Inverness, Nairn Badenoch and Strathspey candidates make their pitch for votes
The general election has been called one of the most important in recent history and it could change the way the UK is governed for decades to come.
The Inverness, Nairn Badenoch and Strathspey constituency stands to be impacted by any result perhaps more than other areas as it has the region’s main economic and political centre in Inverness, the Cairngorms National Park and one of the world’s most famous and historic tourist attractions in Loch Ness.
Battling it out to represent it are six candidates: one from each of the four major parties as well as one from the Green Party and another from the Brexit Party.
Ariane Burgess – Scottish Green Party
I’m standing in this election to demand climate action. The next five years are crucial. I want to put pressure on the Westminster government to take radical action on the climate emergency and ensure a brighter future for everyone.
Scottish Greens have a track record of delivering change. Hundreds of community-based climate change initiatives exist across Scotland due to the pressure Green MSPs put on the Scottish Government. Scottish Green MPs will work hard to deliver a Scottish Green New Deal.
That Green New Deal would tackle the concerns facing Highland voters. We will provide quality, long-lasting, and unionised jobs transforming our transport network, deliver a local publicly owned bus company, dual and electrify our antiquated rail network, starting with the Highland Main Line. We’d deliver warmer homes for everyone and ensure communities benefit from the Highlands and Islands’ position as the engine room of Scotland’s renewable future.
Les Durance – The Brexit Party
I am standing for the Brexit Party because I am a Brexiteer. It is a new party with a fresh, radical approach to politics and a fresh vision for the future.
I believe I have the life skills, energy and commitment with the ability to think outside the box which will be vital to improve services in the constituency.
Why should you vote for the Brexit Party? The other parties have consistently failed to deliver. For example, Nicola Sturgeon stated that Scotland is one of the wealthiest countries on the planet and yet Scotland has a £12.7 billion deficit, the worst in the EU. Can you trust the SNP? I don’t think you could trust them with your child’s piggy bank.
The Tories are the party of false promises and the Liberal Democrats are not democratic at all as they would not accept the result of the referendum.
I believe that the people of the Highlands want and deserve better public services from their local authority which is currently £1 billion in debt through private finance initiative (PFI) while servicing this debt at £124 million per year.
Fiona Fawcett – Scottish Conservative and Unionist
I am a seasoned campaigner who actively supports causes addressing global environmental issues, wildlife protection and animal welfare. I remain a ‘hands-on’ person, having recently completed a HNC in agriculture at Scotland’s Rural College, to start a charitable care farm.
I am acutely aware of the desperate need to address the many SNP failures of the past 12 years, including the 78-week wait for a new hip, 3000 fewer teachers, and falling revenues despite higher taxes. I hear daily from Highland people fed up with the SNP obsession with independence, people that want Brexit sorted, a positive future embraced, and – above all – the certainty of a prosperous Scotland secure in the Union.
The people of this constituency urgently need a strong and effective MP, not a compliant MP hamstrung by failed SNP ideology. The Scottish Conservatives offer hope, a genuinely positive vision and fair play for all in the Highlands.
Drew Hendry – Scottish National Party
With so much at stake in this election, it is crucial that people get out and vote. As your re-elected MP, I would continue to defend the families, businesses and hopes of this constituency. These things matter. Voting for them matters.
We all know that our part of the world is special for many reasons. From the environment that needs guarded to the way it rolls out a welcome for visitors from around the globe, all year round, and the simple thing is we care.
For me, there is a choice now between accepting the misery and divisiveness of a Brexit Britain or looking for the best in people and trusting that things can be done.
That they can be made better and it will come as no surprise I believe an independent Scotland is the best way to achieve this. I am standing for that positive future. Standing is a way to begin moving forward. I hope you will stand with me.
Denis Rixson – Scottish Liberal Democrats
What can I do for this constituency? I can keep Scotland in the UK; push a climate change agenda; push localism – one size does not fit all; represent all constituents; and work to support the local economy.
Liberal Democrats believe in the UK, believe in mitigating against, and compensating for our carbon emissions; want to devolve power and resources downward – past Edinburgh and past Inverness.
They are more interested in developing the freedom and responsibility of the individual rather than the power of the state.
What I think Highland voters are most concerned about are all the big issues: education, health, transport, and the environment. But I think they want common-sense politics – without hyperventilating.
Whatever happens in the election the sky is not going to fall in. We will still have all the same old problems to deal with. Let’s do this calmly, rationally, respecting the views of those who think differently. And if we can do things better at a local level then we should.
Lewis Whyte – Scottish Labour Party
As a young worker, I understand the issues faced by most working people and will fight to make sure all workers in the Highland economy get a fair deal.
Labour will abolish anti-trade union laws, so that workers will always have the right to stand up for themselves. Labour will also introduce a £10 an hour minimum wage for everyone over 16 years old.
Labour will maintain the pension triple lock, benefiting more than 20,000 people in this constituency and the 36 per cent of the population approaching pension age, as well as provide 100 per cent broadband coverage – the lack of action by Westminster and Holyrood has left the Highlands behind.
Highland voters are concerned about the climate crisis and Universal Credit. Labour will tackle these by starting a green industrial revolution, including targets such as net zero carbon emissions by 2030, and scrapping Universal Credit, bailing out those on it, and rebuilding the welfare state.
