The Election that Never was

There was cause for more than a little embarrassment at Number 10 this week as Gordon Brown finally announced that his much anticipated general election was, after all, a non-runner. After mounting speculation and hype, which the Prime Minister allowed to accumulate, he has now performed a momentous u-turn and left the public baffled by his inconsistency.

For weeks now the public have been led to believe that a November election was on the cards. It has been commented on that Brown allowed his campaign team to sensationalise speculation through the media, and hype up the odds of an early election. The people of Scotland and indeed the UK had been prepared for a snap election only to be hit with a total contradiction by Brown, turning the whole affair into a pantomime and a pointless build-up of public expectations.

Through this foolish move, Brown has lost an enormous amount of credibility, not only for his own leadership but also for the Labour party. He has plainly revealed the shaky foundations of his party both North and South of the border. This was already clear in Scotland, with a recent survey showing the majority of Scottish Labour MPs to be opposed to an early election. However, with the publication of a new poll last week putting Labour and the Tories neck and neck, Brown turned overnight from a seemingly confident leader to an indecisive waverer running scared from any test of his popularity and performance in Government. Such indecision, poor judgement and lack of confidence does not bode well for Brown’s future as an effective Prime Minister. However, when he stops wavering and finally decides to call an election, the SNP will, as ever, be ready and fit for the contest.

Celebrating our Vital Fishing Industry

On the home front, this week saw Scotland’s fishing industry being celebrated and placed at the forefront of the agenda here in Banff & Buchan and across Scotland. The annual Peterhead Fish Fest brought a host of features and events to the blue toon, from fish related stalls in the town centre to cooking demonstrations and displays.

Aside from the cultural and entertainment value of the festival, the week was also of immense political importance to the Scottish fishing industry. For the first time in history the four UK Fisheries Ministers came together on Scottish soil and right here in Banff & Buchan, for a tour of Peterhead port. And as the largest white fish port in Europe and such a vibrant fishing community, there was no place more appropriate for this historic meeting to take place. The meeting came after the Scottish Government launched its blueprint for the future of North Sea cod stocks. Amongst other initiatives this plan calls for EU measures not to be rushed through without full analysis or consultation and for greater tailoring of fishing restrictions to regional circumstances, which would allow for greater local control and be of major benefit to the industry here in the North East. It also advocates that more responsibility be delegated to the individual Member States and proposes an increase in cod quotas. This is further evidence that the SNP Government has the Scottish fishing industry’s best interests at heart and is committed to representing and defending them to the best of its ability at national, UK and EU level.