All things to all voters
Danus Skene’s political pedigree shows through, expressing a legitimate opinion is to ‘slug it out’ and have ‘economies with the truth’. He is right on one thing however, the issues are substantial and not for playing party politics with!
My views on the SNP’s political opportunism regarding decommissioning remain unchanged. His admission on the £25,000 is telling and as for blaming it on the civil servants, oh dear.
With regard to fuel prices he states: ‘If folk like Billy didn’t jeopardise the windfarm, we could spend energy on ensuring that the priority for income from it was reducing fuel costs and ending fuel poverty in Shetland’. Aye right Danus, I’ll believe you on that one! It is the government that needs to address fuel prices. The first claim on any profit from Viking Energy should go to the folk whose properties and lives would be blighted by such a nonsensical development. If he wants to use emotive language about putting things in jeopardy he really ought to take a long hard look at what this wind farm would do to Shetland.
Interesting that the Scottish Government is going to have a ‘ferry summit’ post election, a bit late in the day given the new ferry contract is imminent. Where has the SNP been for the last five years, their only interest in Shetland during that time has been to cover it in wind turbines? No problem helping out the Western Isles though, political gains to be protected there of course but not in the Lib/Dem strongholds of Shetland and Orkney. Not until two independent candidates exposed their vulnerability in last year’s Scottish elections.
As for SNP utterances on more autonomy in an independent Scotland, again empty promises, they offer platitudes because they fear Shetland could be a fly in their ointment of independence.
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Shetland does need to look at where it will stand constitutionally in the years ahead, more autonomy would be desirable. Whether that would best lie within the union or an independent Scotland needs to be examined thoroughly and with a pragmatic economic hat on, not wearing a kilt and waving the Saltire. Whatever happens our future will most likely remain within the EU, that element of the debate is probably the most crucial.
With regard to his welcoming of the Viking Energy consent, Mr Skene’s Lib/Dem past is evident. He says we should ‘hold off any further developments until that major project has been completed and assessed’, what a fence sitting statement that is. This is impossible, such restriction could never be applied, it would be essential for commercial viability that cable capacity is maximised from the outset. Wind farms will develop all over, the evidence for this is already there. This just shows his lack of understanding in this debate. But even as he makes these naive or disingenuous statements (take your pick which), he is telling the Bressay voters he would not have a problem with a community wind farm being built there. All things to all voters…….he hasn’t left the Lib/Dems behind yet.
Billy Fox Prospective councillor for Shetland South
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