Leader of Scottish Labour party says on visit he wants to ‘deliver for the Highlands’
The leader of the Scottish Labour party spent time with business leaders from across the Highlands yesterday.
Anas Sarwar, was the keynote speaker at a Prosper event at the Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness, before he went onto visit Uile-bheist Distillery, the Port of Nigg and Sumitomo.
Mr Sarwar’s visit comes a week after the damning results of the A9 inquiry.
It found a succession of failings over the dualling programme was due to Scottish Government secrecy and indecision that ultimately led to the broken promise of not meeting the 2025 deadline.
Speaking after the event, Mr Sarwar stated: “I can understand the immense frustration for people in the Highlands.
“I’ve been behind an accident on the A9, and the time we had to wait and the number of lives lost in accidents is deeply concerning.
“The economic impact on the Highlands is significant, not just in terms of people connectivity but also for transporting produce to other parts of the country."
Mr Sarwar’s comments underscore a long-standing grievance held by many in the Highlands—that the region has been neglected by a government that is too focused on the central belt.
He argued that there has been a persistent lack of attention paid to the needs and concerns of rural, Highland, and Island communities.
He said: "It builds a massive frustration because people here have heard promises from minister after minister, first minister after first minister, and feel as if they are being left behind or ignored.
“That’s why we need to address the imbalance.
“I feel we have a parliament in Edinburgh that is very central belt-focused and doesn’t actually consider the lived experiences and concerns of people in our rural communities, Highland communities, and island communities, and that needs to be fundamentally addressed.”
The Labour leader also made a personal promise to the Highlands, reflecting on his own family’s experience with the region.
He pointed out that many of his own cousins had to leave the Highlands in search of better economic opportunities, despite their desire to remain in their home region.
"This is personal to me. I’ve seen from my own cousins that many of them had to leave the Highlands to get the economic opportunities they wanted, even though they wanted to stay at home.
“That’s an unfair place for anyone to be. We have huge talent in the Highlands," he remarked.
He emphasised that his vision for Scotland includes a government that delivers tangible benefits for the Highlands and Islands:
"We have great produce, great business, fantastic landscapes that are potential hubs for tourism.
“We need a government that is going to deliver for the Highlands and Islands. Yes, I am Glasgow born and bred, and yes, I want to deliver for Glasgow, but I also want to be a First Minister for the Highlands and Islands too.
“And that means delivering for them, not just making promises that aren’t delivered on."
