Brian Whittle MSP has hit back at Carrick, Cumnock & Doon Valley MSP Jeane Freeman after she challenged the South Scotland Regional MSP’s commitment to the Ayrshire Growth Deal.
Freeman accused Whittle of “political point scoring” and “showboating” and attacked him for failing to support a motion in the Scottish Parliament on the Growth Deal. Brian Whittle MSP has now responded, suggesting that Jeane Freeman is all talk and no action.
A suggestion which is reinforced by the fact that Ms Freeman herself, despite being a constituency MSP within Ayrshire, hadn’t supported the motion either!
Commenting, Brian Whittle MSP said:
“This is another spectacular example of the Scottish Government not letting the facts get in the way of a good rant. As I would hope Jeane Freeman and her ministerial colleagues know, the UK Government will only determine its level of commitment after the local authorities, private investors and Scottish Government have identified what aspects of the Ayrshire Growth package they will fund."
“Having had a number of conversations with the Ayrshire Growth Deal team and Greg Clark MP, I didn’t feel that the motion in parliament was an accurate reflection of how the process worked.”
“While Ms Freeman and some of her Scottish Government colleagues talk a good game when it comes to supporting the Ayrshire Growth Deal, I actually met with the UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, Greg Clark MP three weeks ago. This also gave the AGD team an opportunity to meet directly with the Secretary of State. The UK Government is happy to see the Ayrshire Growth plans progress, but they’re clear that the ball is firmly in the Scottish Government’s court."
“These comments from Jeane Freeman demonstrate a total lack of understanding of how this deal process works. More than that, it suggests the Scottish Government are more interested in fostering hostility against the UK Government than they are in working constructively to secure this important deal for Ayrshire.”
“Perhaps before Jeane Freeman next chooses to attack me for having the gall to understand something better than she apparently does, she’ll get her facts straight. That way she won’t end up doing something really silly like criticising me for failing to sign a motion that she hasn’t signed either.”
ENDS
Link to the relevant motion on the Scottish Parliament website - http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx?SearchType=Advance&ReferenceNumbers=S5M-03993&ResultsPerPage=10