Views
Lack of political will is holding back the bypass - for The Inverness Courier
THE future prospects of having the Inverness bypass are, very disappointingly, still no further forward after the visit of the transport minister from Edinburgh last week.
I am glad that the minister agreed to the suggestion by Michael Foxley, the Lib Dem leader of Highland Council, that there should be a working group to take the issue forward.
The council is absolutely right to try to find a way forward after the government's decision to refuse to fund the bypass. A vast amount of preparatory work has been done by the hard-working team at the Highland Council.
Before the Scottish government's unexpected decision to refuse funding, that team were confident that work on actually building the road could have been started in 2012. By carrying on with the preparations, the council will keep open the possibility of an early start to the road if the government changes its mind and provides the needed money before the next Scottish Parliament elections in 2011.
But the central problem that is holding back the bypass is not lack of preparation or planning or talk, it is lack of political will from SNP ministers in Edinburgh.
Without a hard financial commitment from the Scottish government all the talk in the world will not build the bypass the city so desperately needs.
Every day people in Inverness see the case for the bypass growing stronger — as congestion grows and it takes longer and longer for traffic to get through the city. The East and West ends of the route have to be taken together — that way we can get free flowing traffic around the city, improve public transport, and open up new areas for development. Projects like this are critical to boosting the economy as we try to get out of recession.
It is also crucially important that local people, who have played such a major part in the campaign for the bypass over the past few years, are kept informed and involved in the issue. That is why I believe it is important to proceed with the proposal for a "broad forum" on the bypass, engaging local communities, and hopefully ensuring a politically united front in making the argument to the Edinburgh government.
The Scottish government now likes to suggest that politicians like me who have campaigning for the bypass for many years and now want to persuade ministers to change their mind and fund the bypass should keep quiet. I will not do so. I believe it is the responsibility of locally elected politicians of all colours to argue strongly for the important development the area needs — whether or not their party is in government.
Reminding parties elected to government of promises they made at election time, and trying to force them to keep those promises, is not making an issue a political football. It is essential to trust in politics that governments of all sides are held accountable on the commitments they make. Voters in Inverness West have an opportunity to speak for everyone in our city on Thursday and send SNP an unmistakeable message that their refusal to fund the bypass is simply not acceptable.
LENDING TO BUSINESS
Every week I hear from local business people who simply cannot get their bank to provide them with the funds they need to keep their perfectly viable firms going.
The central objective of the taxpayer taking a majority stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking group was to ensure the flow of funds to businesses. If this is not happening, we need to proceed quickly to full nationalisation.
At the budget this week, the chancellor should be doing all he can to help keep businesses going and keep people in their jobs. Investment should be brought forward in affordable housing and energy efficiency. With the building trades among the hardest hit so far, creating work for these sectors should be a very high priority.
Posted on: 21/04/2009
