> Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston will highlight the challenges to economic growth in the Highlands and Islands, including slow or non-existent broadband coverage and limited transport infrastructure, in particular the need to dual the A9.
Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston will speak in the debate on ‘Growing Scotland’s Economy’ in the Scottish Parliament this afternoon. He will highlight:
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The importance of a strong economy in creating jobs, sustainable communities and well-funded public services.
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The lack of infrastructure in rural areas, particularly slow or non-existent broadband coverage and limited transport infrastructure.
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The issue of rural depopulation, with concerns about the reduction and centralisation of services.
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The Scottish Government's appalling cuts to funding for rural and enterprise agencies, including Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise.
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The SNP prioritise independence over economic growth and their poor economic management is leading to a Scotland with a high tax, low growth economy with failing public services.
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The SNP lack credible answers on the costs and consequences of independence. Many nationalists are becoming disillusioned with the party.
Find Mr Halcro Johnston’s speech below:
Thank you, Presiding Officer.
I’m pleased to be able to speak in today’s debate. A strong, growing economy is vital for jobs, for sustainable communities and for successful, well-funded public services. I doubt anybody here – bar, perhaps, the anti-growth Greens - would disagree with that.
My colleagues – and others - have spoken in detail about the importance of economic growth more generally. I’d like to focus on my region, the Highlands and Islands, and more widely on rural communities.
And I will start with one of the key areas identified in the Scottish Conservatives’ Grasping the Thistle policy paper – infrastructure. Or, as is the case too often, lack of infrastructure.
Parts of my region still suffer from extremely slow, limited or entirely non-existent broadband coverage. That clearly presents real challenges for those looking to start or grow businesses in those areas, those who want to freelance or just work remotely. There are still too many broadband “no go areas” across the Highlands and Islands.
And of course, despite the endless promises of improvement, the transport infrastructure of the region is still limited. The A9 remain undualled. The A96 now won’t be dualled. Other major routes across the region are either in need of serious improvement or riddled with potholes. Our ferries fleet is getting older and increasingly unreliable, and the SNP’s failure to act not only impacts on those islands and island businesses’ economies, but risks the very future of some.
But it’s not just our islands. Over the summer, I visited the Ardnamurchan peninsula, and spoke with local businesses and residents impacted by the disruption of the ferry services across the Corran Narrows. One boat out of service entirely, and it’s nearly 50 year old back up either limited or broken down.
They were angry and frustrated. Because they saw footfall down at a vital time of year for visitors. And they see administrations in Edinburgh and in Inverness offering no real hope of a resolution any time soon. Some of those I spoke to were concerned about people – about local families – and local businesses – moving out of the area entirely.
But if we want vibrant communities - and successful, growing local economies, we need people to actually live there. Depopulation remains a real challenge, and that is far from helped by the running down and centralising of services. This Saturday, I will be in Fort William joining local people campaigning for a new Belford Hospital – a hospital that is urgently needed – that local people have been waiting almost 2 decades for - but which is now paused because of the Scottish Government’s latest Budget.
Scottish ministers just don’t seem interested in the Highlands and Islands, or in rural Scotland. The SNP/Green’s latest budget saw tens of millions of pounds of spending cut from our rural affairs and islands. And it included serious cuts to the budgets of Highlands and Islands Enterprise and to South of Scotland Enterprise.
And ministers have left local councils with full responsibility for funding Business Gateway; local councils that are already cutting back on services because of years of squeezed funding from Edinburgh.
So how can this Scottish Government claim to be serious about boosting economic growth when it cuts millions of pounds of funding for the very enterprise bodies that are tasked with supporting businesses in large parts of rural Scotland, and which should be some of the key drivers of economic growth.
But, of course, the SNP aren’t really interested in debating economic growth. As their amendment makes clear, this is just another chance to pump some hot air into their deflating independence cause.
They claim – as they always do – that independence is the answer to Scotland’s woes. Woes, of course, that come after 17 years of SNP economic mismanagement.
What they won’t admit is how much leaving the UK would cost Scotland. How much putting up a border between us and our largest trading partner – the rest of the UK – would cost Scotland. How much the uncertainty caused by their confused position on currency would cost Scotland. Or any of the many other questions that – despite decades to address - they have failed to come up with even remotely credible answers for.
Presiding Officer, the SNP’s economic record has left Scotland as a high tax, low growth, economy with crumbling public services.
Just as they have no answers on independence, the SNP offer no real hope to Scotland for economic growth either.
No wonder even many nationalists are jumping ship from this tired, failed party of division.
ENDS
Notes to editor
You can follow the session in the Parliament Chamber here: https://www.scottishparliament.tv/meeting/meeting-of-the-parliament-march-13-2024
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