'An eight page Danny Alexander (MP Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey) booklet came with the post this morning, this his 4th Annual report.
It is just as well that his party’s colours are yellow, for in the main cover picture Danny’s distinctive mane of red hair had turned a certain shade of blonde. I assume this is an issue with the photo rather than an encounter with hair dye.
I’m please to say that after studying the booklet for a few minutes I’m now very familiar as to what Danny looks like, for he manages to cram no less than 28 pictures of himself into the few short pages.
Danny’s remit often seems to tie in with those issues mentioned on a frequent basis in the Gurn, maybe we should email him to ask for a contribution now and again?
AyeRight holds no particular truck with any political party (Old cynic that he is) and will make sure that the leaflet is recycled, or maybe it will go on the fire to help combat the high energy costs which Danny mentions!'
The Gurnmeister is perhaps even more of an old cynic than AyeRight but he has to admit that within the last 7 days he has received two letters from Danny Boy and twice now our MP has done what this constituent instructed him to do. It's supposed to be all about that so fair play to him! - for now, lol.
Perhaps the Gurn should recruit a team of stalkers to keep an eye on all the politicians when they come to Nairn at the next election?
ReplyDeleteWhy? So we can all leave town?
ReplyDeleteCan someone tell me one major thing Danny Alexander has done for the Highlands since he was elected?
ReplyDeleteSure he's probably pushed paper around for individual cases but all politicians do that one.
But is there one thing he has achieved that would benefit the entire area he was elected to represent?
he seems to spend all his time getting his photo taken to give the appearance he's busy (how much time does that waste?) and whining in the local press about things but offering no solutions - the "something must be done" canard with no solution from himself.
Anyone?
Danny sent out a very nice email today, 'Winter Newsletter' which lists all the things he has, well become interested in!
ReplyDeleteAlexander
Member of Parliament
for Inverness, Nairn,
Badenoch & Strathspey
Dear Friend,
Welcome to my winter newsletter which I hope you find of interest and please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have issues you would like to raise with me.
Britain in recession
It’s official – what we have all known for some time has been confirmed by official statistics recently, Britain is in recession. After 6 months of the economy getting smaller, the independent forecasters seem now to believe that the recession will continue for the rest of 2009.
The government’s botched insurance scheme for banks, announced two weeks ago led to a further loss of confidence with bank shares falling dramatically and the pound losing more value against the euro and the dollar. As Nick Clegg said in the House of Commons, we will have to nationalise – temporarily – our weakest banks.
A blizzard of small announcements by the government have disguised the fact that ministers are increasingly behind the curve. Piecemeal action has failed to stem the tide of economic bad news. Bold steps are needed to tackle the economic crisis.
I met a very impressive group of 50 businesswomen recently at the Highland Businesswomen’s Club in Inverness. Their experiences reinforced my views about what the government should do next, but were also a welcome antidote to the unremitting bad news in the national media. It was heartening to hear so many positive stories among the worries and concerns.
In the Highlands, so far, the impact of the recession has been different in different economic sectors. The construction and housing sectors have been hit very hard, some retailers have been having difficulty, and I heard several worrying stories from local businesswomen about problems being caused for very viable businesses by the behaviour of banks.
It is simply outrageous that banks that are now largely owned by taxpayers seem to think it is reasonable to remove lending facilities or substantially increase their cost for business that are perfectly viable otherwise. The behaviour of banks will cause unnecessary job losses in the local economy – one reason why full nationalisation must now be on the agenda.
Of course, local factors also affect the success or otherwise of local firms. Investment in the transport infrastructure is repeatedly highlighted by local firms. The Scottish government’s failure to support the Inverness bypass causes real frustration, as does the lack of timetable or budget for other projects in the Highlands.
We also need to keep up the pressure against other unfair extra costs imposed on the Highlands. Too many mail order and delivery companies seem to think it is still appropriate to impose a substantial surcharge to deliver to the Highland capital. That is unacceptable, and I will keep up the campaign against them in Parliament.
It seems to me that the best thing the government could now do would be to substantially rebalance the tax system. There are many people who have accumulated large amounts of wealth in the boom years who could afford to pay more tax. That money would then allow big, permanent and fair tax cuts for people on low and middle incomes. Not only does our tax system need to be fairer, but by putting more money into the pockets of most ordinary people it would help people deal with financial pressure, and help the businesses where they spend some of that money too.
Save our forests
I grew up in Glengarry, west of Invergarry in Lochaber. That is one example of the many very small rural communities across the Highlands where the employment provided by the Forestry Commission is essential. That work supported families living locally – whereas the neighbouring private forestry did not.
The Scottish government’s plans to lease 25% of Scotland’s forests to private investors would put those jobs at risk. The time has long past when people regarded our national forests simply as sources of cash. The Forestry Commission now does lots of vital work creating paths and mountain bike tracks and supporting environmental improvements. The paths and bike tracks are hugely popular with local people and tourists alike. I am campaigning against this – if you want to support that campaign please sign the online petition at www.scotlibdems.org.uk/saveourforests.
By-pass Campaign
The biggest local disappointment of 2008 was the Scottish Government's half-baked transport plan, with lots of vague commitments. The only really specific decision was a wrong one — to reject the Inverness bypass.
Now political shenanigans about the Forth Road Bridge might be the excuse given for not funding other projects.
A lot of people in Inverness have worked hard to get the trunk road link to a point where it can be built, and have campaigned hard to persuade the government it is the right thing to do. Now we have to redouble our campaigning effort to get them to change their minds.
I hope we can get together a city-wide campaign, involving everyone who supports this project, to demonstrate to the government the strength of feeling that exists locally.
By working together we can show that there is a powerful case for this being a high priority for funding. If we keep the pressure on, I believe we can be successful. The alternative is simply not acceptable. You can show your support for our campaign by signing our petition at www.speedupthebypass.co.uk
Please remember if you have any issues you would like to raise I hold regular advice surgeries across the area, details of which can be found in the local press or on my website, you can also email or call my office on 01463 711280.
Best wishes,
Danny
www.dannyalexander.org.uk