Western Isles MP’s broadside over Uist Range jobs

Angus Macneil

The SNP have expressed surprise that months after Labour climbed down over their threats to the Uist Range that they are still playing politics with jobs a Labour Government threatened.

A Freedom of Information Request made by the Labour candidate for the Western Isles and, now in the possession of the SNP, was made only two working days before the announcement (in September) that Labour had climbed down on cutting the Uist jobs.

The correspondence kills the Labour rumour that the SNP knew about Labours plans to cut jobs at Hebrides Range before the announcement last summer.

An SNP spokesperson said: “Labour’s Mr MacSween received the answers to their FOI request on a letter dated the 17^th December from the Ministry of Defence and, they as yet, have done nothing with the information which shows that Angus MacNeil MP was active behind the scenes on the Uist jobs issue long before the MoD said it would be necessary.

“If Mr MacSween reads the report of Mr MacNeil’s meeting with Baroness Taylor in February 2008, he will clearly see that “Minister stated that she was not in a position to say anything as the studies were still ongoing and a recommendation(s) was some way off.

“How Mr MacSween and others can say that he was “well-briefed” about the future of the range is a pure and simple untruth and, a smear which he is desperately trying to make political capital with.

Maybe Mr MacSween is trying to get on the short leet for the best fiction story of the decade, but in this case it has backfired on him, and he should now own up and say that he was wrong and that Angus MacNeil MP didn’t keep people in the dark about Labour’s plans future of the Hebrides Range as he could not possible have known them before the announcement

“What he is conveniently forgetting is that it was a Labour Government that first instigated a consultation into the downsizing of the Range, and it was only through a well orchestrated local campaign involving many people, that made the Labour Government back track from their original proposals and ensured that the future of the Range was and still is secure.”

“The MOD wrote to interested parties in July 2007 saying that they would be undertaking studies at all four sites and said that after these studies they would write to encourage interested parties such as politicians, councillors, unions and other interested parties to take part in the consultation that would follow.

“When Mr MacNeil met with the Defence Minister, Baroness Taylor, Feb 2008, over a year before the studies into Hebrides Range were completed, he was the only Western Isles figure to do so.

Also Mr MacNeil was one of the few people to comment on this issue even appearing in the London Times in Jan 2008.

“Basically what Labour have been trying to say, is what did the SNP do to stop Labour from implementing cuts that the Labour government was planning.

“It’s “Alice Through the Looking Glass” stuff from Labour.  Perhaps this stems from trying to divert attention from the fact that they were cornered by the SNP who involved Liberals and Tories in a cross party alliance which forced Labour from cutting the jobs.

“The long and the short of it all is that with the SNP representing the islands no jobs were lost and with an election looming which Labour are expected to lose we also have excellent relations with all the opposition parties, in the interest of the islands.”

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