How SNP snubbed Her Majesty’s UK Government... and cost Scotland £20m
Behind THIS affectionate handshake at Holyrood, it’s business as usual for the ‘petty politics’ of Nicola’s
THE SNP has been accused of ‘petty politics’ by repeatedly snubbing requests from the UK Government to discuss multi-million pound funding plans.
A new letter reveals the full extent of how SNP Ministers failed to follow up on meetings, ignored letters and refused to answer phone calls as the UK Government tried to liaise about road and infrastructure projects.
Scotland Office Minister Iain Stewart has now written to ‘set the record straight’ after Kate Forbes, the SNP’s Finance Secretary, said her Government had been ‘completely and intentionally excluded’ from the Union Connectivity Review.
The review, led by Sir Peter Hendy, will provide cash for transport links between the different nations of the UK – but the SNP has branded it a ‘power grab’.
Now the UK Government has detailed all the times it held talks with the Scottish Government, along with the times its calls went unanswered.
The letter raises serious questions about the evidence given by Ms Forbes to the Scottish Affairs Committee last month.
At the time, she said: ‘The irony of this whole situation is that having been completely and intentionally excluded from anything to do with the Union Connectivity Review, we then get the call to say, “Let’s rubber-stamp the projects that the UK Government have chosen”, and also in the
‘Government made continual offers over the last 12 months’
same breath get criticised for not having been more involved with a process that intentionally and specifically excluded the Scottish Government.’
Those comments have now triggered a sharp rebuke.
Mr Stewart wrote: ‘Sir Peter met [then-Transport Secretary Michael] Matheson twice to discuss the review... he has also been in contact with Scottish stakeholders, as well as politicians from across the parties, including the SNP.
‘In June, last year, UK Transport Minister Baroness Vere tried to arrange a call with [Mr] Matheson when the UCR was announced. Mr Matheson was unavailable.
‘UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps spoke with Mr Matheson ahead of the UCR’s formal launch in October last year, and the UK Government has made continual offers over the last 12 months, including a letter... which received no response.
‘We subsequently were led to understand, via a meeting with Transport Scotland officials, that Scottish Government Ministers would not be engaging with the Union Connectivity Review, or the development funding on offer.
‘This has caused Scotland to be the only part of the UK to miss out on the opportunity to access this additional investment.’
As things stand, roads leading in and out of Scotland will not benefit from the £20 million funding.
Last night, UK Government sources stressed that, while they are ‘frustrated’, the door to the review is not closed on the SNP.
Tory MSP Graham Simpson said: ‘The SNP ramped up their grievance machine and decided to exclude themselves from the Union Connectivity Review.
‘The blame for vital funds not being received to upgrade vital routes and transport connections in Scotland lies firmly with the SNP.
As usual, the SNP would rather play petty politics and leave Scotland short-changed, rather than accepting investment and new jobs as we recover from the pandemic.’
A Scottish Government spokesman for Ms Forbes said: ‘We’ll take no lectures from a UK Government which recently ignored 19 separate requests for a ministerial meeting with the Scottish Government on a single issue.’