Dunoon hosts Highlands and Islands Convention today
published this on 1:20 pm, Monday, 26th October, 2009Business| Community News| Cowal| Politics | Comments (rss) | Respond | Ping |
The Queen’s Hall in Dunoon is today hosting the Convention of the Highlands and Island. Among the issues under discussion is the Highlands and Islands economy, which, under the Scottish Government’s Economic Recovery Plan, is focused on supporting jobs and communities, strengthening education and skills and investing in innovation and industries of the future.
With. an audience composed of representatives of local authorities, public bodies and economic development agencies in the Highlands and Islands – and several Scottish Government Ministers (Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop and Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson) – Finance Secretary John Swinney made the key address.
His main argument was that further acceleration of capital spending can stimulate the Highlands economy and he urged the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, to allow the Scottish Government extra flexibility to help boost employment and investment in the Highlands and Islands.
The Finance Secretary said that many projects, including schools projects and road reconstruction, were being taken forward in the region thanks to the Scottish Government’s decision to accelerate capital spending.
However, he said that building on this progress to position the Highlands and Islands economy for recovery makes it essential that the Chancellor’s upcoming Pre-Budget Report gives Scottish Ministers the flexibility to undertake further capital acceleration into 2010/11.
Mr Swinney said: ‘The Scottish Government’s economic recovery plan is supporting 15,000 jobs across Scotland. As part of this plan, we have supported the Highlands and Islands economy by accelerating over 12 million pounds of capital spending.
‘This has enabled projects such as school refurbishments and road reconstruction to be taken forward in the region earlier than planned, providing vital support for the construction industry in a challenging economic climate.
‘Our message to the Chancellor is simple – by allowing us to undertake further capital acceleration in 2010/11 and reversing 500 million pounds of proposed cuts in our budget, we can do even more to support economic recovery.
‘While we cannot be complacent, today’s announcement from Highlands and Islands Enterprise of support for Argyll tourism through approved investment in hotels in Machrihanish and Campbeltown, shows new projects are still going ahead and that there are reasons to be optimistic about Scotland’s recovery’.
Mr Swinney will have been sharply aware of the irony of the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Finance highlighting a situation where his Government has no borrowing powers before an audience of Local Authority officers, whose bodies have such powers. Such is the illogical and petty state of UK politics. It’s the party that matters, not the country.
Who, regardless of where their personal politics lie on the spectrum of unionism to separatism, really thinks this state of affairs is acceptable or defensible?
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October 26th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
I’m surprised that For Argyll uses the term “separatism” which is deliberately perjorative rather than the entirely accurate word “independence” .
October 26th, 2009 at 7:14 pm
No pejorative intent. While the purpose of separatism is independence or self-determination, the word has a value in keeping in mind a process to be addressed. We use the term practically.
October 26th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
The word suggests a country cut off from everything and in the political context of Scotland seeking normal independence was invented by the enemies of this process, is used exclusively by them and is entirely pejorative. Sorry.
October 26th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
Nothing to be sorry about. This sort of teasing away at how people receive language helps all of us to get as close as we can to not saying what we don’t mean. ‘Independence;’ it is.
October 26th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
Cheers. Thanks
The actual separatists in my opinion are those who would cut Scotland off from its proper place in the rest of the world.