With thanks to Kenneth Hutchison, Parliamentary Assistant to Dr. Eilidh Whiteford
![Eilidh Whiteford, Parliament [2015]feat](https://aberdeenvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Eilidh-Whiteford-Parliament-2015feat.jpg)
Banff & Buchan MP Dr Eilidh Whiteford has welcomed the release of the SNP’s Alternative Queen’s Speech at Westminster, saying it offers “a real alternative to Tory austerity.”
The Queen’s Speech today will highlight the Conservative Government’s legislative agenda for the coming year, and will likely include increases to tuition fees at English universities, and a weakening of the prerogatives of the Lords – where the Government has suffered a string of recent setbacks.
Speaking in advance of the Speech, Dr. Whiteford said:
“We now have a situation where the UK Government has failed to meet its own targets on key economic indicators. Debt, deficit, borrowing, productivity, innovation, trade, exports – you name the target, the Tories have missed it. Austerity has choked off economic growth – and the UK’s trade deficit is now at its worst position since 2008.
“The upshot of austerity is that, inevitably, it’s the poorest in society who pay the most. We’re calling for a modest – 0.5% – increase in public spending, which would help mitigate the worst impacts of austerity, and boost economic growth.
“The only way to tackle the deficit is to grow the economy, and it’s a lesson this Government has singularly failed to take on board. Choking off investment when it’s needed most is economic madness.
“With Labour mired in in-fighting, the SNP represents the only real alternative to a Tory Government. We want a fairer country, and that’s what we’ll keep fighting for at Westminster.”
Other proposals in the SNP’s Alternative Queen’s Speech include:
- measures to boost exports
- a Fair Tax Bill to crack down on tax evasion
- a real Home Rule Bill, including devolution of social security, corporation tax, broadcasting and resource management
- reform of Westminster, with replacement of the House of Lords by a democratically elected second chamber
- an end to arms exports to Saudi Arabia.
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This alternative Queen’s Speech, in my view, represents approximately similar value to the tax – payer, as the new SNP MP’s, Angus MacNeil and Stewart Hosie did whilst swanning around London hotels, and cheating on their wives by taking turns with the same woman, allegedly at our expense on occasion.
The SNP MP’s clearly have so little to do in London and so little to contribute, that they have time to squabble over mistresses and indulge in pointless political grandstanding, whilst their ex Leader – Alex Salmond, takes to the airwaves on his weekly London radio show to announce to the world that he diid indeed “gild the lily”, in other words deliberately mislead the people of Scotland.
Given the chance to raise taxes to boost education and public services in Scotland, the SNP have steadfastly refused to do so, yet at Westminster they propose the raising of the top rate of income tax to 50% and criticise the UK Government for failing to do so.
It is, in my opinion, just this this kind of hypocrisy and deception which will eventually lead to their downfall.