Election 2021: Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch hopefuls tell us what they think about the key issues facing the constituency in our exclusive series, starting with the shortage of housing and the issue of depopulation
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As Scotland prepares to go to the polls, we will be asking the candidates some of the key questions facing the future of the Highlands starting with the issues of housing and depopulation. In our first instalment, Scottish Labour's John Erskine offers his solutions alongside SNP candidate Kate Forbes who believes potentially restricting sales to non-locals is the way forward.
With thousands of people on Highland Council waiting lists and a surge in interest in people from outside the region in purchasing homes here there is growing concern that the future is not good for those wishing to remain in the north.
The National Records of Scotland say many areas, like Caithness, will see a steep decline in population of more than nine per cent but other areas will grow.
Mid Ross is set to rise by 4.6 per cent, Badenoch and Strathspey by 3.6 per cent and Skye and Lochalsh will see a rise of just under one per cent placing greater demand on available housing.
But there will be population decline in Ross and Cromarty West as it drops 2.4 and Lochaber by 2.8 per cent.
Mr Erskine was asked what he sees as the solution to the housing shortage that is driving many Highlanders away from their home towns and villages.
He said: "Housing is a key election issue in the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency for me and for Scottish Labour candidates in every party of the Highlands and Islands.
"The SNP have allowed a housing crisis to develop over the past decade which has resulted in nearly 16,000 people on housing waiting lists in the region.
"Around a third of homes locally are also living in fuel poverty and when winter hits, too many people often need to make the choice between heating their homes or eating properly, a scandal in modern Scotland.
"This lack of decent, warm and affordable housing is compounded further in places like Skye, where the purchase of second homes and the rise in profiteering short term lets, which the SNP have also failed to reform or regulate effectively, is pricing young people and families out of the area.
"That is why I believe we can’t go back to the old arguments, and the next Scottish Parliament has to focus on a Covid-19 Recovery Plan for the Highlands and Islands and part of that must include the next Scottish Government committing to ending the housing crisis and fuel poverty.
"I want the next Scottish Government to commit to building thousands of zero-carbon social homes in the Highlands and Islands over the next ten years, with parity of grant funding between councils, co-operatives and housing associations.
"We can’t rely on the SNP to focus on housing and a covid recovery plan when they have already prioritised a second referendum and we can’t expect Boris Johnson’s Tories to deliver a recover that works for us all.
"Only by using both votes for Scottish Labour can ensure we deliver a Parliament that focuses on what our families and communities need and to deliver affordable, warm and good homes for everyone."
Ms Forbes was asked the same question but came up with considerably different responses.
She said: "As a young Highlander who left for university and returned to the Highlands for work, I am acutely familiar with the housing crisis. In areas that are particularly popular with tourists, the issues are exacerbated but they are not confined to those areas only.
“My suggestions for resolving this focus on four key areas.
"Firstly, continuing to increase the supply of affordable homes is vital. The SNP has committed to deliver 100,000 affordable homes in the next ten years, on top of the 97,000 affordable homes delivered since 2007. You can see these homes in places like Dingwall, which have brought new families into the area. Families need different forms of support, so not all the new homes are for social rent. Some also allow for shared equity schemes and all first time buyers pay no Land and Buildings Transaction Tax up to a certain cap.
"Secondly, I would do more to disincentivise second home ownership. We introduced the Additional Dwelling Supplement a few years ago, which is a surcharge on the purchase of a second home. Discounts for Council Tax have also been removed. would review the Additional Dwelling Supplement so that it is more effective.
"Thirdly, I would put a 'rural burden' on far more homes, which prohibits the sale of a property for profit or to people who are not working and living locally. This has to be done with state-built housing, unless a private owner chooses to do so. It ensures that the property is not used for investment or commercial purposes but as a home.
"Lastly, all of this has got to go hand in hand with rural jobs. The SNP has announced that we will create a Rural Entrepreneur Fund if re-elected, that provides specific financial support to entrepreneurs in the Highlands."
Read more of our election coverage here
