Lazy scaremongering from George Lyon – must do better

For Argyll reports very rarely mention the party affiliation of any Scottish politician. This is a contribution to focusing on what really matters – the issues, the evidence, the decisions, the implementation and the results.

There is nothing so tired, so dispiriting and so empty-headed as politicians focused only on scoring party political points rather than doing their best for Scotland and for those who elected them to do just that.

There is nothing so dishonourable as politicians who don’t do their homework while comfortably trotting out wildly inaccurate statements for political benefit. And there is nothing so stupid as politicians who do this when the facts are in the public domain. This sort of thing is a fraud on constituents, on potential consituents and on voters.

One issue that has attracted a great deal of this behaviour is the Scottish Government’s proposal to lease 25% of Scotland’s commercial forests in order to raise money for measures to fight climate change.

Environment Minister, Michael Russell, has committed himself publicly, in writing and very specifically to copper-fastened reassurances that there will be no resulting compulsory redundancies for those working in our forests. He has also given these detailed reassurances directly to the key organisations concerned – like the Trade Unions, who have not since disputed or questioned them.

And he has said clearly that will be no diminution of the role, responsibilities and advisory capacity of Forestry Commission Scotland.

Yet far too many politicians simply take the cheap scaremongering route and do what George Lyon has now also done. The former Argyll and Bute MSP, now a prospective candidate for the ultimate gravy train of a seat in the European Parliament, has said, in starting his campaign: ‘Privatisation would be disastrous for Argyll’s forests and forest workers’.

In every respect this does not trouble itself with the documented facts and is a dilution of the currency of trust on which democracy depends. And it is irresponsible to frighten and destabilise people about the security of their jobs when no threat to them exists.

We pay our politicians to represent us. We expect them to work to be properly informed. We require them to tell us the truth. We do not expect them to see and treat us as simpletons and as pawns in their games – to be manipulated in their interests. We deserve better and we will get it if we start to vote on merit and on evidence than by tribal tradition.