Views
Fuel duty hike would be madness - for the Inverness Courier
NEXT week Alistair Darling will deliver what seems likely to be his last budget, and will certainly be the last major political event before the prime minister finally calls the election.
It is likely that Gordon Brown will fire the starting gun immediately after Easter for an election on 6th May.
No doubt the impending election will shape the way the Budget is received by political commentators and maybe its content too. But it shouldn't - because the country is in very poor economic health and so now is not the time to be playing politics.
We in the Highlands will be watching especially closely what Mr Darling chooses to do on fuel duty. If previous announcements are stuck to, we can expect the government to try to add another 3p to the price of a litre of petrol. That would be madness - and if it is put forward I will vote against it.
Over the last few weeks we have seen the price of fuel rocket, back almost to the eye-watering levels of two years ago. As usual, those price increases hit us disproportionately hard up here - especially because of the long distances, lack of public transport alternatives in many areas, and already higher prices in rural areas. That argument needs to be listened to.
The government already gets a VAT windfall when fuel prices rise, so there is no need to add to the pain with extra fuel duty. And from an environmental point of view, the price level is giving plenty of encouragement for people to get out of their cars where they can - but leaving those who can't to bear the extra cost.
That is why I would also like to hear from the chancellor that the government has made progress in its investigation into a duty cut for remote and rural areas. I have been pressing this idea, with Highland colleagues, over the last five years because it would be a way to recognise the extra costs and necessity of using a car in such areas.
As George Lyon MEP said when he was here last week, this scheme already works well in France, Greece and Portugal. There is no reason apart from lack of political will from the government why it couldn't work well here too.
The Budget also needs to set out in much more detail what the government intends to do to control public spending and reduce the massive gap between what is raised in tax and what the government spends. Cuts should be held back until the economy is clearly in recovery - and as the unemployment figures last week showed, in Scotland and locally, we are a long way from that state yet.
But once the economy is clearly growing again, the issue of public spending will have to be addressed. We need to make sure savings are fair, and that key public services, especially for children and vulnerable people are protected. But people also need some honesty from each party about how they will tackle this issue. It will be a key task for the next government, and people have a right to know how each party would handle it.
INVERNESS COLLEGE
Much advice has been offered over the last few weeks to the board of Inverness College as to which site they should choose for the planned new campus. But despite the well-orchestrated PR campaign for Beechwood, it seems to me that the college faces a hard decision - which they are going about in the right way.
By engaging in detailed discussions and working up detailed plans for each site, the college is rightly getting itself into a position where it has the maximum information it needs to make a decision within the strict funding criteria laid down by the Scottish government. From a wider city perspective, the benefits of Beechwood have been highlighted, but there would also be real gains for the vibrancy of the city centre from retaining such a major development.
Under its current leadership, Inverness College has made huge progress. The decision they make will have a major impact on Inverness for many years to come. Provided it is based on a clear and objective assessment of the evidence, I hope that all sides will back the college's decision when it comes and allow this important venture for the city to move forward.
Posted on: 23/03/2010
