Sent to the Herald: 12 October 2006. Not published.
Dear Sir
If successive unionist governments in London and Edinburgh had ever shown any genuine concern for transport infrastructure north of the Watford gap, let alone Perth, there would be no need for the SNP to commit to “spending hundreds of millions of pounds” on the upgrading of the A9 and A96 as Douglas Fraser reports. The implication in Fraser’s article that somehow this vital investment undermines the party’s green credentials is simply wrong. Making long overdue improvements to the most dangerous roads in Scotland is not a waste of taxpayers money. The scheme is part of a holistic strategy for Scotland’s transport, unlike the current Executive’s piecemeal approach and preference for grandiose but ultimately unnecessary schemes like the M74 extension. The SNP has a vision for governing Scotland, investing for economic growth and social advancement, not managing decline and lowering expectations as the present Executive seem content to do. Seven years of devolution have proven the inability of the unionists to govern Scotland and make the decisions changes needed to revitalise the Scottish economy and society. Next May will show that voters in Scotland believe it’s time for a different approach.
