Council Committee Begins Fight-Back

SKAT Press Release - 26 May 2000

The SKAT campaign welcomes the re-entry of the Highland Council in the Skye Bridge issue. Sandy MacKenzie, Convenor of the Transport Select Planning Committee, and his Committee are to be congratulated for agreeing to begin the fight-back of the Council's anti-toll position that suffered severe slippage under Peter Peacock, past Convenor and now Labour Highland MSP.

The old Highland Regional Council and the Highland Council have been manipulated by the former Scottish Office. They have been used as whipping boys to deflect the outrage of Skye residents and the general Scottish public; the old Highland Regional Council for having agreed to a tolled bridge in the first place in the '80s and the Highland Council in 1997 for being drawn in as handmaidens to a Scottish Office settlement that went against their own anti-toll policy. The present Scottish Executive has continued where the Scottish Office left off in trying to justify their unwillingness to resolve the toll issue by citing the involvement of Highland Council with the implication of the Highland Council support.

The motion passed by the Transport Planning Select Committee means that Highland Council has begun to put that history behind them. Sandy MacKenzie has expressed a firm commitment to pursuing all issues that lend light and increase pressure for action by the Scottish Executive on the Skye toll issue.

This campaign will be meeting Cllr. MacKenzie in the near future for an exchange of views and to update him on how this campaign is progressing these issues.


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Copyright © Ray Shields, 2000.

Most recent revision, 26 May 2000