Tag Archives: For Argyll political challenge

Alison Hay: Why I belong to my party

Posted on by newsroom

Alison Hay

The emphasis is on why I belong to my party the Scottish Liberal Democrats.  I have been a member of the party since the 80s.

It came about in a gradual way.  Through the Community Council I became very friendly with the then Regional Councillor Carole MacIntyre who lived on Islay.  Carole was very helpful and supportive.

She never pushed her political views but I was aware of her party affiliations and she showed by her commitment and dedication by helping the community demonstrating that she was genuinely a committed person and nice into the bargain.

When the chance to stand for the District Council came round she encouraged me to stand and I thought it only right that I should stand on a political ticket that way people would know what my views were likely to be on various topics. I also liked the way the party was and still is a broad church accepting varying views within it.  So I stood as a Scottish Liberal Democrat and have never looked back.

When Carole told me she would not be standing for the final term of Strathclyde Region I had no hesitation in putting myself forward for selection, was elected and met Liberal Democrat Regional members who were incredibly supportive.  I gained a wider perspective of political life.

Our party conferences are run on democratic lines and the party grassroots have a big input into party policy and what goes into the manifesto.  I suppose I am a Scottish Liberal democrat because the party believes in decisions being taken as near to the people as practical, we also believe in a Federal Union of States, each taking our own decisions but working together on the big strategic issues such as the armed forces, the country’s defence.  I believe there is strength in unity, but it must be a unity of mutual respect.

Turning to look at what my party can offer Argyll and Bute.  Argyll and its many inhabited islands are unique and that very uniqueness can cause some very special challenges.

As a constituency we’re part mainland, with a plethora of populated islands of varying size.

Many of the party’s MSPs come from rural and island areas and there is a wealth of experience about rural issues amongst them so I think my party is well placed to understand the special challenges an area like Argyll and Bute can throw up.  A case in point is the review of the Common Agricultural Policy with a Scottish Liberal Democrat leading. Less favoured area status and single farm payments are topics very important to Argyll and Bute farmers.  I will work with my colleagues to make sure those farmers views are fed into the debate.

My Scottish Liberal Democrat party stands for supporting Small to Medium Enterprises which are the back bone of Argyll and Bute and we mean to do so by establishing a series of Regional Development Banks, whose boards will comprise local people from the community and business.  There will be a special one for the Highlands and Islands area recognising the special challenges of our more remote and fragile communities and businesses.

Our manifesto, at my request, has in it the need for urgent action on the A82 and A83. It also mentions the re-trunking of the A816 and the A83 from Kennacraig to Campbeltown. These issues are recognised as something the party should try to address and if elected I will urge my party to do something about the blockages which occur every time there is a land slip or accident on the A83.

Argyll and Bute has had many Liberal Democrat representatives before and they have all done their best of the constituency.  If elected I will work hard for the people and will concentrate all my energies on the constituency alone as I am not standing on the list.

Alison Hay, Liberal Democrat candidate for Argyll and Bute, 2011 Scottish Election.

George Doyle: Why I am standing as an Independent

Posted on by newsroom

Because George Doyle’s candidacy for the Argyll and Bute seat was announced after two thirds of the For Argyll Political Challenge was over, we have not had the chance to hear from him until now and many know too little about him.

So we’re introducing his article on why he is standing as an Independent – in which  we have also given him a little more space – with some information about him and the life that brought him to Easdale.

George Doyle

A writer, Liverpudlian George Doyle was a lighthouse keeper for 8 years from 1966 – 1974, serving mainly on the South Bishop Light off the Welsh coast. The start of the process of automating Britain’s lights led him to leave – and his next job, in its ow way, showed the same disposition to a relatively solitary life and the wide open spaces.

He went straight on to work in the engine room of the RRS John Discoe, the British Antarctic Survey ship from September 1974 to 1978 when he applied for and got a job on an island in Loch Sween in Argyll, which was a holiday home for the family who then owned Drambuie.

While this job did not turn out to be quite what he’d expected, he stayed for over three years before spending seven or eight months working as a gardener on Little Cumbrae. From there he moved northwest into Argyll, again as a gardener, at An Cala in the village of Easdale, part of the former slate quarrying complex involving part of the mainland and the inshore islands here.

He describes being in Easdale in the same terms as a relationship – ‘it just clicked’, He can see no better place to be and is utterly content there, gardening and writing. He describes himself as poor but with absolutely no worries – no financial worries because he has all he needs, no neighbour worries and no work worries.

George Doyle on why he is standing as an Independent

I look on an election campaign as the job interview it essentially is – and I’ve never applied for a job I didn’t want.

If I’m not honest with my potential employers (the electorate), if I lie or prevaricate and am elected, this serves no one but myself.

This applies to all candidates.

I have given a true and honest CV. I have made no promises. Whoever people vote for, the method of election is of no consequence if their candidate has no equal voice in parliament.

It makes little difference to me who is First Minister – provided all elected MSPs are able to cast their vote for that person.

Political parties should be lobbyists and nothing more.

Governments pre-selected by parties are not democratic. To misquote Lincoln: ‘All of one party can be right some of the time. Some of one party can be right all of the time. But all of one party cannot be right all of the time’.

Every party and individual MSP has, at one time or another, some very good forward thinking policies. If we have party rule, mnost of these ideas will never see the light of day or will be so compromised as to be almost worthless.

That is to say we are promised the earth and end up with a well depleted bag of compost. (That’s the gardener in me coming out.)

Because I am a writer, I’m very concerned with the proposed closure of rural primary schools. I believe it will cost more financially (and socially, in the long term) to close any schools in rural areas.

When I’m working out my personal finances (not millions) I always have a starting figure of what’s in the kitty. Argyll and Bute Council, it seems, are a bit shy in saying how much there is at the start.

If they are in surplus, which several reliable sources say they are (a figure of £48 million has been mentioned twice in the media), then the cuts which they say are needed may perhaps be better understood. It’s no good saying “Cuts will be made’ if people are unaware whether this is a measure to recover a shortfall or to give us a larger surplus for a rainy day far into the future.

None of the candidates have mentioned the ongoing war in Afghanistan and the possible involvement of our troops in the Middle East. This is not just a Westminster problem. Many of those who have died have been from Scotland.

My reason for mentioning the war in Afghanistan is to get people to vote – and actually not necessarily for me.

When we’re sending young people – and very young people – out to die in someone else’s back yard in the name of democracy for all, each of us should take the half hour or so it needs to get to the Polling Station and vote for someone. We all know young people who are dying today to give others that right, so why should any of us think it’s OK not to bother to vote?

We all know people who’ve lost a partner, a parent or a child in this sort of conflict. I’ve listened to friends in Liverpool  try to talk after they’ve had the knock on the door. To persuade you to use your vote, even if it;s not for me, I’d like you to read this poem, written from the fragments that are all it was  possible to say when people I know got this sort of news.

Four poppies from Helmand

Megan, 37. Husband Tom, 39. 2 children. TA medical. Roadside bomb.

My dear kind man has gone to war.
‘Make sure the kids don’t fret too much.
‘I’ll be all right, it’s just one tour.’
Yet poppies grow in Helmand.

The kids were his whole life, he doted on them. He was sure he’d be hone. ‘No worries’, he said… but… sorry… I think they should all come home now.

****

Serena, 15. Brother Kieran, 22. Bomb disposal. IED casualty.

My best brud, Keery. Such a fool.
‘See you, Sizzler. Don’t touch my stuff.
‘This bomb disposal, hey, it;s cool.
‘Poppies explode in Helmand’.’

He was like my best real friend. He called me Sizzler. He said it like a Baltimore blood. You know… ‘Sizz-LA!’. I shouldn’t worry ’cause he was Super Scouse. ‘Indestruct-ABLE!’ He wasn’t, though… was he?

****

Sally, 50. Son David, 19. Infantry. Shot on patrol.

My big bold son has gone abroad.
‘Stop fussing, Mum. They won’t get me.
‘I can’t stay home. I get so bored.
‘All my mates are in Helmand.’

He was just drifting, really. Couldn’t settle. He and his mate, Robert, signed up together. He made loads of mates over there. Some of them come round now and then. His captain sent a lovely letter. Yeah, it’s hard but you just have to carry on, it’s what he would want, isn’t it?

****

Lynn, 39. Daughter Helen 21. Logistics. Landrover blown up.

My baby girl has gone to sign.
‘This bloody job is killing me.
‘Of course I won’t step on a mine.
‘I might not get to Helmand.’

Oh yeah, boy was she a wild child, but when she joined up – complete change. I was so proud. She got to be Corporal. Her boyfriend Max is out there now, he might get home when she… … She was so… so full of life.

The family Brit and all the rest
at Wootton Basset, standing proud
to welcome home and lay to rest.
Four poppies killed in Helmand.

George White: Why I belong to my party

Posted on by newsroom

George White

The Liberal Party exists to put individuals 1st; its chief care is for the rights and opportunities of the individual.

I have based my campaign on ferries , fishermen and fairness.

On ferries , there needs to provision of RET on Clyde and Hebridean routes where it makes sense to do so. There needs to be a budget for vessel replacement in a timely manner to ensure vital lifeline services are maintained. My position on Gourock/Dunoon is well documented as I believe only an unrestricted passenger and Vehicle service between the pierheads would be acceptable to the Cowal community.

On fishermen , there needs to be support to the fishing industry and that means a review of the CFP ; the discards of perfectly good fish is a disgrace and there must be better quota management to allow fishermen to make a living ; remember for every fisherman that puts to sea , there will be 10 other jobs ashore depending on them.

On fairness , I can see nothing fair in the NHS being dismantled and thousands of public sector jobs being thrown on the scrapheap , whilst the Banks have returned to huge profits on our backs and the Bankers have returned to paying themselves huge bonuses. I , of course , am the wee guy in this election , but then again Argyll & Bute is full of wee guys so who knows.

Finishing on a humourous note ; I see William Hill puts me as the outsider at 100-1 ; it reminds me of my brother Jim , who was born in Campbeltown , who backed Foinavon in Grand National and guess what ; it won at 100-1.

George White, Liberal party candidate for Argyll and Bute, 2011 Scottish Election

The photograph above shows George White.

Michael Russell: Why I belong to my party

Posted on by newsroom

Michael Russell

During the February 1974 Election, as a final year Labour supporting student at Edinburgh University I spent three weeks working for my closest friend who was ‘Labour’s Young Man for the Borders’ – the candidate fighting a hopeless battle against the established David Steel in the old constituency of  Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles.

Yet on  election day I took the bus back to Edinburgh and voted SNP.    Since then I have never, not even during the darkest days of the 1980’s,  voted for anyone else.

That election, if you are old enough to remember , was about ‘who ruled Britain’.  It was a tussle between an unpopular Tory government under Edward Heath and a lackluster Labour party led by Harold Wilson and the issue was industrial muscle and modernisation.

I chose the SNP because I felt that Scotland  and the priorities of Scotland’s people were being drowned out in an ill natured cacophony.    I wanted to secure the right  of this country and my fellow citizens to speak in their own voice and be heard wherever it matters.   I  thought that Scotland’s resources and  the skills should  be used for Scotland’s benefit or given to help others rather than  merely drained away without consultation or compensation.   Coming on for forty years later, I still do.

Those years have been roller coaster ones.   In the 80s  and 90s Scottish industry was decimated  and Scottish oil wealth plundered.  In the early part of this century we were dragged into an illegal war and then our public finances were destroyed.  But slowly  Scotland has asserted itself.   The timid lion of that famous cartoon during the 1979 referendum, too feart to come out of its cage, has been replaced by a more confident, more outward looking beast.  The 1997 devolution vote gave the green light to the establishment of a Scottish Parliament  and the acknowledgment across the political spectrum that returning real powers back to our country would be  a process, not an event.

I believe that such a process  must keep moving  forward.   Within it  a responsible SNP  should lead by example, showing Scotland  and the world that we can  govern ourselves competently, thoughtfully and with principle.   Once that it is proved , I hope we will persuade  all those who live here  to choose  full  powers for our Parliament in an  independence referendum.    But the final decision on that must be up to the people, not the politicians.

Providing competent , thoughtful and principled government has been the SNP’s aim over the past four years.   No government is ever perfect, but I believe we have delivered much of what we promised and done it with care.   We have also – slowly but steadily – tried to pursue our core belief of genuine localism : real devolution in which power and responsibility is passed to communities.    Local authorities, alas,  have not always been the best advertisement for that argument or the best implementers of it  but land reform, further community buy outs and the strengthening of school clusters are actions that need intensified in order to be true to such a wider vision.    So is listening to local  people , not riding roughshod over their wishes.

Argyll has within it the cradle of Scottish nationhood – the wonderful  evocative landscape of Kilmartin Glen.   Argyll was part of the rise of the SNP in the 1970’s, and in 2007 Argyll & Bute chose the SNP again, returning Jim Mather as its MSP.    Now as the SNP seeks a second term I think there are real advantages for this constituency  in choosing my own party and, hopefully, myself  to speak for it.

Those advantages lie in the very reasons I am a nationalist.  Argyll & Bute needs to be heard in Scotland, just as Scotland needs to be heard in these islands and on the European and World stage.   Like Scotland , communities in Argyll & Bute need to be able to make many of their own decisions, rather than have them made for them.   And Argyll & Bute  needs to flourish by using its own resources – the skills of its people, the great productivity of its land and waters, its natural beauty and history and its potential for energy and tourism – rather than have them drained away at somebody else’s whim or neglected because of outside indifference.

I am not in the SNP because I believe Scotland is better than anywhere else.  I am in it because I think Scotland has the,  as yet unfulfilled,  potential to be as good as  anywhere else.   So does Argyll & Bute.

Michael Russell, SNP candidate for Argyll and Bute, 2011 Scottish Election

The photograph above shows Michael Russell campaigning in Mull.

Mick Rice: Why I belong to my party

Posted on by newsroom

Mick Rice

Wouldn’t it be nice if we all had our own political party that did exactly what we wanted? Trouble is that parties of one member each don’t achieve a lot. Belonging to any political party means compromise. Those that do not want compromise can enjoy the righteousness of being splendidly alone.

I want to make a difference because there is a lot wrong with this world. Politicians that do not want to change the world are, in my view unworthy.

World Peace may not be instituted because you elect me to the Scottish Parliament. I may have to settle for less.

I will be happy with:

  • Affordable housing for young families
  • Apprenticeships, training and jobs for our young people
  • Better roads
  • Decent public services
  • Good rural schools and plenty of them
  • Better care for the vulnerable, old and infirm through an NHS run National Care Service
  • Jobs and a vibrant local economy
  • New ferries for Dunoon – Gourock and Campbeltown – Ballycastle

No doubt you can all sign up to these objectives.

The Labour party has the best chance of achieving them because it is not distracted by the break up of the United Kingdom, or ideologically tied to making drastic cuts now with no thought to the future.

If, on the day of judgement, the Salvation Army threw down their instruments and ran away, you would conclude that they really didn’t believe in the hereinafter and it was a pretty poor show. I searched the local Saltire, SNP newspaper, and found just one reference to “independence” and that was a little nostalgic by-line in the masthead! The SNP appear to have abandoned their raison d’être and are attempting to cling on to power for its own sake!

Unfortunately, I wouldn’t put it past them to claim, if returned to office, to say that this is a mandate for independence!

Labour made mistakes in Government and your readers will want to remind us of them. However, Britain is a better place because of the last Labour government. We live in a more tolerant society – racism and sexism are not so prevalent. Gay people are treated with respect and have the opportunity to have their relationships legally recognised.

Labour gave:

  • A Scottish Parliament
  • The minimum wage
  • Scottish pensioners and the disabled free Scotland wide travel
  • Scottish pensioners free personal care
  • Scotland brand new primary and secondary schools – Alex Salmond just cut the ribbons on the front doors Labour commissioned – and then cut the number of teacher available to teach in our schools.
  • Our children EMA, university education, apprenticeships and the future jobs fund
  • Child tax credits, pension credits, winter fuel allowance and a minimum wage.
  • Record investment in the NHS with new hospitals, more nurses with better wages and an NHS to be proud of.

It gives me pride to say that Labour delivered on our promises – big promises that made a big difference to every household in Scotland.

The LibDems are facing meltdown at the polls because they broke, among other things, their pre election pledge on not increasing student fees.

But it is not just the LibDems who break promises! The SNP promised to abolish Council Tax, write off student debt, give grants to first-time buyers, maintain teacher numbers, reduce class sizes – all promises made, all promises broken.

The SNP candidate in 2007 promised new boats for Dunoon – Gourock and Campbeltown – Ballycastle and used the slogan “No boats No votes”.

Now that promise has been broken
No apology is spoken
His party has no shame
As it tries to shift the blame

“Tory, Labour and Lib Dem
Should have done it way back when”
“It should have been done before we won”
Is their refrain

The Sun newspaper endorsed the SNP as they are: ‘……tackling the economic crisis head-on by cutting public spending faster than anywhere else in the UK.’ (19 April)

Only a Scottish Labour government will stand up to the Tory-led coalition. If the LibDems do really badly, Charlie Kennedy and Ming Campbell will pull the plug on the coalition.

Argyll and Bute is not a traditional Labour area – I am not a traditional Labour candidate. I am Argyll and Bute’s man in the Labour party and not the Labour party’s man in Argyll and Bute.

If you vote for me you will get real change and a refreshingly good MSP!

Mick Rice, Labour candidate for Argyll and Bute, 2011 Scottish Election

The photograph above shows Mick Rice campaigning.

Jamie McGrigor: Why I belong to my party

Posted on by newsroom

Jamie McGrigor

Until I became a candidate for the Conservatives in 1996 I hadn’t been a member of any political party.

I voted Conservative because even as a youngster I was impressed by Michael Noble who was our MP. I remember meeting him at the sheep dog trials at Cairndow in the 1960s and he came up and spoke to me. Later he became Secretary of State for Scotland and I was proud that he was my MP.

At that time things seemed to be improving, especially the roads kept getting upgraded. The section between the Rest and Be Thankful and the Dunoon turning was known as the 44 bumps but the Conservative government straightened it out and we had a beautiful flat new road.

It is the same throughout the Highlands: most major infrastructure projects, road improvements, causeways, bridges to islands and flyovers have all been instigated by Conservative governments which believed in investment in the future, not just revenue expenditure which was the Labour way, putting pounds in people’s pockets. But under Labour, the pound in your pocket became worth less and less. I remember when we could only take £65 out of the country because of Harold Wilson’s attempt to save our currency after his policies had ruined it.

So it was a choice then between Labour and Conservative until the SNP reared its head with its slogan-ridden ‘It’s our oil’. This seemed to me short sighted when surely our whole nation could benefit from oil revenue.  I was a one nation Conservative who deeply believed in a United Kingdom family who should stand or fall together.

I remember attending an SNP gathering at the Galley of Lorn in Ardfern in 1974. It seemed to be based more on emotion and resentment than forward thinking. Why should they claim a monopoly on patriotism when I felt it was patriotic to be Scottish and British at the same time, and to be proud of both. Their views seemed narrow and parochial and against what I considered the best national interest.

So  at that stage I was still a Conservative, having considered Labour and the SNP. But then of course along came Ray Michie, who like Michael Noble, was most people’s local favourite. But whilst I sympathised with Liberalism, I felt it was the ‘Dem’ bit that left them with a wish list to be all things to all people, avoiding any unpopular decision. As someone said, if God had been a Liberal we would not have had the 10 commandments, but rather the 10 suggestions!

So in a nutshell that’s why I belong to the Conservative Party because it believes in freedom and as little government interference as possible. It stands for encouraging vibrant communities where people feel a sense of importance and belonging. It reduces taxes and red tape for small businesses. It stands for long term investment in infrastructure and rural schools with small class sizes and teachers who insist on a full focus on reading, writing and arithmetic as well as a knowledge of history and biodiversity. It wants more health visitors for children and more carers for old people in their own homes  or in local nursing hospitals. It supports local hospices. It will take unpopular short term decisions to restore long term prosperity for our people.

Labour has left us with the worst economic situation since after the Napoleanic Wars in 1820. We need a tough plan to reduce the deficit.  People need jobs. We will support those who cannot find jobs or cannot work but we will insist that no family gets more on benefits that the average family earns by working. We will ensure that our universities remain top class because Scotland has always produced the brains to produce the engineers who this time can bring forward the dawn of a new age of Enlightenment in technology, especially the potential of the renewable industries which are a fabulous window of opportunity for the future of the Highlands & Islands and Argyll & Bute.

So ,as you asked me to do, I have used reasoned argument to explain why I am not with Labour, the SNP or LibDems. I never saw any merit in the policies of Stalin who murdered all the Russian hill farmers, and although sometimes I think that European Commissioners sit down after breakfast to dream up directives to annoy and upset Scottish business I find the views of UKIP negative with few positive solutions. I am a Conservative because I believe that my party is more radical and more forward thinking for a better long term future than any of the others.

Jamie McGrigor, Conservative candidate for Argyll and Bute, 2011 Scottish Election

The photograph above shows Jamie McGrigor in Oban.

Alison Hay: Economic development strategy for Argyll

Posted on by newsroom

Alison Hay

Setting the Scene

Argyll & Bute is a huge constituency and its people are diverse, and its economy complicated. Its geography is unique with a coast line longer than that of France. Argyll and Bute is an area of outstanding beauty and has the diversity of rugged remote mountains, islands and forests contrasting with in the towns of Oban, Dunoon, Campbeltown and Rothesay.  Argyll & Bute has 25% of Scotland’s forests, so finding its communities is often like finding a needle in a haystack!

Its people are hard working, resilient and resourceful and are Argyll & Bute’s best asset. The area has a population of around 90,500 which is spread across the second largest authority area in Scotland and it has the third sparsest population density with just 0.13 persons per hectare. Not even 1 whole person per hectare! Seventeen percent of Argyll & Bute’s population live on our many islands and 45% live in settlements of 3000 or more. The remaining 55% of the population live in small villages or on their own in isolated clusters, farmhouses and crofts.  None of its people live far from the sea with 80% of the population within a kilometre of the coast.

The major inhabited islands of Bute, Islay, Jura, Mull, Coll and Tiree are all unique. All, except for Islay, are suffering from a decreasing young population, which is a major problem affecting their future viability.

I know there is nothing we can do to stop young people leaving to explore the world, that’s just the way it is. What I and others can do is to try to take some steps to help young people to stay. We must encourage people who have moved away, perhaps now with a family, to come back. To come back these people are going to want to be able to set up in business in Argyll & Bute and know that they will enjoy a 21st century lifestyle and that this will continue for their children too.

Given the exodus of younger people the demographic profile is changing and in the next 25 years 15% of our young people are expected to have left. The working population is predicted to fall, in the same period, by as much as 10%, with our elderly population rising by 30%.

This is not unique to Argyll & Bute but does present some difficulties about how we meet the needs of a growing elderly population with a working population which is dwindling. This means working on early intervention for the elderly to make sure that we have as healthy an elderly population as possible. This in turn relieves the public bodies of the necessity of looking after a high proportion of people in their twilight years because they will be more capable of looking after themselves. Old age does not need to be an unhealthy age.

The Coming Challenge

The economic pressure that Argyll & Bute faces is colossal for everyone. This is a challenge we all have to face together.  To say that anyone has a magic wand with all the answers to everything is to be living on another planet, but by working together and sharing resources, not protecting our own empires, we may be able to pull through what is and will be a very difficult financial time for us all.

I promise to work with all the public bodies and enterprise agencies and banks to make sure Argyll & Bute is ready for this challenge. My main strand will be to work with local people and organisations: listening to what they are saying and working with them to improve their living and working conditions. For example, housing is a basic need and the recent reduction in the Housing Assistance Grant for new builds will make building in rural areas virtually impossible. I will work with the construction industry in Argyll & Bute to try and mitigate the worst of the effects of this decision and try to get the grant reinstated to a more realistic amount for remote areas where volume, in numbers of houses, is not possible.

The Way Forward

Beinn an Tuirc. Alison Hay

Argyll & Bute’s biggest opportunity at the moment is renewable energy and the area is ideally placed to capitalise on this major asset. Just the other week there was the welcome announcement that Scottish and Southern Energy and Marsh Wind Technology have joined forces to take over Skycon, at Machrihanish, securing almost all the present jobs, a relief to everyone in Campbeltown and a continuing support to the local economy.

Campbeltown epitomises the structure of Argyll & Bute with an urban community separated by many tens of miles from the next town. With this remoteness it is very important to ensure that the businesses in these areas thrive. To do so they need good infrastructure and good communications with a well trained workforce and a strategy for attracting quality jobs to their areas. Places like this need to become Enterprise Zones like the ones being announced down south in England & Wales. Planning rules in these zones are relaxed and new businesses don’t have to pay rates. Meanwhile, it is my intention to work with Argyll & Bute Planners within the New Planning Act to ensure that the applications for new operations when submitted go as smoothly as possible.

Wood Transport. Alison Hay.

Argyll & Bute’s landscape is a huge asset and it helps support another major industry – tourism. It is renowned for its first class mountaineering, walking and water sports, welcoming accommodation and a well trained chatty and friendly tourism sector workforce. This is crucial to making sure visitors have a good experience. We know that the likelihood is they will come back. The tourism industry must be able to promote itself and today this means ensuring that it has access to super-fast broadband. Tourists are then only a mouse click away.

To help tourism’s seasonal businesses let’s investigate a rates relief scheme to make it affordable in out-of-season time, and when there is a revaluation of business rates in 2015 let’s make sure that businesses get transitional relief instead of the huge increases they faced last year.

The University of the Highlands and Islands has a role to play here too. It and the satellite colleges must be kept funded to allow them to offer the courses that help our tourism industry to continue to flourish with courses such as hospitality, food hygiene, basic reception skills and much, much more.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) are in the majority in Argyll & Bute, they range from small construction businesses to chalet hirers, boat builders, restaurants, shops and the many cultural outlets. SME’s are the grass roots of the economy and they must be protected. The setting up of the Regional Development Banks is vital to making sure SME’s get the financial and business operations help they need to move their businesses forward.  I intend to support the setting up of the Regional Development Banks and work towards cutting the bureaucracy these small businesses have to deal with in their day to day dealings with public agencies.

Many SME’s are in the construction sector and I recently heard that their industry was suffering because of the 20% VAT increase and that they were loosing out to people offering to do the same job for cash on the black market.  I am pressing the UK government to reduce the VAT rate for all refurbishing, renovation and repair work to around 5.5%. This is already done in some EU countries and has been a great success in sustaining businesses, improving employment and increasing revenues to the treasury. A win-win situation.

SME’s also need to be encouraged to engage and support the new apprenticeship schemes making sure that Argyll & Bute gets new tradesmen.  The construction college in Lochgilphead is turning out joiners, brickies and plumbers and the construction industry needs well trained young people.  Learning skills like these that will keep Argyll & Bute equipped to keep our economy going, and to stifle the trend for our young school leavers to move away.

Farming is a staple industry in Argyll & Bute and the retention of less favoured area status and single farm payments is vital to the prosperity of rural farmers.  My colleague George Lyon MEP is taking a leading role in the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. I’m working with him in keeping the interests of farmers in Argyll & Bute to the fore.

Fishing and Aquaculture are both very important business areas for Argyll & Bute.  Fish farming is expanding and is an area of growth.  I am also aware that inshore fishing is another growth area. The industry deserves to have a sustainable future.  I have ‘floated’ the idea of a decommissioning scheme for inshore boats just as they have for deep sea trawlers.  If adopted this enables inshore fishermen to leave the industry without financial penalty and debt. There would also need to be controls on the static gear fishermen use, in regulating the number of creels to avoid overfishing and pave the way for agreement with the inshore trawler men about where each can fish. This in turn maintains a living for all fishermen and sustains the communities in which they live.

These many strands of life in Argyll & Bute give the area its unique character and ensure that its communities are held together, and that they are kept vibrant with good skills and good people. The key to this is reliable communications and a modern infrastructure network.

Kennacraig. Alison Hay

Cementing this all together needs good roads and ferry links, Argyll & Bute has suffered for too long from poor roads and black spots in communication, and less than efficient ferries. I will campaign to get investment for our roads and for the introduction of a pricing reduction scheme for our ferries, just as they have for the Western Isles. Businesses and families in Argyll & Bute deserve the benefit of cheaper travel to and from the Argyll Islands.  I will also work to ensure that Argyll & Bute gets high speed communication so that people are not disadvantaged by living in a remote rural area.

Alison Hay

Alison Hay is the Liberal Democrat Party’s candidate for the Argyll and Bute seat in the Scottish Election 2011 which will be held on 5th May.

The photographs above have been copyright cleared and show:

  • Alison Hay
  • The wind farm at Beinn an Tuirc
  • Wood transport
  • Kennacraig

Jamie McGrigor: Economic development strategy for Argyll

Posted on by newsroom

Jamie McGrigor at Oban

Improving the transport infrastructure of Argyll & Bute is my main priority in terms of what needs to be done to support existing companies, maintain their competitiveness and, crucially, attract new jobs and investment to this area. It is the availability of well paid, high quality jobs which will keep our talented youngsters living in Argyll & Bute rather than moving elsewhere and so underpin our communities.

The state of the two trunk roads serving Argyll & Bute, the A82 and A83, is simply not good enough and compares badly with the rest of Scotland. We bounce from one pothole to another and have to put up with roads blocked by landslides or so-called temporary traffic lights, some of which have been temporary for 30 years. It’s simply not good enough if we want to portray ourselves as a modern, forward thinking country at the forefront of Western Europe which wants to attract investment. Main roads not only perform a function but give an impression. And that impression is hardly helped by the appalling state of the local roads which are the responsibility of the Council.  As my old friend in the Isle of Mull tells me: “In Mull we don’t drive on the left, we drive on what’s left of the roads”. And that’s funny but not funny for the businesses and individuals that depend on the roads, including tourism which is also such a key driver of the local economy.

Ferry links also need to be better and I will continue to campaign for the resumption of the Campbeltown to Ballycastle ferry service which would be a real boon to the economy of Kintyre. The position of the Gourock-Dunoon ferry remains one of serious concern.

Achieving fast broadband throughout Argyll & Bute is another important issue. I am delighted that superfast broadband is being piloted in the Highlands & Islands and I have long argued that a first class broadband system is key to business growth, especially in the remote rural and island communities of this part of the world which can be at a disdavantage due to peripherality and distance from markets. Next generation access provides broadband speeds far in excess of the current technology and I am very pleased that the Highlands & Islands will be at the forefront of the development of these new services.

The renewables sector also has the potential to boost jobs in Argyll & Bute. I was delighted to be able to campaign to secure what should now be a sustainable and long term future for the Skykon factory at Macrihanish with its takeover by a new consortium. This facility is the only wind tower turbine manufacturer in Scotland and with all political parties being committed to the future of renewables in Scotland it should be able to take advantage of the need for technology in the onshore and offshore sectors.

Jamie McGrigor at Skykon with Annabel Goldie and Donald Kelly

I also believe that small scale hydro developments should be encouraged more in Argyll and will argue for fundamental reform of the feed in tariff regime so that potential developers, including farmers and crofters, are able to access.

I mentioned tourism earlier and I have no hesitation in returning to that subject. Tourism operators face intense competition from all over the rest of Europe and indeed the world and it is my belief that government and its agencies at all levels should do whatever it can to assist them. That’s why I was determined to support the many businesses in Argyll who faced the removal of their advertising road signs by the Council- even though some of these signs had been up for decades!

Argyll & Bute has some of the finest scenery in Europe and in addition some of the best coastline, rivers and lochs. Freshwater fishing tourism, combined with country sports, remains a very important sector of our economy- partricularly on our remote rural and island communities- and I am proud of my consistent record in speaking up for angling, shooting and stalking. I pledge that I will continue to do this forecfully if I am re-elected in May. I also believe that marine tourism has the potential to expand in Argyll & Bute and that is why, for example, I have fully supported Oban Bay Marine’s ambitious and positive plans for extra pontoons in Oban Bay. And we need to do everything possible to promote our world class restaurants, hotels, guest houses and B&Bs and focus on the renowned local food which they often use; and publicise our world beating tourist attractions.

Many tourists of course come to Argyll & Bute because of the well-managed landscape which is a result of the work of generations of farmers, crofters and land managers. Farming and crofting- along with sea fisheries in some parts – remain some of our key primary industries and I will continue to champion their needs if I am re-elected. The decline in the number of sheep and cattle being kept on our farms and crofts in recent years, particularly on our uplands, is a major cause for alarm which will have to be considered as future decisions on agricultural support payments are made in the years ahead. In terms of our agricultural market infrastructure, I was pleased to be able to work successfuly with United Auctions to persuade the Scottish Government to upgrade Damally Mart which is a hub for the Argyllshire farming sector. Aquaculture is also an important sector and I will continue to speak out in its support.

At UK level the Conservative led government is taking the tough but right decisions needed to restore this country’s public finances to a healthy state. They are also continuing to put pressure on our banks to lend to our small and medium sized companies. I am proud of my record over the last four years in Holyrood in standing up for the needs of Scotland’s wealth creators and business communtiy, especially our small businesses who are the backbone of our economy. The reduction and abolition of business rates for tens of thousands of small businesses was a real achievement, as was the multi-million pound town centre regeneration fund. I will always seek to speak up for the needs of Scotland’s businesses, fight for investment in infrastructure such as roads and broadband and stop government at all levels imposing red tape and bureaucracy.

I believe I have had a good track record across the Highlands & Islands over the last 12 years and I pledge that I would work 110% for the people of Argyll & Bute if they give me the chance to be their constituency MSP.

Jamie McGrigor

Jamie McGrigor is the Conservative Party’s candidate for the Argyll and Bute seat in the Scottish Election 2011 which will be held on 5th May.

The photographs accompanying this article have been copyright cleared. They show:

  • Jamie McGrigor at Oban
  • Jamie McGrigor, second left, at the former Skykon plant in Machrihanish, with Annabel Goldie and Donald Kelly.

NOTE: Some modest editing was done to this article to bring it into line with the Rules of Engagement of this challenge.

Michael Russell: Economic development strategy for Argyll

Posted on by newsroom

Michael Russell on Jura - local resource and local people are the key to future prosperity

There is a story, perhaps apocryphal, which asserts  that at the end of the second world war the returning Norwegian Government asked the outgoing British Government what to do with their offshore islands, which had been badly affected by the German occupation. ‘Move all the people to the mainland and forget them’, was the advice offered.   But the Norwegians disregarded it and spent many years building up their island populations. The results are there for all to see and not just in the islands for Norway has flourishing rural communities which have a high level of control over their own destiny.

Contrast that situation  to the state of rural communities in Argyll & Bute. Whatever the reason many (but not all) of them are at a low ebb, shedding population and under constant threat of losing services.   Moreover that threat has been in place for several generations. The closure of the village shop has been followed by the closure of the village school.  Houses often far distant in price from the pockets of local people, are now occupied only at holiday times and for long weekends. Local jobs have dried up, not least because there is no where for local workers to live. Transport costs have rocketed and this  winter the potholes have grown deeper and deeper on every road.

Argyll & Bute  is a mixture of small town , rural, extreme rural and island communities. That diversity means that there can be no one silver bullet that would guarantee the prosperity of each and very part of the constituency. But that said, there is a strong demand in every part of the area for a new approach – a vision of what could be achieved, and a plan to achieve it.

Speaking at one of the Summer Cabinet public meetings last year, the First Minister commented that whilst there would never be any prizes for the elegance or subtlety of cutting expenditure, there would be prizes for those who had a clear vision of what they wanted to achieve, and stuck to it despite the financial pressures of the times.

I believe that idea – the determination to create and stick to a vision for the future – is a powerful one, and one that we should take to heart here in Argyll & Bute. It is indeed the first step towards a more prosperous and more successful future.

So let’s start with that vision.  For me the future of Argyll & Bute is one in which there are many flourishing small town, rural and island communities which are growing in population, in which there are jobs and housing available and in which local services provide a base line of support for local residents.    Household incomes would be above the Scottish average and communities would be focused not just on growth but also on sustainability.

Energy is a key sector for Argyll & Bute. Wind Turbine on Gigha (Michael Russell - copyright cleared)

Those are actually modest ambitions.  One could go further and look for outcomes that place educational achievement , individual prosperity and longevity as well as physical and mental health at well above Scottish norms.  But whatever is measured, the results that we would want to achieve would be well  in advance of what they are today.

So how do we get there?   I suspect there are five core principles that need to underpin our collective efforts.

The first of these would be to focus on what exists – the resource and potential of the place itself.  That means , at the outset, focusing on people  as well as on the natural resources and existing businesses and activities.

There  is in each of our communities a vast untapped resource of knowledge, enthusiasm, ability and achievement.  We need to unlock and put it to work.  There is also resource all around us – for example the state in Scotland owns 10% of the Scottish land mass, much of it in rural Scotland.  By means of community leasing and the acquisition of land and forest by local communities we can make it work much harder for us.   There should be a default position that allows communities to access these resources if they can show an intention to put them to work for sustainable community growth.

There  must also be a much stronger emphasis on subsidiarity – that is on decisions made at the lowest appropriate level.  Why, for example, are we not making more progress on ensuring that local procurement  for local authorities and government is made to produce  local jobs  – and decided on locally.

Key sectors in our economy are of particular relevance to Argyll & Bute.  Tourism, food and drink and energy are all growth markets and we need to capture them for here.   A joined up national and local strategy that really encouraged such areas of endeavor here in Argyll & Bute needs to be at the forefront of our planing for the future.

Tourism and Education - Dunstaffnage Marina with the Scottish Association for Marine Science in the background. (Michael Russell , copyright cleared)

Observing this first principle – thinking local and making sure we use the local resource at our finger tips – would go a long way to generating the type of new activity that could make all the difference.   But too often such initiative is blocked by ‘the powers that be’.  So the second initiative is as important  for we need to seek a  ‘joined up’  but  ‘hands off’ approach from all agencies and players.

Far too often the policies of local and national bodies conflict or are badly aligned.   An example lies in the provision of local schools, where cuts by an authority may go directly against government policy on the retention of rural population or even a policy on rural housing held by another part of the same council.

We need an agreed plan – simple, straightforward and not taking a hundred pages of gobbledegook – which sets out how we want our community to grow and who will take responsibility and which makes it clear who will do what and when.   Then we need to stick to that for at least five years, and probably longer.

Of course co-ordinated active and targeted interventions are a necessary part of that.    The small business bonus has helped several thousands  tourism and retail enterprises in Argyll & Bute – it needs to stay in place.   But we need to go further in finding ways to reduce the burden of excessive transport costs – a business and community killer in the islands particularly – and in streamlining and focusing effective practical  support to those who need it most and can use it best.

The third  principle would insist that we set  realistic goals and measure progress towards them.   That needs to be a simple activity, based on jobs created, houses built or occupied, and services used.  If progress is not being made we need to work out why and help to stimulate it.

The fourth would encourage and reward innovation and enterprise.  No community has a monopoly on good ideas .  We need to bring in new people and attract them to live here, and we need to encourage the most enterprising and imaginative minds to stay among us.   So that means cutting down on red tape, refusing to accept the small minded regulation that bedevils local planning and the establishment of a ‘can do’ culture within Argyll & Bute.  That will require community and political leadership that seeks to unite, rather than divide but which is not afraid to step forward and get things done.

Building houses that are modular and quicker and cheaper to construct would be one innovation worth considering. Another would be adapting the idea of enterprise zones to rural communities.  Other possibilities exist, including preferential rural fuel pricing .

The fifth principle must clearly state the we must  invest in education and training above all.  Our young people are our future and we need to make sure not just that they are ready to make their own world, but that there is a world here for them to work on.  That means good local education and training and the creation of more and more local apprenticeships.  Strengthening the role of Argyll College would be an important  part of it.

Can all this done without lots of new money?   Well some of it certainly can, but we should also be imaginative in how we gain additional  resource to invest.   The Business Improvement District model now operating in Oban, and under consideration in Dunoon gives some idea of what might be possible. Budgets for public bodies, while reducing, are still substantial and must always be focused on where they can be most effective.   Above all the Council needs to prioritise growth by means of the support and development of existing rural communities  and adjust its  spending accordingly.

What is absolutely certain however, is that none of this it can be done without leadership and co-operation.   Leadership from within each community and across the area.   And co-operation from all those who are normally divided by ideology or self interest.

Michael Russell

Michael Russell is the Scottish National Party’s candidate for the Argyll and Bute seat in the Scottish Election 2011 which will be held on 5th May.

The photographs accompanying this article have been copyright cleared. They show:

  • Michael Russell on Jura – local resource and local people are the key to future prosperity.
  • Energy is a key sector for Argyll & Bute.  Wind Turbine on Gigha (Photo: Michael Russell)
  • Tourism and Education – Dunstaffnage Marina with the Scottish Association for Marine Science in the background.   (Photo: Michael Russell)