Last Saturday, as Ross County upped their unbeaten record to 31 games, I think the cheer, “that’s why we’re the champions!” could probably be heard from Inverness. On hearing that promotion to the Scottish Premier League was sure and certain, I submitted a motion to the Scottish Parliament congratulating the club and the fans for their vision, commitment and enthusiasm. The motion has almost thirty signatories, from every substantial political party – one for every unbeaten game! I think that County Fever has not only swept Dingwall, but the whole of Scotland. It is an impressive achievement for the club which will now be the most northerly club in the SPL and crucially it opens up great potential for the Highland economy. If there was a 4300-strong crowd at Victoria Park on Saturday, and no parking spaces left, then who knows how many more visitors will descend on Dingwall next season.
We live in a tough financial climate but, in the last few weeks, there has plenty of good news for the Highland economy. It was announced last week that thousands of apprentices and workers will be trained for jobs in the energy sector at the new Nigg Skills Academy. The £900,000 skills academy is in the Nigg Energy Park which was bought and upgraded by Global Energy Group. First Minister, Alex Salmond, opened the Academy last week full of admiration for the Academy and hope for the future. With about one trillion pounds of oil and gas reserves remaining in Scotland and the renewables sector expanding, the eyes of the international community are on the Highlands.
Members of the agricultural international community recently congregated at a conference in Strathpeffer to discuss crofting and genetically modified crops. The Scottish Crofting Federation hosted the conference which was entitled ‘Celebrating Crofter’s Seeds and Breeds’. I was privileged to be able to speak at the conference about the rich history of crofting we have in Scotland, as well as commending the cultural and agricultural diversity in the Highlands. Crofting was born out of a sense of challenge to an established order in the last few centuries, and today it is a similar sense of challenge that inspires the work of many crofters.
Amongst the various pieces of good news on the Highland economy, the Westminster Government’s Budget will not be seen as such. The Budget hits people with modest pensions and savings for their retirement. Meanwhile, Mr Cameron and his rich cronies will enjoy a cut to the 50p tax rate. The irony is that there are more pensioners in Scotland who are affected by the ‘pensioners poll tax’ than voters who supported the Conservative party in the last election. Last week in Westminster, Dr Eilidh Whiteford, of the SNP, wondered aloud whether the man who helped usher in the poll tax twenty years ago had been involved in the development of the new policy.
The cut will benefit the grand total of 15,000 people in Scotland and so it is clear that it is not in Scotland’s interest. Yet, despite this and with the exception of six SNP MPs, an amendment to overturn the 50p tax cut received no support from a single Scottish MP, Labour, Lib Dem or Tory. With the Westminster Government, it is one rule for the poor and another for the rich.
It is also one rule for Scotland and another for London. Last week, Boris Johnson, who is running the race for re-election as Mayor of London, called for devo-max financial powers for London. His arguments for London are even stronger for Scotland, based on the latest Government Expenditure & Revenue Figures so I wonder when he will back the same powers for Scotland.
This website was established while I was a Member of the Scottish Parliament.
Promoted and published by Ian Anderson on behalf of Dave Thompson, both at Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch SNP, Thorfin House,
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