Dave Thompson MSP

SNP MSP for Highland & Islands, Dave Thompson has criticised Tory and LibDem politicians for their backing of the Edinburgh trams scheme following today's reports that the project's costs will not be known until 2010.

Mr Thompson said today's news exposed the cynicism and hypocrisy of the LibDems whose Highland MSPs voted along with Labour and the Tories to waste £500 million on the project instead of lobby for some of the money to be spent on Highland roads.

The SNP Highlands and Islands MSP also rounded on the Tories former leader David McLetchie who has now said that he only voted for the project to stop the SNP spending the money across the country.

At the beginning of the current Parliamentary session in 2007 the minority SNP Government was forced by all opposition parties to invest £500 million in the project which had been pushed forward by LibDem transport minister (and now LibDem leader) Tavish Scott.

Commenting Mr Thompson said: "Today's news just exposes the LibDems cynicism and hypocrisy on Highland roads. It was their present leader who pushed for this project despite representing an island community and all of their Highland MSPs voted to waste £500 million on the trams in Edinburgh.

"It yet again pulls the rug from LibDem claims over SNP Government investment in Highland roads. The facts already show that even with the LibDems voting to waste £500 million on Edinburgh trams the SNP Government is investing far more than they did when they were in power with labour.

"The trams were unwanted in Edinburgh and they remain unpopular. It is unfortunate that as a result of opposition actions this project is now to far gone to stop it.

"The SNP will invest £41.7 million on trunk roads in the Highlands in this session of the Scottish Parliament (2007-11). This dwarfs the £8.8 million that was spent during the tenures of LibDems Nicol Stephen and Tavish Scott when they were Transport Ministers (2003-2007).

"Today's news also exposes how the Tories were prepared to waste this £500 million on trams in Edinburgh their former leader is now criticising. He has been hoist by his own petard by admitting he voted for trams just because the money would be spent in Edinburgh.

"Today's news about the Edinburgh trams yet again exposes how the opposition parties got it seriously wrong on Edinburgh trams at the expense of transport projects elsewhere in Scotland."

Notes:

1. On this morning's Good Morning Scotland radio show Tory MSP David McLetchie was asked why he voted for £500 million for the tram project he is now criticising. He said: "I voted in, the commitment that was made to the city for £500 million should be honoured ... I certainly wasn't going to have a situation where the SNP were going to take £500 million away from my city and spend it elsewhere on their pet projects."

2. A Parliamentary Question by Mr Thompson on Highland road spending over the 3 periods of the Scottish Parliament so far exposed the following.

S3W-24816 - Dave Thompson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP) (Date Lodged Friday, June 12, 2009):
To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent, expressed in today's prices, on trunk roads in the Highland local authority area from (a) 1999-00 to 2002-03 and (b) 2003-04 to 2006-07; how much has been spent and is planned to be spent between 2007-08 and 2010-11, and how much is planned to be spent in each year from 2012 for which information is available.

Answered by Stewart Stevenson (Thursday, June 25, 2009):
Total expenditure on major trunk road projects in the Highland local authority area is as follows:

1999-2000 to 2002-03: £20.872 million

2003-04 to 2006-07: £8.850 million

2007-08 to 2010-11: £41.754 million

The current three year budget settlement does not extend beyond 2010-11.

3. From 2007 the transport portfolio has been held by an SNP Minister

In the 2003-07 Parliament the transport portfolio was held by two Liberal Democrats - Nicol Stephen followed by Tavish Scott.

In the first Parliament (1999-2003) the transport portfolio was held by a number of Labour MSPs.