Fortnightly Column
Posted on Friday, August 17 2007
Rain Stops Play With all the Foot & Mouth restrictions forcing agricultural show organisers to re-jig events and make alternative arrangements to keep visitors occupied it was rough justice that the event eventually succumbed to the weather. Visiting the show on Sunday it was good to see folk out in support of the farming community despite the dreichness of the day, unfortunately the steady rain (later fairly torrential) put paid to day two after the field was turned into a mud-bath. In recent columns both my colleague Richard Lochhead and I have written about Foot & Mouth and while I will avoid going over the same ground it was good to have the opportunity to speak first hand to those directly affected by the current restrictions. There remains strong support from the agricultural community for the restrictions, as the last thing anyone wants is a repeat of 2001. There is of course the obvious caveat that restrictions be lifted as soon as is practicable. It is essential that in this difficult work environment that consumers support the industry by continuing to buy local and I would urge that while it is more important than ever at the moment it is important that the 'buy local' message is sustained beyond the current Foot & Mouth outbreak. Buying local supports local producers, agricultural or otherwise, and reduces food miles, minimising our impact on the environment, at least as far as food consumptions is concerned. A National Conversation Following the weekend's ups and downs it was fantastic as an SNP MP to see the launch of the Scottish Government's White Paper on the constitutional direction that Scotland should take. Clearly as a nationalist I would urge constituents to support the idea of Independence and I'm sure that will surprise no-one but the aim of the White Paper is to engage as many people in Scotland of all political allegiances and none to consider and contribute to a discussion of where Scotland should go. It is interesting to note that some of the other parties prefer to dismiss the notion of a referendum on any kind of constitutional change on the premise that Scotland has already rejected independence in the recent Scottish elections. The difficulty for the other parties is that they all have supporters who also support the idea of constitutional change, and indeed many support the idea of full independence. It is not unusual when chapping doors to find Tory and Labour supporters who support independence but who wouldn't vote for my own party. I have always believed that what we need is an open and frank debate about independence and the various other constitutional options including the status quo, instead of the usual 'if Scotland becomes independent the sky will fall down' which is neither constructive or intelligent. For those who want to take part, details of the white paper can be found online at www.anationalconversation.com or by contacting my constituency office on 01343 551111 and a copy of the paper will be sent out.
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