Lib Dems challenge SNP promises as election campaign enters final week
The Liberal Democrats have challenged election promises made by the SNP as the by-election campaign draws into its final week.
Lib Dem candidate Beatrice Wishart has also urged the SNP government to take more responsibility for the air traffic controller strikes that have disrupted travel plans at Sumburgh airport across the summer.
On Friday, Ms Wishart said that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon had “ran from the challenge” posed to her by out-going MSP Tavish Scott to end the air traffic controller’s strikes, and made the claim that “if an airport in the central belt was threatened by strikes, SNP ministers would be making it their own personal business to get things back to business as usual”.
MP Alistair Carmichael was next to address the SNP campaign, claiming that “the SNP have been making the absurd claim that Shetland needs an SNP MSP to get anything done on ferry funding”.
The Shetland Times reported on Friday that transport secretary Michael Matheson had called SNP candidate Tom Wills plans for a 20 per cent islander discount on NorthLink ferry cabins “very reasonable” and pledged to discuss them with him if he was elected.
Mr Matheson did add, however, that he “always had an open door approach” to politics, and would be willing to consider these same plans should Ms Wishart win the election.
Ms Wishart also pledged to tackle “discriminatory” delivery charges faced by Shetlanders should she by elected this week.
This matched a previous pledge from Mr Wills, who said last week that Shetlanders were being “unfairly punished” by “eye-watering” delivery charges before urging the UK government to take action.
Mr ian Tinkler
It is good to see how the SNP supporters feel about Shetland. “David Baldwin Having spent a lot of time reading news and current affairs about Shetland over the past few weeks, I really have come to see just how parochial and vicious politics there can be. It’s been quite an eye-opener.”
James J Paton
Beatrice, wearing a Fair Isle sweater is just not going to cut it. I can understand you wearing one for those in Shetland in solidarity wuth those in fuel poverty due to you and your Party’s love- in with Tory austerity ( 2010-15) and attacking the poor, whilst supporting the banks! Hypocrite.
John Irvine
The SNP cannot be trusted on anything, their past record of failings are numerous, too long to list and is there for all to see. Mr Wills is just another one of the same, all talk but in the end no action.
The way they have been campaigning throughout Shetland is quite frankly embarrassing and exactly what you would expect to see from a religious cult, which in reality is probably what they are.
All the SNP care about is breaking up the union at any cost, god forbid that ever happens as it would result in decades of austerity the like most of us have never seen.