A very Happy New Year to you all. As I begin my second full year as an MSP I wanted to give you an idea of some of the biggest issues I’ll be working on this year.
As work begins to turn the former Johnnie Walker plant in Kilmarnock into the HALO; an innovative development to create a new hub for entrepreneurs and technological innovators in the heart of Ayrshire; I’ll be redoubling my efforts to deliver a growth deal for Ayrshire. This ambitious package of investment in Ayrshire can help transform our local economy but it’s not all I’m working on.
One of the biggest obstacles to developing the local economy is poor infrastructure; particularly roads. The A77 is one of the busiest roads in Ayrshire and a key link between Scotland and Northern Ireland through the ferry terminals at Cairnryan. Working with the A77 Action Group, I’m pleased that we’ve convinced the Scottish Government to commission a study of the route as a first step to delivering the major upgrades the A77 so obviously needs. In addition to pushing for dual carriageway between Ayr and Stranraer, I’ll also be campaigning for investment in the Bellfield Interchange at Kilmarnock.
As a key point for commuters, visitors and commercial traffic; Bellfield is the gateway to Ayrshire, but that gateway is all too often choked by queueing traffic. I’ll be pushing the Scottish Government to upgrade the Bellfield interchange; making it safer for drivers and allowing traffic to flow in and out of Ayrshire freely.
Alongside strengthening our local economy and infrastructure, I’ll continue my work with charities and other organisations across the region, promoting their efforts to improve people’s lives. The third sector plays a hugely important role in everything from supporting people with physical and mental health issues to protecting our local environment and representing local communities; I’m determined to support them at every opportunity.
This will be a difficult year for Councils as they consider how to deliver services in the face of further budget squeezes from the Scottish Government. I’ll be reminding councillors to think beyond the headline figures and look at the possible long term knock on effects when making their decisions. Cutting Duke of Edinburgh’s Award from schools might save some money today, but can mean pupils are less active, and miss out on opportunities to learn skills like teamwork that future employers will want to see on a CV.
These are big ambitions and I don’t expect that I’ll achieve all of them this year, or even in this Parliament, but without big, long term ambitions for the region, then politicians spend all their time engaged in petty political point scoring that makes no difference to the lives of the people they represent, or worse, they convince themselves they’re making a difference while things get worse. That’s not why I became involved in politics and it’s not what I want my time as an MSP to be about.
Throughout the year I’ll be travelling across the region visiting businesses, charities and other organisations. I’ll also continue to hold surgeries and do my best to help anyone who comes to me with an issue. You can contact me by e-mail [email protected], or by phone on 01563 544 399 and find more information about surgeries on my website www.brianwhittle.org.uk.
All the best for 2018!
Brian Whittle MSP