“No surprise” as SNP lag behind Conservatives' record in dualling the A9
New figures that show the Conservative governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major delivered more improvements to the A9 than the SNP has come as no surprise to Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston.
The damning allegations came in a response to a parliamentary question from Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser and showed that the SNP has dualled less than half the amount of previous Conservative governments, a fact Mr Halcro Johnston said highlighted the SNP's neglect of Highland communities.
Jamie Halcro Johnston said: “These findings come as no surprise given the SNP’s lack-lustre performance with other critical infrastructure such as ferries and broadband, both of which are also years behind schedule.
“The record speaks for itself: 25.3 miles of dualling under Mrs Thatcher and John Major, versus just 12.5 miles during the entire 15 years of Salmond and Sturgeon combined.
“We see time and again that, since the SNP came to power, rural areas like the Highlands and Islands have been neglected, with all the attention devoted to the Central Belt.
"The SNP are more interested in political posturing and constitutional navel-gazing than actually delivering on the promises they made to our local communities.
“Perhaps Nicola Sturgeon needs to spend less time grandstanding in front of the cameras, and more time making sure her government does what it says it would.”
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