Jean Urquhart

SNP Councillor Jean Urquhart’s question at Highland’s full council meeting  has unearthed the revelation that less than half of the VAT on councillor’s petrol expenses was being rerclaimed. This meant that only £4217 was reclaimed out of a potential £8552. A loss to Highland of £4335.

Jean said “At a time when hard pressed folk are being asked to stomach cuts then the least that can be done is to make sure that the Council has it’s own house in order. This may be a small amount in the scheme of things but if there are opportunities like this being missed then there are probably more and greater opportunities elsewhere.” she added ” we will continue to look for waste and an opportunity to protect funding for front line services and communities wherever we can find it, in amounts large or small”

My thanks go to all the people that voted for me and the SNP, to those who considered voting for me and to all those who took the time to listen to our case. I would also like to say a huge thank you to all who supported my Westminster campaign and worked so hard for me and the party. We had a very large lift in the votes for the SNP and this has only happened because we had so many devoted people helping to get the message out. It has been a privilege to run in this campaign. All the best, Jean

I’d like to thank everyone has used this site over recent weeks for taking an interest in the Westminster Election.     And an especial thank you to those who voted for me to represent the Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross Constituency in Westminster.   Well, that wasn’t to be as the following results show.

Lord Thurso (Libdem)   11,907   41.4%   -9.1%

John Mackay (Lab)           7,081    24.6%  +3.7%

Jean Urquhart (SNP)        5,516    19.2%  +5.8%

Alastair Graham (Con)     3,744    13.00%

Today, May 6th, is Polling Day. Polling stations will open 7am and close at 10pm, so there is plenty of time for you to vote.

The location of your nearest polling station will be listed on the front of your polling card. If you can’t find your card, your local council will be able to tell you where your nearest station is. You do not need your polling card to vote.

If you have a postal vote but have not yet returned it, you can do so until 10pm on Thursday to any polling station in your constituency.

If this is the first time you’ve voted, the Electoral Commission has a guide which walks you through the process which you can see at http://tinyurl.com/67a7s9

Labour Treat Scotland’s Fishing Industry with Contempt

Jean Urquhart, SNP candidate for Caithness Sutherland and Easter Ross, has said that the fishing industry in the far north, and key ports at Wick and Scrabster, Kinlochbervie, Lochinver and Helmsdale, will be represented best by the Scottish National Party.

A key meeting in Spain, to discuss the European Fisheries Policy, has kicked off this week without any Scottish Government representation. Labour minister Hilary Benn refused attempts for Richard Lochhead, Scotlands’ Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs to attend with the UK delegation, although Scotland has over 70% of the UK fisheries industry.

Instead, the UK is being represented by parliamentary under-secretary of state Lord Davies of Oldham, who has no specific responsibilities for fisheries issues – his primary specific responsibilities are bee and plant health. On the first day of the fisheries meeting, Mr Benn campaigned for the Labour Party in Glasgow on Tuesday.

Jean Urquhart, stated the Labour Party and Mr Benn have snubbed the Scottish fishing industry.

Jean Urquhart said

“Scotland is an important fishing nation in the European Union, but delegates will be discussing upgrade of the European Common Fisheries Policy without any Scottish representation. Instead, the UK government are represented by a junior minister who has no specific responsibility for fisheries issues.”

“As late as Monday this week, Alex Salmond sought urgent intervention from the Prime Minister to reverse the decision to allow Richard Lochhead to attend. Instead, the UK government has sent a very light delegation to talks that are of vital importance to the Scottish fishing industry.”

“Meanwhile, Hilary Benn turned up in Glasgow on Tuesday, campaigning for Labour party re-election rather than representing our fishermen from Lochinver, Kinlochbervie, Scrabster, Wick and Helmsdale. That is a disgraceful snub. The London parties have not paid our fishing industry due attention for years and this week’s behaviour, ahead of a watershed election, is proof positive that only the SNP will stand up for Scotland’s fishing industry.”

Mr Lochhead said:

“Hilary Benn and the Labour government in London are treating Scotland’s fishing industry with contempt.

“Out of sheer spite and bias against Scotland, Labour would rather send an unelected Lord – whose main responsibility is plant health – to these vital fisheries talks in Spain, even though Scotland has over 70 per cent of the UK fishing industry.

“And now, to add insult to injury, Hilary Benn has the bare faced cheek to turn up for a Labour Party campaign photo-call in Glasgow.  This unforgivable snub to Scotland’s fisheries industry will not be forgotten by our fishing communities.

“If no UK fisheries minister can be bothered to go to these crunch talks that are underway today and tomorrow, there is no question that the Scottish Government should be represented.

“There can be no better illustration of the need for Scotland to be represented in the European Union as an independent nation.”

Last Labour cut is an ‘Unconscionable’ Attack on Disability Equality

The SNP candidate for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross has expressed anger at Labour plans to slash by over 50 per cent the ‘Access for All’ Small Schemes Fund, which is used to improve access to the railway network for disabled people, and has echoed calls by Scottish Government Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson for the planned cut to be suspended.

Councillor Jean Urquhart backed Stewart Stevenson, saying:

“Only two weeks after they all but abolished the Independent Living Fund, Labour are attempting to sneak through another cut in support for disabled people just days before they look set to be kicked out of office.

“The Access for All Small Schemes Fund is not enormous, but it pays for extremely important work, increasing the number of railway stations that are step-free and wheelchair accessible and improving mobility, independence and equal access to transport for disabled people.

“This is further evidence that Labour sees equality for disabled people as a soft target in their cuts agenda. Slashing funds for improved disabled access is bad enough; trying to sneak it through days before a general election, in the hope that no one will notice, is unconscionable. It is a final grim milestone in Labour’s appalling record of cutting disability benefits and support throughout their time in power.

“Labour must listen to the Scottish Government’s representations and suspend this cut immediately.”

Notes

The ‘Access for All’ Small Schemes Fund is administered and distributed by the UK Department for Transport. Scotland’s share for 2010/11 should have been £796,000 but this has been slashed to £390,000 – a cut of 51 per cent. Scottish Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson has written to UK Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Mole, to protest at the cut.

Councillor Jean Urquhart, the deputy leader of the SNP Group on Highland Council and candidate for Caithness Sutherland and Easter Ross, has commented further on public anger at the council briefing to scrap their £30M care homes pledge.

Jean said,

“As deputy leader of Highland Council after the last election, I was immensely proud that my SNP/Independent administration prioritised taking responsibility to build and manage five new care homes, one of which was in Tain. When the council switched to a Liberal / Labour  / Independent administration, they too pledged to support that commitment and build the new care homes.”

“We were first advised of a review on care homes in December – only weeks after assurances from the Lib Dem/Labour leadership that the Care Home Programme was on schedule!”

“Now we have leaks that the council will be told by officials there is ‘no economic case to replace the five homes’. Despite their promises, the Liberal/Labour team had always intended to ditch the care homes, and we have seen correspondence from a council officer who talks of ‘framing the decision for Members such that the right answer is achieved’.”

“It is an absolute scandal and on top of that, the timing of the meeting and decision has been put back, and probably was always being managed, to fall after the election to avoid embarrassment to sitting members such as Viscount Thurso, who will predictably sit on his hands over this one.”

“Now we understand that emails between senior council officials have confirmed that senior members of the Liberal / Labour team had privately discussed an option of privatising all 19 existing Highland Council Care Homes. This would have had a catastrophic effect upon so many individuals.

News reports over the weekend have confirmed fears that the Liberal Democrat / Labour administration of the Highland Council were marking time till after the Westminster election before announcing they would ditch promises to build 5 new care homes in the region, including one in Tain.

Following comments by Highland Council Labour member John Holden that he hopes his fellow Labour members will vote against the decision to abandon the Highland Council’s Administration’s promise to build 5 new care homes, the SNP group on Highland Council have challenge Labour group Leader and Inverness Provost, Jimmy Gray, to make his group’s position clear.

SNP Highland Council group deputy leader and Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross candidate Councillor Jean Urquhart said

“The Labour leader, Jimmy Gray should make his group’s position clear now. We are calling on him to confirm that he will tell his group to vote to retain the programme to build 5 new council run care homes for Highland’s older people. This is a huge issue about the quality of life of our older people and the type of care they receive. The Labour leader has a duty to tell people where he and his group stand. To remain silent and stand idly by would be same as supporting this ill judged and, frankly, disastrous decision which has been manoeuvred by the Lib Dem leadership”

“This is an issue ahead of Thursday’s vote that the Liberal Democrat and Labour candidates will be very uncomfortable on through the Highlands. The attempt by their councillors to form a consensus of silence over this issue until May 6^th election has passed is a mirror image of the London parties silence over their public funds cuts consensus.”

“This is the ‘Iceberg Election’ because the 3 London parties and complicit in keeping quiet on the extent and impact of cuts they plan to impose while pursuing unwanted huge public projects. The cuts they talk tough on are only the tip of the iceberg. Only SNP MPs will fight against public spending cuts in Scotland that would cut to the heart of our economy and threaten a double dip recession as the growth encouraged by the SNP government in Holyrood could be undermined.”

“So is this the ‘Highland Iceberg’? The Liberals and Labour councillors had no intent of telling us about their care home promise cut. I am concerned what other vital service promises are they considering on the back of shuddering funding cuts to the Scottish budget from Westminster. More, now than ever, we need a champion to stand against the service cuts, and a change to this cosy London Party consensus. I urge voters, for our community’s sake, that the Highlands vote SNP on Thursday.”

The SNP has exposed Scottish Labour’s hypocrisy on low pay, following a debate on a Green Party motion in the Scottish Parliament today.

Jean Urquhart, the party’s candidate for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, welcomed the comments by colleague Rob Gibson MSP as he challenged Labour to support devolution of powers to address poverty pay to the Scottish government.

Jean Urquhart said,

“Labour will no longer put their own dogmatic interests behind the needs of the vulnerable and weak in Scottish society. In both 2007 and 2009, they lost the popular vote in Scotland and they have still not learned any lessons. Negative campaigning dominates their election addresses and Labour will not cross the floor to support sensible policies that would benefit the vulnerable in their own communities.”

Rob Gibson, SNP MSP for Highland and Islands, who spoke in the debate, said:

“In Parliament today, Labour tried their usual smoke and mirrors attempt to distract from their own culpability on the issue of poverty pay.

“As they well know, the Scottish Government has no locus on private sector pay, which is reserved to Westminster – and which the Labour/Tory/Lib Dem Calman Commission would not devolve to Scotland. The SNP government has taken significant steps to improve public sector pay levels within the powers available to it, but without control over both private sector pay and the tax and benefits system, any Scottish administration is powerless to raise the take-home pay of the lowest paid workers, such as the majority of those in the hotel and restaurant sector.

“The SNP has commended the efforts of, for example, Glasgow City Council to set a minimum living wage of £7 an hour for its staff, but the fact that they have had to do so exposes the inadequacy of the minimum wage set by Labour at Westminster. Had Labour index-linked the minimum wage to earnings from the beginning, the rate would not have fallen so far behind the level that can be decently described as a living wage today.

“The SNP is fully committed to tackling poverty and income inequality and to making work pay. If Labour in Scotland are genuinely committed to the same, they should join with the SNP in demanding that the levers of power to address poverty pay are devolved to the Scottish government as soon as possible. Until they do, they will continue to let Scotland’s lowest paid workers down.”