SNP Archives - Page 3 of 17

Fears Of Another Tory Sell-Out On Fishing Grow

Feb 072017

Photo courtesy of Aberdeenshire SNP.

With thanks to Aberdeenshire SNP.

Fears of another sell-out of the fishing industry grew this week with the publication of the UK Government’s White Paper on leaving the EU.

Chairman of Aberdeenshire Council’s Fisheries Working Group and Fraserburgh SNP councillor Charles Buchan said the brief mention of fishing in the White Paper, which has only 75 pages, gave him great concern that the UK Government was gearing-up to repeat the sell-out of the fishing industry first perpetrated in the 1970s.

Commenting on the development, Cllr Charles Buchan (pictured) said:

“I’m very uneasy about what has been announced in the Tory Government’s White Paper and I know that the Prime Minister’s comment last week about Spanish fishermen has made many people in the industry fearful about what may be coming down the line.

“The bottom line here is that the UK is leaving the EU and I fully support efforts to make the best possible deal from that situation as we can. The SNP has long-argued to leave the CFP and that will be extremely beneficial to the industry – it represents a “sea of opportunity” as the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation have said.

“What we don’t want or need is for that opportunity to be traded away by the Conservative Government as it did in 1972 because it thinks it can safely use fishing as a bargaining chip in its negotiations. The pronouncements of the last few days from Westminster make me very fearful we are about to see history repeat itself and we must stop that from happening for the sake of our coastal communities.”

A Scottish Office memo dated 9 November 1970 famously said in relation to the negotiations being conducted by the then Conservative UK Government:

“in the wider UK context, they [the fishermen] must be regarded as expendable“.

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Fish Processing Sector Set For Brexit Hammering

Aberdeenshire, Opinion No Responses »

Feb 022017

Banffshire & Buchan Coast MSP Stewart Stevenson

With thanks to Banffshire & Buchan Coast SNP.

Fish processors in the North East of Scotland would be disproportionately hammered by reckless Tory plans to slap a £1,000 levy on EU workers in the UK following a hard Brexit.

The seafood processing sector employs thousands of EU citizens,
with the workforce largely
concentrated at individual sites in the North East.

Immigration Minister Robert Goodwill suggested that firms could be charged £1,000 each year for every EU worker they employ.

The anti-business plans have been labelled xenophobic by former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt who is one of the EU’s chief Brexit negotiators and even criticised by senior Tory Anna Soubry who blasted the proposals as a “tax on successful businesses”.

Figures reveal that individual businesses could be stung particularly hard by the proposed tax. Buchan’s Macduff Shellfish, for example, has a workforce of around 500 people – with 79 per cent of them non-UK EU citizens. That would mean a £395,000 annual levy imposed by the Tory government on this single business.

Around 3,000 EU citizens work in the seafood processing sector alone – with thousands more in the wider food and drink industry. The misguided Tory attack on foreign workers would mean a multimillion pound bill imposed on businesses in the North East.

Commenting, Banffshire & Buchan Coast MSP Stewart Stevenson (pictured) said:

“The Tories are moving further and further to the right at an alarming rate.

“Their plans to tax firms an excess based on the number of European workers they have on the books are discriminatory, deeply disturbing and potentially crippling in terms of business.

“But sadly that comes with the territory of a hard Brexit, characterised by xenophobia and Tory politicians finally peeling back the mask to reveal a dangerous and divisive agenda.

“In my constituency alone, firms could face charges up to half a million pounds just for having the ‘audacity’ to hire workers with the right set of skills who have chosen to make Scotland their home. Many firms would face the very real consequence of cutting jobs or even facing closure.

“It’s incumbent upon Ruth Davidson to distance herself from these comments and to make the case to her bosses at Westminster that Scotland shouldn’t suffer as a result of a Tory hard Brexit led by the loony right-wingers in her own party.

“Before and after the referendum last year she championed Scotland remaining in the single market. It’s time she proved she’s a politician of her word.”

Further Info:

European and External Relations Committee – The EU referendum and its implications for Scotland – Written submission from Macduff Shellfish http://www.parliament.scot/S5_European/General%20Documents/CTEER_Macduff_Shellfish.pdf

– “As well as being an important employer in and around Mintlaw (employing in excess of 350 people in the area, and a further 150 people across our other sites and fishing fleet)”
– “Moreover, 79% of our employees originate from other European Member States. The European labour market is a vital resource to Macduff and our continued success will be dependent upon the future flow of European workers.”

BBC News – Minister hints at £1,000 fee for EU workers: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38581873

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UK Govt Must Come Clean On Failed Missile Test

Aberdeenshire, Opinion No Responses »

Jan 272017

With thanks to Kenneth Hutchison, Parliamentary Assistant to Dr. Eilidh Whiteford.

The SNP MP for Banff and Buchan, Eilidh Whiteford, has called for the UK Government to come clean to Parliament following the revelations that the Prime Minister knew of a failed Trident test just weeks before a vote on renewal of the UK’s WMDs last year.
PM Theresa May refused four times on Sunday’s Andrew Marr Show to answer the presenter’s question on whether she knew about the test failure before the vote was taken.

Parliament voted to renew the deterrent, which experts believe could cost more than £200bn.

SNP MPs opposed the renewal, while Labour were divided. Each missile is estimated to cost £17m, and only five tests have been carried out since the year 2000.

During an Urgent Question to the Defence Secretary yesterday, Michael Fallon MP refused to confirm the details of the failed test, whilst a US Official confirmed the information to CNN.

Dr Whiteford said:

“Whilst the Defence Secretary was refusing to confirm any information during today’s Urgent Question, a US official briefed news channel CNN on the details of the failed test mission.

“It is simply not acceptable that the UK Government has not come clean on the facts of this failure, but US press outlets have received an update from officials in the White House.

“The Prime Minister has real questions to answer about why parliament has not learned about this failure until now, despite knowing the about the failure when she came to Parliament to force a vote on the renewal of the deterrent.

“Notwithstanding the immorality and expense of weapons of mass destruction, capable of incinerating cities, the Government’s stonewalling of legitimate questions about whether the system is working properly only fuels concerns about Trident.”

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Tories “Utterly Misguided” On Carbon Capture Decision

Aberdeenshire, News No Responses »

Jan 272017

SNP MSP for Banffshire & Buchan Coast, Stewart Stevenson.

With thanks to Banffshire & Buchan Coast SNP.

The UK Government spent around £100 million on a competition for developing ground-breaking carbon capture and storage technology before scrapping the plans, a report from the National Audit Office has revealed.
The scheme would have seen emissions from heavy industry stored permanently underground, with Peterhead widely expected to win the £1 billion contract, which would have brought 600 jobs to the area.

It was scrapped at the eleventh hour by former Chancellor George Osborne – betraying the party’s explicit manifesto promise on the technology.

SNP MSP for Banffshire & Buchan Coast, Stewart Stevenson, has said the latest revelations show how little the Tories care about investment in green energy technology and jobs in the North-east.

Commenting, Mr Stevenson said:

“These latest revelations from the National Audit Office are extraordinary, and show how that the Tory betrayal of the North East has not just cost jobs but has cost a fortune to deliver nothing.

“Just yesterday, the Scottish Government launched its climate action plan, setting ambitious targets to further reduce our carbon emissions and to tackle climate change. But today we are given yet another reminder that the Tories are happy to put the development of innovative, ground-breaking technologies to waste.

“CCS technology has great potential to play a leading role in tackling climate change, yet the Tories are complicit in stifling investment to develop this technology, as well as showing their complete lack of interest in developing and protecting jobs in the North-East of Scotland.”

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MP And MSP Thank Local Posties For A First Class Christmas

Aberdeenshire, Articles No Responses »

Dec 162016

With thanks to Kenneth Hutchison, Parliamentary Assistant to Dr. Eilidh Whiteford.

Eilidh Whiteford and Stewart Stevenson with Broch Postal Staff Dec 2016.

Dr Eilidh Whiteford MP and Stewart Stevenson MSP visited the Fraserburgh Delivery Office on Friday morning to see first-hand the operation of delivering Christmas post and to pass on season’s greetings to its hardworking staff.
Dr Whiteford and Mr Stevenson were shown around the office by Delivery Office Manager, Chris Share, and were introduced to the postmen and women, who are pulling out all the stops to sort and deliver mail in the Fraserburgh area over the Christmas period.

The Festive Season is Royal Mail’s busiest period, as millions of people shop online for gifts and send Christmas cards and parcels.

As Royal Mail’s 500th anniversary draws to a close, this Christmas provides an opportunity to reflect on the centuries of hard work delivering to every single address in the UK.

Dr Eilidh Whiteford MP said:

“At no other time is the hard work and dedication of postmen and women clearer than during the festive period.”

Stewart Stevenson MSP added:

“I thank them for the extraordinary lengths they go to ensure Christmas cards and presents are delivered to loved ones on time, and for all they do year-round.”

Chris Share, Royal Mail Delivery Office Manager, said:

“It was a pleasure to show Dr Whiteford and Mr Stevenson our Christmas operation and to hear their kind words of encouragement and support.”

“We are extremely proud of our postmen and women for all their hard work during the Festive Season and for continuing our proud history of delivering Christmas mail.”

The last recommend posting dates for Christmas are:

Second Class – Tuesday 20 December 2016
First Class – Wednesday 21 December 2016
Special Delivery – Thursday 22 December 2016

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MP Offers Support To Fair Pension Campaigners

Aberdeenshire, News No Responses »

Oct 152016

With thanks to Kenneth Hutchison, Parliamentary Assistant to Dr. Eilidh Whiteford.

Dr Whiteford with Ethel Risi and Olive Sharpe of Banff & Buchan WASPI.

Women Against State Pension Inequality Campaigners in the North east have welcomed support from Banff & Buchan MP Eilidh Whiteford, following a recent meeting at her constituency office in Peterhead.

Dr Whiteford met with local women Olive Sharp and Ethel Risi of WASPI’s Banff & Buchan Branch, to receive a petition with 500 signatures in support of WASPI’s objectives.

The UK Government has accelerated the process of equalisation of pension ages for men and women, which means that women born in the 1950s have lost thousands in pensions payments without having sufficient time to plan for the changes.

Hundreds of women in the local area are affected by the most recent changes, on top of the pension age increase of 1995.

SNP MPs have repeatedly raised the issue in Parliament, and have met with WASPI campaigners at Westminster to demonstrate support.

Ms. Sharp said:

“We have no problem with equalisation of the state pension age, but we do feel we should have been informed in 1995 when that momentous change came in.

“Anybody affected should get in touch. We have a local group which people can contact for information.”

Dr Whiteford added:

“The women of WASPI have my full, unequivocal support, and the UK Government really should reconsider this ill-thought out policy.

“Nobody doubts that there are challenges associated with an ageing population. For women born in the 1950s, however, the fact that the pension age has now risen twice is deeply unfair.

“The UK Government should have phased these changes in gradually, without punishing one particular age cohort. That’s why I am pleased to support WASPI’s calls for fair, equitable treatment.

“There are far fairer ways to address the challenges of an ageing population.”

Anyone affected by the changes can get in touch with Olive on 07735575127 or by e-mail on olivesharpe1955@gmail.com

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MP Praises Staff And Volunteers At Portsoy Boathouse

Articles No Responses »

Oct 062016

With thanks to Kenneth Hutchison, Parliamentary Assistant to Dr. Eilidh Whiteford.

eilidh-whiteford-with-banff-academy-pupils

Dr Whiteford with four of the Banff pupils who will benefit from the Project.

Banff & Buchan MP Eilidh Whiteford has lauded staff and organisers, following the official launch of the Chevron Boatbuilding Outreach Programme at the Portsoy Boatshed yesterday.

The Chevron Outreach Project, launched today, will provide 14 to 16 year-olds with an out-of-school opportunity to develop skills in boat building.

The Boatshed, part funded by Aberdeenshire Council, Portsoy’s Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) and the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) has developed a formerly disused building on Shore Street into a purpose built facility for boat building to be enjoyed by the whole community.

The Boatshed was opened at the 2016 Scottish Traditional Boat Festival.

Speaking after the opening ceremony, Dr Whiteford said:

“The project is an absolutely fantastic resource which will give youngsters in the Banff area the kind of real, hands on training and life skills that employers really value. It builds on the good work done establishing the Boatshed, and credit is due to the staff and volunteers at Portsoy Community Enterprise, staff at Chevron and Banff Academy for bringing the project to fruition.”

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Whiteford Hails Progress With Buchan Buses

Aberdeenshire, News No Responses »

Aug 262016

With thanks to Kenneth Hutchison, Parliamentary Assistant to Dr. Eilidh Whiteford.

StagecoachPlaxton

BANFF & Buchan MP Eilidh Whiteford has spoken following further meetings with Stagecoach managers and bus manufacturers Plaxton regarding the accessibility of the buses serving the Buchan area.
Back in May, Dr Whiteford put forward complaints and suggestions on behalf of constituents with mobility impairments, less agility, and those travelling with small children.

Representatives from Plaxton showcased design proposals which will attempt to resolve the majority of access related issues by refitting the internal stairs to ensure they are less steep and of a more uniform height and depth.

Further proposals include increasing the provision of handrails, more push bells and improved stair lighting. Once the designs are finalised Stagecoach hopes to have the improved fleet on the Buchan route early in the new year.

Speaking afterwards, Dr Whiteford said:

“I very much welcome the significant movement from Stagecoach which represents real progress. I hope that feedback from bus users, once these improvement s are implemented, will be positive.

It will make a big difference to those with mobility impairments and those travelling small children and make the buses safer for all passengers travelling on this rural route. I would pay tribute to Councillor Jim Ingram who has lobbied consistently for these improvements and thank Stagecoach and the manufacturers for listening to the voices of bus users in Buchan.”

East Aberdeenshire MSP Gillian Martin added:

“I’m encouraged to see that Stagecoach have taken on some of the comments on the new buses from our constituents, many of whom rely on the bus service as their only means of transport.

What I would like to see is consultation with users and disability lobbying groups at the design stage in future, and I was glad to hear today that Stagecoach and the representatives from Plaxton acknowledged that this was something they would seriously consider”

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SNP MP Backs Anti-Scammer Initiative

Aberdeenshire, Articles No Responses »

Aug 042016

With thanks to Kenneth Hutchison, Parliamentary Assistant to Dr. Eilidh Whiteford.

Banff and Buchan MP Eilidh Whiteford has backed a Chartered Trading Standards Institute campaign against scammers who prey on vulnerable customers.

Scam Awareness Month has been running over the summer to highlight different techniques used by unscrupulous criminals to part members of the public with their money.

Thousands of people across the UK every year fall victim to scams, with detriment estimated at £5-10 billion annually and growing.

The problem is amplified by the fact that only 5% of victims report such frauds to the authorities. Many suffer in silence, embarrassed at having been scammed.

The theme this year is ‘listening to your gut feeling’. Trading Standards are calling on consumers to act on their initial caution and suspicion that often comes when they get an unexpected phone call, email, mailing or knock at the door.

Dr Whiteford said:

“I am pleased to support what is a hugely important campaign to raise awareness of how these criminals operate. Whether it’s by e-mail, telephone or letter, everyone should be aware that not everyone who contacts you has your best interests at heart.

“The message is a simple one. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Never trust anyone who asks for your passwords or PIN. And if you have any doubts whatsoever about who you’re dealing with, don’t hesitate to leave the conversation.

“Scammers utilise email, telephone, and letter and can even turn up on your doorstep. Listen to your gut feeling, and if you have any doubts whatsoever, don’t proceed with the transaction – whatever it may be.”

For more information about Scam Awareness Month, visit http://www.tradingstandards.uk/events/ScamsAwarenessMonth2016.cfm

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MSP Welcomes Access To Elected Office Fund

Aberdeenshire, Information No Responses »

Aug 042016

With thanks to Alasdair Scott, Parliamentary Assistant to Stewart Stevenson MSP

SNP MSP for Banffshire & Buchan Coast, Stewart Stevenson, has warmly welcomed the opening of a £200,000 fund aimed at encouraging more disabled people to participate in politics and stand as councillors in next year’s local council elections.
The fund – which will help cover additional costs for accessible transport and communications support – underlines the Scottish Government’s commitment to ensuring equal opportunities for more people from under-represented groups.

Disabled people are significantly under-represented as local councillors – and the fund will back up wide-ranging support to help correct this imbalance.

Commenting, Stewart Stevenson MSP said,

“Everyone should have equal access to politics, no matter their own personal background or whether they are disabled or not – and this funding will help ensure this is the case by alleviating some of the additional costs that disabled candidates can encounter.

“It is vital that barriers are broken down to encourage people from all areas of society to get involved in politics – which will help make policies more representative of society as a whole. The fund isn’t about giving anyone an advantage, but rather levelling the playing field and making it fairer for everyone.

“I hope people from across Aberdeenshire access this funding. It will help create equal access to politics for disabled people who wish to stand for selection or election in next year’s local government polls.”

The £200,000 is be used to help to cover additional costs for accessible transport or communications support for disabled people who wish to stand for selection or election in the 2017 local government elections. This also includes £40,000 delivery costs.

For further information and details on how to apply – http://inclusionscotland.org/information/employability-and-civic-participation/access-to-politics/aeofs/

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