Has the rocket range been saved?
I'm not sure how to interpret the words from the minister, who seems to be playing his cards very close to his chest.
It is clear that he is now fully aware of the impact that his decision will have on the Western Isles as a whole, and Uist in particular, and full credit must go to the Task Force for the hard work they have done in getting him here.
The lobbying of the Minister - the person responsible for taking the decision - is vitally important, indeed crucial; and should not have been derided by our MP, who seemed to prefer megaphonediplomacy insults and lobbying of those NOT taking the decision. I would go so far as to say that the successes to date are despite our MP's actions.
We may have been roundly patronised by the Minister
It is clear that he is now fully aware of the impact that his decision will have on the Western Isles as a whole, and Uist in particular, and full credit must go to the Task Force for the hard work they have done in getting him here.
The lobbying of the Minister - the person responsible for taking the decision - is vitally important, indeed crucial; and should not have been derided by our MP, who seemed to prefer megaphone
We may have been roundly patronised by the Minister
...a charming and lovely community in a lovely part of the world which would easily be very badly impacted by a decision of this kind.but we can forgive him that if he makes the right decision. The balance is - as he says -
When I get back I shall have all kinds of people asking for money and if I said I've just given up a saving of £3.9 million a year because I want to do a favour for these charming people who live on the Western side of the Hebrides there'd be a lot of people who would think I'd betrayed the general national interest. It's not an easy decision to take.Sorry to remind you of this, but it is your job to take the decisions and the responsibility for them, and your decision will have a major impact on the votes in the coming election.
4 comments:
The glibness of stating that saving the rocket range would be a favour to some lovely island folk speaks volumes for me. I'm not optimistic.
I'm not optimistic either. Cynically thinking that the calculations will be done doon south; will saving/disposing of the rocket range significantly increase/decrease the chances of Labour taking the seat at Westminster.
My guess is that the numbers look close enough so they'll save it, then sell this news aggressively as a sign of fiscal support for the Uists. Note: saving it basically means status quo.
It's deeper than that, folks: the key question is whether the UK's strategic defence is better served by keeping the range closed (and the community intact); or closing the range and decimating (or worse) the community.
I reckon that someone will eventually point out that the money saved by closing the range will easily be outweighed by the cost of benefits and the potential hole in the UK's early warning and border security force otherwise known as the good folk of the Uists.
When all's said and done, the continued UK occupation of the Scottish offshore islands is an absolute requirement to secure the UK's strategic borders. Empty us all out of here and you'd have to put in an expensive guard force to replace us.
This minister has one of the best bedside manners I have ever heard. Unfortunately when organisations such as the MOD take a decision they don't generally change their mind.
Consider the (ultimately, failed) campaign led by former councillor Bremner when the army announced they were pulling out of Benbecula. All the MOD did then was to mollify the locals for the short term, and then quietly withdraw over the next three years with no local fuss.
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