Lib Dem candidate David Green calls time on ‘tired SNP’ and far north ‘must be the first domino to fall’ telling the spring conference he believes ‘we can win’ Caithness, Sutherland and Ross
The Liberal Democrat candidate for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, David Green, told his party’s conference “to bring an end to this tired SNP government, Caithness, Sutherland and Ross must be the first domino to fall”.
He took aim at the SNP’s period in government saying things have grown so bad that campaigners had to resort to the UN in Geneva over maternity services in Caithness due to Scottish Government inaction.
In a wide ranging speech that paid tribute to his mentor Charles Kennedy, he demanded fair levels of funding for the Highlands, arguing that “investing in public services on the basis of population alone is no longer equitable”.
He highlighted the case of a teacher who is forced to live on a different coast to where she works and the elderly who is isolated at home in dark nights because she fears the state of the roads.
In delivering the keynote address on the first day of the conference at Eden Court the region was in the spotlight more than normal, largely due to major wins in the general election.
MP Angus MacDonald spoke earlier in the day about his report findings on the care crisis in the region showing 18 per cent of care homes closed in the last 10 years against a 72 per cent increase in those over 75.
The party has made the far north seat one of its primary targets in next year’s Holyrood election by declaring their candidate almost two years before the day of the ballot.
Now Mr Green is staking out his positions including what he sees as the unfair distribution of funding from government which is done on a per capita basis even in a region the size of Belgium.
So the issue there is that because it simply costs more for agencies like Highland Council with more than 200 schools compared to Glasgow city council, which has a much higher population.
He said: “As much as we needed change in Westminster, we now need change in Holyrood too – so I'm a no doubt if you're to bring an end to this tired SNP government, Caithness, Sutherland and Ross must be the first domino to fall.
“So, for the first time, let me just say this – we can win. We can win in the Highlands and with your help, we can win right across Scotland too.
“And we need to win for the young people in rural communities, who can't buy a home, the women in the far north who are travelled hundreds of miles for health care”.
Highland Rights
“Let me be clear,” he said. “Investing in public services on the basis of population alone is no longer equitable. I believe everyone - everyone - who lives in our country should have the same right to the essential services that enable us all to thrive, and it is up to us to make that case”.
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He listed what he sees as some of the reasons to support the point: “Doesn't the country need change? When I speak to people, too often I hear frustration in a way that no longer surprises me.
“From the centralisation of the police, to the ill judged attempt to impose Highly Protected Marine Areas, and now the botched National Care Service.
“This catalogue of decisions, running against the interests of Highland communities, embodies the broken relationship this SNP government has with rural Scotland.
“People have had enough of decisions being imposed on them, not made with them.
“And the change in SNP leader has done little more than put stale icing onto a burnt cake. With almost two-decades in government, too many in the SNP have for too long chosen to toe the party line and leave rural voices to feel ignored.
“We need a change in direction”.
He highlighted examples from the far north constituency, saying: “It isn’t acceptable that the teacher I met in Dornoch has to room with a colleague on the west coast during the week because there isn't any available housing.
“It isn’t acceptable that the elderly woman I met in Balintore is left isolated in her home over winter because she fears the damage that potholes will do to her car if she drives at night.
“It isn’t acceptable that the vast majority of expectant mums-to-be in Caithness have to travel 100-mile journeys to give birth at hospital in Inverness.
“It is no wonder that campaigners have now presented their case to a human rights committee in Geneva”.
Charles Kennedy
Mr Green also spoke about how his time working for the late Charles Kennedy was formative in the development of his political outlook.
“I remember first hearing his name, long before I worked for him,” he said. “It was election time, the early 90s. I was just a boy and my Dad took me to the village hall on polling day.
“Charles once told us, and I quote,: “The Highlands have a tradition of self-reliance, of fairness, and of standing together in difficult times. It’s a tradition that runs deep in the people who live here, and it’s a tradition I carry with me as I advocate for a fairer, more just society.”
“As Charles and those who went before him would have told you, the Highland tradition of putting community first and standing up for what you believe in are principles that our party values too.
“Conference, that is what we should be all about. This is what I am all about”.
That is something he feels is being continued under current leader Alex Cole-Hamilton, as Mr Green believes that “under his leadership, we have a story to be proud of. A story to fire up our passion to knock on those doors with pride.
“And with Alex, change is coming. Following in the steps of those who have come before us, we can say with confidence that we will be part of what's next”.
