Scottish Government scraps Galloway and Ayrshire national park plan

As part of the Bute House agreement which saw the SNP and the Scottish Greens form a government, it was agreed that "at least one" new national park would be created to join the Caringorms and Loch Lomond and Trossachs.
After applications were invited the shortlist was narrowed down to Galloway, the Scottish Borders, Lochaber, Loch Awe and Tay Forest.
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The preferred option, which also took in areas of East and South Ayrshire, was proposed by the Scottish Government in July last year and further investigation and consultation ordered.
NatureScot was appointed to carry out the process, holding a 14 week consultation from 7 November 2024 until 14 February 2025.
Over five thousand surveys were completed and more than one thousand people attended events that were held across Galloway and South and East Ayrshire, with the respective councils also involved in the process.
Ultimately 54% of respondents were in opposition to the national park with 52% in favour, with the balance 57% to 40% when including only local responses.
As a result, Ms Gougeon announced that the government would not proceed with the proposal.
In a statement to the Scottish Parliament she said: "Based on the evidence gathered during the investigation and consultation, the reporter has advised that, whilst it considers that the proposed area meets the conditions for a national park set out in the legislation, the proposal does not have sufficient clarity, nor has it garnered sufficient local support to proceed to the next stage of designation.
"We have weighed up the arguments for and against the creation of a new National Park in the area, taking full account of the potential economic, social and environmental factors, and we have come to the conclusion not to proceed with the designation of a National Park in Galloway and Ayrshire.
"I realise that this decision will be very disappointing for those who have been campaigning for a new National Park in Galloway over many years.
"Whilst we have decided not to proceed with the designation of a new National Park in Galloway and Ayrshire in light of the consultation findings and the Reporter's conclusions, I want to stress that this Government remains committed to National Parks in Scotland and their vital leadership role in tackling the climate and biodiversity crises, promoting sustainable land management and supporting the economic and social development of local communities."
The decision was welcomed in the chamber by Finlay Carson, the Scottish Conservative MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries.
He said he had supported the idea in principle but "my support changed when the Bute House agreement saw Lorna Slater impose a top-down structure which seemed more like a Green-Nationalist park".
Responding to the statement in the chamber, Colin Smyth, the Labour MSP for South Scotland, said: "For too long Galloway has been Scotland's forgotten corner.
Strong words from @colinsmythmsp on Galloway and National Park being dropped👇@heraldscotland. pic.twitter.com/HWiDyKFQow — Rebecca McCurdy (@_RebeccaMcCurdy) May 29, 2025
"Today the government has made it clear it wants to tear down the 'welcome to Dumfries and Galloway' signs and put up 'no entry' instead.
"Why is is that every idea this incompetent, useless, government touches falls apart?"
Scottish Greens MSP Mark Ruskell said: "This decision to scrap the promised National Park for Galloway is the culmination of lack of confident political leadership and the dangerous influence of powerful vested interests.
'Scotland's two current National Parks have shown just how valuable the status can be. Communities have benefited from better management of tourism and forestry, and new investment in transport and housing.
'By scrapping plans for the third National Park in Galloway, the Scottish Government has slammed the door on the economic investment and new powers this designation could bring. This is devastating news for the local community and nature.
'Scottish communities were competing against each other last year to secure a new National Park. But now, thanks to a campaign led by vested interests and misinformation, the Scottish Government is denying all of Scotland the opportunity to benefit from a new National Park.
'Many of the Park's biggest opponents here in Holyrood once were vocal supporters of a new National Park in Scotland. The Tories backed the designation of a new National Park in both the 2016 and 2021 manifestos, even demanding the next park be in Galloway. But once again, they have sided with wealthy landowners who oppose change and lobby for their comfy status quo.
'Ultimately, it is the people of Galloway who will pay the price for this decision to scrap the National Park, and I'm sure this wasted opportunity will not be quickly forgotten by communities.'
Kat Jones, director of Action to Protect Rural Scotland said: 'The news that Galloway is no longer under consideration to be Scotland's next National Park should send a chill down the spine of everyone campaigning to make the world a better place. That a policy so popular with the public, and a designation with so much promise for the region, has been dropped, seemingly in response to a well-funded media campaign spreading fear and misinformation, is a tragedy."
Karen Blackport, co-convenor of the Scottish Rewilding Alliance and chief executive of Bright Green Nature, said: 'By scrapping plans for a Galloway National Park, the Scottish Government has yet again proved it cannot successfully plot a path to a wilder Scotland.
"This decision undermines efforts to restore nature, protect wildlife and support resilient rural communities. Amidst a climate and biodiversity crisis, Scotland needs leadership and vision – not another retreat from meaningful action. "
Ramblers Scotland director Brendan Paddy said: 'Scotland has waited for two decades for its third national park, so we are disappointed to see this major opportunity missed.
'A new Galloway National Park, if delivered well, had the potential to attract funding, promote responsible outdoor recreation and support people from all backgrounds to walk in this beautiful corner of Scotland.
'We hope that the next Parliament will work to rebuild confidence that national parks are a key part of how Scotland's finest environments can be managed for the mutual benefit of residents, visitors and nature.'

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Edinburgh Reporter

an hour ago

• Edinburgh Reporter

By-election June 2025 – Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart

A by-election will be held this week to fill the vacant council seat in Edinburgh following the sudden death of Labour councillor, Val Walker in April. Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday 26 June 22025 and will be positioned at: Kingsknowe Golf Club Edinburgh Corn Exchange St Michaels Church Hall Fountainbridge Library Boroughmuir Rugby & Community Sports Club Craiglockhart Parish Church Hall Tollcross Community Centre The electronic election count will take place on Thursday 26 June starting at the close of poll at 10pm. The candidates standing for election are as follows: Bonnie Prince Bob, Independent Derrick Emms, Independent Lukasz Furmaniak, Scottish Libertarian Party Mark Hooley, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Richard Crewe Lucas, Scottish Family Party Q Manivannan, Scottish Greens Kevin Joseph McKay, Scottish Liberal Democrats Catriona Munro, Scottish Labour Party Gary Neill, Reform UK Mark Rowbotham, Independent Murray Visentin, Scottish National Party (SNP) Steve Christopher West, Independent Marc Wilkinson, Independent Council Ward 9 Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart The ward stretches from Haymarket west to Colinton Dell. It is as diverse as most others in the city and includes part of the Union Canal, Easter Craiglockhart Hill Local Nature Reserve and the main campus for Edinburgh Napier University. In 2022 at the Local Government election the electorate was 18,284 and there was a 49.8% turnout. Three councillors were elected – Cllr David Key (SNP), Cllr Christopher Cowdy (Conservative) and Cllr Val Walker (Labour). We have interviewed some of the candidates either online or face to face – but here is a breakdown of what we know about all 13 in alphabetical order: Bonnie Prince Bob, Independent Bob is a serial candidate in Edinburgh. He stood in the last two by-elections in Colinton/Fairmilehead. In the last by-election he gathered support from 30 voters in the ward which has an electorate of 19,669. He also stood in the 2021 Scottish Parliamentary election where he lost to Angus Robertson MSP who won the Edinburgh Central seat with 16,276 votes. Bob won 363 votes on that occasion which was 0.9% of the poll. He describes himself as a 'professional political commentator /producer & presenter of #What the X Scotland's most dynamic livestream' and encourages voters to 'Stop electing party political parasites'. Click here to see his social media presence on X. You can watch the unboxing of his campaign leaflets here: Bonnie Prince Bob an Independent candidate in Edinburgh Central with Lady A and Lady B ©2021 The Edinburgh Reporter Derrick Emms, Independent Derrick Emms is an independent candidate who is standing in a loose coalition with two of the other 13 candidates, Marc Wilkinson and Mark Rowbotham (see below). He encourages voters not to elect politicians but rather to elect a team. So if you vote for Mr Emms then the three would work together. He said in a statement to voters: 'Let's set aside party-political differences and come together.' While Wilkinson is declared to be the front-runner, Derrick Emms said he would hold twice weekly surgeries open to all – on Fridays and Saturdays in Fountainbridge Library. He would have the help of the other two independent candidates as 'case workers'. His statement continues: 'Our plan is to come 4th in the twelve wards that elect four Councillors and 3rd in the five wards that elect three. Seventeen Councillors would make us the largest party in the City Chambers as we would have taken these seats from the current five parties. At our surgeries we will represent constituents from all of Edinburgh's Wards. We will help constituents coordinate with each other to lobby their respective Councillors as a team making them more effective. We will make the petition feature on our website which is designed for petitioning elected representatives available. This will transform representative democracy.' Lukasz Furmaniak, Scottish Libertarian Party Lukasz Furmaniak is Polish and has been in the UK for 14 years. He used to work in hospitality but is now a private hire car driver. He wants politics to 'come back to common sense'. He is most exercised by planters which impede progress for drivers on the city's streets. He said: 'We believe that people should decide for themselves if they want to use the cars or not. If they want to use the bus, we are very happy they use the buses. If they want to walk or cycle, we're very happy when they do that. But at the end of the day, it should be their own choice, not imposed by the overlords.' He continued: 'What I believe is that it's time for us to review all the rules and make them simplified, easier to follow 'We all can see there's road works everywhere all year around. Charlotte Square was like that five times last year – closed for a stretch of 200 yards. 'Corstorphine Road – four times in 15 months it was closed again. And there's all the potholes and everything. Why are all the jobs not done in one go? I don't really understand that.' But he would do nothing to affect public libraries or schools saying 'I believe in all this spending – libraries are probably the best choice we can have'. But most of all it is about common sense. He said: 'The biggest thing I'm campaigning on is just come back to common sense – as simple as that. Stop doubling down on the ideas that don't really work and don't help anyone, but they are just, I guess, a vanity project of the councillors. Just to come back to actually sorting the problems rather than creating a new one.' Libertarians have little time for rules. Instead the party is in favour of individual liberty, a free and sound economy, foreign neutrality and political independence. The Scottish Libertarian Party holds a social event every second Sunday. Mark Hooley, Scottish Conservative and Unionist For Mark Hooley a local who has lived in the area for the past ten years, it is all about 'the basics'. He said: 'The theme of the campaign is back to basics. You probably hear going around really popular is fixing the roads, the potholes, you know, the bin collections, but these sort of basics, the weeding, it's just really the theme is kind of the council sometimes forgetting to do the basics for the residents that live here. you know, if some people, they maybe don't understand why. He said: 'There's money to do trams and everything, but the day-to-day basics are getting missed. It is no wonder that people have a bit of disillusionment when they see that. There is usually a bit less of a turnout during by-elections, but I would say there has been a little bit of apathy in vernal about politics.' He explained that he has always loved politics – his father was an SNP supporter. He grew up in the Parkgrove area of the city, studied politics in Dundee and then lived in the US and in Holland. Currently he is studying for a MSc in Journalism at Edinburgh Napier University, and he ran as a Conservative candidate in the Sighthill/Gorgie ward in the 2022 council elections when he attracted 986 first preference votes. He said that he is not a career politician, just 'a regular guy who wants to get involved and is passionate about it'. Reflecting on the lower number of Conservative councillors at the City Chambers after the 2022 election he said that a win here would help to 'chip away' to get back to where the council group was before. He was complimentary to Conservative councillor, Christopher Cowdy who represents the Fountainbruidge/Craiglockhart ward along with SNP councillor, David Key, saying: 'Chris Cowdy is one of the councillors for the ward currently. He's very visible, very vocal, he's very well liked and trusted in the area and known as someone who can get things done and is very responsive. So I would be looking to work together with him and to really reflect residents concerns and the day-to-day stuff.' @edinreporter Mark Hooley is the Scottish Conservative candidate in the June 2025 council by-election in Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart Here he explains a bit of his personal background to the Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter. #edinburghnews #edinburghlocalnews #hyperlocalnews #councilbyelection ♬ original sound – EdinReporter Mark Hooley centre with his Conservative supporters out campaigning PHOTO courtesy of Miles Briggs Richard Crewe Lucas, Scottish Family Party Richard Lucas is the Scottish Family Party candidate who has stood at a range of elections in the past few years. He stood in the Colinton/Fairmilehead ward in the 2022 council elections when he achieved 65 votes – and got the same number of votes in January 2025. Mr Lucas hs lived in Colinton for over 25 years, teaching at Merchiston Castle School for most of that time. The party values are: 'Families are the building blocks of a healthy society. The government's job is to support and encourage stable family life, for the sake of children, adults and the wider society.' The party promotes marriage as the best way to lay the foundation for society – but only heterosexual marriage. 'The commitment of marriage helps ensure that a child benefits from the distinct and complementary parenting of their mother and father, a male and female role model in the family home, and the sense of identity that naturally flows from relatedness.' They do not believe in same sex marriage as it does not embody these ideals. Richard Lucas Scottish Family Party candidate Q Manivannan, Scottish Greens Q Manivannan is from the Tamil community and was born in India in 1997, making their home in Scotland since 2021. Q has worked in the United Nations, in trade unions, voluntary organisations, and as an award-winning scholar in universities. Q has won the Kavya Prize for Scottish writers of colour in 2023 and co-convenes the Palestine Solidarity Group for the Scottish Greens. Q said that as an academic at St Andrews University and as a policy expert they have experience of community organising. Projects which they have supported include road safety, pedestrian crossings and tenants rights. Q plans to focus on stricter speed limits and improved infrastructure for disability access if elected. Attracted to the Green Party by its focus on individual expression and environmental conservation, other matters of importance to them include voter transparency and inclusion. Q said: 'My main principles have been around building more inclusive governance structures, particularly ones where residents and voters are more involved with democratic processes from the get go and through different stages of policies and motions. But at the same time, focusing on the very local issues I know we've had in our area, like resident safety alongside along alongside the canal path, for instance, or traffic and road safety along Ashley Terrace where the pedestrian crosssing has been overdue there for 20 years, Harrison Road and Yeamen Place. Lastly of course preserving our green and blue spaces because it feels like a fair few spaces around the city as well as in our ward are under threat.' In relation to some matters these could be solved more easily with a collaborative approach. Q said: 'I think it's also important that issues like road safety as well as tenants rights are across parties. I feel like they're more logistical concerns regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum. I think Cllr Val Walker was excellent in that sense almost removing the more dramatic politics out of it and focussing on the local issues and communities.' Q is involved with fundraising for Palestine running a music and culture event each month in Marchmont. Through that organisation they have been able to help local businesses having troubles with the council about tables and chairs placed outside. Q said: 'It was good to work with them to find solutions to that.' Q has also been part of the activism around pensions and pay cuts for tutors and paid staff members in St Andrews and Edinburgh. At the end of the interview Q said : 'I would begin with bette infrastructural changes and audits for disability as well as mobility. There's been a lot of concerns raised around roads as well as on the Canal Path and other parts of Fountainbridge /Craiglockhrt not being accessible, whether it's for the elderly or it's for pram pushers. I think, is a significant concern that leads to other safety issues, and that would be right on top of my to do list to begin with.' Q Manivannan Kevin Joseph McKay, Scottish Liberal Democrats The Scottish Liberal Democrats announced Mr McKay as their candidate in May like this: 'An environmental campaigner, Kevin spent a career tackling pollution issues in the water industry. If elected, he would join a City Chambers Lib Dem team fighting for road safety, investment in schools, and fixing our pavements and roads!' Catriona Munro, Scottish Labour Party Catriona Munro Labour candidate Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart Catriona Munro has been a lawyer for the last 30 years, most recently a competition lawyer. Now that retirement is fast approaching she is looking to be an elected member of the council. Ms Munro explained that her parents were lifelong activists for the Labour Party, and she was born on an election day when her father was a Westminster candidate. He didn't ever get elected but she said: 'I feel as though I'm an election baby. I've always loved elections and I relish campaigning. It's great fun.' Brought up in Brussels, Ms Munro said she doesn't have a strong Scottish accent, but she lives in the city. Asked what she is campaigning on she replied: 'People are concerned about the very basic things, that the potholes are very annoying, that there are lots of issues around parking. People raise questions over access to new developments. I had someone who who is concerned about their their road becoming busy because it was going to be used to access a new development. 'Now, of course, we need new housing, but we also need to respect people's views and then other people concerned about the introduction of controlled parking zones. So it's welcome to some people, but not to others, and it's a question of making sure that those voices are all heard and that the most appropriate way of introducing those controlled parking zones is used.' She cited the positive contribution and local impact of two Labour councillors elected in 2022 – Cllr Scott Arthur and Cllr Val Walker. The usual topics of ootholes, parking issues and underfunding all came up during our interview when she explained the difference Cllr Walker made in securing funding for DanceBase. Ms Munro agreed that Cllr Walker will be a hard act to follow, but she thinks she could fill her shoes. She said that many local people had met Cllr Walker during her short time as a councillor – and some people in the area had met Val several times – often in their homes – about their issues. Catriona said: 'It is good to know that work on the ground really makes a difference, that people notice it. You're right these are big shoes to fill but I think it means the groundwork of having a well-liked councillor has been done.' Gary Neill, Reform UK Gary Neill Reform UK candidate Gary Neill is the Reform UK candidate standing in this by-election. The grandfather from Northern Ireland said he is standing for the sake of his grandchildren. He explained: 'I've been a member of Reform for about three years. I've been a Tory voter all my life, but the last lot of years, it's got very disenchanting. 'The biggest thing we need to take control of is the amount of money that we spend and the amount of tax that we raise. This country has been borrowing month on month, year on year. And we are rolling up the most enormous debt for our grandchildren to deal with. So that's what drives me.' Asked what he would seek to influence in the council he said it was simple: 'We need to start looking at the way The City of Edinburgh Council is run. Even in my short term, and exposure to the statistics and there is in your face waste.' He suggests selling off any council-owned buildings and land which are not required or used, and is vocal in his campaign leaflet about the 'state of Edinburgh roads'. He said: 'I'm in and out of Edinburgh Airport quite a bit and honest to goodness taking people back into the centre of town your back is put out with the state of the roads.' He said that he has had a career in sales, has travelled the world and is now retired. He feels that his experience can now be put to use. He said: 'My entire time has been in the commercial sector, in the private sector, where it is very competitive, very tough. But, I think I can use that in the public sector. And I'm fortunate that I have the time to pursue this – and I feel quite driven to do so.' Finally he is incensed that the council should only be concerned about local matters. He said that in a previous set of council papers from March there were motions about Palestine and Gaza – 'not one of them anything to do with Edinburgh'. He said: 'I think our elected representatives, of which I hope to be one, should actually concentrate and focus on running the city without getting involved in stuff they have no knowledge of. It might even be said that it's virtue signalling to look good in front of their people. I don't know, I don't care. It's nothing to do with running Edinburgh.' He is new to politics and says he has quickly learned that the electorate is very fickle. He said: 'They'll tell you one thing and they'll do something else. We learned that just last month at Hamilton where a lot of volunteers for Reform were helping the excellent candidate that we have, Ross Lambie. The media didn't say it, but they knew it was a two horse race, the SNP and Reform. We knew it was a two horse race. Yeah. Yeah. And then bang out of nowhere comes Labour and it flummoxed all of us.' Mr Neill has been out twice daily in the ward with his supporters visiting as many people as possible in the ward. He said: 'As much as Reform is enjoying a fairly high profile nationally, we've got to try and make that a local message, I feel pretty good about it. It;s a good challenge and I'm enjoying it.' Gary Neill is the @ candidate for the council by-election in Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart. Here he outlines just one way he thinks the council could do better — The Edinburgh Reporter (@ 2025-06-22T12:52:45.692Z Mark Rowbotham, Independent Mr Rowbotham is standing as an independent candidate in collaboration with Marc Wilkinson and Derrick Emms. HIs stance is the same as the other two candidates : Don't elect politicians Elect People Elect a Team #1 Marc Wilkinson #2 Mark Rowbotham #3 Derrick Emms… Edinburgh Council By-election, Thursday 26th June 2025, 7am-10pm Everyone in the Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart ward has a reason to vote now Let's set aside party-political differences and come together.' Murray Visentin, Scottish National Party (SNP) Murray Visentin SNP candidate Murray Visentin is manager in Asda Chesser and although a relative newcomer to politics he knows the price of shopping – and said that it is the basics which matter. He explained that the price of milk depends on some variables – whether or not it is branded and according to size. The Visentin household buys the four litre size as it includes Murray, his wife, their four children and two cats. He said his candidacy has been 'a long time coming' but when this possibility came up he jumped at the chance. His support of independence is key and he has been an activist since he was a teenager. He joined the SNP in 2014. He feels he could make a difference in the council and said: 'I'm confident to take people's views on board and talk about them, regardless whether they fall in line with SNP values or anybody else's values. 'Local politics is different from national politics. It's about the people more than the actual polici. Of course, I'm going to vote with the group. I'm going to be an SNP councillor and would huave to do that, but it doesn't mean I can't have a voice for my neighbors and the family members and my friends in the ward as well.' He said that politics for local residents is about more than just the price of shopping. It is also about educaiton and local travel as well as green space. He lives in Hutchison and holds the Hutchison Community Garden up as a model project which along with organised litter picking 'makes a difference in local communities in a big way'. He said: 'I think that it's a svery family orientated ward. You've got a mixed batch of different sort of political affiliations. You've got different sorts of demographics as well that we need to be appealing to and helping. So if you go up to Craiglockhart way you've got more affluent people. It's the day to day things. It's the cost of living for some people. It's education for their kids. It's having a voice for somebody that knows the neighborhood, knows the ward, to be able to go to the council and be in the chambers and say, Look, these are my people. These are the people that need help.' Steve Christopher West, Independent Steve West is a trade union activist in the PCS civil service workers' union. He describes himself as an independent socialist and told The Socialist Worker that he is campaigning against the £2.2 million cuts proposed by the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board. He said: 'There has to be someone in this election who is against cuts and racism.' He believes that this cut in funding would result in '200 compulsory redundancies and cuts to valuable services'. He said he will stand 'against austerity', against attacks on benefits and against attacks on trans+ rights. He is using TikTok as a way of getting his election message out to voters. His latest video has a simple message – 'No to cuts, end austerity, tax the rich, fund public services migrants are not to blame,, no to racism welfare not warfare, end the genocide, Free Palestine – for a real left alternative vote for me, Steve West.' Marc Wilkinson, Independent Marc is also someone who has stood in the last two council by-elections as well as three others. He has created his own 'party' called Edinburgh and East Lothian People although he is standing as an Independent candidate. He wants everyone in the ward to have a reason to vote, and believes that he can fix party politics by stopping the party whip and allowing elected politicians to have a free vote. He explains that he grew his vote share in the January 2025 by-election when 494 people supported him. He said this was a +79% increase in vote share compared to the November by-election. He is leader of Edinburgh and East Lothian People as well as seven other new parties in other areas of Scotland. and claims that this could mean that the party would return one MSP in each region if the party attracts just 6% of the vote. He would work alongside Derrick Emms and Mark Rowbotham to represent the constituency. Like this: Like Related

The National

3 hours ago

• The National

Scotland 'should not be treated as afterthought' of HS2 project

Last week, the UK Government admitted the flagship infrastructure project had been 'no less than a litany of failure'. The Labour administration blamed the previous Tory government for the overruns. The link to Scotland for the project was cancelled in June 2022, with the route from Birmingham to Manchester scrapped by former Tory prime minister Rishi Sunak in 2024. READ MORE: UK providing 'political cover' for US and Israel after Iran attack Now, the scheme is running £37 billion over budget, and has been delayed beyond 2033. The UK's Secretary of State for Transport, MP Heidi Alexander, told the House of Commons last week: 'I'm drawing a line in the sand – calling time on years of mismanagement, flawed reporting and ineffective oversight. 'It means this government will get the job done between Birmingham and London. 'We won't reinstate cancelled sections we can't afford.' Alexander (above) also admitted there was 'no reasonable way to deliver' on the 2033 target for the first trains to run between London and Birmingham. The SNP are now urging the UK Government to look again at extending the line to Scotland, after taxpayers north of the border will have contributed to the project but see no benefit. Willie Coffey, SNP MSP, said: 'The fact the UK cannot construct a high-speed rail network - the norm in many countries around the world - speaks for itself. 'While we know HS2 won't have any stations in Scotland, with the way things are going it'll be lucky to have any stations in England either.' Coffey pointed to claims made during the 2014 independence referendum that a Yes vote would jeopardise Scotland's opportunity to benefit from HS2 'only to find that promptly after the referendum the connections to Scotland were ditched'. READ MORE: Douglas Alexander refuses to set out route to Scottish independence 'This is nothing new sadly, 30 years ago we were promised that Scotland would be connected to the Eurostar - but that was dumped despite Scotland's sizeable contribution to paying for the creation of the Channel Tunnel,' he added. "Promises broken and public money squandered is par for the course for Westminster. It's clear we need to get Scotland's finances and transport investment out of the hands of Westminster and into Scotland's hands with independence." It comes after new HS2 Ltd chief executive Mark Wild said the 'overall situation with respect to cost, schedule and scope is unsustainable' in a letter to Alexander. He said costs would continue to rise if ministers did not renegotiate engineering contracts awarded in 2020. Wild also said that the testing phase alone would be likely to take three years, rather than the 14 months that had been previously assumed. The Department for Transport has been contacted for comment. The £3bn Scottish link to HS2 was quietly dropped by the then-Tory government just 30 minutes before the result of a no-confidence vote on Boris Johnson was announced. When Sunak cancelled the Manchester leg at the 2023 Tory party conference, he said the money would be diverted to other public transport projects and roads in the North of England and the Midlands.

The Herald Scotland

4 hours ago

• The Herald Scotland

Blair 'helping' Scottish Labour with SNP election battle

It is expected to be a large part of Labour's campaigning next May as it seeks to make the problems in the NHS a central issue. It reportedly working on how to improve access to GPs and use technology to drive down waiting lists. There is no fee involved in the work. READ MORE: The former PM is a controversial figure inside and outwith Labour despite being the only person to lead the party to consecutive election wins. Mr Blair led Labour between 1995 and 2007. He was Prime Minister from 1997 for 10 years, winning three general elections. Scotland's NHS is facing huge problems, with one in six Scots on a waiting list for treatment. Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour's health spokeswoman, told The Times: 'Our NHS is stretched to breaking point and technology is a way to ease that pressure — but the SNP is squandering the opportunity. "From GP practices using fax machines to doctors relying on pagers, the SNP is running an analogue health service in a digital age. GPs have been sounding the alarm about how a woeful lack of basic IT is holding them back — it's time we have a government that will listen. 'A Scottish Labour government will put Scotland on the cutting edge of medical innovation and modernise our NHS so it is fit for the future.' A Tony Blair Institute spokesman said: 'We are always happy to talk to any and all political parties who are interested in our work, all of which is published and publicly available." SNP MSP Clare Haughey said: 'That Anas Sarwar is taking advice on health from an organisation which has previously called for the selling of NHS patient's data for money is truly beyond belief. 'It is unbelievable that Scottish Labour are looking to the man that led us into the disastrous Iraq war to tell them what is best for Scotland. "Labour have nothing positive to offer Scotland - rather than listening to the people of Scotland, Labour are relying on the advice of has-beens like Tony Blair. "The SNP is the only party with a clear plan to build a better future for Scotland - improving our NHS, supporting families and workers through the cost-of-living crisis and creating new opportunities with the powers of independence."