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Jim Spence

Jim Spence

The Courier

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JIM SPENCE: Why are Dundonians reserved when it comes to eulogising our great city?

JIM SPENCE: Why are Dundonians reserved when it comes to eulogising our great city?

'Glasgow has made more of its heritage than we have simply by shouting about it more loudly.'

wednesday 5

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Inside Alex Salmond meeting where he offered me Dundee SNP seat

JIM SPENCE: Inside Alex Salmond meeting where he offered me Dundee SNP seat

'With MPs' pay set to rise to three times that of the average worker, I’m starting to think I should've accepted Alex Salmond's offer.'

27.03.2025 3

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Nicola Sturgeon’s legacy lives on in Dundee City Council unisex school toilets debacle

JIM SPENCE: Nicola Sturgeon’s legacy lives on in Dundee City Council unisex school toilets debacle

The former first minister is culpable in the ongoing battles over gender and sex which continue to afflict and divide Scottish society.

19.03.2025 10

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee University staff I know are incandescent with rage – and no wonder

Former University of Dundee rector Jim Spence reacts to the devastating job cuts at the institution.

12.03.2025 8

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Success for Dundee schools was reminder of teacher who inspired me

'Teachers are at the sharp end of giving our children and grandchildren the best possible start in life.'

05.03.2025 10

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Why is independence of thinking on key issues regarded with suspicion and hostility?

'In our increasingly fractured society, we’re too often herded towards the view that we should tow rigid party lines.'

26.02.2025 4

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: What is the point of Holyrood if it blocks debate on NHS Fife trans tribunal?

"With almost everyone in the country talking about the case, the Scottish Parliament is refusing to allow questions from some MSPs to discuss the...

19.02.2025 40

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee University rescue plan must not be written by those who presided over disaster

Bosses behind the institution's crisis make Del Boy from Only Fools and Horses look like a financial wizard. writes former rector Jim Spence.

12.02.2025 5

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: My sympathy for Dundee University staff who are pawns in cash crisis

Ordinary staff members are powerless as management try to renegotiate the terms of a multi-million-pound drawdown facility.

29.01.2025 7

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: What is the survival plan at Dundee University?

Have those who managed to take the institution to the brink of disaster got any workable ideas on how to save it?

22.01.2025 10

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Sir Keir Starmer’s speech on grooming gangs and Elon Musk was tone deaf

I would say Sir Keir Starmer has gone from hero to zero in record time if he’d ever actually been seen as a hero. But he was elected as a default...

08.01.2025 5

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Ignoring immigration fears will hand Holyrood seats to Nigel Farage’s Reform

I prefer looking to the future than reflecting on the past, and in that vein I predict the continuing rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform party in 2025 is...

02.01.2025 3

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Nicola Sturgeon now cuts forlorn figure desperately craving attention

Nicola Sturgeon is in danger of joining the ranks of the tin foil hat brigade with her outlandish claims that “forces” were behind the opposition...

26.12.2024 10

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Here’s the basic principle Dundee University abandoned

As Dundee University lurches from one crisis to another, it’s time for a root and branch reassessment of how our educational establishments...

11.12.2024 10

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Every day those in charge of Dundee become more culpable in its civic destruction

Dundee City Council voting to close Caird Park golf course is crystal clear evidence of a council totally out of touch with the people they’re...

04.12.2024 6

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Stark difference in leadership at Dundee’s key educational institutions

The contrast in leadership between two of Dundee’s key educational establishments was laid bare this past week. Simon Hewitt, the principal of...

26.11.2024 10

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee University chief’s salary solution and my eye-opening meeting as rector

In the wake of potential job losses at Dundee University, the principal Iain Gillespie and his senior management team should show some solidarity...

19.11.2024 6

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: SNP critics of Dundee’s Stephen Flynn make fair points – but star players get special treatment

In September I said if I was writing this column with my football hat on, I’d describe the SNP as “3-0 down with full-time approaching”. Despite...

13.11.2024 30

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Why Dundee’s first street food market will bring life into city centre

Dundee has to fight its own corner when it comes to creating jobs and opportunities. Those who have the bright ideas and entrepreneurial spirit to...

06.11.2024 6

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: SNP gender farce shows we dodged bullet with IndyRef No vote

Kindness is preferable to unkindness, but when the desire to be kind to everyone is pursued in the face of established science and basic common...

22.10.2024 2

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: SNP gender farce shows we dodged bullet with IndyRef No vote

Kindness is preferable to unkindness, but when the desire to be kind to everyone is pursued in the face of established science and basic common...

22.10.2024 3

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: When Billy Connolly – and a hawk – gatecrashed my interview with Neil Lennon

The Courier story of how Dundee fell in love with Billy Connolly reminded me of an interview with him at Aberdeen FC’s Pittodrie stadium. As I...

16.10.2024 2

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee needs city centre residents to bring life back to ghost town

I’m just back from 12 days in Denmark and Sweden with the Ambassador Cruise line which sailed from Dundee. When travelling it’s impossible not to...

15.10.2024 2

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: My Samuel L Jackson Dunhill Cup nightmare in St Andrews

The Dunhill Cup at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns from October 3-6 is a great chance to see a collection of the great and the good of the...

26.09.2024 7

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: How Camperdown Park’s former lustre could be restored

Camperdown Park, once a shining jewel in Dundee’s crown, is now a tarnished fading gem. But I had a glimpse at the weekend of how its former lustre...

25.09.2024 3

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: How Camperdown Park’s former lustre could be restored

Camperdown Park, once a shining jewel in Dundee’s crown, is now a tarnished fading gem. But I had a glimpse at the weekend of how its former lustre...

24.09.2024 5

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: SNP needs football-style rebuild – including crucial Stephen Flynn change and new senior role

If I was writing this column with my football hat on I’d describe the SNP as currently being 3-0 down with full-time approaching. Their defence is...

18.09.2024 5

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Culture of blamelessness and secrecy at work at Dundee City Council

The case of the exploding windows might sound like a plot from a Sherlock Holmes novel. But even the famous detective might have been dumbfounded...

11.09.2024 8

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Afternoon at Ninewells A&E was humbling and a real eye opener

There’s a famous line in the film A Streetcar Named Desire where the character Blanche Dubois says: “I have always depended on the kindness of...

04.09.2024 2

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Andy Murray Dunblane centre – creating legacy or dressed-up business venture?

The row over the proposed Andy Murray legacy tennis centre in Dunblane is as unedifying as it is potentially damaging to the name of a man regarded...

28.08.2024 4

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Why I’m concerned about Dundee councillor’s talks with FM over Israel meeting

Proper standards are important in public life. I’m a big believer in due process and carrying out duties according to best practice. Things are...

21.08.2024 2

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Call for rioters to be locked up is hypocrisy after years of soft touch justice

Most sensible folk know there are some bad and violent people who need locked up, but it’s taken until now for the progressive left in British...

15.08.2024 10

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Call for rioters to be locked up is hypocrisy after years of soft touch justice

Most sensible folk know there are some bad and violent people who need locked up, but it’s taken until now for the progressive left in British...

13.08.2024 2

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee and United rivalry bonds our city – I was surprised at talk of re-routing fans

The Dundee football derby is the friendliest city derby in Scottish football. That’s why I was surprised at talk of re-routing fans if a planned...

06.08.2024 4

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Police must be held to highest standards, but they’re only human

Those of us with family members in the police know intimately the challenges of the unique job they do. At times for cops their work is a desperate...

30.07.2024 1

The Courier

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Some nationalists are natural Tories – they just can’t admit it

Watching the partisan punch up which passes for presidential political campaigning in America, I’m increasingly fearful it’s a portent of things to...

23.07.2024 1

The Courier

Jim Spence