Banffshire & Buchan Coast SNP

Moray SNP Launch Council Campaign

2012-03-07T11:40:00.000Z

Moray Scottish National Party has officially launched its campaign for the 2012 Council Elections, which take place on Thursday 3 May. SNP candidates have made a pledge to ‘build a better life for the people of Moray.’

The party has announced the names of 15 candidates across Moray’s 8 multi-member council wards including all 10 of the existing SNP Councillors that form the Council’s main opposition group.

Speaking at the campaign launch leader of the SNP’s current council group, Cllr Pearl Paul, said:

“The Independent/Conservative Administration of five years has left Moray Council lacking leadership and vision. The SNP’s strong group of candidates has the capacity to provide the unity, strength and accountability to take Moray forward with real commitment to benefit the lives of individuals and communities.

“Our Council Candidates cover a broad range of backgrounds, age and experience and I am especially pleased that we have a good balance of both women and men standing, demonstrating that the SNP has a broad appeal and that we are in touch with the issues that affect people right across our communities.

“Moray is blessed with a talented and skilled population, iconic industries, stunning environment and an excellent location. The SNP will build on these strengths, starting with our commitment to provide scope for Moray's young people to receive the finest education and career opportunities.

“The SNP, working with our communities, Community Planning partners and the private and voluntary sectors, will focus upon honing Moray's economy and policies in order to build economic success. We will strive to reverse the trend of too many young people leaving Moray to find employment opportunities elsewhere. We will focus upon the delivery of a competitive Moray, upon improving Moray's infrastructure specifically to attract businesses to the area, and upon bringing increased wealth to the county through new and better jobs for local residents.

“The SNP group in Moray promises to put the interests of Moray and of Scotland first.”

The candidates announced are as follows:

SNP Council Candidates for Moray - by Ward & in Alphabetical Order

Ward 1 – Speyside Glenlivet MICHAEL MCCONACHIE & PEARL PAUL
Ward 2 – Keith Cullen GARY COULL & HAZEL THAIN
Ward 3 – Buckie GORDON MCDONALD & LINDA MCDONALD
Ward 4 – Fochabers Lhanbryde MARGO HOWE & ANITA MCDONALD
Ward 5 – Heldon & Laich CAROLLE RALPH & DAVID STEWART
Ward 6 – Elgin City North MIKE SHAND
Ward 7 – Elgin City South GRAHAM LEADBITTER & JOHN SHARP
Ward 8 – Forres AARON MCLEAN & IRENE OGILVIE

Conference Challenge For LibDems On Votes At 16

2012-03-03T07:00:00.000Z

WILL LIBDEMS LET YOUNG PEOPLE DOWN AGAIN?
As the Liberal Democrats assemble for their spring conference, the party have been challenged to say whether they support votes for 16 and 17 year-olds in the referendum over Scotland’s constitutional future.

Senior LibDems, including the Deputy Prime Minister’s PPS Jo Swinson MP, have given their backing to the ‘Votes at 16’ week of action which begins on Monday – but there is confusion over whether the party will back Scottish Government proposals to allow 16 and 17 year olds to vote in the referendum.

Labour and Lib Dem MPs and MSPs including the Leader of the Lib Dems Nick Clegg, the Deputy leaders of both parties in Scotland and the Shadow Scottish Secretary Margaret Curran have given their support to the Votes at 16 campaign and the Lib Dems, who voted with the SNP to introduce votes at 16 in Scotland’s health board elections, promised to lower the voting age in their 2010 manifesto.

Commenting, SNP Constitutional Affair spokesperson at Westminster Pete Wishart MP said:

“The LibDems should use their conference to end the confusion and decide whether they do actually support votes for 16 and 17 years-olds.

“Or is this one of those policies, like tuition fees, where the LibDems say one thing and do the opposite. Indeed, the LibDems have already let young people down once, will they do it again?

“16 and 17 year olds already play a part in our society. They should be able to have their say over Scotland’s future.

“Attaching strings to Scotland’s referendum is simply not acceptable. The referendum should be decided by the Scottish people and the Scottish parliament.

“It is ridiculous that politicians who say they support 16 and 17 year olds having a vote in elections would not support them voting in a referendum.

"And of course Lib Dems in Scotland have already backed votes for 16 and 17 year olds as part of elections to health boards.

“Penalising those 16 and 17 year olds who will be looking to the future of their country in an attempt to attack the SNP is just another sign of how badly the Tories, Lib Dems and now Labour are misreading the Scottish people.

“It is grossly unfair those aged 16 and 17 are able to play a major part in our society, to pay taxes, join the armed forces, consent to marriage but under UK Government plans will not be barred from making democratic decisions about their own future.

“All parties have accepted that the SNP has the right and mandate to hold a referendum on Scottish Independence. The LibDems and Labour members have accepted that 16 and 17 year olds should be given the vote. They should reaffirm their position, stop equivocating and ensure 16 and 17 year olds are able to vote.”

SNP Welcome Further Support For Votes At 16

2012-02-29T16:37:00.000Z

Humza Yousaf MSP has welcomed strong support for the extension of voting rights to 16 and 17 year olds from the chief executive of the Young Scot organisation.

Writing in Third Force News, Louise MacDonald says:

"The narrative seems to be taking hold that those in favour of the IndyRef believe including 16 and 17 year-olds will boost their vote, because young people will be more likely to vote “Yes” to independence.... that argument is another disservice to democracy – the principle must be whether young people should have a democratic vote in the decisions that affect them now and in the years to come. It is not “we’ll only let them vote if we can predict which way they will go” – imagine disenfranchising any other group in society on that basis?"

Mr Yousaf, the SNP's youngest MSP, said:

"Louise MacDonald's case in support of enfranchising 16 and 17 year olds is unanswerable. As she points out, 16 and 17 year olds are not the citizens of tomorrow, they are the citizens of today - and they deserve have their say on the future of their country.

"The arguments of those who would continue to deny 16 and 17 year olds the vote are undemocratic, patronising and discriminatory. They make baseless assumptions about the ability of young people to participate in the democratic process and - as Louise MacDonald points out - seem to be driven more by suppositions about how young people will vote, rather than any principled position on whether they should be able to vote.

"The claim by some who have previously supported votes at 16 - such as Scottish Secretary Michael Moore - that 16 and 17 year olds should only be allowed to vote in the referendum if they can vote in all elections is also hypocritical nonsense. If Michael Moore genuinely supported young people's democratic rights, he would take any opportunity to advance them - not just when he thinks it suits him.

"The SNP has long supported the principle of votes at 16 and where it has the power to do so - such as for elections to health boards and the Crofting Commission - the Scottish government has already ensured that they have that right. The other parties should listen to organisations such as Young Scot and let Scotland's young citizens have their say on Scotland's future."

Miliband Three Times More Unpopular Than Cameron

2012-02-27T14:07:00.000Z

LABOUR LEADER’S DISASTROUS APPROVAL RATINGS LOWEST IN SCOTLAND
Ed Miliband will come to speak at Scottish Labour’s conference in Dundee this weekend in the knowledge that his disastrous approval ratings among Scots voters are lower than anywhere else in Britain, at a dismal -63 per cent. This is more than three times lower than David Cameron’s -18 rating among Scots voters, and even the Conservative heartlands in the South of England have a higher opinion of the Labour leader’s performance, according to the latest polling figures

Commenting, SNP MSP for Cunninghame North Kenneth Gibson said:

“These appalling polling figures are an unmitigated disaster for Ed Miliband. For a Labour leader’s approval rating among Scots to be far, far below an unpopular Tory Prime Minister says it all.

“It is clear that the people of Scotland are rightly appalled by Labour agreeing “100 per cent” with the Tories on Scotland’s future. Ed Miliband’s decision to join in a toxic pact with the Tories to stand in the way of job-creating powers and more responsibilities for the Scottish Parliament must be a key factor in this overwhelming negative verdict against him from Scots voters, who now know that a Yes vote to independence is the only sure way to secure these job-creating powers.

“Meanwhile, in the Scottish Parliament Labour are ganging up with the Tories again to vote against a Scottish Budget which delivered another year of frozen council tax, 25,000 apprenticeships for young people, and funding to build 5,000 new council houses.

“Their Scottish leader Johann Lamont has remained utterly silent on a series of scandals, from bullying in Glasgow City Council to criminal charges being filed against a Scottish Labour MP.

“Labour can’t even make up their minds where they stand on an important issue like the council tax. One minute they are calling for the popular council tax freeze to be scrapped, the next their councillors are cutting the council tax – and yet again Johann Lamont refuses to say where she stands.

“It’s no wonder that Scottish voters are deserting Labour in droves, and no wonder that Ed Miliband’s ratings are plumbing previously unimaginable depths for a Labour leader in Scotland. Labour has no credibility and nothing useful to say on the constitution, on the economy, or on any of the issues that matter to ordinary households in Scotland.”

A breakdown of the Sunday Times You Gov polling figures shows Ed Miliband’s approval rating in Scotland at -63%, compared to -42% for the whole of Britain. David Cameron’s Scottish rating is at -18% and Nick Clegg’s at -64%.

Scottish Political Legend Warns Against Being Cheated Again

2012-02-20T08:00:00.000Z

WINNIE EWING CALLS ON THE PEOPLE OF SCOTLAND TO TRUST THEMSELVES, NOT DAVID CAMERON
An iconic figure of Scottish politics has told of how history lessons can guide the people of Scotland to trust to themselves and not to be fooled by Westminster’s empty promises of more devolved powers.

Winnie Ewing came to prominence in 1967 when she won the watershed Hamilton by-election for the SNP. She went on to represent Moray and Nairn at the UK Parliament in the 1970s and then The Highlands and Islands at the European Parliament for 20 years.

Ms Ewing, now 83, is now looking forward to the referendum in 2014 but warned against empty Tory promises.

She said:

"When I heard David Cameron say last week that if people voted No to independence in the referendum, then he would deliver more powers for Scotland, my mind went back immediately to the scandal of 1979 when Scotland was cheated out of a parliament.

"In February 1979, just days before the devolution referendum, former Conservative Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home told Scots that if they voted against the assembly then on offer, a future Tory Government would deliver a better scheme. And we know fine what happened.

“Scotland actually did vote Yes - though not in sufficient numbers because of the infamous 40 per cent rule - but we didn't get a parliament. Instead, we got Margaret Thatcher - and 18 long years of a Tory government Scotland didn't vote for.

"I was a very good friend of Alec Douglas-Home. I would meet him when we were both MPs, on the Terrace of the House of Commons in the morning, where we would both draft our speeches to be made later in the day. We would often exchange jokes that we would include in Burns Supper speeches.

"It was on one of these informal occasions that he once said to me: 'Winnie, I am a nationalist in my heart but not my head'. I remember that I replied to him quoting Burns: 'The herts aye the pert that aye maks us richt or wrang'. So we got on very well. And, therefore, I am sure that he himself was sincere at the time when he made this promise to Scotland, to deliver a better Bill. But of course the promise was never fulfilled by the Tories, and unfortunately Alec's name will forever be associated with this breach of faith by his party.

"So let's not have a repeat of history, and not be gulled by empty promises from David Cameron.

"When Alex Salmond comes forward with the referendum in autumn 2014, grab with both hands the opportunity for Scotland to become an equal and independent nation. Alec Douglas-Home offered Scotland "jam tomorrow" in 1979 - and we got 18 wasted years.

"Scotland has another opportunity to take a step forward - and I'd advise the people of Scotland to trust themselves, not Mr Cameron."

LibDems Challenged On Votes At 16

2012-02-12T00:01:00.000Z

DEPUTY PM’S PPS TO HOST ‘VOTES AT 16 CAMPAIGN COALITION’
The Liberal Democrats have been challenged to say whether they support votes for 16 and 17 year-olds in the referendum over Scotland’s constitutional future after it emerged that the Deputy Prime Minister’s PPS Jo Swinson MP is set to host a meeting of the Votes at 16 Campaign Coalition in Westminster.

While the UK Government has signalled it doesn’t want 16 and 17 year olds voting on Scotland’s future as they tried to dictate the terms of Scotland’s referendum, Ms Swinson says she will ‘bring together young people, organisations and parliamentarians to discuss the Votes at 16 campaign, including plans for a week of action’, on 27 February.

Labour and Lib Dem MPs and MSPs including the Leader of the Lib Dems Nick Clegg, the Deputy leaders of both parties in Scotland and the Shadow Scottish Secretary Margaret Curran have given their support to the Votes at 16 campaign and the Lib Dems, who voted with the SNP to introduce votes at 16 in Scotland’s health board elections, promised to lower the voting age in their 2010 manifesto.

Commenting, SNP MP Mike Weir said:

“It is time the LibDems were honest about where they stand on votes for 16 and 17 year-olds. Is this one of those policies, like tuition fees, where the LibDems say one thing and do the other. Indeed, the LibDems have already let young people down once, will they do it again?

“16 and 17 year olds already play a part in our society. They should be able to have their say over Scotland’s future.

“Attaching strings to Scotland’s referendum is simply not acceptable. The referendum should be decided by the Scottish people and the Scottish parliament.

“It is ridiculous that politicians who say they support 16 and 17 year olds having a vote in elections would not support them voting in a referendum.

"And of course Lib Dems in Scotland have already backed votes for 16 and 17 year olds as part of elections to health boards.

“Penalising those 16 and 17 year olds who will be looking to the future of their country in an attempt to attack the SNP is just another sign of how badly the Tories, Lib Dems and now Labour are misreading the Scottish people.

“It is grossly unfair those aged 16 and 17 are able to play a major part in our society, to pay taxes, join the armed forces, consent to marriage but under UK Government plans will not be barred from making democratic decisions about their own future.

“All parties have accepted that the SNP has the right and mandate to hold a referendum on Scottish Independence. The LibDems and Labour members have accepted that 16 and 17 year olds should be given the vote. They should reaffirm their position, stop equivocating and ensure 16 and 17 year olds are able to vote.”

SNP Record Highest Ever Poll Lead

2012-02-02T12:50:00.000Z

LABOUR PLUMMETS TO ALL TIME LOW – WOULD LOSE ALL BUT ONE CONSTITUENCY
SATISFACTION FOR FIRST MINISTER REMAINS HIGH

The SNP has scored its highest ever recorded opinion poll lead of 26 per cent, in a stunning new poll released today.

The Ipsos Mori poll shows that 49 per cent of voters would vote SNP in a Scottish general election. In contrast, Labour would be backed by just 23 per cent of voters, their lowest ever recorded poll rating.

A Holyrood election based on these figures would result in Labour retaining just one constituency MSP, while among the constituencies which would be won by the SNP are those of current and former Labour leaders Johann Lamont and Iain Gray.

The poll also shows that 58 per cent of Scots are satisfied with the performance of First Minister Alex Salmond, giving him a positive poll rating of +22. The other Scottish party leaders and Prime Minister David Cameron, in contrast, all score negative satisfaction ratings with Scottish voters.

SNP Campaign Director Angus Robertson MP said:

“This is a very welcome poll, which gives the SNP our biggest ever recorded opinion poll lead. It is an enormous vote of confidence by voters in the work and the record of the SNP Scottish Government and the First Minister.

“These figures would see the SNP win 73 seats in the Scottish Parliament, while the other parties would be reduced to a rump.

“It is abundantly clear that Scots voters believe that the actions of the SNP Scottish government are the right ones. We are providing help for households in tough times through our social wage, supporting vital public services in the face of severe Westminster cuts, and we will ensure that the Scottish people are able to choose their own and their nation’s future in a referendum on Scottish Independence.

“In contrast, the unrelenting negativity of the Labour Party sees them fall to their lowest ever poll rating, which would reduce them to a single, solitary constituency in the Scottish Parliament. Scots voters obviously do not look kindly on the Labour/Tory pact to block Scotland’s right to self-determination.

“These are also superb ratings for the First Minister – any leader in Western Europe, never mind these islands, would give their eye teeth to have satisfaction ratings of plus 58 per cent, with a net positive rating of plus 22 per cent. David Cameron, by contrast, is minus 28 per cent. Incredibly, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg are even less popular in Scotland than the Prime Minister, and the opposition leaders at Holyrood are unknown. It is another powerful indication that voters continue to back the Scottish Government’s record, team and vision for Scotland.”

The Ipsos Mori poll of 1,005 respondents results are:

SNP: 49% Lab: 23% Con: 13% Lib: 10% Gre: 3% SSP: 1% Ind: 1%

The projected Holyrood seats based on the poll is (2011 result in brackets):

SNP: 73 (+4) Lab: 29 (-8) Lib D: 11 (+6) Con: 14 (-1) Gre: 1 (-1) Ind: 1

Sunday Express Poll Puts Independence Support at 51%

2012-01-29T09:47:00.002Z

Commenting on the Vision Critical survey for the Scottish Sunday Express - which reports that support for independence has reached 51% - the SNP referendum Campaign Director and Westminster party leader Angus Robertson MP said:

Angus Robertson MP

"This is the first serious test since the Scottish Government launched its referendum consultation and is a great boost coming at the end of this historic week.

"It shows that voters understand the Scottish Government policy is for an independent Scotland with the Queen as Head of State. Scotland and England would become united kingdoms, rather than the United Kingdom.

"Support is growing for Scotland gaining the full range of job-creating powers we need to boost jobs and recovery, and becoming an equal and independent country with access to the record tax revenues being generated by Scotland’s North Sea oil and gas.

"Independence support is also rising because of the behaviour of the anti-independence parties and their negative message which is alienating more and more voters. We are also getting a good response in England because of the measured way we have articulated our case."

Membership And Online Support For The SNP Soars

2012-01-28T10:03:00.000Z

Card carrying membership and online support for the SNP has soared to an unprecedented high as Scotland's referendum captures the imagination of the people of Scotland.

Since David Cameron's chaotic intervention into Scottish Politics on 8th January - when on BBC’s Andrew Marr Show - 1,595 new members have joined the SNP increasing party membership by 8% in just three weeks.

On 25 Jan - the day Alex Salmond announced the Your Scotland Your Referendum consultation at Edinburgh Castle which included the wording of the referendum question - 46,684 online visitors logged onto snp.org. Server memory had to be doubled to cope with global demand.

Online followers have increased by an average 25% in those 18 days and @AlexSalmond gained 1,800 followers in the last week alone.

SNP Business Convener Derek MacKay MSP welcomed the huge support from the public that the SNP has received. He said:

"The incredibly positive reaction of the people of Scotland to the events of the last few weeks has been simply phenomenal.

"We have been overwhelmed with support from the people of Scotland over the last few weeks and days. Membership has increased by 8% and staff at party HQ have been working late into the night to get all the new membership cards sent out.

"At the end of December we reached 20,000 members and that is continuing to grow.

"And with over 46,000 visits to the website on Burns Day the appetite for information about the referendum and the SNP's vision of independence shows how engaged the people of Scotland are with this debate.

"No one cares more about Scotland's success than the people of Scotland. That's why they've responded in such huge numbers as they believe the decisions over our country's future should be taken by people in Scotland."

Independence Support Rises To 40% In ICM Poll

2012-01-15T10:41:00.000Z

SNP WELCOME POLL BOOST
A week after Prime Minister David Cameron blundered into Scotland’s constitutional debate, the SNP today (Sunday) welcomed the latest ICM poll showing support for independence at 40%.

An ICM survey for The Sunday Telegraph shows 40% support for independence with 43% opposed – representing a 6.5% swing to independence since the last poll by ICM and requiring a swing of only 1.5% to make independence the leading option. Support for the outdated union has fallen by 11%.

SNP Westminster leader and referendum campaign director Angus Robertson MP said:

“This is an excellent poll which, as the debate over Scotland’s constitutional future gathers pace, shows support for independence moving ahead.

“It is clear that David Cameron’s bungling has backfired with support for the outdated union falling as people hear about the opportunities offered by independence.

“Every step the anti-independence parties have taken since Cameron's chaotic intervention last week has done nothing but boost support for independence and this scale of support at this stage suggests we can be confident of achieving a Yes vote for independence in the referendum in autumn 2014.

“And it is not just the opinion polls showing increased support for independence - over the last week we have been overwhelmed with the numbers of people going online to sign up to join the SNP – almost 800 over the last week.

“Nobody cares more about Scotland's success than the people who live here. That's why they've responded in such huge numbers as they believe the decisions over our country's future should be taken by people in Scotland.”

Note:

ICM Research interviewed 1,734 adults in England and 501 adults in Scotland on January 11 to 13. Data was separately weighted to reflect the profile of people in England and in Scotland. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/9015374/Britain-divided-over-Scottish-independence.html
The last ICM poll on independence was for the BBC in June 2009. Results then were (with changes to poll below in brackets):

In a referendum on independence for Scotland, how would you vote....

I agree that Scotland should become an independent country -- 38% (+2%)
I do not agree that Scotland should become an independent country -- 54% (-11%)
Don't know / Refused -- 8% (+9%)

SNP Welcome North Sea Investment Boost

2012-01-14T11:18:00.001Z

The SNP tonight welcomed a report showing investment in North Sea oil is to hit a new high this year and could generate an additional £5.5 billion in tax revenues.

The report by Wood MacKenzie shows that companies are investing in the untapped potential of the North Sea with companies like BP, Total, RWE Dea, BG Group, and GDF Suez developing new discoveries and bringing jobs to Scotland.

The UK Government already expects to take £13 billion in tax revenues from the North Sea.

The report suggests the total value of North Sea production in 2012 could be £27.5 billion.

Commenting on the report SNP MP and Treasury Spokesman Stewart Hosie MP said:

“The good news is that 40 per cent of reserves remain in the North Sea, with over half of the value still to be extracted – representing an asset base of a trillion pounds.

“North Sea revenues are set to generate £54 billion in the six years up to 2016/17 – as much wealth as in the previous six years and now this report suggests the value to the Treasury could be even higher.

"We already know the Treasury is set to take in £13 billion this year, relying on North Sea revenues to boost Treasury coffers at the same time as it seeks to punish the North Sea with unfair taxes affecting investment further down the line.

“An assessment of Scotland’s geographical share of the North Sea demonstrates clearly that Scotland is more than able of standing on our own two feet with access to our own resources.

“When all of Scotland’s resources are included in our nation’s economic output, an independent Scotland would be ranked sixth in the world league table of OECD nations in terms of gross domestic product per head – ten places ahead of the UK at sixteen.”

SNP Membership Soars - 800 Join In 5 Days

2012-01-14T09:12:00.000Z

The SNP has this week seen an unprecedented surge in party membership following David Cameron’s blundering intervention into Scottish politics on Sunday.

Party chiefs confirmed that 784 new members had joined the SNP since last weekend, boosting party membership by 4% in just 5 days.

Following the revelation that the Tory government plan to dictate the terms of the independence referendum from London, new members have been joining the SNP at a rate of one new member every nine minutes.

At the end of 2011 the SNP announced it had a record 20,000 members. Two weeks later, the figure is touching 21,000.

One new member who tweeted that he had joined the SNP is mountaineer, journalist and presenter on the Adventure Show Cameron McNeish.

Signing up on Wednesday, Mr McNeish tweeted “I guess it's time to stand up and be counted. Just joined the #SNP”

Speaking after he joined Mr McNeish added:

"I suppose with my background in the outdoors and a love and interest in Scottish culture and music that goes way back to my youth the SNP is my natural political home, but I've become increasingly concerned with UK Governments who seem to exist for the prime reason of protecting the interests of the City of London. For some time I've felt it's time to make a stand and I feel the present administration in Scotland has shown that an SNP government is a good government.

"I don't agree with all the SNP policies but I've always felt the best way to change opinion, and maybe policies, is from within, rather than carp and whinge from outside the stockade. I'm immensely proud of my country, as I think my television programmes demonstrate. I felt it was time to do a little more to secure the future for my little granddaughters, and their children's children. And that future, as far as I'm concerned, is an independent Scotland within Europe."

SNP Business Convener Derek MacKay MSP welcomed the huge support from the public that the SNP has received this week.

Mr MacKay said:

“Cameron McNeish is one of many new members who have joined in support of their country’s future this week.

“We have been overwhelmed with the support of the people of Scotland over the last few days.
“The numbers of people going online to sign up to the SNP is simply phenomenal, one new member every nine minutes.

“David Cameron should reflect on the fact that the SNP has 800 more activists just days after his blundering intervention into Scottish politics. “Nobody cares more about Scotland's success than the people who live here. That's why they've responded in such huge numbers as they believe the decisions over our country's future should be taken by people in Scotland.”

In October the SNP set a target of doubling party membership before the referendum. The SNP’s most recent membership figures were issued on 31st December 2011 and show the SNP to have consistently increased membership, with support doubling since 2003: http://www.snp.org/media-centre/news/2011/dec/snp-reach-over-20000-members

SNP Welcome International Media Iinterest Sparked By Autumn 2014 Announcement

2012-01-13T10:52:00.000Z

Alex Salmond’s announcement that the referendum on independence will be held in autumn 2014 has sparked an unprecedented level of international interest from the world’s media on Scotland.

Scotland and the SNP are no strangers to media interest; from the historic victory at the 2007 Scottish elections to last year’s landslide result when the Scottish people delivered a resounding SNP majority at the Scottish Parliament. However, the referendum date announcement has scaled new previously unknown levels of worldwide coverage.

The BBC’s political editor Nick Robinson described the First Minister - who is currently in the Middle East signing a ground-breaking deal on renewables - as "the canniest political operator in these isles". This sentiment wasn’t confined to London alone as international enquiries kept the phones ringing red hot at the SNP’s Central Office.

Digital media has seen a spike too, with Facebook pages packed with the stories about the SNP being ahead of the David Cameron’s anti-independence gang’s game, and Twitter timelines filled with trending topics including #Indyref, #ItsStarted, #SNP, #Salmond and #Scotland.

Humza Yousaf, MSP for Glasgow, said:

“It has been a phenomenal start to 2012; David Cameron and his Lib Dem and Labour anti-independence pack look lost, while Alex Salmond and the SNP continue to keep moving Scotland forward and the level of interest from the media in England, Ireland, across Europe and beyond has been remarkable.

“I personally have done interviews and spoke with journalists working for media organisation from Australia, Catalonia, Wales, Northern Ireland and England.

“It is really encouraging for the drive towards independence to have this level of interest focused on Scotland, as is the level of warmth and support my colleagues and I have received from new friends from overseas.

“People recognise Scotland as an ambitious, outward looking and progressive nation. Now, far beyond these shores, it is understood that our noble desire for self-determination is within the grasp of the people of Scotland.”

Notes From Around The World:

NY TIMES, USA

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/10/world/europe/scottish-independence-movement-draws-renewed-sparring.html?_r=1“The political alignment in Scotland in the wake of the outright victory in last year’s election by the Scottish National Party, a group that has campaigned for independence since the 1930s, has created an unmatched opportunity to press the case for an end to the union”.

HUFFINGTON POST, USAhttp://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/01/10/scottish-independence-illegal-david-cameron-law-change-section-30-order_n_1196635.html“Scottish National Party MPs at Westminster are clearly delighted at the latest impasse, believing it is causing a surge in new members joining the SNP in Scotland.”

LE MONDE, FRANCE (via lexis nexis)“The very Scottish independence leader will indeed have enough time to convince the population of interest and the credibility of its economic cause.”

CTV NEWS, CANADAhttp://m.ctv.ca/topstories/20110515/parti-quebecois-referendum-ideas-110515.html“Key suggestions for Scotland's nationalists: be careful with the timing and keep an eye out for rule-bending rivals.”

IRISH TIMES, IRELANDhttp://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2012/0111/1224310098506.html“There is no political figure among his opponents to compare with Salmond’s stature.”

EL PAIS, SPAINhttp://www.elpais.com/articulo/opinion/Partida/escocesa/elpepiopi/20120111elpepiopi_2/Tes“British Prime Minister, Conservative David Cameron is trying cut the grass under their feet the wily chief minister Scottish Nationalist Alex Salmond… who now has an absolute majority and a mandate.”

PERSOVERZICHT, POLAND“The Scottish Premier Cameron's ultimatum yesterday waved away as unwanted interference.”

VILAWEB, CATALONIAhttp://www.vilaweb.cat/noticia/3969837/20120111/escocia-posa-rumb-independencia.html“Salmond made a tough speech against Prime Minister Cameron, whom he accused of eating in Scottish affairs.”

PRAVDA, RUSSIAhttp://www.pravda.ru/world/europe/european/11-01-2012/1104289-scotland-0/“The right to independent existence of the Scots deserve more than any other separatist region of Europe.”

SYDNEY MH, AUSTRALIAhttp://www.smh.com.au/world/camerons-handling-of-scottish-referendum-triggers-backlash-20120110-1pth9.htmlHeadline: “Cameron's handling of Scottish referendum triggers backlash.”

NZ HERALD, NEW ZEALANDhttp://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10777975&_ft_qid=5696153544275220203&_ft_mf_story_key=10150491712763049&_ft_filter=live&_ft_substories=3&_ft_fbid=354347101257990%2C153114234798807%2C163214163781138&_ft_c=mHeadline: “Independence beckons for Scotland”

FRANKFURTER RUNDSCHAU, GERMANYhttp://www.fr-online.de/politik/schotten-sollen-2014-ueber-unabhaengigkeit-abstimmen,1472596,11418380.html“The Scottish Prime Minister Alex Salmond rejected it (London’s offer) on the BBC. Scotland would not allow itself to be dictated by the conditions of London.”

AFTENPOTEN, NORWAYhttp://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/uriks/Cameron-vil-ha-folkeavstemning-om-skotsk-uavhengighet-6737619.html“The Scottish National Party SNP, led by Alex Salmond, will have a referendum on whether Scotland should secede from the rest of the UK.”

ABC, SPAINhttp://www.abc.es/20120111/internacional/abci-crisis-constitucional-escocia-201201111247.html“Covered in this electoral legitimacy, Salmond has accused the British political class "afraid" of the result of a referendum, and has used skillfully to tarnish the mantle Cameron with the memory of Margaret Thatcher's intransigence at the first steps toward Scottish autonomy given by the Labour governments that preceded it.”

ABC, AUSTRALIAhttp://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-11/scotlands-leader-tells-cameron-to-stay-out-of/3767090“The support for Independence is creeping up”

Independence Referendum Plans

2012-01-10T21:34:00.002Z

The Scottish Government plans to hold an independence referendum in the autumn of 2014, First Minister Alex Salmond has said following a meeting this afternoon of the Cabinet (January 10).

The First Minister said this date would allow the Scottish people to make a "considered" decision on Scotland's future within the United Kingdom and that the Scottish people faced "their most important decision for 300 years".

By confirming that the referendum will be Autumn 2014 will allow all the necessary legislation required to authorise it to be passed and for proper preparations to be made with a referendum bill being introduced to the Scottish Parliament in January 2013.

Mr Salmond added:

"The date for the referendum has to be the autumn of 2014. That's because this is the biggest decision that Scotland has made for 300 years. If you are going to do things properly and have the debate in the way it must be had then that is the date that we are going to move towards."

The Scottish Government will launch a consultation on the referendum later this month.

SNP Take Control Of Clackmannanshire Council

2012-01-06T11:13:00.000Z

EARLY BOOST IN ELECTION YEAR
The SNP today took on the leadership of Clackmannanshire Council after a vote of no confidence removed the Labour administration.

Clackmannanshire becomes the 11th council to be led by the SNP and the 13th council in Scotland with the SNP in administration giving the party an early boost in election year. In contrast Labour now has a role in only 9 local authorities.

The no confidence vote followed concerns over Labour’s management of finances at Clackmannanshire and continued criticism of care services for children in Clackmannanshire. The no confidence vote was supported by an independent councillor and a former member of the Labour administration.

The SNP will now form the administration of Clackmannanshire Council under the leadership of Cllr Gary Womersley with fellow SNP Cllr Tina Murphy as Provost.

Speaking after votes in the council saw him elected as Council Leader Cllr Womersley said:

“This is a good step forward for Clackmannanshire and a new start for Clackmannanshire council.

“As Council leader I and the SNP will be working hard to deliver for the people of Clackmannanshire.

“We have been let down by Labour over the last four years. Over the next few months people in Clackmannanshire will see the kind of positive and constructive administration the SNP can bring.”

Local MSP Keith Brown offered his congratulations to the new group:

"Congratulations to Gary Womersley and the SNP Councillors who will now form the new administration.

"This is a new start for a new year and I look forward to working with the new SNP administration to move Clackmannanshire forward.”

Local Government Minister and SNP Business Convener Derek MacKay welcomed the new administration.

“This is a great start to the New Year for Clackmannanshire and for the SNP.

“Since the elections in May 2007 the SNP has moved into the administration of Dundee, Stirling and now Clackmannanshire as Labour has been displaced.

“And across the country the SNP is now in administration in 13 local authorities compared to only nine with any role for Labour.

“For Labour to lose control of the council at the beginning of local election year is a sign that they continue to lose the support of people across the country.

“In contrast the SNP continues to win support with the election of nine new SNP councillors over the last year in by-elections across the country.

“And only last week all 32 local authorities gave their backing to the SNP Government’s commitment to freeze the council tax in the coming year , to protect teacher numbers and maintain 1000 extra police on our streets.

“In the run up to May’s local elections the SNP will be campaigning hard to show people that working together at every level we can deliver local government that will make our communities better and help all of us to take Scotland forward.”

Notes:

The SNP is now part of the administration in Aberdeen, City of Edinburgh, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, East Ayrshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Fife, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, Stirling, West Dunbartonshire, West Lothian.
The SNP leads 11 of the 13 councils either as minority or lead partner in a coalition and is the junior partner in Edinburgh and East Renfrewshire.

SNP Set Sights On Local Election Success In 2012

2012-01-06T09:35:00.000Z

“PEOPLE CAN CHOOSE BETWEEN PARTY OF DELIVERY OR PARTY OF NEGATIVITY”
With elections to Scotland’s local authorities taking place in May this year, the SNP welcomed figures from the last four and a half years showing that support for the party was continuing to grow.

The SNP also focused on the report in last week’s Sunday Herald that new Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont is presiding over a “dysfunctional” local party in her Pollok constituency. It was reported that seven of the nine Labour councillors in Ms Lamont’s Pollok seat have been deemed unelectable for this May’s local elections, after being suspended, deselected or rejected as suitable candidates.

SNP candidates have been elected in 20 of the 47 local by-elections held since 2007, more than for any other party.

In the last 12 months the SNP have won nine local authority by-elections. In contrast Labour have won only three with the Lib Dems on one seat. The Tories have secured only one by-election win in the last four years.

Results from 2007 to 2011 show the SNP vote increasing by five per cent over the four and a half year period and by 10% in 2011 alone.

The SNP has also moved into the leadership of Dundee and Stirling Councils since 2007 and become the lead partner in the administration of Aberdeen City Council.

Last week, all 32 of Scotland’s local authorities confirmed in principle that they would accept the Scottish Government’s funding settlement - which will keep council tax frozen, protect teacher numbers, and maintain the 1,000 additional police officers delivered by the SNP Government.

James Dornan
SNP MSP Glasgow Cathcart

Commenting SNP MSP for Glasgow Cathcart James Dornan said:

“With Scotland going back to the polls in May this year to elect our local councillors, the SNP is going into the year with a strong record and growing support from the people of Scotland.

“Over the last four years increasing numbers of voters have backed the SNP to represent them locally, and the party is now privileged to lead the administrations in Dundee, Aberdeen and Stirling.

“This year’s local elections are a real chance to bring the same energy, enthusiasm and commitment to serving local people that the SNP is delivering in government to local authorities all across Scotland.

“The SNP has a strong track record that has seen councils ease the burden on local people with a council tax freeze, construct new council houses and expand access to free school meals.

“All 32 of Scotland’s local authorities have confirmed acceptance of the SNP Government’s funding settlement – which will keep the council tax frozen, and protect teacher numbers and the 1,000 additional police officers delivered by the SNP, despite the biggest ever cut in funding from the UK Government. It is this record of delivery which SNP candidates will stand on in May.

“The choice in May will be between the SNP, Scotland’s party of delivery, and Labour – a party of negativity.

“We have the appalling situation of Labour’s civil war in the new leader’s own backyard - where seven of the nine sitting Labour councillors in Johann Lamont’s constituency have been suspended, deselected or rejected as suitable candidates.

"It begs the question; if the new Labour leader presides over such a dysfunctional local party, how can she provide leadership at a national level?

“In the run up to May’s local elections the SNP will be campaigning hard to show people in every community that working together at every level we can deliver local government that will make our communities better and help all of us to take Scotland forward.”

Year of Climate Justice

2012-01-02T09:19:00.000Z

First Minister Alex Salmond has urged world leaders to make 2012 a 'year of climate justice' ahead of a major United Nations conference on sustainable development in June.

The FM said climate justice should be the focus of sustainable development during 2012 and form a major part of discussions at the Rio+20 to be held in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

Climate justice would link human rights and development, put people at the heart of our economic system, and allow all to share the burdens of climate change and benefit from its resolution.

The call comes after the FM raised the issue of climate justice during a speech to the influential Communist Central Party School in Beijing during his recent trip to China.

Climate justice was also raised by the FM and Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a joint communiqué to the UNFCCC meeting in Durban, South Africa, earlier this month.

Mr Salmond said:

"It is vitally important that, as the world moves towards economic recovery in 2012, we place climate justice at the very heart of the decisions we make on energy policy and economic and social development in the coming months.

"I believe we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enshrine this important principle - that economic development should be linked to human rights - in global energy policy, ensuring that countries and communities least able to cope with the extreme weather events climate change brings are not further disadvantaged.

"In the run up to the UN Rio+20 conference in Brazil in June and beyond, I am calling for climate justice to be made central to decisions taken by major countries on energy and development.

"It is also my sincere hope, given the fact one of the themes of this year's conference is the green economy linked to sustainable development, that climate justice forms an important part of Scotland's contribution to Rio+20.

"Only by focusing on the inequalities brought on by climate change, can we formulate meaningful policies that will truly help the poorest in our global society, and I urge all world leaders and decision makers to make 2012 the Year of Climate Justice."

Sturgeon Celebrates Stunning Year For The SNP

2011-12-31T00:01:00.000Z

20,000 MEMBERSHIP MILESTONE IS ICING ON THE CHRISTMAS CAKE

SNP Depute Leader Nicola Sturgeon today (Saturday) thanked the people of Scotland for their support for the SNP over the last twelve months and for their ambitions for Scotland’s future.

The SNP ends its best ever year having won 69 seats in the Scottish Parliament elections in May, becoming the first party to form a majority government in Holyrood.

The party ends 2011 on 51% in the polls, backed by over half of the people of Scotland and 25 points ahead of Labour. In contrast the SNP began 2011 16 points behind Labour in the opinion polls.

And through 2011 the SNP won over half of the council by-elections, winning 9 local authority contests, taking on the leadership of Aberdeen City Council as the largest party and ending the year with success in by-elections in Glasgow and South Lanarkshire.

With the SNP’s membership now reaching over 20,000 Ms Sturgeon said:

“This has been a momentous year for Scottish politics and for the SNP.

“The festive period is a hopeful time and, as we celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another, I want to thank everyone across Scotland who has placed their trust in the SNP and have helped create the opportunity for Scotland to move forward towardindependence.

“Across the country, and at every level of government, people chose to back our record, our team and a vision for Scotland that, thanks to their support we will now put to the people, in the second half of this parliament.

“As is clear from our historic win in the Scottish Parliament elections, and our local government successes, people increasingly recognise that Scotland can be more successful.

“Our 20,000 membership milestone is the icing on the Christmas cake for the SNP as we look towards the local Government elections next year.

“With 20,000 members all working to make Scotland better, the SNP is now the largest party in Scotland and is increasingly the natural choice of those wanting to build a better Scotland. We are winning new members and public support as voters recognise thesuccesses of the SNP in Government and our commitment to make Scotland smarter, fairer and wealthier.

“While 2011 was difficult for many, we must look back on this year with the knowledge that brighter days are ahead of us – because although our challenges are great, we have firm foundations to build on as we move into a new phase for our nation.

“We, the people of Scotland, have the greatest stake in our future. That is why we are best placed to govern ourselves. Now is a time for Scotland to keep moving forward, and if we do, prosperity and opportunity will come.”

820,000 Move To Scotland Since 2007

2011-12-30T10:18:00.000Z

MORE MIGRATE TO SCOTLAND FROM ACROSS UK

SNP POPULARITY SPREADS

As thousands of revellers flock to Scotland to celebrate Hogmanay, SNP MSP Joan McAlpine has welcomed statistics showing over 820,000 people from the rest of the UK have moved to Scotland since the SNP came to power in 2007.

And migration statistics show there are 100,000 more people in Scotland as a result.

Ms McAlpine, SNP MSP for South Scotland, said:

“Scotland has attracted over 800,000 people from the rest of the UK in the last four years to live here.

“Our increasingly multi-cultural society is growing as people choose our beautiful country as their home.

“Scotland is a dynamic and growing country with a vision for independence, shared and supported by many people from all backgrounds.

“More people are choosing to make Scotland their home than ever before because of our positive vision for the future of a better, wealthier, greener and safer country.

“And as an independent nation we will continue to welcome those who want to live in Scotland and play their part in our society.

“That is why more people are choosing to live here than moving the other way, with 100,000 more settling in Scotland.

“The SNP is dedicated to making Scotland better and we’re taking the next steps to making this country truly flourish.

“But Scotland needs to have responsibility for its own destiny – devolution is simply not enough.”

UK Campaign Swimming Against The Tide

2011-12-06T11:00:00.001Z

SURVEY SHOWS OPPOSITION PARTIES ARE OUT OF TOUCH

The latest plans for an anti-independence campaign being put forward by the UK parties are “swimming against the tide” said SNP Business Convener Derek MacKay as figures from the social attitudes survey show people in Scotland believe independence will increase pride in Scotland and give Scotland a better voice in the world.

The Social Attitudes Survey revealed yesterday that independence is now the most popular option for Scotland’s future with 43% backing the Scottish Parliament having all the decision making powers for Scotland, with only 29% favouring “devo max” and 21% for the status quo.

The survey showed that 67% of people think pride in Scotland will be better with independence and 51% think Scotland’s voice in the world will be better.

Commenting on the study and reports in today’s Times of yet another attempt by opposition figures to launch an anti-independence campaign SNP Business Convener Derek Mackay MSP said:

“The Scottish Parliament having the responsibility for all then decisions that affect people in Scotland is far and away the most popular choice for the people of Scotland.

“This survey shows a parliament with full powers would increase pride in Scotland and give Scotland a better and stronger voice in the world. There is a real demand for more powers, for independence and for taking Scotland forward.

“Opposition parties are swimming against the tide with their doom and gloom campaigning. Even those who support devolution support far more devolution than any of the UK parties are willing to offer them.

“The clear demand for more powers is simply being ignored by Labour, Lib Dem and Tory as the people of Scotland move far beyond the Scotland Bill and towards a Scottish Parliament with full decision making powers.

“Opposition parties must recognise the very valid ambitions of the people of Scotland for the decisions about their lives to be taken by people in Scotland or they will continue to be rejected by a Scottish public that wants to have more control over the issues that matter to them.”

Million Pound Boost To SNP And Independence Campaign

2011-11-21T09:29:00.000Z

WEIRS – WE WANT TO GIVE SCOTLAND A FAIR CHANCE

Alex Salmond today welcomed a donation of one million pounds from Chris and Colin Weir.

The donation from the Euromillions winning couple will support the party as it works towards a referendum on Scotland’s future.

The couple have already set out their financial support for the Waverley Paddle Steamer, a local elderly care home and their intention to set up a charitable trust.

In a statement confirming their donation, the largest single donation to the SNP in the party’s 77 year history, Chris Weir said:

“We have been supporters of the SNP for a long time but this is about more than party politics.

“Every society, every country should have the right and the opportunity to determine its own path. That’s something I’ve believed in strongly for a long time.

“We want to give the people of Scotland a fair chance in the referendum campaign that’s why we are supporting the SNP now and into the independence referendum.

“The only people with the right to decide Scotland’s future are the people of Scotland themselves and we want to support the SNP and the referendum campaign in helping Scotland make that decision fairly. “

Colin Weir added,

“It’s no secret I support the SNP and stood for the party. I backed the party in the 1978 referendum and the behaviour of the UK parties convinced me that we should support this referendum properly.

“The party has done a good job in government and is doing a good job for Scotland. You can already see a difference and an increase in confidence around the country.

“We have things in Scotland like a council tax freeze, free prescriptions and help for ordinary households because we’ve elected an SNP Government. With independence we can build on what we already do so well.

“But what matters to us first is that the SNP and the people of Scotland have a fair opportunity to make the case and decide on Scotland’s future.”

First Minister and SNP Leader Alex Salmond welcomed the donation,

“The Weirs have experienced great good fortune and they have already shown their generosity with their support for the Waverley Paddle Steamer and causes in their community.

“They have had a long standing commitment to the SNP and their welcome donation will allow the party to continue it’s work and to prepare for the referendum campaign ahead.

“The SNP relies on the donations of our ordinary members and every donation large and small goes to backing the party and making the case for independence.”

Makar Moves For "Yes" To Independence

2011-11-10T09:37:00.000Z

LOCHHEAD SAYS “I’D VOTE YES”

The SNP today welcomed the support of Scotland’s National Makar Liz Lochhead for Scottish independence.

In an interview with the Scottish Review of Books Liz Lochhead says “if there was a referendum tomorrow, I’d vote yes. I don’t see why Scotland and England can’t remain friendly co-operative equals. Other countries in the world have dissolved uncomfortable unions.”

In the interview Ms Lochhead, who is not a member of the SNP, says she was once a member of the Labour party.

SNP Campaign Director Angus Robertson MP welcomed Ms Lochhead’s comments

"The support of Scotland’s National Makar, coming so soon on the cultural and financial legacy left by her predecessor Edwin Morgan, is very welcome.

“Liz Lochhead’s support shows people of all parties and none recognise the importance of independence for Scotland and the new friendship between England and Scotland that independence will bring.

“More and more people share the views and ambitions Liz Lochhead has for Scotland and we look forward to people taking the opportunity to support those ambitions in a referendum in the second half of this parliament."

Altium Securities Report

2011-11-06T16:51:00.000Z

REPORT UNDERMINES RECENT CLAIMS ON RENEWABLES IN SCOTLAND

A leading international investment bank has found that investment in Scotland's booming renewable energy sector will continue, whatever Scotland's constitutional future, including under independence.

A new report by Altium Securities on renewables highlights Scotland's leading role in the green energy sector and finds that 'Without Scottish based renewables, the rest of the UK would be required to build far more Megawatts of renewable energy (most likely wind) to achieve its climate change objectives.'

It also finds that:

Scotland can be the lowest cost generator of wind energy in Europe, as higher capacity wind farms in Scotland can generate electricity more cheaply than the rest of the UK and most of Continental Europe;
Scotland's wind energy resource is 78 per cent of the UK, and without Scottish based renewables, the rest of the UK would be required to build far more renewable energy to achieve its climate change objectives;
Due to England's low wind speed and high urban density, the cost of meeting UK emission reduction targets would be more expensive without renewable electricity from Scottish;
For the UK to expose itself to greater energy dependence from the Middle East and Russia would be too great a risk and locally supplied clean energy would almost certainly be treated as a priority;
Mainland Europe, in particular Germany, would be a ready buyer of zero emission energy;
Nuclear energy does not provide a viable alternative in terms of cost, risk and return, or meeting carbon reduction commitments.

Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said:

"This is a balanced and considered report. Altium recognises the importance of Scotland in Europe's energy future and foresees, as we do, that comparatively cheaper and more efficient renewable energy from Scotland will play a key role in reducing emissions across the UK.

"This report makes it clears that investment will continue whatever Scotland's constitutional status, including under independence - that is the view in the international markets, and a common view among those who actually buy the energy. It also demolishes nonsensical claims made recently - the fact is there will be a continuing need for Scottish renewable electricity to be exported to help keep the lights on in the UK.

"International corporations and domestic firms are investing for the future in Scotland's world leading renewables industry. There is a pipeline of 17 Gigawatts of renewable electricity projects, nearly three times peak Scottish demand, with total estimated capital investment of £46 billion, ready to create thousands of new jobs in Scotland. For as long as the wind blows and the tides turn, that investment will continue."

The Altium Securities report can be viewed at: http://www.capmarkets.com/ Altium Securities is a trading name of international investment bank Altium Capital Limited which operates across Europe.

Solar Industry Threatened By UK Government Cuts

2011-11-03T12:00:00.000Z

The speed of the UK Government's proposed cuts to feed in tariffs (FITs) for solar panels will be a body blow to a sector in which many businesses have invested heavily in the last few years, says Energy Minister Fergus Ewing.

The proposed cut will more than halve the amount of money owners of solar panels get for supplying electricity to the grid - from 43.3p per kilowatt hour to 21p per kilowatt hour.

And the speed of the changes - which will be implemented in just six weeks - means businesses will have no time to make plans to deal with the change, which will affect projects already on their order books.

The industry is growing rapidly in Scotland, with over 1,300 installations in September alone.

The cuts will have a significant impact on social housing projects underway in Scotland which have been designed to provide low-income tenants with free electricity to help tackle fuel poverty. For example, Glasgow Housing Association has signed a contract for installations on 500 homes and Dundee City Council has started a tender process for 1,000 homes. These projects could be stopped in their tracks.

Mr Ewing has written to Chris Huhne, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, to express his concerns about changes to the FIT.

Mr Ewing said:

"Cutting the feed in tariff so sharply and with so little warning will have a devastating impact on families and businesses across Scotland.

"This change will be a body blow both to the blossoming Scottish solar industry, and to thousands of households across Scotland who will lose their chance to escape from fuel poverty.

"Companies with full order books, who have invested in recruiting and training new staff, including many I have visited in the past few months, will find the carpet pulled from under them, as the numbers on which they have based their business plans are changed, suddenly and without warning.

"Families in social housing who were expecting to be able to live without dreading their electricity bill will be deeply affected by this change.

"I urge Chris Huhne to reconsider both the speed of these cuts and how he will prevent those in most need being hit the most."

SNP Slam Budget Consultation Farce At Moray Council

2011-11-03T10:37:00.004Z

The SNP Opposition Council Group in The Moray Council have slammed the decision by the Tory/Independent Administration not to consult with Moray Communities on their forthcoming budget proposals.

SNP Opposition Leader Cllr Pearl Paul said:

“The Tory/Independent decision not to consult with our communities has come as a complete shock.

“After consulting in previous years they have given our communities an expectation that this is the process they will use but they are now just picking and choosing what to do when it suits them.

“The Tories and Independents have created Area Forums and built Community Engagement processes but are now ignoring the views of those very same bodies. That is just ridiculous. I think the public will be pretty cynical about an Administration that only consults when it feels like it.

“This would also have been an opportunity to get feedback on how previous budget decisions have affected our communities, which would have been very useful when looking at next year’s budget but that opportunity is now lost.

“Perhaps they don’t feel like explaining why they cut services and then miraculously found millions of pounds that could have kept those services going? They are treating Moray’s communities pretty shabbily and they should think again.”

Nicola Sturgeon talks independence

2011-10-30T11:13:00.001Z

A week after the launch of Scotland's referendum campaign SNP Depute Leader Nicola Sturgeon puts some of the opposition's favourite myths to bed.

LAST weekend in Inverness, the SNP fired the starting gun on the referendum campaign to deliver an independent Scotland.

As Angus Robertson, the party’s campaign director made clear on the last day of our annual conference, it will be a campaign totally unprecedented in Scottish political history, in its scale, scope and ambition.

The SNP’s activists and growing membership are ready to play their part – but this will be a campaign that stretches far beyond the ranks of our party, to incorporate all sections of Scottish society.

The decision on independence will, of course, be one for the people. And in order for them to be properly informed about the choices that lie before them, it is crucial they are properly informed of the facts.

Facts are something that have been sadly lacking from the anti-independence side in the debate on Scotland’s constitutional future over the years. Myths, fantasy dressed up as fact, and downright falsehoods have been allowed to permeate the discussion on how Scotland would fare as an independent country.

Thankfully, the people of Scotland are increasingly seeing through these attempts to talk down their own ability to make a success of themselves, their communities and their country.

To take one of the most repeated, pernicious and damaging myths head-on, there can no longer be any doubt that Scotland more than pays its own way in the UK. The latest Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) reports shows that Scotland has run a current budget surplus in four of the five years to 2009-10, while the UK was in current budget deficit in each of these years, and hasn’t run a current budget surplus since 2001-02.

Scotland accounts for 8.4 per cent of the UK population, but in 2009-10 contributed 9.4 per cent of overall UK tax revenue - £1,000 extra for every man, woman and child in Scotland. The international comparisons also bear out the fact that Scotland is more than capable of paying its way. Our ratio of debt to GDP as an independent country would be lower than the EU and G7 averages.

One of the reasons, of course, for that healthy position in comparison to other leading industrialised nations is that Scotland has a trillion pound asset base in the form of our remaining abundant North Sea oil and gas reserves. And here we run into another myth – the suggestion that Scotland’s oil wealth is fast dwindling, nearly depleted and not worth factoring into future economic assumptions.

As recent announcements have shown, nothing could be further from the truth. It is calculated that more than half of the total value of North Sea reserves have yet to be extracted. BP’s recent announcement of its major investment in the Clair Field west of Shetland even prompted David Cameron to admit that Scotland’s oil will be flowing for “many, many years” to come – and it is imperative that it is Scotland that benefits from the next 40 years of offshore activity rather than another four decades of Scotland’s wealth pouring into Westminster coffers.

The Unionist case has now resorted to claims that, even with its North Sea wealth, an independent Scotland would have had a £41 billion deficit between 1981 and 2010, and is therefore dependent on a generous Tory Treasury. The truth is the opposite. What Scottish Secretary Michael Moore neglected to tell people when he recently recycled this attack previously used by Labour’s Jim Murphy was that the UK ran a deficit of more than £715 billion over the same period. In other words, Scotland is in a far, far stronger position than the rest of the UK – actually in surplus relative to the UK as a whole to the tune of £19 billion - and by the Unionist parties own risible logic, Britain could not possibly afford to be independent.

One of the most preposterous myths peddled about an independent Scotland is that we would not continue to be members of the European Union. For a start, we are already an integral part of the EU – and as an independent state would be in exactly the same position as the rest of the UK as a successor state.

Legal and constitutional experts, including Eamonn Gallagher, a former director general of the European Commission, and Lord Mackenzie-Stuart, a former President of the European Court of Justice, both confirmed that an independent Scotland would continue in EU membership. And how could it be otherwise, when Scotland has such a massive share of the entire continent’s energy reserves, including oil and renewables? The fact is that the last major EU expansion in 2004 saw 10 new countries join – six of them smaller than Scotland and six of which have become independent since 1990.

Allied to the other EU myths is the canard that an independent Scotland would be forced to set up border posts and customs barriers. The reality, in 21st century Europe, is that you can drive from the Arctic Circle to the shores of the Mediterranean without encountering a single border post, and Scotland would be no different.

It is in the international sphere that we find some of the most insulting myths about Scotland’s capacity to contribute fully as a member of the global community. And one of the worst examples of this came last week when Michael Moore suggested that an independent Scotland would not have been able to participate in the recent UN-approved, NATO-led Libyan mission.

The fact is that 17 countries took part in the operation to protect the people of Libya from Gaddafi’s regime, including a range of smaller nations such as Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway – and non-NATO countries including Sweden. Denmark, a country of almost identical size to Scotland, undertook almost as many air sorties as the UK.

Scotland’s ability to make its own way in the world should not be doubted, nor should our ability to take the best decisions in our own interests.

The referendum when it comes will allow people to make their own minds up on what kind of future we want. And it is essential, when that time comes, that the myths about independence are scotched once and for all.

Poll Show's Extent Of Labour's Fall In Scotland

2011-10-09T11:39:00.000+01:00

LABOUR OUT OF TOUCH WITH SCOTLAND

Details of recent polling by YouGov has revealed the extent to which the Labour party has fallen in the eyes of Scottish voters with half the population believing they badly represent and understand voters in Scotland – more than double the view of people in any other part of the UK.

The breakdowns also show that less people in Scotland think the same of the Labour party in terms of how they represent and understand the south of England.

Details of the polling results show that:

50% of people in Scotland think the Labour party badly represents and understands voters in Scotland – more than double any other part of the UK.
More voters in Scotland think the Labour party badly represents and understands voters in Scotland (50%) than the South of England (42%).

Commenting the poll details SNP Campaign Manager Angus Robertson MP said:

“These polling figures show how out of touch Labour has become with Scotland. Following the ICM poll showing Ed Miliband was more unpopular in Scotland than anywhere else in the UK they confirm a developing trend in Scottish politics.

“Voters across Scotland know that it is the SNP that has a clear vision for Scotland and it is the SNP and Alex Salmond that are providing the only alternative to the UK government’s programme of cuts.

“Labour look increasingly chaotic. They are out of power, out of ideas and Scots voters have no confidence in Labour’s current leader.

“People across Scotland want to see more job creating powers for Scotland, they support the SNP in taking action now to boost our economy with help for business, investment in capital projects and access to borrowing powers.

“The SNP are the right party at the right time to take Scotland forward and to deliver an alternative to a lacklustre Labour party and a damaging Tory/LibDem coalition.”

2012 is pivotal year for fishing

2011-10-07T08:00:00.001+01:00

Scotland is about to enter a crunch and potentially historic year for its fishing industry, Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead said today.

Speaking in Edinburgh at the first Scottish Fishermen's Federation dinner since the Government was re-elected in May, Mr Lochhead listed a whole raft of events taking place in 2012 which will shape the future of our valuable fishing industry and promote our hugely successful seafood sector. These events include:

Negotiation of EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform
Cod recovery plan being reviewed and changed
World Fisheries Congress coming to Edinburgh in May
Promotion of Scottish Seafood worldwide

The Minster also announced a £12.3m package of European grants which will help to ensure the infrastructure which supports the fishing fleet is fit for purpose, reduce discards, improve safety and add value to the supply chain, all of which will help to provide an economic boost for fishing communities throughout Scotland.

Mr Lochhead said:

"We must take advantage of the plethora of opportunities that lie ahead of us in 2012 and maximise the benefits to Scotland in what could be a truly pivotal year for our fishing industry.

"We must ensure we get the best deal we can for Scotland's fishermen in the CFP negotiations. The CFP has decimated our fishing communities, destroyed jobs and failed our stocks. So we must make the most of the opportunity we have now. We must turn something that has been wrong and badly damaging for Scotland's fishermen for so many years into something positive that could provide real and fair benefits in the years ahead.

"To make it fair we must ensure the science is listened to. It is not fair or reasonable that decisions to impose large reductions on fishing quotas were taken based on scientific advice and yet when that same advice is now advocating a large increase in quotas it seems to be ignored. Our fishermen have played by the rules to protect and conserve our fish stocks at huge costs to themselves. It is only right they now start to reap some of the benefits that previous pain should now allow.

"The changes that will be made to the cod recovery plan give us an opportunity to shape what will impact on us most of all. However at this point while the review is ongoing I am calling for a pause in the effects of the plan namely the effort cuts. That is the only sensible option.

"The World Fisheries Congress coming to Scotland gives us a platform to demonstrate the quality of our science and also host leading experts in the field to learn from each other.

"And of course we will continue to promote around the world our fantastic Scottish seafood. Last year food exports hit a record high of over £1 billion. And seafood has the largest share of those food exports. That is a phenomenal level of success and we will do all we can to support the sector to be even more successful in the years ahead."

Commenting on the European grants announcement Mr Lochhead said:

"I am delighted to announce more than £12 million of funding for our fishing communities and look forward to unveiling details of the specific projects which will benefit shortly.

"We have continued to strongly support sea fisheries and the money will help to ensure that the infrastructure which supports the fleet is fit for purpose, aid safety training, gear trials to reduce discards and add value to the fisheries supply chain through improved processing, training and marketing. It will also provide a welcome economic boost to our fishing communities."

This £12 million support will be made available to projects through the European Fisheries Fund. An announcement will be made on successful projects shortly.

Total EFF programme worth up to £90 million depending on exchange rates (£50 million EU £40 million SG). We have committed some £60 million to date including this round.Further rounds of awards up to the end of 2013.

SNP MSP & Councillor Welcome Bypass Progress

2011-09-27T16:37:00.000+01:00

Moray’s MSP Richard Lochhead and SNP Councillor for Fochabers Lhanbryde, Anita McDonald, have welcomed the opening of the first section of the Fochabers Bypass between Cowfords and Coul Brae.

The section was opened by the SNP’s Minister for Housing & Transport, Keith Brown MSP.

Richard Lochhead MSP said:

“I am delighted that the Fochabers and Mosstodloch Bypass is making excellent progress towards completion and the opening today of the section bypassing Mosstodloch is an especially major milestone.

“In total the investment is over 30 million pounds over a 5 kilometre stretch, which is already demonstrating its value with a big emphasis on improved safety.

“The workforce on the project at all levels are really pushing on with it and the full completion is well on target for early 2012 - now less than 6 months away.”

Fochabers Lhanbryde SNP Councillor Anita McDonald said:

“The opening of this first section is great news for the whole community. The route past Mosstodloch in particular brings a major improvement in road safety and improved access to the junctions in the village which have been very difficult to get in and out of in the past.

“Safety for pedestrians and children using the buses in particular will be much improved, which is an issue I have been campaigning on for some time. It is great to see this major investment bearing fruit.”

Balls “Caws The Feet” From Under Scottish Labour

2011-09-26T13:34:00.001+01:00

LABOUR “CREDIBILITY DEFICIT” ON ECONOMY

Commenting on the speech by Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls today (Monday), SNP Westminster Treasury spokesperson Stewart Hosie MP said that Mr Balls had “cawed the feet” from under Labour in Scotland by admitting that Labour wouldn’t reverse Tory/Lib Dem coalition cuts.

Mr Hosie said:

“Labour have a credibility deficit on the economy as deep as the national deficit they created.

“Labour’s previous Chancellor, Alistair Darling, wanted to make even bigger cuts than those which were already ‘deeper and tougher’ than those of Margaret Thatcher – and their current Shadow Chancellor now says that he wouldn’t reverse the Tory/Lib Dem cuts.

“Ed Balls has just ‘cawed the feet’ from under Labour in Scotland, leaving them with no credible position on the Scottish Budget. Labour stand alongside the Tories and Lib Dems in having imposed cuts on Scotland, and now supporting these record cuts.

“What is needed is a clear path to economic growth - a coherent growth strategy as well as debt reduction.

“We need a proactive approach to kick-start economic recovery through a programme of capital investment, measures to boost economic confidence, and greater access to finance – exactly the policy pursued by the SNP Government in Scotland, which is the only part of the UK where unemployment is falling.

“Over the year, unemployment has fallen by 33,000 in Scotland compared with an increase of 44,000 across the UK as a whole – and Scotland now has the highest employment rate of any nation in the UK.

“That is why the UK Government should follow the Scottish Government’s ‘Plan MacB’ approach UK-wide.

“And it is also why the Scottish Parliament needs full financial and economic powers, so that we can sustain this position over the long-term and ensure that Scotland’s recovery is not blown off course by Westminster.

“It’s not just their dreadful record in government, but their record in opposition as well, that makes it impossible for people to trust Labour. Ed Balls talks about a VAT cut, but Labour abstained on a key vote to cut the tax just a few months ago.

“Labour have no credibility on the economy – north or south of the Border.”

Rural and Environment - Spending Review

2011-09-21T15:00:00.001+01:00

Opportunities to make our rural communities even stronger and increase their already significant contribution to economic growth is our main focus for the next three years said Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Environment Richard Lochhead today.

Mr Lochhead said rural communities will continue to play a key role in rebuilding our economy and the budget published today will enable us to grow the rural economy through community empowerment; improving rural connectivity, building our world class food and drink industry and enhancing our natural resources as well as supporting renewables and tackling climate change.

Money from Europe will be key to providing financial support to our rural economy through payments to farmers, fishermen and land managers. We have continued to invest in the Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP) and the European Fisheries Fund (EFF).

Other key elements of the spending review for Rural Affairs and Environment include:

more than doubling the support for our growing food and drink industry, delivering £14m of support over the next three years
establishing a Next Generation Digital Fund to support the roll-out of next generation broadband across Scotland, with a particular focus on rural and remote areas;
investing to create the framework required for the sustainable economic development of Scotland's offshore wind and marine renewables sector
empowering communities through a range of measures, including the Climate Challenge Fund and the creation of a new land fund to support community land purchase
supporting through the Zero Waste budget, a number of programmes including waste prevention and minimisation; reuse and recycle awareness; and support for local authorities to deliver their municipal waste targets
investing through the European Fisheries Fund in order to deliver our commitment to assist with capital investment, increasing competitiveness in the aquaculture, fishing and fish processing industries, and to promote a resilient fleet structure
working actively to reform the Common Fisheries Policy and the post-2014 European Marine and Fisheries Fund
continuing to negotiate on the EU budget for 2014-2020 and ensure we get a fair deal for Scottish farmers on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and related payments
maintaining our investment in flood protection and our programme of work to implement the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009. We will continue to invest in ensuring that we have clean air and water and the portfolio will spend £5.2 million on natural assets and flooding in 2012-13
aiming to increase woodland planting to 10,000 hectares per year. The government will invest £65.5 million n the Forestry Commission and Forest Enterprise in 2012-13
protecting LFASS payments, with more than £65m per year going to support farming in less favoured areas.

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Environment Richard Lochhead said:

"This budget will help our rural communities prosper by making the most of our rich natural resources and safeguarding our precious environment.

"By promoting rural connectivity through rolling out next generation broadband and supporting our fishermen and farmers who help underpin a successful food and drink industry - which is receiving record support - our rural economy will reap the benefits. We are also helping our communities to take more control of their own futures through our new land fund and Climate Challenge Fund.

"We have prioritised areas where we believe new and additional spending will have the most positive impact. Where we have been forced to make savings, due to the cuts imposed on us by Westminster, we have chosen to do so in areas where spending is not already committed, therefore minimising the impact on people and businesses.

"We have continued to invest in areas such as the Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP) and the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) and we have used the flexibility available, and increased EU match-funding, to ensure spending in these key areas is kept at a high level.

"We will work tirelessly in Europe to ensure Scotland gets the best deal in Europe through the CAP and CFP reforms soon to be negotiated. I fully recognise public subsidies, such as the single farm payment, are absolutely crucial to the future of our farming sector and are often the mainstay of fragile rural communities

"The budget also supports the priority work of key agencies who work to protect Scotland's valuable natural heritage, make best use of our land and protect and improve our environment. But they will continue to deliver their priorities under tighter than usual financial constraints as the Westminster cuts filter through and affect their budgets too

"We also remain committed to tackling climate change and will build on the progress we have made to cutting emissions by 42 per cent by 2020 through investing in renewables, energy efficiency, transport measures, agriculture, forestry, waste and resource management and more to ensure that our annual emissions targets are met.

"These are tough times for us all and we have been forced to make tough choices. But I am confident we have maintained our focus on priority areas and have delivered a budget that will continue to enable rural Scotland and our environment to flourish."

Time Has Come For 'Plan MacB' As IMF Slash UK Forecast

2011-09-20T17:38:00.000+01:00

The SNP has urged the UK Government to bring forward an economic ‘Plan MacB’ as the International Monetary Fund today (Tuesday) slashed its growth forecasts for the UK.

The SNP Scottish Government’s proposals – as outlined by First Minister Alex Salmond, including in response to last week’s labour market statistics –focuses on increased capital expenditure, improved access to finance for medium and small sized businesses, and the introduction of measures to boost consumer confidence and economic security.

Among all the nations and regions of the UK, Scotland is the only place where unemployment fell in the latest quarter, May-July 2011.

During this three-month period, unemployment in Scotland fell by 3,000 to 7.5 per cent, compared to a UK-wide increase of 80,000 to 7.9 per cent. Over the year, Scottish unemployment has fallen by 33,000, while UK levels increased by 44,000.

Scottish employment increased by 23,000 to 71.6 per cent in the latest quarter. Again, Scotland is outperforming the UK, where employment fell by 69,000 and the employment rate decreased 70.5 per cent during May-July 2011.

Over the year, Scottish employment rose by 36,000 – encompassing the entire 24,000 figure for the aggregate employment increase in the UK as a whole.

Commenting, SNP Westminster Treasury spokesperson Stewart Hosie MP said:

“The time has come for the Treasury to take action and follow the Scottish Government’s lead by implementing an economic ‘Plan MacB’ to build recovery and growth.

“The SNP Government are delivering a ‘Plan MacB’, which is cutting unemployment in Scotland while it rises in every other part of the UK, and it is vital that the Tory/Lib Dem coalition at Westminster follows the Scottish lead – otherwise there is a real risk that they will derail our recovery.

“Measures are needed to boost consumer confidence, especially critical to recovery at a time of inflation, fuel and food price pressures. We need to see a new focus on additional infrastructure investment, such as new transport and housing projects, to create new jobs and new capital assets for the long-term. And we also need the UK government to take action to ensure the banks improve access to finance to help good businesses grow.

“Our no compulsory redundancy policy for staff under Scottish Government responsibility is helping to boost consumer confidence, and our commitment to the social wage – including the council tax freeze, no tuition fees, free prescriptions, and free concessionary travel – is giving Scots households maximum protection at a time when other bills and inflation are on a sharply rising curve.

“We now need the UK government to follow this lead and introduce an action ‘Plan MacB’ to drive recovery.”

Moray SNP MP & Buckie Councillor Comment On Buckie Blaze

2011-09-14T18:54:00.001+01:00

Moray’s MP Angus Robertson and Buckie SNP Councillor, Gordon McDonald, have commented on the major blaze which ripped through the former Haldane’s store in Buckie this morning [Wednesday].

Westminster MP for Moray, Mr Robertson, said:

“This is the latest in a series of significant fires in Buckie in recent weeks. This blaze was particularly large and has destroyed a major building in Buckie’s town centre.

“While no conclusions can be drawn as yet, it is causing a great deal of concern in the community. It is extremely fortunate that no one was seriously injured today and the firefighters have to be praised for their bravery in situations like this.

“If it transpires that this blaze has been started deliberately, as other fires in the town have then it cannot be emphasised enough the sheer stupidity of such actions and the danger it can cause.”

Buckie SNP Councillor, Gordon McDonald, said:

“I have spoken to numerous people in Buckie about this shocking blaze, which caused huge disruption to residents and businesses today.

“People in Buckie are very worried about the recent spate of fires and while it is not certain that this huge blaze was deliberately started that is, not surprisingly, the concern of local people.”

In his capacity as Chair of the Buckie Regeneration Group Cllr McDonald continued:

“This was an important building that could have attracted investment into Buckie and created significant numbers of jobs. That opportunity has been lost in the short term, as the building is absolutely gutted beyond any hope of salvage.”

SNP Councillors Slam Community Wardens Decision

2011-09-13T21:23:00.001+01:00

SNP Councillors in Moray have slammed the Council’s Tory/Independent Administration over their decision to transfer the management of the warden service from Grampian Police to The Moray Council.

The SNP Councillors on the Policy & Resources Committee, which considered the issue today, voted against the proposals, a vote which the Administration scraped through by 6 votes to 7,

Speaking after the decision SNP Councillor for Elgin City South, Graham Leadbitter, said:

“As far as I can see there is no strategic reason for transferring this service to the Council. The public have been very supportive of the service so why change what is working very well?

“I know that the Wardens oppose the move and local police officers have told myself and my SNP colleagues that they very much value the relationship with the Wardens. I am far from convinced that this relationship can be maintained as effectively under these new arrangements.”

Forres SNP Councillor Irene Ogilvie said:

“We have a Community Warden in Forres who has received awards for the fantastic initiatives she has led in the community and I am very fearful that this will be lost. That would be of no benefit to the Forres Community whatsoever.

“I think the Tory/Independent Administration in the Council will come to regret this decision, which will have a detrimental impact on our ability to tackle anti-social behaviour problems across Moray.”

Over Half Of Voters Happy With SNP Government

2011-09-12T23:00:00.007+01:00

SNP APPROVAL RATINGS SOAR THANKS TO PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SCOTTISH PEOPLE

New information from an Angus Reid poll reported in this weekend’s Sunday Express shows voter approval ratings for the SNP Government sitting at 56%.

Welcoming the poll SNP MSP Bill Kidd said the results are a sign of the trust between the SNP and the people of Scotland.

Commenting on the poll, Mr Kidd said:

Bill Kidd MSP
Anniesland, Glasgow

“This is more good news for the SNP and is a sign of our continuing partnership with the people of Scotland.

“45% of Scottish voters backed the SNP in May and, as we deliver our ambitious programme for government, that support has risen and is continuing to rise.

“It’s fantastic to know that over half of the people of Scotland think the SNP is performing well and are supportive of our policies to make Scotland a more prosperous nation.

“The SNP is the only party sharing in the ambitions of the people of Scotland to make their country better.

“With the SNP Government setting out a bold plan for the year ahead and a new strategy to continue the growth in our economy we have a lot of work ahead.

“The next few years will be an exciting time for Scotland as we look towards our nation’s future. We have Scotland’s interests at heart and, as Alex Salmond said last week, the people trust us to take Scotland further on its journey.

“The SNP Government will continue to work alongside the Scottish people to deliver policies that will boost jobs and the recovery, as we take steps to make Scotland better.”

Very well 23%
Well 33%
Neither well or poorly 29%
Poorly 10%
Very poorly 5%

TOTAL WELL 56%
TOTAL POORLY 15%

± Rating +41%

SCOTTISH CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE WELCOME SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT ECONOMIC STRATEGY

2011-09-12T16:59:00.001+01:00

Commenting on publication today of the final refreshed Scottish Government Economic Strategy, Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:

“This refresh is timely and important in response to the massive change in the economic environment that has occurred since the publication of the first Government Economic Strategy in 2007.

“Scottish Chambers of Commerce are delighted to see the Scottish Government outline its commitment to supporting business and economic growth. We are glad to see the continuation of the Small Business Bonus Scheme, and the commitment to using capital spend to maximise economic impact.

“The Scottish Government’s commitment to using public procurement to drive economic growth is particularly welcome. This is an issue on which Scottish chambers of Commerce have been working closely with the Scottish government for some while, and we know that they have long recognised the value of procurement as an economic tool.

“We look forward to working with the Scottish Government on the detail and implementation of the Economic Strategy. As Scotland’s most comprehensive business organisation, a key role of Scottish Chambers of Commerce is in facilitating the Scottish Government’s work and engagement with business. This Strategy provides a solid basis for taking that work forward.”

Salmond Hails 'Fantastic' Poll Result

2011-09-11T00:02:00.000+01:00

SNP HAS SUPPORT OF HALF THE ELECTORATE

WESTMINSTER PARTIES 'ON THE RUN'

SNP Leader and Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond MSP has hailed the result of the 'State of the Nation' poll carried out for the Sunday Express by Angus Reid which put support for the SNP at 49% - the third such poll to do so within the last 10 days.

The poll reflects other recent polling showing support for independence strengthening whilst the status quo weakens, with more people than not believing independence will happen in their lifetime. The poll also found a massive lead for devolving responsibility for oil revenues to Scotland and opposition to Trident being sited on the Clyde.

Commenting, Mr Salmond said:

“This is a fantastic poll. 45% of Scottish voters backed the SNP in May and, as we deliver our ambitious programme for government, that support is rising.

"The SNP now has the support of some half the electorate, and there is growing support for Scotland having the full range of job-creating powers we need to boost jobs and recovery, and becoming an equal and independent country with access to the record tax revenues being generated by Scotland’s North Sea oil and gas.

"The people of Scotland spoke in the election, and the Westminster parties all lag far behind the ambitions of the people.

"With the LibDems relegated to minor party status and leadership contests causing confusion and division, both Labour and the Tories are on the run in Scotland."

Notes:

1. The topline constituency voting figures for this poll (after 'don't knows' and 'won't says' are excluded, in line with standard reporting practice) are as follows:

SNP: 49%
Lab: 29%
Con: 13%
Lib Dem: 5%
Others: 4%

2. This is the third such poll putting the SNP at 49%.

a. The Ipsos-MORI poll of 1002 adults between the 25th and 29th August reported the following results for the Holyrood constituency vote:

SNP: 49%
Lab: 28%
Con: 13%
LD: 7%
Oth: 3%

b. A UK opinion poll for Westminster voting intentions by Angus Reid - taken between 1st September to 2nd September 2011 - showed the SNP on 49% in the breakdown for Scotland (sub sample of 170):

SNP: 49%
Lab: 29%
Con: 15%
LD: 4%

100 Days On - SNP Prepares For Council Contests

2011-08-15T00:01:00.020+01:00

RECORD NUMBER OF APPLICANTS TO MAKE SCOTLAND BETTER

Alex Farquhar
SNP candidate 1970
Groundwork for 2012

100 days on from the SNP’s historic victory in the May 2011 elections the party has revealed nearly 400 people have put themselves forward as potential candidates for next year’s council elections, in addition to the 363 currently elected SNP councillors.

With applications now closed and assessment and selection procedures about to start the party is gearing up for the next electoral contest and the opportunity to make progress towards a better future for all parts of Scotland.

Since the May election the SNP has won two council by-elections, taking control of Aberdeen City Council and seen 5 councillors defect to the party.

Welcoming the numbers the SNP’s business convener Derek Mackay said:

“The enthusiasm across the party membership to play a part in making Scotland a better country at every level is extremely exciting.

“100 days ago people across Scotland voted for a brighter future and for an end to the status quo when they rejected the nay sayers of opposition and backed the SNP’s team and vision for Scotland.

“In the last 100 days voters in Aberdeen have backed the SNP to lead the council as we have won two council by-elections, SNP membership has increased to over 18,000, former Lib Dems are switching to the SNP as the only party that represents their values and now a record number of people have put themselves forward to represent communities and work as part of the SNP’s team.

“When Labour and the Tories are leaderless and directionless and with Lib Dem councillors leaving the party in embarrassment at its closeness to the Tories the SNP is the only party focussing on the concerns of communities across Scotland and taking the first steps toward winning the support of people in all parts of Scotland for our local government candidates.

“We have been overwhelmed by the numbers of people keen and eager to play their part. 100 days after the SNP won the first ever majority in the Scottish Parliament the party is already looking ahead.

“It is hugely encouraging and inspiring to see so many people who have a strong track record in their communities looking to step up and become councillors.

“In just 264 days time Scotland can take the next step and support the election of councillors across the country who will work with the SNP team in government and who share that vision of a better future for all parts of Scotland.”

All applicants will now go through the party’s selection process before becoming council candidates.

The 400 applicants are in addition to the 363 current SNP councillors.

Offshore wind energy

2011-08-11T17:26:00.001+01:00

First Minister Alex Salmond today renewed the Scottish Government's pledge to drive forward Scotland's renewables industry as he met representatives of Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd. ("MORL"), the joint venture company owned by EDP Renewables and Repsol to develop offshore wind energy in the Outer Moray Firth.

Mr Salmond discussed their plans to develop up to 1,500 MW of offshore wind energy in the deeper waters of the outer Moray Firth, during a meeting aboard Gardline's Survey Ship, the Ivero. The development could have the capacity to power in excess of one million households, according to MORL.

Gardline has been contracted to undertake geophysical and geotechnical survey works in the Moray Firth, providing vital information about seabed conditions, which will enable the electrical infrastructure to be designed to withstand the challenging conditions of the North Sea.

The First Minister toured the Ship with representatives of Moray Offshore Renewables, and was briefed on the challenges of developing large-scale wind generation in the Outer Moray Firth.

The First Minster said:

"I'm very pleased to see first hand how Gardline's survey work is progressing and to meet representatives of EDP Renewables to hear more about this exciting project. I've been impressed by the vision and determination of EDPR and Repsol since the announcement of their partnership for the Moray Firth offshore wind farm in June.

"This project is among eight developments in Scottish waters that, together, will deliver up to 10 Giga Watts of clean energy from offshore wind and help ensure we meet our 2020 target to generate the equivalent of 100 per cent of our electricity demand from renewables. Together, these offshore wind projects could generate investment value of as much as £30 billion, and businesses and communities across Scotland are well-placed to secure substantial benefits from that, as well as from exporting expertise for projects further afield.

"The Scottish Government will continue to work with public and private sector partners to support key clean energy developments such as the Moray Firth offshore wind project - to support jobs and the reindustrialisation of Scotland's communities while lowering carbon emissions and so helping protect the planet for future generations."

Dan Finch, UK Managing Director of EDPR UK, said:

"I am delighted to have the opportunity to provide the First Minister with first-hand experience of the work, commitment and expertise that is required to allow Scotland to lead the world in the development of commercial-scale wind generation, in deeper waters, distant from shore."

John Morse, Manager of the Renewables Group, Gardline said:

"Gardline is delighted to welcome the First Minister aboard the Ivero, particularly given the importance of the renewable energy sector in Scotland and the country's commitment to harness and take full advantage of the green energy potential."

Scottish Ministers call for rethink on UK economic policies

2011-08-08T12:00:00.001+01:00

In light of continued uncertainty in the US following the downgrading of the US credit rating, and further falls on European stock markets, Ministers have again called for a rethink on the UK's economic policies.

Finance Secretary John Swinney said:

"In an uncertain international financial situation, with shares in the US slumping and further falls on European stock markets, we must all focus on building economic recovery.

"There is no doubt these are difficult times and we need action, now, to support the economy and protect the recovery. The most effective way to do that is to improve consumer and business confidence and focus on job creation through targeted capital investment.

"These are the areas that the Scottish Government is focusing on by protecting household budgets through the council tax freeze, protecting jobs through a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies in the areas within our direct responsibility, and implementing a growth strategy that has contributed to eight consecutive reported months of falls in unemployment.

"The UK Government has already recognised that it needs to do more to support the recovery and we have put forward a range of specific policies to help boost growth, such as a cost effective programme of infrastructure investment to create new jobs and new capital assets which will support growth over the short and long term.

"What Scotland really needs is access to all the key levers of economic growth, such as borrowing powers and corporation tax, to enhance investment and create more jobs across the Scottish economy."

Scotland gets fit for 2014

2011-07-20T18:00:00.000+01:00

There are only three years to go before the Commonwealth Games comes to Scotland.

Minister for the Commonwealth Games and Sport Shona Robison asks how fit will you be in 2014?

Whether you will be in the Scots team, in the audience at events cheering Scotland on - or viewing on TV at home, millions around the world will be watching the Games to see what kind of nation Scotland is.

Shona Robison MSP

As Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport I want Scotland to compete on the international stage and win more medals than ever before. To do that we are planning to invest £8m to fund our elite athlete programme because we want to see the Saltire rising up the flagpole at more medal ceremonies in 2014.

I also want all Scots to be able to participate - not just those who are elite athletes – all Scots of all ages – in better, fitter and more active lives. Scots are passionate about sport. Scotland has a long tradition of great sportsmen and women excelling and winning medals for their country.

Sport gives purpose and meaning to people’s lives, encourages discipline and rewards participants with a sense of achievement and success towards personal goals.

As we approach the games everyone should get the benefit of physical activity to make our country better and fairer, to improve health and reduce anti-social behaviour.

The Commonwealth Games can inspire this generation to be more active and a lasting legacy from the games is really important. This is at the heart of the SNP’s vision for the future.

One way of achieving this is through community sports hubs. So far the SNP Government has delivered 56 local hubs and we intend to deliver at least 100 across all 32 councils by 2014. These will make it easy for everyone to get involved.

Being active should start early and in schools we are making huge strides to get pupils more active as we aim to deliver at least two hours of PE in primary schools and two periods of PE in secondary schools from S1 to S4 by 2014. We have invested £13m a year in our Active Schools programme, with 450 Active Schools staff delivering almost 5 million activity sessions in 69 different sports in 2,500 schools in all 32 local authority areas. Further opening up the school estate to community use is a priority for our Government.

And sport can help to transform our communities. The SNP’s programme of seizing the assets of criminals and giving CashBack to Communities has been a huge success. More than £40m seized from organised criminals is being put to good use helping to get more children involved in sports. A recent investment of £5m in 3G pitches is helping provide first class community facilities for multi-sport use. This is on top of the £35m which the SNP Government in partnership with sportscotland has invested in Scottish sports facilities since 2007.

Another manifesto commitment that we are starting to work towards is further support for our national game through working with local and footballing bodies to set up a National Indoor Football Centre and National Football Academy.

2014 is already shaping up to be a great year for sport in Scotland with the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup. Yes it is an opportunity to showcase Scotland but also to raise the confidence of our people in their own abilities and standing on the international stage. The legacy from that could have a profound impact on Scotland’s future and as the Minister in charge I relish that opportunity.

Labour In Crisis As MPs Rail Against Lack Of Talent In Holyrood Group

2011-07-17T15:53:00.002+01:00

LABOUR PARTY HAS RUN OUT OF PEOPLE

The Labour group at Holyrood were in crisis today (Sunday) after the party’s inner turmoil was revealed in a series of damaging newspaper articles.

The Sunday Post reports that Labour MPs have no faith in the ability of their new MSP colleagues and are lobbying to be allowed on regional lists so they can be “part-time” MSPs from the next Holyrood election.

The Sunday Herald reveals that the leadership election to find a replacement for Iain Gray is in shambles with a conclusion to the contest now looking unlikely before next Spring – despite Mr Gray’s pledge to go this Autumn.

Commenting, SNP MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse Christina McKelvie, who deafeated Labour front bencher Tom McCabe in May said:

“The Labour group at Holyrood is in deep trouble – they have obviously run out of people.

“Many of their most experienced politicians lost their seats to the SNP because of their negative election campaign, which offered nothing to the people of Scotland. Labour took the electorate for granted and now they are paying the price.

“The notion that Labour Westminster MPs could enter Holyrood as ‘top-up’ MSPs is insulting both to the Scottish Parliament and to their own Labour colleagues.

“Labour are still all over the shop after their disastrous Holyrood campaign. They can't even sort out a simple leadership election, never mind offer a positive agenda for Scotland."

SNP Momentum Continues With Local By-Election Results

2011-06-26T10:39:00.005+01:00

AS INVERCLYDE APPROACHES SNP SUPPORT INCREASES

SNP AIMING FOR SUCCESS IN 2012 COUNCIL ELECTIONS

With the Inverclyde parliamentary by-election just five days away the momentum behind the SNP has continued to grow since the party’s historic victory in the Scottish Parliament elections last month with voters backing SNP candidates in local by-elections across Scotland.

With the SNP enjoying a significant success in the Airyhall-Broomhill-Garthdee in Aberdeen on Friday – where the SNP vote almost doubled – an analysis of the combined vote in all the by-elections which have taken place since May's election show significant swings of 4.89% from Labour, 7.30% from the Conservatives and an astonishing 11.17% from the Liberal Democrats.

The SNP has gained two seats in the five by-elections held since the elections and seen its support increase by almost 12.4% since the last Local Authority Elections.

Commenting on the analysis local SNP MSP Stewart Stevenson said:

“These are very encouraging results for the SNP on the eve of the Inverclyde parliamentary by-election showing that the momentum is continuing to grow since May 5th.

“Our positive message and positive vision for the future has been backed by people across Scotland. The electorate have chosen to put faith and trust into the SNP because the SNP has faith and trust in them.

“People like what the SNP is doing. In local communities and across the country we have delivered on the issues that matter to people - support for the economy and jobs, free prescriptions, 1000 extra police and a council tax freeze – real action with real results.

“With the local authority elections taking place in less than twelve months the support of the public for SNP councillors and candidates is a very encouraging sign.

“In Government and in councils we will continue to work hard to make Scotland better and repay the trust given to us.”

	2011		Change from 2007	Swing to SNP
	Votes	% Share	Change from 2007	From LAB	From LibDem	From CON
SNP	6,338	40.0%	+12.4%	4.89%	11.17%	7.30%
LAB	3,813	24.1%	+2.6%	SNP has won two new seats from the five Council by-elections since the General Election on 5th May 2011
CON	2,468	15.6%	-2.2%
LibDem	1,307	8.2%	-9.9%
Other	1,928	12.2%	-3.0%

SNP MSP Humza Yousaf talks to the BBC's Shareen Nanjiani

2011-06-12T10:41:00.001+01:00

Shereen Nanjiani chats with SNP MSP Humza Yousaf about his love of politics and growing up in Glasgow.

Four Councillors Defect To SNP

2011-05-29T08:00:00.008+01:00

SUPPORT CONTINUES TO GROW ACROSS SCOTLAND

The SNP is continuing to win support from people of all parties.

In the three weeks since the Scottish Parliament election four councillors including two Lib Dems, one independent and one former Labour council group leader have joined the SNP.

Mike Dillon and Marie McGurk – respected Liberal Democrats in Renfrewshire have been joined by independent Highland Councillor Glynis Sinclair and Douglas Campbell – an independent who previously led the Labour group in South Ayrshire and also served as election agent to George Foulkes.

SNP Minister for Local Government Aileen Campbell welcomed the new SNP councillors.

“At this month’s Scottish election we saw people from all political backgrounds vote for the SNP, many for the first time.

“Locally and nationally these four councillors represent many people who are turning to the SNP as their natural party.

“As we take our vision for Scotland forward and as we head towards local elections next year we will continue our efforts to win support from all corners of Scotland and bring people together to make Scotland better.”

Former Renfrewshire Council leader Derek MacKay added:

“The SNP has a strong record in local government of supporting our communities and sticking to our values. That commitment is winning the same kind of support in local government that saw the SNP win a majority at Holyrood.”

Commenting on his decision to join the SNP, Councillor Campbell - who said he no longer recognised the Labour party - praised the SNP’s commitment to Ayrshire welcoming “the dedication and commitment of the local SNP group and minority SNP government in delivering positive measures for the people and communities of north Ayr.”

Cllr Glynis Sinclair, a former LibDem turned independent in the Highlands who joined the SNP this week said:

“It is never easy to change to another political party but it became clear long before the Westminster Elections that the Liberal Democrats were losing touch and I have long seen that the SNP reflected the values of both myself and my constituents more directly. I believe that the Highlands and Scotland can achieve so much more.

“Locally, we need to put a brake on the harmful, short term actions of the LibDem/Independent/Labour coalition. Nationally, we need to take control of our own affairs and realise that we have nothing to fear and everything to gain. I am pleased that I can be seen as an example of someone who has been persuaded by a strong message of confidence and vision for our Nation.”

Marie McGurk, who joined the SNP in Renfrewshire from the Lib Dems added

“I’ve been thinking about this for some time. There are changes in Westminster and decisions which have been made by the LibDem leadership which have left me unable, in all conscience, to continue my membership of the party.

“I believe the SNP has worked well for Renfrewshire as part of the coalition and I hope to stand for the party in next year’s local government elections if I am selected.”

Tributes paid to Tom Howe

2011-05-20T16:00:00.001+01:00

Tributes have been paid by leading SNP representatives following the sudden death of Moray SNP President and party stalwart Tom Howe.

A former Moray Councillor and prominent campaigner for Independence over many decades, Tom died suddenly and unexpectedly while on holiday in Germany with his wife Margo.

Tom was a prominent member of the SNP both locally in Moray and nationally for many years and campaigned vigorously for the party in every election since the 1960s , including this year’s Scottish Parliament election where he was out and about in Moray speaking to voters in support of re-elected MSP Richard Lochhead.

In the 1970 General Election Tom Howe became the first SNP candidate to stand in the Moray & Nairn Constituency and took nearly 8,000 votes, setting the scene for Winnie Ewing to win the seat for the SNP in 1974.

Tom was later elected as an SNP Councillor in Moray District Council and then in The Moray Council following the reorganisation of Grampian Region. Tom stepped down from Council work in 2003 but continued campaigning even in retirement.

First Minister of Scotland and SNP Party Leader Alex Salmond said:

" Tom Howe was a wonderful man, and will be hugely missed.

" Tom was a tireless servant of his beloved Moray and of Scotland - he played an enormous role in public life in representing the people, and advancing the cause of the SNP and independence.

" My thoughts are with Margo, who has the comfort of knowing that Tom was held in the highest possible esteem both among his ain folk and people across Scotland."

Convener of Moray SNP Constituency Association, Cllr Mike Shand, said:

“ I first met Tom Howe in 1970. I was living at home in Bishopmill, furiously writing CVs trying to return to work after having spent six months travelling abroad. Knowing that I was an SNP supporter – a source of great argument in our family – my Dad pointed out a notice in the local paper that the SNP candidate was to speak our local hall. So off I toddled to the Bishopmill Hall annexe to hear Tom. I honestly can’t remember much about what Tom said, but I do remember how he said it. We talked after the meeting, and I found him to be a couthy, passionate and engaging man. Soon afterwards I found work in Dundee and at the General Election that June the Moray result was the one that really mattered to me. It was a delight to see that Tom had done so magnificently, in the first election that the SNP ever fought in Moray.

“ Many years later, I returned to live in my home town of Elgin. As a young(ish) activist I was asked to do the vote of thanks at the prestigious Moray SNP Burns Supper. Each speaker was superb, and I kept thinking “Thank goodness I’m not following him/her.” I constantly re-checked the speech order, reassuring myself that everything would be OK as I was “only” following Tom’s rendition of Tam o’Shanter. Little did I know. How young and naive I was. Tom gave the funniest and most energetic Burns performance that I have seen, before or since. He brought the house down. As he sat down next to me he gave one of those wee smiles, and a wee wink that said “Follow that!””

Richard Lochhead MSP said:

“ Tom was Moray SNP’s elder statesman who was very active in our recent election campaign and he will be sorely missed by us all. In particular, I will miss his wise advice, his sense of humour and of course his sense of style. Tom commanded huge respect given that as a charismatic parliamentary candidate he was largely responsible for the SNP’s breakthrough in Moray in 1970. People continue to talk fondly of Tom on the doorsteps.

“ Just last week, Tom and his wife Margo were my guests at the swearing in ceremony for the new MSPs at Holyrood and he was overflowing with pride after meeting so many of his old friends many of whom thanked him for helping to get the party to where it is today. I am so glad that Tom was able to experience the massive success of the cause he loved and to which his life was devoted.”

Angus Robertson MP said:

“ Tom has been a trailblazer for the SNP both here in Moray and in Scotland as a whole. With his 1970 candidacy for the Moray & Nairn Westminster seat he established the SNP as a credible political force and created the conditions for Winnie Ewing to win the Moray Constituency in 1974.

“ He was a fantastic advocate for Scottish Independence and has inspired many others to campaign for the SNP’s cause throughout his life. He was a true patriot of Scotland and will be very sorely missed.”

Moray SNP Council Group Leader, Pearl Paul, said:

“ In nearly 20 years as a Councillor Tom was one of the best colleagues I had the pleasure of working with. He was greatly respected by the public, his fellow councillors and by the staff of The Moray Council.

“ The first vote I ever cast for the SNP was for Tom when he stood in the 1970 General Election where he really set Moray SNP on the road to where we are today. Tom’s passing has saddened us all but we have been left with many wonderful memories.”

Stewart Thanks Banffshire & Buchan Coast For Vote Of Confidence

2011-05-07T09:24:00.001+01:00

Following his election as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Banffshire & Buchan Coast on Friday, Stewart Stevenson MSP has spoken on the campaign,

"I am delighted with the very substantial endorsement of the SNP delivered by electors in Banffshire & Buchan Coast.

"The campaign was a real debate of ideas with my Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat opponents and led to a decisive victory for the SNP. The 67.2% of electors supporting me is the highest in the new Parliament and shows the continuing faith among local folk in our ability to deliver.

"I thank each of my opponents for the constructive spirit in which they approached the election and for their contribution to the democratic process. I wish them well and hope they enjoyed campaigning."

Turning to the election of a new, majority, SNP Government, Stewart commented,

"Alex Salmond has proved himself in office during the first term of SNP Government.

"The unambiguous endorsement of the Government at this election lays the foundations for decisive action on the economy and in tackling alcohol abuse.

"We shall continue to work with other parties in Parliament to ensure that our decisions reflect the widest possible range of views.

"Lessons learned as a minority Government will continue to influence how we will conduct ourselves now that we have an overall majority."

Speaking to local electors, Stewart said,

"I thank all who voted on Thusday. This is the third consecutive election where my vote has increased. I shall work hard to build on the personal vote of confidence you have given me."

Stevenson Urges Both Votes SNP And Warns, "It's Not Over Yet"

2011-05-04T08:20:00.001+01:00

At 7 a.m. on Thursday, 5th May, voters across Scotland will have the chance to re-elect an SNP Government lead by the widely endorsed Alex Salmond.

In a 15 hour period the course of Scotland for the next five years will be set by decisions made in the voting booth.

The final poll before the election shows that the SNP's message of hope and aspiration has chimed all over the country. STV's poll would indicate that Scotland is set to elect 61 SNP members, 33 Labour, 18 Conservative, 9 Liberal Democrat and 9 others.

Commenting on eve of poll, Banffshire and Buchan Coast SNP Candidate Stewart Stevenson said,

"The stakes have never been higher and it's vital that people who want to see a secure future for Scotland in difficult times, use both votes for the SNP.

"Firstly to vote for me to enable me to continue to serve people in the North East and support the SNP Government.

"Secondly to vote for Alex Salmond for First Minister, to ensure that the outstanding leader for a generation is unambiguously endorsed."

Speaking on the STV poll, Stewart said,

"The poll results reflect our canvassing and predict an historic result for Scotland.

"The weather forecast for polling day is set fair and the political outlook is encouraging. But it's not over yet and it's vital that everyone gets out to use both votes for an SNP Government."

Stevenson Backs SNP Fisheries Commitment

2011-05-02T06:30:00.000+01:00

SNP candidate for Banffshire & Buchan Coast Stewart Stevenson today backed Scottish Fisheries Minister Richard Lochhead in his ten key pledges for the fishing industry if the SNP Government is re-elected this Thursday.

Commenting, Mr Stevenson said:

“Banffshire & Buchan Coast is the fishing powerhouse of Scotland, the UK and Europe. With the ports of Peterhead, Fraserburgh and now Buckie all within its boundaries, nowhere else in the Western Europe is fishing more important to the local community and the economy.

“The feedback I get from those involved in the industry is that in Richard Lochhead we have had a strong voice for Scottish fishing. There is still much to be done however, and that is why I am pleased that Richard has brought forward these ten key proposals on what a re-elected SNP Government would do for the industry.”

The Scottish National Party is pledging to continue to ensure fishing remains a priority if re-elected next week in the Scottish elections.

The SNP’s ten key pledges for the next five year Parliament are:

Achieve a discard free fishery in Scottish waters over the course of the next Parliament as part of a reformed European fisheries policy that returns decision-making over fisheries to Scotland
We will support a radically overhauled Cod recovery Plan that protect jobs and stocks and is tailored to Scottish needs
We will seek action to resolve the ongoing dispute over mackerel quotas including offering to host a special Ministerial summit
An added-value strategy to maximise the value of landings including the development of the Scottish “healthy and sustainable” brand
A new entrants strategy to ensure that the industry attracts new blood
A national strategy for Fisheries Dependent Areas
A refreshed industry-science partnership to plug the gaps in existing fisheries science
We will work with Higher Education institutions and industry to explore the case for a centre of excellence for fisheries management
A onshore development plan to assist processors and onshore sectors adapt to changing markets
Give greater prominence to inshore fisheries and consulting on new industry-led regulations for the static gear sector

Richard Lochhead, Fisheries Minister in the Scottish Government said:

“It has been a huge privilege to have served as Fisheries Minister in the first ever SNP Government. It’s been an honour to have worked closely with the men and women in our fishing industry who are amongst the best in the world at what they do. Scotland benefits from fishermen going to sea in the harshest of conditions to catch a great food resource and from those who take the raw materials and transform them into some of the best quality seafood products in the world.

“Fishing remains an important industry in Scotland and our fishermen need an experienced Scottish Government led by Alex Salmond to champion their cause more than ever before.

“The SNP has stood by our fishing communities through thick and thin over these past four years. We have worked in partnership with the industry to ensure that our fishermen can continue to put our marvellous Scottish seafood on tables throughout the world. The sector is a vital mainstay of our coastal economy and we can’t allow outside influences to undermine Scottish jobs. That’s why we need decision making over fishing passed from Brussels to Scotland and why we must grasp the opportunity presented by the vital negotiations on future EU fisheries policy to achieve that.

“Fishing is a way of life as well as an industry and the people of Scotland value the economic, social and cultural role the industry plays in Scottish life.

“A re-elected SNP Government will give our fishermen a strong voice in London and Brussels and fight tooth and nail to sail the industry into calmer waters.

“Many fisheries sectors have flourished under the SNP but others face very tough times given the absurd European regulations our fishermen face day in day out. The forthcoming negotiations over the future of EU fisheries policy must put the failed CFP behind us, end the scandal of discards, and adopt a new approach that allows member states and their fishing industries to have much more of a say on how to conserve stocks in their own waters and manage fishing opportunities.

“If re-elected on May 5th, the SNP pledges to continue working with our industry to deliver a sustainable and profitable fishing industry.”

Stevenson Welcomes A Fair Deal For Scotland's Pensioners

2011-04-29T15:16:00.002+01:00

Deputy Leader, Nicola Sturgeon, has today launched the SNP's mini-manifesto for Scotland's pensioners. It sets out key SNP commitments including a Council Tax freeze until 2016 and keeping the 1,000 extra police in our communities.

"click" above to read manifesto

Ms Sturgeon said using both votes for the SNP would help ensure the re-election of a Scottish Government committed to a fair deal for Scotland’s older generation. Launching the mini-manifesto Ms Sturgeon said,

"Scotland’s pensioners are the generation who built our nation. Our pensioners should be able to enjoy their older years without worrying about rising costs and bills".

Over the last four years the SNP has helped make Scotland fairer by freezing the unfair Council Tax. That has helped many older Scots and eased some of the pressure on household bills. A re-elected SNP Government will keep the Council Tax freeze in place for the whole parliament. Only an SNP Government will continue the Council Tax freeze for the whole of the parliament, saving the average households over £1,200. By using both votes for the SNP, Scotland’s pensioners can vote to keep their bills down.

Labour, Lib Dem and Tory all plan to push the council tax up during the Parliament. A strong SNP Government will not let that happen.

And we will make sure Scotland’s pensioners get a fair deal with free bus travel and protection for free personal care. Already opposition parties are threatening to cut free bus travel but with an SNP Government balancing the books we will support concessionary travel and invest in free personal care. Our support for the NHS will keep medical advice and treatment, free and local and we will ensure that the 1000 extra police employed since 2007 remain in place. These extra police have helped deliver a 32-year low crime rate in Scotland and the SNP will keep them on our streets to protect local communities.

Using both votes for the SNP and Alex Salmond for First Minister will deliver a Scottish Government and Parliament that works hard for people in Scotland young and old. Voting SNP in both the constituency and list votes is vital to achieving an SNP Government and progress for Scotland. On May 5th, the stronger the vote for the SNP, the more we can achieve for Scotland.

Stevenson Welcomes SNP Jobs Mini-Manifesto

2011-04-26T07:54:00.000+01:00

Jobs are a big issue in Scotland right now. The downturn in the economy means that many people are concerned about what their employment prospects may be in the future.

"click" above to read manifesto

If you’re looking for work or worried about your job security, a re-elected SNP government will do its very best to help you.

When it comes to employment, it’s easy for politicians to make promises, but we're working hard to protect jobs. Since April last year, 46,000 new jobs have been created in Scotland.

That's a good start, but we know there is more to do. So if we’re re-elected, we’ll be putting the jobs agenda at the very heart of our programme for government.

We've funded a record 25,000 Modern Apprenticeship places this year, so young Scots can get on the job training. But that’s just the start.

Our manifesto for Scotland's election contains some other key pledges:

A fair chance of a job. You’ve a far better chance of getting a job if you have skills and experience. We will deliver a massive 100,000 training opportunities each year for the next five years. That includes keeping the record 25,000 apprenticeships and 50,000 college bursaries.
A total of 130,000 jobs in the green economy. Renewable energy offers us the chance to re-industrialise Scotland. It’s set to create more work than shipbuilding on the Clyde did when Glasgow was the second City of the Empire.
A new Small Business Jobs Plan. Our smaller companies are the lifeblood of our economy, and we want to encourage them to take on new staff. We're working with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) to develop the right support packages. The FSB estimates this could enable small firms to create 40,000 new jobs.
Real, practical help for our job creators. We've given Scotland's businesses a competitive edge over companies down south with lower business rates. The savings they make allow them to grow and create new employment opportunities.
Job security. We've agreed no-compulsory redundancy deals with Scottish government staff to give thousands of workers job security. We will work to extend this right across the public sector.
New job opportunities in our communities through Community Jobs Scotland. This will create 2,000 new, local jobs.
Protecting family incomes with the Council Tax frozen until 2016. We know people are worried about their jobs, so we will ease the pressure on family budgets by keeping the Council Tax freeze – a move worth more than £1200 for the average household.

Stevenson Launches SNP Farming Manifesto In Banffshire As Prominent Farmers Back SNP Second Term

2011-04-25T09:43:00.004+01:00

SNP candidate for Banffshire & Buchan Coast Stewart Stevenson launched the SNP’s Farming Manifesto on a visit to a farm near Cornhill, Banffshire.

Mr Stevenson said he was proud to stand on the record of an SNP Government which had achieved so much for Scotland’s farming communities but stressed that upcoming CAP reform made re-electing an SNP Government more crucial than ever.

Commenting as he launched the manifesto locally in Cornhill, Stewart Stevenson said:

“Scotland’s farming community is central to Scotland’s success. Our farmers and food producers protect our food supply and steward our stunning scenery.

“Over the past four years, I have been proud to serve Scotland’s farmers as an SNP MSP in a Scottish Government which has delivered for rural communities.

“The SNP has put agriculture and food at the heart of its agenda in Government and provided our farmers and crofters with a voice in UK and Europe. We have stood shoulder to shoulder with our farmers through the challenges of recent years and repeatedly delivered for the industry in its hour of need.

“This special Farming Manifesto illustrates the SNP’s commitment to continuing to act in the best interests of Scottish agriculture sector. We will preserve the success achieved so far and work with the sector to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the challenges of food security, energy security and tackling climate change.

"The next few years will be crucial to the industry's long term future as CAP reform gets underway.

“Only the SNP will stand up to the UK Treasury as it attempts to grab back £500m vital EU support for Scotland’s farmers. If the London parties had their way, thousands of jobs would be lost and parts of rural Scotland would be turned into a desert."

The SNP’s commitment to the farming sector was endorsed by leading figures from across the industry.

Jim Walker, former NFU President and MD of Argent Energy said:

“The SNP Government’s track record on farming speaks for itself and given the major decisions that lie ahead, particularly in Europe, we need them back in office to ensure Scotland’s voice is heard.”

John Kinnaird, past NFU Scotland President said:

“I am backing the SNP for a second term in Government as they have proved themselves to be a full partner in farming, rural issues and especially Scotland at large.”

Jim Brown, Lanarkshire based leading beef farmer and well known agricultural columnist said:

“As one of Scotland’s larger beef producers, I can say that the SNP has done more to understand farming challenges in the past four years than I can ever recall from any other Political Party.”

Angus McCall, tenant farmer from Golspie in Sutherland said:

“The next few years will be crucial for Scottish agriculture as we negotiate a new CAP regime. Scotland needs continuity of policy and a strong government which understands rural issues and is prepared to fight our corner. The Scottish Government under the SNP has shown what it can do and Richard Lochhead has led a team which has had the interests of Scottish farming at heart.”

Royal Mail Blunder Leaves Buchan Voters Confused

2011-04-25T00:32:00.003+01:00

Voters in some Buchan villages have been left confused after Royal Mail delivered election leaflets for both Aberdeenshire East and Banffshire & Buchan Coast to the same addresses in error.

Electors in Cruden Bay, Hatton, Longhaven, Longside, Fetterangus and Strichen – all of which are now in the new Aberdeenshire East Constituency – received election mailings from Stewart Stevenson, candidate for Banffshire & Buchan Coast, in addition to literature from Alex Salmond, who actually is the candidate for Aberdeenshire East.

Election Agent for Banffshire & Buchan Coast SNP Cllr Stephen Smith said:

“This is an unfortunate error but is in no way the fault of the local posties, who have been very helpful in sorting this out.

“Royal Mail centrally appear to have supplied the local sorting offices with incorrect information on where exactly the new boundaries are. But after the SNP pointed this out to them, they have been very quick to take action to ensure the correct leaflets for all political parties are delivered in the correct constituencies.”

The villages of Cruden Bay, Hatton, Longhaven, Longside, Fetterangus and Strichen, as well as the rest of Central Buchan, which were all formerly represented by Stewart Stevenson as MSP now move into a new constituency called Aberdeenshire East where First Minister Alex Salmond is the SNP candidate.

Mr Stevenson is the SNP candidate in the new Banffshire & Buchan Coast constituency which takes in Boddam, Peterhead, St Fergus and Crimond and follows the coastline all the way round to Buckie.

Stevenson Welcomes Launch Of SNP's Carers' Manifesto

2011-04-22T16:30:00.005+01:00

CARERS are Scotland’s unsung heroes. They generously and selflessly give their time to help others, usually without reward and sometimes without recognition. Thousands of vulnerable people simply could not do without them.

"click" above to read manifesto

It’s not an easy task. Looking after someone, particularly if they’re a member of your own family, is often a 24 hour a day commitment. It can be challenging, tiring – gruelling, even.

Carers may provide invaluable assistance, but they often need support themselves. Over the last four years, the SNP government has recognised this. We’ve provided more respite care, a short breaks fund and increased help for kinship carers.

Now we want to do more. We see backing unpaid carers as a priority. They fulfill an essential role in society, providing love, sympathy and affection as well as solid, practical help.

Carers take pressure off our public services. They are important partners for the NHS, and we want to fully recognise that.

Scotland’s carers provide vital support, and we owe it to them to recognise and support the wonderful work they do. We want to get the laws and the guidance right and to make sure they have the help and the backing they need through good times and bad. Without the love and help of carers, the lives of tens of thousands of Scots would be so much more difficult. They can be assured that if re-elected, we will see them as a priority group and do everything we can to give them our support.

We welcome the commitment made to ensure that words and policy are translated into action on the ground. We need to move from talk to action - action which really improves the lives of Scotland's 657,000 unpaid carers and 100,000 young carers. This will be the test for Scotland's carers as they decide who to vote for in this election.

Florence Burke, Director for Scotland of The Princess Royal Trust for Carers

A re-elected SNP government will:

Set up a unique Carer’s Parliament – something which will provide a powerful direct voice and help with access to MSPs and Scottish government ministers
Guarantee that £14 million from our social care Change Fund is used to support unpaid carers
Work to secure proper recognition for kinship carers within the UK’s benefits and support system
Continue funding 10,000 weeks of respite provision for the next five years
Provide another £2 million to pay for short breaks for families with severely disabled children, taking the total to £6 million
Ensure young carers are better served by their schools and given easier access to the Education Maintenance Allowance
Help with increased costs by extending the Energy Assistance package
Reward employers who offer support and flexibility to carers with a special Kitemark

Stevenson Visits Whitehills Fish Processor With Local MP

2011-04-21T23:54:00.002+01:00

SNP candidate for Banffshire & Buchan Coast Stewart Stevenson was joined by Banff & Buchan MP Dr Eilidh Whiteford on a visit to award-winning Whitehills fish processor Downies of Whitehills.

Mr Stevenson and Dr Whiteford met with Managing Partner Mr Alan Downie and Factory Manager Mr Alan Stewart and discussed current issues facing the fishing and fish processing industries.

Speaking afterwards, Stewart Stevenson commented:

(l to r): Dr Eilidh Whiteford MP; Alan Downie, Managing Partner;
Stewart Stevenson; Alan Stewart, Factory Manager

“It is always a pleasure to visit Downies of Whitehills. The team here have a commitment to their community, to their customers and to their workforce which is second to none.

“We had a good discussion about some of the current issues facing the industry. The continuity of supplies of fish is clearly an issue of some concern, as it is for other companies. The reality is that this is just another example of the failure of the Common Fisheries Policy to deliver for the industry and, instead, is a source of real difficulties for fishermen and fish processors alike.”

Banff & Buchan MP Eilidh Whiteford added:

“Downies have been here for over 100 years and have a great reputation locally and much further afield for the quality of their seafood products, which are now available online.

“However, I can think of no other industry that has its hands tied in terms of not being able to plan ahead more than 12 months than the fishing industry, dictated to by the annual European negotiations every December.

“At a time when Scottish fishermen are leading the rest of Europe in sustainable fishing practices, we need Westminster to step back and allow the Scottish Government to take the lead in our dealings with Brussels.”

SNP Campaigning Hard In Fraserburgh As Local Branch Opens Election Office

2011-04-19T13:29:00.001+01:00

SNP candidate for Banffshire & Buchan Coast Stewart Stevenson officially opened Fraserburgh Branch SNP’s campaign rooms this week.

The rooms, located at 60 Cross Street in Fraserburgh, will provide a campaigning base for local members and supporters during the election period as the SNP takes its positive message to the electors.

Speaking in Fraserburgh, Stewart Stevenson said:

“I’m delighted with the response we have been receiving in Fraserburgh and these campaign rooms will allow us to operate from a base in the town while our local members, supporters and activists take our message to the electorate.

“It used to be something of an election tradition that the candidates would open up a local base in the town and have a visible presence during election campaigns but it seems that the SNP is now the only party which does this locally.

“I’ve been out and about in Fraserburgh, Inverallochy, Cairnbulg, St Combs, Rosehearty and New Aberdour meeting voters and delivering the SNP’s message and I’ve been struck by just how much people have appreciated the freezing of the council tax in particular.

“It seems to be much more important to people than even I had imagined, which is not surprising at this time of economic uncertainty when family budgets are under pressure. I’m immensely proud at having been part of the first ever SNP Government which has delivered real and tangible support for local families.”

Stevenson Launches Council Tax Campaign As SNP Pledge Five Year Freeze

2011-04-18T10:46:00.004+01:00

Banffshire & Buchan Coast SNP candidate Stewart Stevenson is taking the SNP’s message setting out the party’s plans to freeze council tax for 5 years to the electors in Peterhead today (Monday).

The SNP revealed the 5-year freeze as the party launched its manifesto last week.

Speaking in Peterhead’s Clerkhill area, Stewart Stevenson said:

Clerkhill resident and SNP supporter Bob Ritchie
greets Stewart on the doorstep

“A re-elected SNP Government will deliver a five-year council tax freeze for all Scotland’s households.

“The SNP froze council tax in the last parliament and we will freeze it again, saving the average household over £1,200 under an SNP Government.

“The SNP is the only party to have put a stop to ever increasing tax bills at a time when family bills are under growing pressure.

“Here in Buchan people know Labour wants to put their council tax up. Labour have spent the last four years opposing the council tax freeze. They cannot be trusted to keep household bills down.

“Over this week as the campaign steps up a gear we will be taking our message onto the streets to ensure voters know that it is only with a re-elected SNP Government that they can keep the council tax down and protect their household budgets."

Peterhead South & Cruden councillor Stephen Smith added:

“The SNP have stood by their word and kept council tax bills down for families across the country.

“The SNP have a record of keeping council tax bills down, with representatives like Stewart they have a team you can trust and I know they have a vision for a better Scotland.

“On May 5th it has to be a vote for Alex Salmond for First Minister, for Stewart Stevenson and for a council tax freeze across Scotland.”

Making Scotland Better

2011-04-16T07:33:00.000+01:00

Stevenson To Visit Innovative Portsoy Food Company

2011-04-14T15:27:00.008+01:00

SNP candidate for Banffshire & Buchan Coast Stewart Stevenson and local councillor Ian Gray will visit Gourmet’s Choice Limited, Harbour Head, Shore Street, Portsoy, Banffshire on Friday 15 April at 10.30am.

Gourmet’s Choice is a producer of fine smoked salmon which is exported from Portsoy to around the world. The company’s award-winning salmon is smoked using methods passed down through the same family for 100 years.

In 2009, the company gained the International Business of the Year Award at the Scottish Food & Drink Excellence Awards.

Commenting in advance of his visit, Stewart Stevenson said:

“I’m very much looking forward to a return visit to Gourmet’s Choice and hearing from the team there about their latest innovations and product lines. It’s great to see a long-established local company like this exporting from Banffshire to the world.”

Stevenson in Renewed Call for RAF Lossiemouth Commitment

2011-04-11T15:00:00.011+01:00

from Wikipedia

SNP Candidate for the Banffshire & Buchan Coast Constituency Stewart Stevenson has celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the first manned space flight, which falls tomorrow (Tuesday), with a call for an end to the uncertainty surrounding the future of RAF Lossiemouth.

Because of its location and facilities the Moray airbase has previously been suggested as a launch location for commercial space flights to be operated by Virgin Galactic.

Speaking while campaigning in the Moray part of the new Constituency today, Stewart Stevenson said,

"In 1961, the Vostok 1 mission took the human race to new heights and inspired decades of innovation which led to things like non-stick pans and the microchip which is central to today's technological revolution.

"President John F Kennedy responded to the Soviet spaceflight by setting the goal, thought to be impossible at the time, of landing a man on the moon before the decade was out. And that was achieved on 20th July 1969.

"Moray can play its part in the further development of space flight as well as continuing to play a key role in meeting today's defence needs and in delivering local employment. But that requires that the uncertainty caused by the Conservative / Liberal Democrat Defence Review is ended.

"It is time for clarity. It is time to announce that Lossiemouth will be retained as an airbase."

Stevenson Welcomes Support Of SNP Councillors In Election Campaign During Rothiemay Visit

2011-04-10T12:05:00.001+01:00

The SNP have highlighted the fact that every part of the Banffshire & Buchan Coast Constituency is represented by SNP Councillors, with two on Moray Council and seven on Aberdeenshire Council.

They are local face of SNP support for democracy in every community. Mr Stevenson was joined on a campaign visit to Rothiemay by local Moray councillor Gary Coull, neighbouring Aberdeenshire councillor Joanna Strathdee and local activists.

Speaking about SNP Councillors' contribution during the visit to Rothiemay, SNP Scottish Parliamentary candidate for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Stewart Stevenson said:

Cllr Bob Watson & Cllr Ian Gray
with Stewart Stevenson

"It is clear that underpinning the success of the SNP in the new constituency is a strong SNP team of Councillors providing local access for every single elector. They complement SNP Members of Parliament Eilidh Whiteford (Banff & Buchan) and Angus Robertson (Moray) who represent the area at Westminster.

"During the campaign I have very much welcomed the support they have given my team. This mirrors the day to day engagement each and every one of our Councillors has with their constituents throughout the year.

"In the seven Council wards in the new constituency, the Conservatives have representatives in only two wards, the Liberal Democrats in one while Labour have no Councillors.

"What makes a real difference to electors is having local representatives, at every level of government, fighting for them and their issues. It is a privilege to work with my SNP Council colleagues who deliver so much in every ward in the Constituency."

Fraserburgh Campaigning

2011-04-09T17:01:00.000+01:00

An excellent day's campaigning in Fraserburgh; good weather, good number of activists out helping, and good support for the SNP. A perfect combination.

Rothiemay Campaign Day

2011-04-08T16:32:00.001+01:00

Councillor Gary Coull and SNP Candidate for Banffshire and Buchan Coast campaigning in Rothiemay.

Stevenson Highlights Abolition Of Prescription Charges In Portsoy Visit

2011-04-07T07:28:00.001+01:00

SNP candidate for Banffshire & Buchan Coast Stewart Stevenson visited Portsoy chemist shop George Ellis Pharmacy to highlight the benefit the scrapping of prescription charges will bring to people in Scotland. Mr Stevenson met with pharmacy owner Vinay Ruparelia and his staff during his visit.

Speaking in Portsoy, Mr Stevenson said:

Stewart Stevenson with Vinay Ruparelia,
owner of George Ellis Pharmacy and staff

“Last week, Scotland became a fairer society. As a result of electing an SNP Government four years ago, prescription charges have been abolished and we can herald in a new era of health care free at the point of need.

"The SNP is committed to protecting Scottish values and delivering the policies that make Scotland fairer. As of now, the 600,000 people in Scotland on incomes of £16 000 or less no longer have to pay for prescriptions.

“The SNP are the only party with a record of commitment to no prescription charges. Under Labour prescriptions cost nearly £7.00, under the Tories and Lib Dems in England they are £7.40.

“The abolition of prescription charges shows what an SNP Government working for Scotland can do."

... and Today's Funny From Labour's Manifesto is ...

2011-04-06T15:21:00.002+01:00

Scottish Labour will abolish Scottish Labour

Stevenson Launches SNP Achievments Leaflet In St Combs

2011-04-06T01:37:00.002+01:00

SNP candidate for Banffshire & Buchan Coast Stewart Stevenson launched his party’s latest leaflet in St Combs this week.

The leaflet, which has so far been delivered to over 12,000 homes in the constituency, highlights key achievements of the SNP Scottish Government over the past four years including:

A £300 saving for families: the average saving from the Council Tax freeze
Prescription charges abolished
1000 more police on our streets and crime at a 32-year low
Free Higher Education restored
Jobs protected with massive cuts in small business rates

Commenting, Stewart Stevenson said:

Constituent Margaret Duthie with
Stewart Stevenson

“A range of policies came into effect last week making Scotland a fairer place. Prescription charges have been abolished, the living wage introduced for NHS employees and the free bus pass extended to injured veterans.

“April also sees the start of the fourth year of the Council Tax freeze, and it marks another year of the Small Business Bonus - a measure that has ensured a fair deal for the small businesses that form the heart of local economies.

“The SNP in Government has also delivered free student education; grants for 50,000 part-time students; free school meals for 40,000 more children; 25% more nursery hours for 100,000 3 and 4 year olds, and of course, 330 new or refurbished schools.

“In addition, the SNP has re-instated council house building and is committed to funding a further 5,000 council homes over the next four years.

“Over the last four years a record 17,000 affordable houses have been constructed across Scotland. That is more than in any term of Parliament and while there are challenges ahead the SNP is determined to continue our support for affordable housing in Scotland.

“The record of the SNP in Government is one of delivering a fairer society. That is work we are seeking to build on in the next term of the Parliament."

SNP Welcome SFF's Manifesto For Fishing

2011-04-05T14:02:00.001+01:00

FISHING A PRIORITY FOR RE-ELECTED SNP GOVERNMENT

Commenting on the manifesto launched today by the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation the SNP’s Richard Lochhead, the Rural Affairs and Environment Cabinet Secretary, said:

“Over the past four years the fishing industry has been a priority for the SNP and at the heart of our work in Government and we welcome the SFF’s manifesto and continuing to work with them in Government.

“Fishing is one of Scotland’s most important industries providing a healthy food source, boosting Scotland’s economy and helping sustain our fishing communities. It will continue to be a priority for a re-elected SNP Government.

“We have worked closely with the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation and other colleagues across the fishing industry in helping to build a more sustainable industry such as investing £90 million through the European Fisheries Fund and working with the industry through the conservation credits scheme that has won plaudits throughout Europe and in tackling the disgrace of discards.

“We recognise and support the ground breaking work that has been undertaken by our fishermen who deserve a strong voice fighting their corner in London and Brussels.

“We also recognise that challenges remain and it is more important than ever that our fishermen have a strong voice in Government. Over the next few months the EU will be negotiating the successor to the broken Common Fisheries Policy.

“We cannot rely on the Westminster parties who see our fishing communities as being ‘expendable’. The SNP wants to see radical change to Europe’s fishing policy and will provide a strong independent voice for Scotland’s fishermen.”

Former Lib Dem MSP John Farquhar Munro supports Alex Salmond for First Minister

2011-04-04T15:50:00.002+01:00

Former Lib Dem MSP John Farquhar Munro – who served as MSP for Ross, Skye and Inverness West from 1999 until stepping down at the end of the last Parliament in March 2011 – is supporting Alex Salmond for a second term as First Minister of Scotland.

Mr Munro sent the following message of support to Mr Salmond:

“I am delighted to support Alex Salmond for a second term for First Minister of Scotland in the Scottish Parliament. I have known Alex Salmond for several years and have come to appreciate his political acumen, his debating skills, and his devotion to Scotland.

“I consider Alex Salmond is the only one who can lead us through the next session of Parliament ensuring a more prosperous and sustainable future, and that is why I'm pleased to support Alex Salmond as the First Minister for Scotland in the next Parliament.”

Mr Salmond, who is campaigning today in current Lib Dem seats in the Highlands – including Caithness, Sutherland & Ross and Skye, Lochaber & Badenoch - welcomed Mr Munro’s support. He said:

“John Farquhar Munro is hugely respected, and has an outstanding record as a selfless champion of his constituency over 12 years, the needs of the Highlands, and Scotland’s national interests. I greatly value John’s opinion. This is a personal endorsement, but he speaks for many across the Highlands of Scotland.”

Adding his comment, SNP Candidate for Banffshire and Buchan Coast Stewart Stevenson, said:

"This backs up what we are finding on the doorstep in the North East. Previous Lib Dem voters are finding a new home with the SNP.

"Going in with the Tories at Westminster has been the final straw for many. They realise, as increasing numbers of Scottish electors do, that serious times mean that we need serious political leadership in Scotland. And that means supporting Alex Salmond and his team."

SNP Comments On £50bn Risk To Oil Investment From Tory/LibDem Tax Threat

2011-04-03T14:00:00.004+01:00

LABOUR’S FAILURE TO OPPOSE CHANGES EXPOSES MORE DOUBLE STANDARDS

Commenting on the revelations from Oil and Gas UK that up to £50 billion of investment in oil and gas projects in the North Sea is at risk because of the Tory/LibDem UK government’s tax changes Scotland’s First Minister and SNP leader Alex Salmond said:

“Successive Westminster governments – Labour and Tory – have treated Scotland’s oil wealth in an incompetent and shabby fashion.

“The Tory Chancellor’s ill-thought through tax changes run the risk of diverting vital investment away from the North Sea, threatening jobs, and only now are we discovering that this could run into tens of billions of pounds.

“It really does add insult to injury to discover that the LibDem Chief Secretary to the Treasury was boasting to the City of London that this mess was his idea.

"There is nothing wrong with making taxation responsive to profitability and high oil prices, but it has to be done in a planned fashion with appropriate incentives for marginal fields and infrastructure development. That is what must be done.

“The Treasury's only interest was mounting a smash and grab raid on Scotland’s resources to bankroll Westminster.

“It’s also incredibly hypocritical of Labour to now complain about these changes when they failed to support SNP moves in Westminster to vote down these damaging tax changes last week.

“Next month’s Scottish Parliament election is an opportunity for Scotland to get a better deal – and claim our right to a fair share of our own resources. With Labour’s duplicitous stance on this issue the SNP is left as the only party offering a positive vision for Scotland’s oil and gas sector.

"In the coming year, oil and gas revenues are due to be an all-time record of £13.4 billion – nearly £2,700 for every man, woman and child in Scotland - £4 billion more than the Chancellor had planned for."

Banffshire and Buchan Coast SNP Candidate Stewart Stevenson added:

"The imposition of this unexpected tax hike is moving too many projects in the Scottish sector into unprofitability and costing the North-East real jobs. It is time for the London parties to put Scotland's interests first and scrap this proposal."

SNP Campaign Moves Up A Gear

2011-04-01T14:18:00.001+01:00

The SNP campaign locally moved up a gear when Party President Ian Hudghton and First Minister Alex Salmond joined local MP Eilidh Whiteford on the campaign trail for Stewart Stevenson at the weekend.

The SNP team was out in Boddam on Saturday taking the message of the SNP Government’s achievements round the doors to the electors. The team then joined First Minister Alex Salmond at the Cruden Branch SNP’s Spring Fair at Longhaven Hall.

SNP candidate for Banffshire & Buchan Coast Stewart Stevenson said:

“I was delighted with the warm reception I received in Boddam at the weekend. It is clear that the SNP Government’s policies, such as ensuring the council tax has stayed frozen for the past four years, are proving very popular.

“It was slightly strange to think of Boddam as the outer edge of the constituency but with the new boundaries, Boddam is indeed the furthest south that Banffshire & Buchan Coast reaches, starting as it now does in Buckpool in the west.

“I look forward to visiting many more local communities in the days and weeks ahead taking the SNP’s positive vision to the electors.”

Stevenson Visits Shell St Fergus Gas Terminal

2011-03-30T10:58:00.013+01:00

Stewart Stevenson, SNP candidate for Banffshire & Buchan Coast, visited the Shell St Fergus Gas Terminal on Monday accompanied by local councillor Fiona McRae.

This was a very important visit to Shell St Fergus which gave an opportunity to discuss future carbon capture plans and the role local workers can play in its development.

With Longannet coal-fired power station in Fife now the only contender in the UK competition for carbon capture and storage, Mr Stevenson heard of the key role that St Fergus would play in pumping out carbon dioxide at a rate of about 2 million tonnes per annum to the Goldeneye field.

Speaking after his visit, Stewart Stevenson said:

(l to r): John Raine, Shell: Craig Wiggins, Manager St Fergus;
Mike Collinson, OST, Shell St Fergus;
Stewart Stevenson; Cllr Fiona McRae

"Carbon capture and storage will play an important part in addressing the issue of climate change by reducing our CO2 emissions. St Fergus will benefit from substantial investment as it gears up to be the hub for delivering the CO2 to empty oil and gas fields in Scottish waters.

"With St Fergus and Shell being in the lead in developing new technologies, the North-east is once again leading way in a key engineering sector and building new jobs for the future.

"There will be opportunities for local contractors and sub-contractors to gain work form this development.

"I very much welcome Shell’s commitment to St Fergus and the local economy and wish them continued success as a valued local employer.”

Councillor Fiona McRae (Peterhead North & Rattray) added:

“As well as being an important contributor to the local economy, Shell also provide welcome support to local community groups and organisations through their support of the Buchan Development Partnership’s Small Grants Scheme.

“The development of carbon capture and storage technology at St Fergus will further cement the link between Shell and the Buchan economy and I look forward to local companies getting continued benefit from that vital link.”

Euro-MP Lends Support To Stevenson Campaign

2011-03-23T00:44:00.002Z

Member of the European Parliament and President of the Scottish National Party Ian Hudghton will make a campaign visit to Banffshire & Buchan Coast this Saturday when he will be canvassing in support of SNP candidate Stewart Stevenson in Boddam.

Speaking in advance of his visit, Ian Hudghton said:

“Stewart recorded the biggest majority of any MSP in the country at the 2007 election in the old Banff & Buchan constituency which is a reflection of his hard work and diligence on behalf of his constituents.

“Indeed, he has just passed his milestone 700th surgery for constituents since he was elected in 2001, making him one of the most accessible MSPs. As a Minister in the first ever SNP Government, Stewart gained a reputation for having a knowledge of his brief second to none.

“It is my pleasure to be supporting such a hard-working and well-respected candidate as Stewart.”

Mr Hudghton will also be holding a surgery for constituents on Saturday at 10.00am at Longhaven Public Hall and anyone wishing to raise issues or discuss matters with their MEP is welcome. No appointment is necessary.

Stevenson Kicks-Off Election Campaign In Banffshire & Buchan Coast

2011-03-23T00:28:00.001Z

As the third session of the resumed Scottish Parliament ended at midnight on Tuesday 22 March 2011, SNP candidate for Banffshire & Buchan Coast Stewart Stevenson signalled the formal start of the election campaign.

Commenting, Stewart Stevenson said:

“I shall be standing for the Scots Parliament in the new Banffshire & Buchan Coast Constituency as an SNP candidate and looking forward to continuing to serve the people of the North-east, if elected, in the new session of Parliament.

“It has been an enormous privilege to serve the people of the now former Banff & Buchan Scottish Parliament Constituency, and I shall be very sad to be saying goodbye to the communities of Central Buchan, Hatton and Cruden Bay, who move into the new Aberdeenshire East constituency where my colleague Alex Salmond is the SNP candidate.

“I believe that the first ever SNP Government has an outstanding record of achievement which will stand us in good stead as we go into the election campaign. Over four years we have delivered a council tax freeze, saving over £300 for the average household, with more to come.

“As Scotland’s government we have abolished prescription charges, put an extra 145 police on the streets of Grampian driving crime to a 32 year low, re-started council house building, scrapped bridge tolls, restored free higher education for Scots students and invested in 25,000 apprenticeships for our young people in difficult times. We have 100 key achievements from the first four years of SNP Government and we have the vision to do so much more.

“I have been out and about with our teams of volunteers for quite some time now and the feedback on the doorsteps is very positive indeed. I look forward to engaging with the public even more in the next six weeks.”

The communities covered by the new constituency of Banffshire & Buchan Coast include Peterhead, Fraserburgh, Banff, Macduff, Cullen, Buckie, Portknockie, Findochty, Deskford, Grange, Drybridge, Rothiemay, Forglen, Whitehills, Inverboyndie, Boyndie, Pennan, Tyrie, Boyndlie, Gardenstown, Sandhaven, Rosehearty, Crudie, New Byth, New Aberdour, Portsoy, Sandend, Aberchirder, Cornhill, Fordyce, Lonmay, Crimond, St Fergus, Boddam, Rora, St Combs, Inverallochy, Cairnbulg, Rathven, Rathen.

Although the Scottish Government First Minister (Alex Salmond), Cabinet Secretaries and Ministers remain in post until a new team is appointed after the election, there are now no MSPs until the results of the election are declared on Friday 6 May.

Constituents wishing assistance in the meantime may contact the Westminster MPs for Banffshire & Buchan Coast, Angus Robertson MP (for those in Moray) on 01343 551111 or Eilidh Whiteford MP (for those in Banff & Buchan) on 01346 585362.

Salmond Fires Starting Gun On Election Campaign

2011-03-22T14:30:00.001Z

SNP NOW IN TOUCHING DISTANCE OF 40% OF VOTE TO WIN RE-ELECTION

SNP leader Alex Salmond today fired the starting gun on the SNP’s campaign for re-election as he addressed candidates in Edinburgh. Gathering in the city’s Dynamic Earth overlooking the Scottish Parliament, Mr Salmond said only an SNP Government had the record, team and vision to make Scotland better.

Mr Salmond said:

“We are Scotland’s first ever SNP Government and we are standing for re-election on an outstanding record of achievement.

“We do so with the best team, the best record and the only real vision for the future of our country.

“We do so as a party of Government for the first time in our history, as Scotland’s first ever minority government and as a party of Government people all across Scotland want to see re-elected.

“And it isn’t just our cabinet of Nicola, Kenny, Richard, Michael and John that people want to see re-elected. It is our team of MSPs who have served Scotland well over the last four years and who with our candidates across the country will serve Scotland well in the next Parliament.

“We’ve got an outstanding record in government but we’ve got a lot still to do.

“Over four years we have delivered a council tax freeze, saving over £300 for the average household, with more to come.

“As Scotland’s government we have abolished prescription charges, put an extra 1,000 police on the street driving crime to a 32 year low, re-started council house building, scrapped bridge tolls, restored free higher education for Scots students and invested in 25,000 apprenticeships for our young people in difficult times. We have 100 key achievements from the first four years of SNP Government and we have the vision to do so much more.

“Our record has been delivered by our excellent team of MSPs, of councillors, of activists and of supporters. Our vision can be delivered by Scotland’s voters.

"With the people’s support I intend to continue to be Scotland’s First Minister and to see an SNP Government re-elected so the business of making Scotland better, and fairer can continue.

“A re-elected SNP Government will protect NHS spending over the next Parliament. A re-elected SNP Government will provide 25,000 apprenticeships every year, 50,000 college bursaries and 25,000 work training places. A re-elected SNP Government will protect the small business bonus and the council tax freeze and a re-elected SNP Government will protect and defend the historic Scottish principle of education based on ability to learn for Scotland’s students.

“And we will put Scotland’s natural resources to work for our people and our economy. This morning I announced investment of £170 million over 10 years in 1,800 jobs in our renewable energy industry. Tonight we award the first annual Saltire prize for marine renewable technology. And today we have received the backing of Midge Ure for Scotland’s campaign to host the World Water Summit. With our vast renewable energy potential and our natural resources driving our economy forward we can create up to 130,000 jobs by 2020.

“Where we have helped family budgets with a council tax freeze other parties have squeezed them. It is a scandal that in an oil rich nation businesses and motorists are struggling to make ends meet and the UK Treasury is making an extra £4 billion – if not more – from our oil revenues.

“We speak for all of Scotland when we say to the Tory Chancellor today that they must scrap the fuel duty rise and stabilise fuel prices now.

“Our vision is the only vision in Scottish politics. It is a vision that encapsulates what Scotland can do and what Scotland can achieve. It is a vision that encapsulates what independence means for individual families, workers, pensioners, students, for jobs, our society and our economy. It is a vision for what independence can do to transform this nation. And it’s a vision that will drive us on to victory in this campaign.

“The SNP goes into this campaign with all the momentum on our side, and we are now within touching distance of 40% of the popular vote. Polls show us 4% higher in the vote now than when we were elected, and the contest as we go into the campaign is neck and neck.

“We will work hard over the next 43 days to win re-election from the people of Scotland, confident in the knowledge that we have the team, the record and the vision to take this nation forward.

“What is going to make the difference is the confidence we have, our belief in what we’ve done, in what we still have to do and in our future. That will make the difference, that will take this government to re-election and this nation to independence.”

Stevenson Welcomes Scottish Government Support For Broch As First Minister Announces £4.5m Boost For Fisheries

2011-03-22T00:41:00.000Z

Scotland's fishing industry received a welcome boost this week, as 65 projects across the country were awarded a total of £4.46 million under the EFF programme.

Among the 65 grant recipients are Braehead (SFO Enterprise) Ltd in Fraserburgh, who will receive £379,000 to towards upgrading facilities and purchasing new equipment, which will help create a 'Scottish Premium Langoustine Protocol' to maximise value of the langoustine catch.

Welcoming the news that a Fraserburgh company is to benefit, SNP candidate for the new Banffshire & Buchan Coast constituency Stewart Stevenson MSP said:

“This is good news for the Broch and will help develop the market for Scottish Langoustines.

“Support for our coastal communities has been a hallmark of the SNP Government, sometimes in the face of tough challenges from Europe. In Richard Lochhead we have an outstanding Fisheries Minister and the feedback I get suggests that those involved in the industry want to see the return of an SNP Government on May 5th in order to continue that good work.”

Announcing the funding as he opened the new deepwater berth at Peterhead Harbour, which was supported by £5.25 million from the Scottish Government and EFF, First Minister Alex Salmond said:

"The Scottish Government is committed to supporting our fishing industry, which makes a key economic and social contribution to coastal communities around the country. This latest funding will help deliver vital business improvements, boost productivity and create new jobs.

"Since May 2007 grants given under the European Fisheries Fund - match funded by the Scottish Government - has provided more than £50 million for some 550 projects throughout Scotland, supporting up to 6,600 jobs.

"This funding includes support for the modernisation of the Scottish fishing fleet, business improvements in the processing sector and skill training and development across the industry. It's vital that we continue to support an industry that in 2010 was worth more than £1 billion to the Scottish economy and ensure that Scottish fisheries has a sustainable, long-term future."

Stevenson Welcomes Water Bill Freeze Pledge

2011-03-20T22:34:00.001Z

SNP candidate for the new constituency of Banffshire & Buchan Coast Stewart Stevenson MSP has welcomed the pledge that, if re-elected, the SNP Government will freeze water bills for two years and keep Scottish Water safe in public hands.

Finance Secretary John Swinney confirmed that the SNP will ensure water bills do not rise for the next two years giving further help to hard pressed families. Water bills in Scotland will be £48.00 less than those in England.

Mr Stevenson has added his voice to those calling on the Tories to drop their damaging plans to privatise Scottish Water and sell off one of Scotland’s major assets.

Over the last four years the SNP Scottish Government has invested a record £2.4 billion in improving Scottish Water infrastructure securing a better service and lower prices for the public.

Announcing the SNP’s commitment John Swinney said:

“A re-elected SNP Government will freeze water charges for two years.

“Over the last four years our council tax freeze has helped hard pressed households with average savings of over £300. Now I can confirm that a re-elected SNP Government will continue that help with a two year freeze in water charges that will save Scottish households nearly £50 compared to customers of the privatised English companies.

“And we will keep Scottish Water safe in public hands. Instead of the Tories disastrous privatisation plans, we will ensure the customer benefits from public ownership with better services and lower bills as we turn Scottish Water into a major Scottish enterprise.”

Stewart Stevenson MSP added:

"Helping hard pressed families through the recession has been at the heart of the SNP’s actions in Government. Average families have saved £322 through our council tax freeze and as of April 1st abolishing prescription charges will see those with long term conditions save a further £180.

“This is essential help for families and essential help for our economy. With a Scottish Government working for Scotland we will continue to help households across Scotland with a two year freeze on water charges putting more money in the pockets of our families and our businesses."

Notes:

The average household and sewerage charge is £324 per year in Scotland
In England and Wales charges for 2011-12 will increase by 5%
The average bill in England and Wales will be £372 – meaning publicly owned Scottish Water customers pay £48 less than customers of privatised companies in England.
Customers of South West Water in England will pay up to £518 in annual charges.

What has the Scottish Government Ever Done for Us? SNP Political Broadcast 2011

2011-03-12T07:15:00.002Z

Stevenson Comments On Replacement Tory Candidate

2011-03-12T07:05:00.002Z

Commenting on the Tories' announcement of a replacement candidate eight weeks prior to the election, Banff & Buchan MSP and candidate for the new Banffshire & Buchan Coast constituency Stewart Stevenson said:

"I welcome the Conservative candidate to frontline politics and wish him an enjoyable campaign for the next eight weeks."

On the Conservative Party, Mr Stevenson continued,

"It has been clear for some time that it has been the SNP Government in Edinburgh, not the Tory-led Government in London, that has been taking the lead in standing up for Scottish fishing interests.

"A vote for the SNP in May is a vote to support fishing, and our other rural industries."

Departing Tory candidate Jimmy Buchan was also highly supportive of the SNP Government's record on fisheries prior to being approached to stand as a Conservative candidate, telling the Sunday Express on 8 June 2008:

"For the first time in many years I see a government actually fighting for the best interests of Scottish industry and I see a government willing to work and listen to the people at the sharp end of the industry."

Stevenson - ‘SNP Will Protect Concessionary Bus Travel From LibDem Cuts’

2011-03-06T22:04:00.004Z

Commenting on Liberal leader Tavish Scott’s announcement that free bus travel for pensioners and other groups would be cut by the LibDems, SNP candidate for the new Banffshire & Buchan Coast constituency Stewart Stevenson MSP said:

“The SNP is committed to this policy and wants to protect Scotland’s progress in creating a society that looks after our pensioners, vulnerable and veterans.

“I’m astonished that the LibDems want to cut this scheme since they have spent the last few years claiming we should be giving bus companies more money. They now look like they practise double standards with this u-turn.

"The SNP has protected concessionary travel and will be extended it to disabled veterans. Do the LibDems want us to scrap that too?

“The feed back I get on the doorsteps is that the national concessionary fare scheme is a lifeline for many and the SNP pledge to protect this scheme.”

SNP MSPs Tell How Scotland Has Improved Under The SNP Government

2011-03-05T18:38:00.002Z

SNP Meet 1,000 Police Officers Pledge

2011-03-02T16:41:00.000Z

145 MORE POLICE IN GRAMPIAN UNDER THE SNP

SNP candidate for the new Banffshire & Buchan Coast Constituency Stewart Stevenson MSP has welcomed release of figures which confirm the SNP Government has met a key pledge of 1,000 additional police on Scotland’s streets four years after being elected.

Locally, there are now 145 more police officers in Grampian as at December 2010 than there were in March 2007.

Latest figures show that there will be 17,270 police on the street at the end of March – 1,036 more than the SNP inherited from Labour in March 2007 and so meeting the SNP’s pledge to have 1,000 additional officers in the lifetime of this parliament.

The decision to put 1,000 additional police on Scotland’s streets has played a key part in delivering the lowest crime rates for 32 years, a 20% fall in violent crime – meaning 3000 fewer violent offences and falling knife crime.

Welcoming the figures, Stewart Stevenson MSP said:

“The SNP has delivered on a key pledge of 1,000 additional police on Scotland’s streets and those police have helped make Scotland much safer over the last four years.

“Our opponents said we had to deliver 1,000 more police in March 2011 than they left behind in March 2007 – and today’s figures make clear that has been achieved.

“If it had been left to Labour there wouldn’t have been a single extra officer, and Scotland’s forces would have been left vulnerable at a time when police numbers elsewhere in the UK are set to plummet.

“It was only the election of an SNP Government in 2007 that made increasing the number of police on the street a priority and it is that SNP Government working for Scotland that has done the job.

“Our record of improving community safety with more police leading to the lowest crime rates in 32 years, to 3000 fewer violent crimes, to special efforts to tackle domestic abuse, serious and organised crime and to crack down on knives with knife crime falling by a third is one that has helped to make Scotland safer.”

Man-in-Pub-View of YouGov poll showing Labour ahead

2011-02-27T11:34:00.002Z

The people who actually answered YouGov's question about who they were voting for showed the SNP 13% ahead of Labour. Not behind. Their analysis is almost certainly wrong.

My view of YouGov's probable reasoning, and wait a bit for why it's not totally barking in principle for YouGov to do what they do but merely wrong in practice, goes something like this.

First bit of reasoning by YouGov: We found a huge number more SNP voters than actually voted less than a year ago, so there must be a flaw in how we selected the people to interview. YouGov conclusion: We accidentally talked to too many SNP voters.

Second bit of reasoning by YouGov: We asked these people who are now saying they will vote SNP what party they identify with and overwhelmingly they said they identified with the SNP. YouGov conclusion: These people are consistent SNP voters thus proving that we are correct to discount their number in line with the 2010 Westminster election.

Third bit of reasoning by YouGov: After we apply the discount we get a pattern in Scotland that is consistent with what has happened to the “Other” category of voters in UK surveys since the 2010 election. YouGov conclusion: we are correctly reporting Scottish voting intentions.

So what may be wrong with this? Two key flaws spring out.

When people, immediately after being asked which party they will vote for, are asked which party they identify with, they are very substantially predisposed to name the same party. Even asking which party they voted for last time is fraught with difficulty.

This is because of a “false memory” effect. Intrinsically people don't like to exhibit inconstancy of opinion. So there is a strong propensity to state that the view now held has been held for longer than it has been in reality. Only a few do this deliberately. Most do so unconsciously.

Thus when YouGov discount SNP respondents because these people appear to be long term SNP supporters, they are likely to be in error for a substantial proportion.

The second flaw is more simple. What happens in Scotland need not, and evidence over the long run shows does not, mirror the patterns observed at a UK level.

One only has to consider the Labour result in Scotland in 2010 in a UK context to see that.

Bottom line is that when the interviews show strong support for the SNP, there is probably something in it.

If you want the didactic discussion about the YouGov poll that puts Labour well ahead of the SNP for the May Election look at the good article by Alex Porter at http://bit.ly/i9Mumw.

SNP Candidate Welcomes Scottish Government Support For Post Offices

2011-02-21T00:41:00.007Z

Banffshire & Buchan Coast SNP candidate Stewart Stevenson MSP has welcomed the announcement from the Scottish Government that it is delivering a second £1 million challenge fund to help postmasters embark on new business activities and a new £10 million scheme to support the creation of jobs in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

The initiatives were announced by Finance Secretary John Swinney as part of the Scottish Government's 2011/12 Budget Bill.

The Post Office fund follows the success of a similar £1 million scheme this year, which has seen 49 small post offices around Scotland receiving offers of awards of up to £25,000, helping them provide new services not available locally, such as the sale of fresh produce.

Commenting, Stewart Stevenson MSP said:

“Post Offices provide valuable public services to my constituents and I believe that the large-scale loss of these services would be detrimental to local communities. I am therefore pleased that, even though the Post Office is a matter reserved to the Westminster Government, the SNP Scottish Government is doing its bit to support local communities.

“The Post Office network cannot be treated as simply another private enterprise. It is an essential national provider of public services which must be maintained and I am committed to doing whatever I can as an MSP to support the Post Office network.”

Enterprise Minister Jim Mather said:

"A key part of next year's Budget is doing the maximum possible to sustain economic recovery in Scotland.

"The Scottish Government has been working to create an increasingly supportive environment for small businesses. Our Small Business Bonus Scheme has slashed rates for tens of thousands of firms in Scotland and now, as a response to calls to maximise initiatives to support employment growth in the private sector, we will invest a further £10 million in a new "small business - big job" programme.

"It will be focused on encouraging smaller companies to expand their business base and looking to employ more people.

"Related to this, we will launch a further £1 million diversification fund to help sustain Post Offices which play an integral part in community life, providing services on which many families and local businesses depend.

"This year's scheme has proved a hit with significant demand and we want to build on its success and the evidence of further innovative projects by making more resources available as part of a comprehensive package of support for small firms in Scotland."

Stevenson Appointed To Parliament's Rural Affairs Committee

2011-02-20T23:38:00.006Z

SNP MSP and candidate for the new Banffshire & Buchan Coast constituency Stewart Stevenson has been appointed to the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs & Environment Committee.

Mr Stevenson joins fellow SNP MSP Maureen Watt on the committee, boosting the North-east’s representation. The committee deals with agriculture and fisheries within its remit, two of the most important industries in Banffshire & Buchan Coast.

Commenting on his appointment, Stewart Stevenson said:

“I am delighted to have been appointed to the Parliament’s Rural Affairs & Environment Committee. I am particularly pleased to be joining the committee as it covers agriculture and fisheries which are of course two of the industries which are vital to the North-east.

“For example, the Committee is currently looking at the future of agricultural support and is considering the Pack Report – a very important issue for rural Scotland.

“I’m looking forward to playing my part in the work of the Committee in the weeks ahead.”

Stevenson Backs Call By Scotland's Airports For Action On Air Passenger Duty

2011-02-18T22:11:00.010Z

SNP candidate for the new Banffshire & Buchan Coast constituency Stewart Stevenson MSP has condemned actions by Westminster to further increase tax on air travel. A recent study by Scotland’s three major airports noted the significant effect the tax increase would have on passenger numbers, especially at Aberdeen Airport.

Commenting, Mr Stevenson stated:

“This is a remarkably poor decision from Whitehall with little consideration for the effect on business, and access to more remote areas in Scotland.

“The tax increase - coupled with higher charges at Heathrow from BAA south of the border - are almost certain to have a knock on effect on our airport’s ability to keep frequent necessary air links to London, and the rest of the UK. The airport serves as a vital hub for thousands of people travelling to and from Aberdeen each year for work. It is an integral part of the local economy which is bound to suffer as a result of this decision.

“If this tax hike was going to help pay for a fast rail link replacement for the East Coast main line that would extend north of the border, then perhaps it could be justified. I have heard nothing to indicate that. Instead this is likely to hit tourism, and business in the North-east.

“The Calman Commission indicated as part of their proposals that taxation on air travel should be devolved. It is unfortunate that the UK Government has not supported this by including it in the Scotland Bill.”

“I am fully supportive of moves by my SNP colleague Brian Adam MSP, who represents Dyce, to urge the London Government re-think how they apply this tax increase. It is imperative that we have a more accessible airport that is able to support and enable economic growth in the area.”

SNP surge to Holyrood poll lead

2011-02-16T08:37:00.000Z

The SNP tonight welcomed the latest IPSOS Mori opinion poll for Scotland's election published in today's (Wednesday) Times which shows the SNP has overtaken Labour in polling for the Scottish Parliament election.

The poll of 1000 people between the 10th and 13th of February shows the SNP closing the 10 point gap recorded in November by the same polling company with a lead of 37% to Labour's 36%. On the Regional vote the SNP is leading by 35% to 33%. In both the constituency and regional vote the SNP is four points up on the party's election winning performance in 2007.

Commenting on the poll described on the Times front page as "Salmond surges into Holyrood poll lead", SNP Depute Leader and Scotland's Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:

"Today's poll shows there is all to play for in Scotland's election this May. With the SNP moving ahead of Labour and achieving a poll rating four points higher than the election results of 2007.

"As voters look toward Scotland's election in May it is the SNP's strong record in office, our team of recognised and trusted ministers and MSPs, and the vision we have for Scotland's future that is winning the support of voters who want to re-elect a Scottish Government that is working for Scotland.

"In the last week the SNP has delivered on jobs with 25,000 apprenticeships, protected public services with a balanced budget, funded the fourth year of a council tax freeze saving the average household £322, and put in place the money to abolish prescription charges from April this year.

"And it is the SNP that is on the same side as people across Scotland in opposing rising fuel prices with our demand for a fuel stabiliser and the scrapping of the Tories duty rise.

"Over the next 80 days as we head toward's Scotland's election, the SNP will continue to govern for Scotland, to build Scotland's economy, protect our public services, and to stand on our record of delivery and vision for Scotland's future."

The Mori/times poll of 1000 people between 10th and 13th February is as follows:

Constituency Vote
SNP 37%
Labour 36%
Tory 13%
Lib Dem 10%

Regional Vote
SNP 35%
Labour 33%
Tory 13%
Lib Dem 10%
Green 6%

'Right wing' justice policy of Scottish Labour slammed

2011-02-15T12:31:00.000Z

By IAN SWANSON, Political Editor, Edinburgh Evening News

A FORMER aide to Gordon Brown has criticised Labour's Scottish leadership over its "right wing" stance on justice.

John Rowan, who also served on the prison visiting committee for Edinburgh's Saughton jail, claimed there was "unease" within the party over its opposition to the SNP's scrapping of short prison sentences and the "soft touch Scotland" rhetoric of leader Iain Gray and justice spokesman Richard Baker.

He said: "People feel we are appealing to populism rather than having a well thought-out policy. We're echoing the Tories."

... ... ... click here for the whole story

Fish discard scheme underway

2011-02-14T14:58:00.000Z

The Fisheries Secretary has announced an expansion to Scotland's innovative 'catch quota' trials, where fishermen can land more fish while catching less.

Where as under traditional quotas vessels have a set limit on the fish they can land and are forced to throw excess fish back in the sea dead, Scotland's catch quota scheme allows for all fish caught to be landed.

Following successful trials in 2010 involving 17 Scottish vessels, an expanded 26 vessel scheme gets underway this month. As well including boats from the whitefish fleet heartland in the North East of Scotland, skippers from across the country are taking part, including the West Coast, Orkney and Shetland.

Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead said:

"The scourge of fish discards is a practice enforced on our fishermen by Europe's despised Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). However, even while working under this broken framework, we are determined to find innovative measures to reduce discards and support more sustainable fishing practices by the Scottish fleet.

"We want to see our fishermen land all they catch and command a price for each fish - in return for taking less out of the sea in the first place. While catch quotas alone do not provide all the answers, it offers an important first step and provides the basis for more sustainable solutions in the future.

"Around half the whitefish fleet - 58 skippers - applied for the catch quota scheme this year, demonstrating the support within the industry. However it's frustrating that we are only being given the capacity to include 26 vessels, largely due to opposition and uncertainty from other countries who share Europe's waters with Scotland.

"This year, for some vessels, we also plan to test catch quotas beyond cod and extend to haddock and whiting. This will help us understand how the approach works in complex mixed fisheries, where quotas for different species can vary vastly.

"2011 is a critical year as we look to influence negotiations on the future of the CFP. The success of the catch quota trials can only strengthen our position, as Scotland demonstrates it can lead the way within the EU towards sustainable and discard-free fisheries."

Under catch quotas vessels can land, rather than be forced to discard, an extra amount equal to 12 per cent of the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for cod. To ensure there are no discards, the fishing practices of participating vessels is fully documented through on-board cameras. The Scottish Government has provided 400,000 pounds for the purchase and installation of the new monitoring equipment.

In 2009, Scottish vessels were forced by the Common Fisheries Policy to discard almost 28,000 tonnes of fish, around a quarter of the whitefish catch, valued at 33 million pounds.

It's Time To Double Up For Scotland

2011-02-13T06:49:00.001Z

Donate NOW: http://www.snp.org/100days/double

We are just a few weeks away from Scotland's election.

The SNP goes into the campaign with a record all of us can be proud of, and with a determination to build on that success.

I am asking you consider what more you could do to help secure an SNP victory. I've done that myself and wanted to share my personal pledge with you.

First though, let me ask you one question.

If you knew that every £1 you gave was to be worth double that, would you manage a little more?

That's the incentive I'm offering each and every supporter of the SNP. I've decided to match pound-for-pound everything donated to this appeal by 31 March up to £500,000.

So, for every pound you donate, I'll donate another, so together we can raise an incredible £1 million election fund.

We all know the SNP has the strongest and most effective team of ministers. Alex Salmond is the clear best choice as First Minister. I firmly believe Alex deserves another kick of the ball and as we face challenging times, we need the type of strong leadership he has demonstrated.

Please give what you can and donate now.

And remember, I will donate another £1 for ever pound you give.

Thank you.

Brian

Labour's 'immature' budget vote

2011-02-12T11:00:00.001Z

An article in today’s Times newspaper and an online article by the New Statesman reveal ‘startling’ splits and problems within the Scottish Labour party only weeks before the Scottish Parliamentary election says the SNP’s Campaign Director Angus Robertson.

In today’s Times newspaper a queue of anonymous party sources criticise Iain Gray for deciding the Labour group should vote against the SNP Government’s budget, saying he was led by an ‘immature minority’ within the party and that they should have accepted what John Swinney offered them since it met their demands and would let them look like they were acting in the ‘national interest’.

And in an online article in the New Statesman it is revealed by Dan Hodges that Labour’s draft manifesto for the Scottish Parliament elections is ‘uncosted’ - confirming SNP criticisms of Labour’s burgeoning policy announcements – and that the UK party will put all additional capacity into the Welsh Assembly elections with only one additional party staff member seconded to the Scottish campaign.

Commenting Mr Robertson said:

"These reports just show that in May, voters will have a choice between a responsible, experienced SNP government aiming to protect Scotland’s progress by creating jobs, investing in essential public services and helping family budgets – or a divided and hypocritical Labour party putting immature political opposition before the people of Scotland.

“The revelations show Iain Gray was led on the Budget vote and that he isn’t even capable of leading his own group of MSPs, never mind Scotland.

“It just proves that they were offered all they wanted – and more – and put puerile political opposition before the national interest.

“It is obvious many of his MSPs are unhappy and have startlingly resorted to making known their unhappiness with Iain Gray’s leadership.

“The New Statesman is equally revealing in showing a lack of confidence in Iain Gray’s leadership by his London bosses who don’t believe the Scottish campaign is worthy of significant additional resources.

“Their revelation that their draft manifesto is uncosted only confirms what the SNP have been saying – that they have an uncosted wish-list of fantasy policies. They don't have a credible alternative for Scotland and their budget vote shows they are hypocritical, inexperienced and inconsistent.”

Notes

1. Today’s Times headlines with:

“Labour split by ‘immature’ minority vote on Budget”

The introductory paragraphs read:

“Deep divisions are merging in the Labour Party at Holyrood after its decision to vote against the Scottish Government budget this week, with criticism aimed at Iain Gray, the leader, for failing to take control.

“Some senior voices in Mr Gray’s Holyrood group of MSPs say that he simply acquiesced in the decision and “allowed himself to be led by immature voices within the shadow cabinet”.”

Key MSP quote:

One MSP source said:

“What we should have done, given that we got most of what we wanted, was to say that while the budget was still imperfect, we would vote for it and be seen to put the national interest before the party interest…

“…That would have been the mature thing to do. Iain was not driving the ‘No’ vote. Instead he allowed himself to be led by immature voices in the shadow cabinet – he let it run.”

2. In Dan Hodge’s online article in the New Statesman it says:

“Labour's Scottish election campaign has also suffered an additional setback after the manifesto was produced without costings, and has had to undergo a comprehensive re-write…

…The squeeze is also creating tensions in the run up to next May's local elections and Scottish and Welsh Assembly elections. Scottish officials have reportedly been informed only one additional party staff member will be seconded for the Scottish assembly campaign, with all additional capacity being directed to Wales, where it's believed Labour may secure an outright majority.”

Source

Tories and Independents Axe Forres Town Bus

2011-02-10T16:02:00.001Z

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & TEACHERS CUT TOO

Forres SNP Councillor Irene Ogilvie has slammed the Tories and Independents in Moray Council for axing the Forres Town Bus Service. In addition at a time of severe economic pressure following the Kinloss announcement Cllr Ogilvie is highly critical of a cut in Economic Development budget and a reduction in English and Maths teachers, which will damage the prospects of learners.

Cllr Ogilvie said:

“The axing of the Forres Town Bus Service will impact on many people around Forres, especially in the Mannachie, Anderson Crescent and Fleurs Place areas. It will impact on town centre businesses and takes away a vital link to key local services.

“On Economic Development the SNP has consistently made the case that the budget should not be cut and that is all the more critical when RAF Kinloss is being shut down. I cannot believe that the Tories and Independents think this is a sensible budget.

“Finally, the loss of English and Maths teachers will clearly be detrimental to learners in future years and they should not be made to pay the price of the economic failures of Labour and the Tories at Westminster.”

Stevenson Welcomes Heating Help For The Disabled

2011-02-09T00:32:00.004Z

Terminally ill and severely disabled people in the North-east will shortly be able to get help to heat their home.

Regulations laid before the Scottish Parliament by SNP Housing Minister Alex Neil will, if approved, allow up to 48,000 people with severe disabilities in Scotland to access a range of free help from the Scottish Government, including repairing or replacing their central heating system, fitting insulation or draught-proofing their home.

Terminally ill patients who are finding it hard to heat their homes will also be given support, for example, to repair a broken heating system.

Help will be provided through the Scottish Government's Home Energy Scotland service, which provides a wide range of free or discounted help for low-income households.

The recommendations have been made to ministers by the Fuel Poverty Forum, the group set up by the Scottish Government to look at ways to tackle fuel poverty. If approved by the Scottish Parliament, the extended eligibility will come into force by the end of March.

Welcoming the proposals, Banff & Buchan MSP and SNP candidate for Banffshire & Buchan Coast Stewart Stevenson said:

"It's important that we give all the support we can to those affected by severe illness or disabilities.

"We know many vulnerable people have a lack of income, but need to heat their homes at a higher temperature and for longer periods throughout the day.

"We hope this will give more vulnerable people the help they need to keep their homes warm without the extra worry of fuel costs or heating systems breaking down.

“I hope that many people will benefit from this scheme in the North-east, as well as the rest of Scotland."

Quango Bonfire Catches Fire Under SNP

2011-02-09T00:29:00.000Z

STEVENSON DELIGHTED THAT TARGETS SET TO BE SMASHED BY END 2011

The SNP is set to break through targets to cull the number of government agencies by 25% by the end of 2011 with new figures showing 84 public bodies will have been abolished, merged or seen their functions taken over by other organisations.

In May 2007 there were 199 “Quangos” or non-departmental public bodies in Scotland’s public sector. This will be reduced to 115 by the end of 2011 – a reduction of 42%.

Commenting, SNP MSP and candidate for the new Banffshire & Buchan Coast constituency Stewart Stevenson said:

“The SNP made a commitment to streamline government and to make government more efficient and we have achieved that target.

“We will have dramatically cut the number of public bodies by the end of 2011 whilst ensuring government continues to do its job. Previous governments promised a bonfire of the quangos that they failed to light. Under the SNP that bonfire has finally caught fire.

“There are some outside agencies that do an excellent job and it is important they are not part of government, but in many cases the system we inherited from Labour and the Lib Dems had ‘too many cooks’ and too much waste.

“Slimming down the public sector landscape will cut bureaucracy, ease regulation and cut costs for Scotland against the £1.3 billion of cuts coming from Westminster.

“Over the last four years the SNP’s efforts in Government to bring Labour’s booming quango state under control has paid off and leaves Scotland in a better place to cope with the UK’s cuts. From completing the abolition of 26 different Justice of the Peace boards to merging Learning Teaching Scotland and HMIe – announced in October – we are looking at all possible ways to protect and improve services.

"We have taken action and cut quangos while opposition parties simply complain.

“With the Christie Commission established by Alex Salmond now looking at how best to deliver public services and discussions underway on reforms to police and fire boards the SNP has a clear commitment to getting the best value for money for Scotland’s tax payers and putting the most into our frontline public services.”

Stevenson Comments On Tory Candidate's Decision To Resign

2011-02-08T13:53:00.000Z

Speaking about Jimmy Buchan’s decision to resign as a candidate in the forthcoming Scottish General Election, Banff & Buchan MSP and candidate for the new Banffshire & Buchan Coast constituency Stewart Stevenson said:

“I wish Jimmy Buchan every success with his fishing interests. Working in the industry is always a challenge and I respect his need to focus on his contribution to it.”

Mr Buchan’s resignation as Tory candidate comes almost exactly four years to the day since Ted Brocklebank resigned as Conservative spokesperson on fisheries in protest at his party’s decision to drop their policy of withdrawal from the Common Fisheries Policy.

On the Conservative Party, Mr Stevenson continued,

“It has been clear for some time that it has been the SNP Government in Edinburgh, not the Tory-led Government in London, that has been taking the lead in standing up for Scottish fishing interests.

“A vote for the SNP in May is a vote to support fishing, and our other rural industries.”

Mr Buchan was also highly supportive of the SNP Government’s record on fisheries prior to being approached to stand as a Conservative candidate, telling the Sunday Express on 8 June 2008:

"For the first time in many years I see a government actually fighting for the best interests of Scottish industry and I see a government willing to work and listen to the people at the sharp end of the industry."

Stevenson & Lochhead Welcome Move By SNP Councillors To Protect Banffshire Bus Service

2011-02-03T23:01:00.002Z

Banffshire & Buchan Coast SNP candidate Stewart Stevenson MSP and Moray MSP Richard Lochhead have backed moves by local SNP councillors to protect the 309 Buckie to Keith bus service which is considered to be under threat due to council cutbacks.

The service is the only direct public transport link between the Buckie area and Keith, including the railway station, as well as forming an element of the town service for Keith. Benefits claimants from Keith also use the service to get to the Job Centre in Buckie.

Commenting, Mr Stevenson said:

“I am pleased that SNP council colleagues on Moray Council have made a commitment in their alternative budget to retain this service.

“I understand that it provides a vital link between the two towns, particularly in terms of access to the rail network. As someone who frequently uses the bus to get to Aberdeen Station when I’m travelling to Parliament from my Constituency Office, I know how useful having a direct bus link to the railway can be. I hope that the administration group on Moray Council will follow the SNP lead and retain this service.”

Moray MSP Richard Lochhead added:

"My Moray SNP Councillor colleagues have published their budget alternative budget proposals this week and I know that having listened very carefully to the concerns of the public they propose to retain the Buckie/Cullen/Keith bus service.

"This is an important service and that has been recognised by SNP Councillors."

Farming Payments Being Treated As Priority

2011-02-03T13:46:00.002Z

LFASS FUNDING WILL SUPPORT FARMERS HIT BY SEVERE WEATHER

SNP candidate for the new Banffshire & Buchan Coast constituency Stewart Stevenson MSP has welcomed an assurance from Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead that payments from the Less Favoured Areas Supper Scheme (LFASS) to farmers hit by the recent severe weather are being treated as a priority.

Part of the Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP), LFASS provides support to farmers in areas where production conditions are extremely difficult and have been further hampered by snow and ice.

Farmers should expect payments to commence no later than the end of February.

Commenting, Stewart Stevenson MSP said:

"LFASS funding is vital to the upkeep of farms in those areas and to the livelihoods of those who farm them. Farmers in those areas have had to contend with some of the worst winter weather experienced in over 50 years. I therefore very much welcome the Cabinet Secretary’s commitment to treat these payments as a top priority.”

Rural Affairs Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead said:

"EC regulations stipulate that we must complete all inspections in less favoured areas before any payments can be made. The same freezing conditions experienced by farmers made it impossible for officials to travel to remote rural areas and complete the necessary checks for over a month. We had very real concerns about the health and safety of inspectors, and the farmers involved in inspections.

"Nonetheless, I want to reassure farmers that officials are treating the payments as an absolute priority, pulling out all the stops to ensure checks are completed as soon as possible and money starts to hit bank accounts by the end of February.

"This follows on from the speedy payment of Single Farm Payments, where 96 per cent of farmers have now been paid."

Background

LFASS is a funding mechanism under the SRDP designed to support farming in areas where production conditions are difficult. Its objectives are to:

Offset the impact of permanent natural handicaps on production costs;
Combat depopulation of rural areas;
Protect and maintain the countryside and environment.

85 per cent of Scotland's agricultural area has less favoured area status, and of this 98 per cent is classified as severely disadvantaged.

LFASS eligibility is based on individual farmers' circumstances. As a result, claims require manual processing and payments will be made over a period of several weeks.

Farmers with outstanding LFASS eligibility queries or who have not provided current bank account details should contact their local Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate (RPID) office.

For more information on LFASS visit http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/farmingrural/SRDP/LFASS.

Stevenson Welcomes New Plan For Health And Social Care

2011-02-03T13:31:00.001Z

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT REVEALS PROPOSAL TO INTEGRATE HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE FOR ADULTS

Quicker access to care and staff and reduced delayed discharges are among the benefits of a proposed new plan to integrate health and social care for adults.

Public Health Minister Shona Robison said that in future councils and health boards should work more closely together under a 'lead commissioning' model, in order to provide better services for adults - particularly older people.

The Minister added how the proposals would be taken forward would be fully scrutinised and debated with stakeholders. The first step to beginning discussions is the establishment of a Lead Commissioning Group to take the integration agenda forward.

The Scottish Government's plans are being backed by Lord Sutherland, who carried out Scotland's review of free personal care in 2008.

SNP candidate for the new Banffshire & Buchan Coast constituency Stewart Stevenson MSP has also welcomed the proposals. Commenting, he said:

“I know from my mailbag that the lack of a joined-up approach that delays in discharging elderly patients from hospital into appropriate care arrangements are a major issue for some people.

“This proposal has the potential to ensure that delays in people being discharged from the NHS into the care of local authorities because the local authority has not put together an appropriate care package are minimised, or eliminated.

“At the end of the day, it should be about the quality of life and quality of care that people receive so I welcome anything which will improve the system for my constituents and their families.”

Minister for Public Health Shona Robison said:

"Planning care for increasing numbers of older people in future is one of our biggest national challenges and doing nothing is not an option. There's increasing recognition now that health boards and councils need to work together far more closely. The debate is about how and we believe that lead commissioning is the way forward - a view echoed by no less an expert than Lord Sutherland.

"We want to see health and social care for adults delivered in an integrated way by NHS and council social work staff working together to give a seamless service.

"Evidence from partnerships in England shows more older people can get quicker care packages, cuts in delayed discharges, reduced length of stay in acute hospitals and fewer unplanned emergency admissions to hospital. Pilot work on integration across Scotland has been making progress with this over the last eighteen months and we would now like to see this taken further nationwide.

"We will establish a Lead Commissioning Implementation Group, backed by 2 million pounds for investment over the next financial year, to support partnerships around the country to continue to take the integration agenda forward."

Lord Sutherland, who carried out the Scottish Government's review of free personal care, has backed the use of lead commissioning as a way of improving social care in Scotland.

He said:

"Lead commissioning provides the best and quickest way of achieving an integrated care system, and I believe the Scottish Government's approach is the right one.

"It avoids the need for new legislation and wholesale re-organisation, which means improvements can begin to be made straight away.

"The time for talking is over. It is now time just to get on with it."

Background

Lead commissioning would see health boards and local government contract services from one another to focus on the needs of people rather than from the basis of traditional "supply" responsibilities, i.e. what is a "health" service and what is a "social care" service, cutting through red tape and improving joined-up working. In England, lead commissioning has been used in some places to commission adult social care from the NHS, with local authorities acting as commissioners of services.

The announcement of 2 million pounds to support integration work through the new Lead Commissioning Implementation Group is in addition to the 70 million pound Change Fund announced in the draft Scottish budget to support better integrated older people's services delivered by health boards, councils, and the third and independent Sectors.

Local area partnerships in Scotland will receive:

NHS Board Partnership £m

Grampian 6.763 made up of:
Aberdeen City 2.738
Aberdeenshire 2.837
Moray 1.187

In 2008 roughly 57,000 people worked in social work services in Scotland. Were adult social care to be commissioned from the NHS by local government, approximately 38,500 adult social services staff would transfer to the NHS under lead commissioning.

The Scottish Government estimates that overall around 4.5 billion pounds is spent every year on older people's services across health and social care. Around a third of this - 1.4 billion pounds - of this total goes on unplanned emergency admissions to hospital. Clinicians, care managers and older people themselves tell us this kind of admission to hospital is often distressing and results in poorer outcomes than might have been achieved by a package of primary care and social care in the community - which is what the evidence shows can be achieved via lead commissioning.

Tory-LibDem electoral pact planned

2011-01-28T08:00:00.003Z

Commenting on the report in the Herald newspaper that the Tories and LibDems plan an electoral pact for the 2015 election the SNP’s Campaign Director and Westminster leader, Angus Robertson MP said they may as well make it official now.

Commenting Mr Robertson said:

“The LibDems have reneged on so many of the policies they were elected on that they might as well make an electoral pact with the Tories official now.

“The fact is that they now support the Tories on increased tuition fees, higher VAT and increased Westminster cuts despite opposing all these before the election.

“The LibDems are a wholly owned subsidiary of the Tory party, which probably explains why their support levels have fallen by half since the last Holyrood elections, and many of their supporters are turning to the SNP.”

Remarking on Tavish Scott’s appearance on Newsnight Mr Robertson said:

“If this interview exposed anything it was how no one can trust a pledge the LibDems make. Tavish refused to say that any policies were sacrosanct. No wonder no one knows what the LibDems really stand for anymore bar propping up a Tory government in London.”

Adding his reaction, Banffshire and Buchan Coast candidate Stewart Stevenson MSP said,

“Fishing communities in particular will be appalled at the Liberals getting into to bed with the Tories who took us into the disastrous Common Fisheries Policy. We need principles in dealing with this issue not the supposed electoral advantage which a political party might gain from doing a 'deal' in London.”

Supermarket Levy Would Have Helped Fund Vital Local Services - Stevenson

2011-01-27T14:52:00.001Z

SNP candidate for the new Banffshire & Buchan Coast constituency Stewart Stevenson MSP has expressed his disappointment at Conservative, Lib Dem and Labour MSPs on the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government Committee voting against plans for a levy on the big supermarkets to help fund public services.

The proposal would have seen £30 million raised by the new levy in order to support the delivery of critical services and keep the tax burden lower for those who can least afford it. As a measure of the impact on the big supermarkets, Tesco’s share of the proposed levy would have been roughly equivalent to the takings through their checkouts during the course of one and three-quarter hours.

Commenting, Mr Stevenson said:

“Labour, Lib Dem and Tory have cut £30 million from the budget for Scotland's public services adding to their London counterparts’ cuts of £1.3 billion.

“This vote tells people across Scotland the irresponsible priorities of opposition parties with Labour supporting the Tories as parties happy to increase VAT on families, raise council tax on households but refusing to tax big businesses to help Scotland’s economy.

“It is disappointing but not surprising that these parties preferred to vote against an SNP Government that is working for Scotland than to do the right thing for public spending and public services.

“It is now incumbent on Labour, Lib Dem and Tory to tell us which £30 million of spending they want to remove from the Scottish budget or how they will fill the gap they have created.”

Experts Back Moves to Change Control of Crown Estate

2011-01-26T11:55:00.001Z

SCOTTISH CONTROL OF CROWN ESTATE WOULD HELP CROVIE - MSP

Commenting on calls from a range of experts to the Parliamentary Committee examining the Scotland Bill to devolve control of the Crown Estate from its unelected board of Commissioners to the Scottish Parliament, SNP candidate for the new Banffshire & Buchan Coast constituency Stewart Stevenson MSP said it showed that the Scotland Bill did not go far enough in meeting the ambitions of Scotland.

Mr Stevenson also highlighted that making the Crown Estates answerable to the Scottish Parliament would help communities like Crovie, currently fighting the decision by the Crown Estate to let the historic village pier crumble into the sea.

Figures from academia, community organisations, a think tank, politics and broadcasting have all united to tell the committee that the proposals in the Scotland Bill do not offer enough and that the bill should remove control of the Crown Estate from the present Commissioners and pass it to the people of Scotland. Among those calling for the Bill to go further are former Labour energy minister Brian Wilson, broadcaster Lesley Riddoch, and prominent land reform campaigner Andy Wightman.

The SNP confirmed earlier this month that the party will move to ensure full devolution of the Crown Estate Commission through amendments to the UK Government's Scotland Bill and will call on opposition parties in the Scottish Parliament to join with the SNP in calling on the present UK government to transfer full responsibility and revenues to Scotland.

Devolving the Crown Estate Commission - in particular its responsibilities and administration for Scotland's shores would see the Scottish people able to benefit directly from Scotland's offshore renewable energy boom. It would also allow the shores and seabed to be managed in the interests of Scotland's coastal communities rather than the Treasury's bank account.

The Scottish Government is currently consulting on securing community benefit from offshore renewable developments. Full devolution of the crown estate revenues from leasing the seabed could form a vital part of an energy fund for investing in Scotland's future.

Commenting, Mr Stevenson said:

"These are significant voices backing a profound shift in power and responsibility that has popular support in Scotland.
"It shows that Scotland knows the Scotland bill, like devolution and like our nation can be better.

"Locally, we have no better example of what remote control by the Crown Estate means than the appalling inaction of that body in relation to Crovie Pier. The Crown Estate Commissioners are seemingly content to let this historic structure simply crumble into the sea.

"The SNP will pursue through the Scotland Bill the full devolution of the Crown Estate, its land, shores, rights, responsibilities and revenues in Scotland.

"Crown Estate properties would then be Scotland's properties and our foreshores and seabed could be managed in the interests of the Scottish people, not the London market and the Treasury bank account.

"We are now in the beginnings of an offshore energy boom that requires effective management of our seas and our shores, support for our ports and our harbours and the leasing of our seabed in a way that brings long term benefit to the people and economy of Scotland.”

Banff & Buchan MP Dr Eilidh Whiteford added:

"All the Scotland Bill offers is consultation over the appointment of a Commissioner for the Crown Estate. That is an appalling offer that insults our communities, our industries and our potential. Coastal and islands communities, our renewable energy industry, our harbours and our fishing fleet know that we can do better for Scotland.

"The SNP will put forward full devolution through the Scottish Parliament and if Holyrood and UK Ministers do not back devolution SNP MPs will put forward amendments in the House of Commons to bring Scotland's seas into Scottish control."