THE Jouker is becoming fascinated by the current Tory blitz of leaflets, in advance of the Holyrood election campaign officially getting under way when the Scottish Parliament goes into recess at the end of this month.
We’re asking National readers to let us know about particularly silly claims made in these leaflets, and to give you an example we’ll start with Shona Haslam, the Scottish Conservative and Unionist candidate for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, the seat currently held by the SNP’s redoubtable Christine Grahame.
Haslam, the leader of Scottish Borders Council following an arrangement between independents and Tories, claims in her leaflet that “she has made a significant impact on the wellbeing and prosperity of the entire region” and “is in the process of finalising the Borderlands Growth Deal that will bring tens of millions to the area”.
There’s even a picture of Haslam “with David Mundell MP at the announcement of the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal”.
The deal involves five councils on either side of the Border – the partnership consists of Carlisle City Council, Cumbria County Council, Dumfries and Galloway Council, Northumberland County Council, and Haslam’s Scottish Borders Council.
The Jouker thinks the deal is marvellous, but Shona Haslam just can’t force herself to admit the role being played by the Scottish Government. “It’s run by the SNP so no credit to them” is obviously her way of thinking.
So just for the record, here’s an excerpt from last November’s partnership press release about the Chancellor of the Exchequer “accelerating” the deal; projects will be delivered over 10 years instead of 15.
“The £350 million Scottish and UK governments investment breaks down as £150 million for Scotland (£85m from the Scottish Government and £65m from the UK Government) and £200m for England from the UK Government.”
Much of local authority finance also comes from the Scottish Government, of course, so you can easily see that the biggest investor by far in the Scottish side of the Borderlands Growth Deal is the Scottish Government, which intends to invest in every Growth Deal in Scotland. Not that you’ll read that in a Tory leaflet.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here