Jim Murphy is partially right
And partially wrong, in his criticism of the Western Isles campaign for a fuel duty reduction.
Any derogation lasts only until 2011 and is a mere 3% cut in duty, so to flag up a fuel duty reduction scheme as being a lasting solution is nonsense.
But he is right to say that the Argyll & Bute MPs have been making a consistent case (albeit quite poorly) as even our two representatives acknowledge that they have been running a fuel duty reductioncampaign series of press releases and a ludicrous campaign for a "fuel duty regulator" simultaneously. These are conflicting and non-compatible campaigns and it is not really clear what their position actually is, other than grabbing headlines.
Conversely, as Donald Manford rightly points out, there has been some resistance from some members to campaigning against Westminster (Labour) policies and this has not helped to force our MP and MSP to be made to make the case.
All in all, we are our own worst enemies in this, and instead of bitching about the detail of who said what, let us build a campaign for the abolition of fuel duty in the islands. Stuff the expiration of the derogation in 2011 and let us force the Government to seek a new derogation for the UK to allow all islands to be exempt from duty and VAT - Spain has this for the Canaries, so why not for equally economically challenged parts of the UK?
Let us aim high and challenge others to deny us.
Any derogation lasts only until 2011 and is a mere 3% cut in duty, so to flag up a fuel duty reduction scheme as being a lasting solution is nonsense.
But he is right to say that the Argyll & Bute MPs have been making a consistent case (albeit quite poorly) as even our two representatives acknowledge that they have been running a fuel duty reduction
Conversely, as Donald Manford rightly points out, there has been some resistance from some members to campaigning against Westminster (Labour) policies and this has not helped to force our MP and MSP to be made to make the case.
All in all, we are our own worst enemies in this, and instead of bitching about the detail of who said what, let us build a campaign for the abolition of fuel duty in the islands. Stuff the expiration of the derogation in 2011 and let us force the Government to seek a new derogation for the UK to allow all islands to be exempt from duty and VAT - Spain has this for the Canaries, so why not for equally economically challenged parts of the UK?
Let us aim high and challenge others to deny us.
9 comments:
Having seen Dr Allan response I am utterly amazed. Dr Allan did not mention any of this when Jim Murphy mentioned at the forum in Stornoway that only the Lib Dem MP was the only one who was pushing him for this. Perhaps if the Playboy MP for the Western Isles went to see the Scottish Minister maybe he would be able to lobby the Chancellor for cheaper fuel.
Gordon Brown is so desperate to hold onto power that he sends the Murphy guy up here to score party points and at the same time shows his contempt for Islanders by announcing that they may help the people of Argyl with fuel costs but us lot up here can get stuffed because we have an SNP MP
Anon 3:25 PM
So can you tell us the reason why Slimy Salmond and his puppets are coming up here next month
And why the SNP granted an experimental period of RET to the Western Isles and not, say, Lib-Dem represented Orkney and Shetland?
What's sauce for the goose ...
8.12
Maybe because both these Islands
are more prosperous than Lewis & Harris due to Oil money in Shetland and a very large Farming industry in Orkney.
And this means that they can be treated unfairly??? There are individuals in these societies who are poor too, firms which are struggling economically.
The last comment is an incredible assertion of smug self-interest. Is the individual concerned so naive that he (or she) really believe it is pure coincidence that one is represented by the SNP and the other is not?
8.19
If RET was introduced for the Shetland service the price would go up due to the distance and Orkney have a choice of Operators to travel with.
And the latter really counts in any practical way for the householders of Kirkwall or Stromness...?
There is also little doubt that airfares and ferry costs (including cabins for 12 hour voyages) are prohibitively expensive going even further north. It would not have been beyond the wit of man (or even Salmond) for the SNP Government to develop a scheme that would have benefitted all islanders in terms of their transport costs. Instead, they chose not to do so, making a priority of furthering their own narrow political interest rather than benefitting all islanders, regardless of their geographical position.
It seems to me that if they are truly a national government, this is an indefensible position - both in moral and political terms.
Just to put a little context to it. It costs £62 one way to purchase a cabin from Lerwick to Aberdeen - a necessity on a 12 hour journey. This means it costs £124 for a return journey, not counting vehicle costs etc. There are single parents with low income in Lerwick just like Stornoway.
Why should those in one location be denied 'benefits' given to the other, just for narrow political advantage?
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