Election 2011: Countdown to 5 May
THE FIVE Shetland candidates for the Scottish Parliament are stepping up their efforts to convince undecided voters in the last week of campaigning before next Thursday’s election.
Conservative candidate Sandy Cross spent the last few days at his home in Edinburgh, but will be back in the isles on Sunday from when he plans to visit the north isles and as many schools as possible.
Independent candidate Billy Fox said he would use the Shetland Folk Festival as his canvassing platform to meet as many local people as he could.
“I will be spending my usual time photographing at Shetland’s premier event, the folk festival, that is as good a place to campaign as any,” he said.
He has also accepted an invitation to meet representatives from Viking Energy on Wednesday, where he will be discussing renewable energy alternatives for the isles should the planned “wind farm not go ahead”.
Labour candidate Jamie Kerr already has a reason to celebrate after announcing that he and his wife Leena are expecting their first child.
He also praised staff at the Gilbert Bain Hospital, in Lerwick, where his wife recently attended the maternity unit to have her 12 week scan.
Using the opportunity for some election campaigning, he said: “Our experience at the hospital reaffirmed our belief in the importance of protecting and developing frontline healthcare services on the islands. The NHS is a lifeline for so many people and our visit there reminds us of the need to protect it from cuts.”
He added that he will again have a stall in Commercial Street on Saturday between 10.30am and 2pm.
LibDems candidate Tavish Scott on Wednesday highlighted his party’s plans to set up a £250 million Future Fund to help bring the ever rising cost of energy under control by investing in ways to use less fuel and electricity.
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He said: “Heating Shetland’s homes and other buildings is getting more and more expensive. Oil and electricity prices have hit record highs. The problem is particularly bad in Shetland with our long cold winters, so sitting back while fuel bills soar, and fuel poverty increases, is simply not an option.
“I have met too many people around Shetland who say they can’t afford to fill their tank. So we’ve got to pursue every possible avenue to bring costs down.
“We will take forward new universal home insulation schemes, to be run by local authorities in partnership with other local organisations, to extend both subsidised and free-for-all energy efficiency measures to more households across the islands.”
Responding to the LibDems’ earlier warnings that all other candidates up for election are in favour of further centralisation, the SNP’s candidate Jean Urquhart said the LibDems were “endlessly whining” about the issue and yet were not prepared to buy into more power for Scotland.
“We will only ever be able to have local control over fuel prices, renewable energy, housing et al when we have full fiscal autonomy together with full responsibility for our own governance.
“Don’t pretend there’s any power for Scotland over fuel prices in the Westminster government. Watch the price rise again and again.
“Who wants to take bets on when we will see a £2 litre? And will the first sighting be in Shetland in spite of the coalition?
“But hooray, we’ve negotiated a referendum on a third class voting system. That’s clever. Keep supporting the Liberal Democrats and keep taking more of the same.”
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