Sent to the Herald: 29th January 2008
Sir
Ann McKechin’s desperate attempt to paint the SNP as ‘opposed’ to the London Olympics suggests she is more concerened about her own record in blindly supporting a London line than the best way to invest in sports and exercise in Scotland.
The SNP does not object to the fact that the London Olympics are taking place, but rather to the exorbitant cost and the methods of funding massive construction projects in the East End of London that will have no tangible benefit to the rest of the UK.
Lottery funds in Scotland could have been used to train young athletes to compete in both the Olympic and Commonwealth games, but Scotland’s Labour MPs voted it away.
In Scotland we have a well-managed, competent Commonwealth Games project with most of the infrastructure already in place and the confident support of civil society. In London, massive amounts of funding are being wasted on unnecessary construction and vast consultancy fees by a government in thrall with the private sector and out of touch with ordinary people.
A metaphor, perhaps, for much of what is happening in Scotland and Westminster today.
Yours, etc
