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13 April 2010
Election Fight in
Borders is a Three Horse Race
Speaking after the SNP's formal national election launch in
Edinburgh on Monday, Paul Wheelhouse, SNP Candidate in Berwickshire,
Roxburgh & Selkirk, who is an economist and community councillor in
Ayton, Berwickshire, stated:
"I am relishing the election and taking our case to the people.
Voters in Scotland will this week be subjected via the media to self
styled, sterile "prime ministerial debates" by the London-led
parties on topics like health, education and law and order will be
entirely irrelevant for Scotland where these policies are already
devolved to the Scottish Parliament.
"In Scotland, voters have a choice to make as to whether to back
the SNP and the Scottish Government in protecting funding for
Scotland's public services, or any of the three London-controlled
parties that offer the same agenda of cuts to Scotland's budget.
Labour have admitted they will cut 'tougher and deeper' than
Thatcher, and the Tories are planning a special raid of the Scottish
budget. Even the Lib Dem leader at their conference last year stated
"there will need to be cuts, cuts that are savage and bold".
Setting out the SNP's core message, Paul stated that:
"The SNP are going into this campaign with a clear message for
Scottish voters: more votes for the SNP will mean more SNP MPs, and
in what looks likely to be a 'hung' or 'balanced' parliament, more
SNP MPs will mean fewer and less "savage" cuts. Only SNP champions
can protect and promote Scotland's interests at a time when, on the
Treasury's own figures, Scotland will, due to rapidly rising oil
prices, be sending a windfall of more than £50 billion of oil and
gas revenues to London over the next 6 years alone.
"SNP MPs will work with the Scottish Government to protect jobs,
the recovery and important local services and instead argue that
Westminster needs to cut things like the £100 billion replacement
cost for Trident, the £5 billion cost of identity cards, the
extravagance of the unelected and unrepresentative House of Lords
and the extravagantly-expensive Scotland Office, packed with Labour
spin doctors. Cutting vital public services now will only add to
unemployment, and the amount of government business available to the
private sector, while tipping Scotland back into recession. We
urgently need to resist further increases in fuel duty that will put
rural jobs at risk"
Challenging the assertion made by Tory and Lib Dem
representatives that only they can win, Paul stated:
"Locally we are buoyed by strong canvass returns gathered over
the last two years that confirm our support is at least as strong as
in 2007, when we polled 24% of votes, in comparison with 25% for the
Lib Dems and 29% for the Tories. This is neither a Lib Dem seat, nor
a Tory seat; it is the people's seat and they will decide the result
come May 6th. We are very much in it to win it and we have hit the
ground running.
"On polling day the people of Scotland can do more than just vote
for politicians, they can come out in force and elect SNP local
champions. I look forward in the near future, with my colleagues, to
making a Community Commitment to guarantee accessibility,
accountability and openness to my constituents, in the event they do
me the honour of electing me to represent them."
ENDS
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