Lib Dem MP Jamie Stone reflects on securing Pride in Place funding for his constituency
Jamie Stone is the Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross and the chair of the House of Commons Petitions Committee.
The Secretary of State for Scotland’s office in the Palace of Westminster is a little hard to find. It’s up quite a lot of steps, and you’re lucky if you don’t get lost along the way.
I was invited to a meeting there a few weeks ago, so I knocked and I waited.
“Sorry I’m late”, said the new Secretary of State, Douglas Alexander. “Come on in. What can I do for you?”
In my office in the House of Commons, we were all aware of the Pride in Place funding that was potentially on offer to disadvantaged communities across the UK for their long-term regeneration. With this in mind, I made my pitch for the Far North.
We talked about remoteness and the unique challenges that face Highland communities. We also talked about the need for investment in crumbling infrastructure and I went on a rather impassioned rant about the state of the roads – owing to the traffic along the NC500 route. I didn’t have a terribly long time to make my case, but I did my best.
I am bound to say that the Secretary of State is clearly very bright, and rather nice with it. With that, the meeting was over.
“How did you get on?” Asked Olivia and Susie in my office.
“Well, I think it went ok….”
Parliament is a fast-paced environment, with various moving parts and spinning plates. So it didn’t take long before other issues began to command my attention.
Fast forward to mid-December.
“You’ve got £20 million for north, west and east Sutherland!” said Kim in my Tain office.
Gentle reader, I must be honest, I nearly fell off my chair with relief. I began to pen a thank you letter to the Secretary of State in recognition of the allocation.
Thinking of this, the expression ‘if you don’t ask, then you don’t get’, comes to mind.
Some years ago, Nick Lindsay – who masterminded the Clyne Heritage Society project in Brora – came to see me at my clinic. He told me that he was short of funding to complete it and asked if I could see about getting some money out of the previous Conservative Government. I said I would try.
Upon my return to Westminster, I wrote to Michael Gove who was then in charge of the Levelling Up grants. When I signed the letter I had thought that if we were very lucky, we might get around £300,000.
Cue another earlier falling off chair moment from Jamie, when it was announced that the project was awarded £1.95 million from the UK Government’s Community Ownership Fund.
In reminiscing on this, I’m reminded of two things. Firstly, my constituency has been rather lucky in these incidents in recent years. Indeed, next to the aforementioned victories I must also add the Cromarty Firth Green Freeport to the above. As I write, the Japanese Cable Factory at Nigg is being built…
The second thing is that I do believe persistence can pay off. Even if there may have been voices behind doors saying ‘oh just give him the money to shut him up!’, the good it does in the end is all the same.
When I was first elected as a Councillor, my late friend and mentor, Harry Miller (himself, already a Tain Councillor) gave me sage advice:
“Always remember that in the Far North we must have development.”
By development, he meant investment. Investment that would lead to quality employment for this and future generations. Thus, halting and reversing that evil curse of Highland depopulation. Those words of his remain my mantra today.
During my many years as an MSP – and now as an MP – it has sometimes felt like a battle to harness this mantra in the face of an increasingly centralised Scotland under the SNP. From the failure to dual the A9 north of Perth, to the closure of our consultant-led maternity unit in Wick, Highlanders have repeatedly witnessed the Scottish Government taking more and more away from the Far North without giving anything back. Our lives and our communities have been collateral damage in their tired, nationalist pursuit of independence.
Thinking optimistically, I am hoping this money signals a change in attitude to my constituency – and a brighter future for the younger generation that will build their lives there. No longer forgotten and overlooked. With the Scottish elections on the horizon in the new year, this seems more plausible than ever.
Politics is full of necessary scrutiny – especially from the opposition benches. It is what keeps our democracy healthy and alive. But once in a while, a bit of positive recognition doesn’t go amiss, regardless of what party colours you’re wearing.
So in closing I reiterate my earlier gratitude for the money allocated to Sutherland. I look forward to seeing it put to good use.
Image credit: UK Parliament – Creative Commons
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