Lyme disease Summertime – and the scratching is plenty. Grass is growing rapidly – especially here in West Dunbartonshire – and

Tavish Scott, who was a Minister in the Labour/LibDem coalition government in the Scottish Parliament, claims he wants to stop the decline of wild salmon.

It was lovely to be invited to the first SareeThon in Glasgow on Sunday afternoon, which included fantastic performances by a flashmob. As the first

The Edinburgh International Book Festival It’s almost been one full week of Edinburgh International Book Festival. So far, we’ve welcomed so many wonderful writers, performers

Jackie Baillie is pictured with staff from Dumbarton District Women’s Aid. By Lucy Ashton Jackie Baillie recently paid a visit to Dumbarton District Women’s Aid