15/04/2010
                                         

Welcome to the Ross, Skye & Lochaber Conservative Web Site:

 
Ross, Skye & Lochaber Conservatives
 

ScottreeLogo a

 

 

 

Link in to our new site: www.rslconservatives.co.uk

 

Make 2010 the Year of Change
You can help make it happen!

 

PRESS RELEASE

Its the Conservatives that have the interests of Rural Scotland at the 
heart of their philosophy.

Exposing the hypocrisy of the Lib Dems, Labour and SNP

Thursday 15th April 2010

Lib Dems, Labour and SNP block further relief for small and rural businesses

Conservative plans to offer further relief from business rates for small businesses and rural petrol stations, hotels and post offices were voted down today by Lib Dem, Labour and SNP MSPs. A Conservative plan for the Scottish Government to use ‘buoyancy’ in business rate revenues to extend rate reliefs for rural petrol stations, hotels and post offices, as well as small businesses, was blocked by the other parties.

Derek Brownlee MSP, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance & Sustainable Growth, says:

"The Lib Dems have been rumbled on business rates. Yesterday they announced plans which would see bills soar in Aberdeenshire, the Borders, East Dunbartonshire and Argyll & Bute, amongst others. Today, along with the other parties, they have prevented help for petrol stations, post offices and hotels affected by the revaluation. They have been crying crocodile tears over business rate increases. Today they had the opportunity to help rural businesses but instead they decided to prevent any help being offered.

          “The vote came after it emerged that a Lib Dem plan to keep the business rate increases - but phase them in - would cost
          at least £195m - three times what the party had claimed. A debate in the Scottish Parliament also heard how the Lib Dems
          had backed plans to spend additional money from the UK Government on affordable housing - despite calling today for the
          same money to be used to fund business rate cuts.



                           BY DONALD CAMERON

      Scottish Conservative candidate for Ross, Skye and Lochaber

                          www.donald-cameron.co.uk

 

Donald Cameron launches his campaign…

Now that the election is confirmed for May 6th, Donald Cameron, Scottish Conservative candidate for Ross, Skye & Lochaber has officially launched his election campaign.

Donald said: “In this General Election, I believe that a new Conservative government will be elected to bring about real change in this country.  And we need new political leadership here in Ross, Skye and Lochaber too.

Over the last few years, I have travelled right across this very large constituency talking to voters about their concerns. There are many issues, and here are just a few that people have spoken to me about:

  • Our crumbling road infrastructure, in particular the poor condition of the A9, A82 and A87, not to mention smaller routes.
  • The madness of tighter EU regulation faced by our farmers and fishermen.
  • Care for the elderly.
  • Access to broadband internet – whilst there have been some improvements, there are still many parts of the Highlands without sufficient coverage.

I want to work together with others to bring about a positive effect on people’s quality of life. We now all have the chance to bring about the change Britain so desperately needs. We all have an important role to play in bringing about that change. So I’m asking people to be part of it!

I believe that only the Conservatives can take this country in a new direction which is why I hope people will support me at the polls.

And I am optimistic that the next few years will be a time of hope and lasting achievement in Ross, Skye & Lochaber.”

You can visit Donald’s website at www.donald-cameron.co.uk. You can also follow Donald on Facebook and Twitter; you can read his blog which details campaign activities; and you can comment and ask questions.

 


Visit Donald Cameron's New Web Site

Mary Scanlon

Prime agricultural land must be safeguarded for farming, not housing

Speaking today at General Questions on the use of prime agricultural land for housing developments in the Highlands, Mary Scanlon, Conservative MSP for Highlands and Islands, said:

"I highlighted two recent housing developments in the Highlands which have been given approval despite being on prime agricultural land: Ness Gap at Fortrose on the Black Isle which is grade1 agricultural land and the Tornagrain development on the A96 corridor which is also on prime agricultural land previously used to grow cereals."

"I asked the Minister, given that food security and self-sustainability remain important issues to future food production in Scotland, what assurances can the Scottish Government give that planning policies will be re-examined in order that agricultural land is safeguarded for agricultural use?"

"The Minister responded by assuring me that the recently consolidated Scottish Planning Policy will be taking a stronger line on this issue, which I very much welcome.  He also assured me that in the Land Use Strategy, under the Climate Change Act, the matter of planning on prime agricultural land will be keenly taken account of."

"Prime agricultural land must be safeguarded for farming to ensure Scotland can provide for itself and future generations. Increasingly we import food from across the globe, which is more expensive and less environmentally friendly."

 


DONALD CAMERON

Donald stood as the Scottish Conservative candidate in Linlithgow for Scottish Parliament elections in May 2007 where he increased the number of votes for the party from the last election. He was selected as the Scottish Conservative candidate for Ross, Skye and Lochaber in February 2008. 

Donald takes a keen interest in rural matters, particularly farming and crofting. He plays the guitar and also loves the outdoors, especially hill-walking and fishing. Donald is also an enthusiastic student of Gaelic. He first started learning the language in 2001, and has studied it intermittently since, including undertaking a course at Sabhal Mor Ostaig in Skye.

Donald says: "During this campaign, I will be fighting for change. Only the Conservatives offer Britain real change, and with that change comes hope and opportunity, as we emerge from the depths of this recession.  Only by voting Conservative, can we rid Britain of this tired Labour government, which belongs only to the past. Only by voting Conservative, can we secure the future."

 

 

 

May: Rise in Scottish unemployment figures should be a wake up call for Labour

 

Gordon Brown's debt. Hasn't it grown?

14/12/2009


Gordon Brown's debt. Hasn't it grown?

Annabel Goldie MSP, Scottish Conservative Leader:

Unveiled this poster in Edinburgh today    

 

  



£23,000 – What every man, woman and child now owes in Gordon Brown’s Britain
 

Conservatives have launched a new poster highlighting the £6,000 rise in national debt for every person in the past year. Everyone in the UK now owes £23,000 – up from £17,000 a year ago.

Speaking as she unveiled the poster in Edinburgh today, Annabel Goldie MSP, Scottish Conservative Leader, said:

"For over a year the Conservatives have said that the national debt is crucial to turning round the economy. Now everyone agrees.

“We made a huge deal of it with the baby poster we all remember.

“But since then it's got worse, and the Government still has no credible plan to deal with it.

“It will be £23,000 for everyone in our country - every man, woman and child. That's £6000 more than this time last year.

“And if we don't deal with it – which is the Labour approach - it will mean higher taxes and higher interest rates for everyone."

In response to the Chancellor’s Pre-budget report, George Osborne MP, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, said:

PS: Since this statement was made in December 2009, the debt has now risen to £28000 per head.

The price we all have to pay for Labour's incompetence!

(Scottish Conservative candidate for Ross, Skye and Lochaber)

 Congratulations to Fort William on being awarded over £317, 000

Donald Cameron, Scottish Conservative candidate for Ross, Skye and Lochaber, offered Fort William his warm congratulations after the town was awarded £317, 400 in the final tranche of Town Centre Regeneration funding just released.  

 

Donald said: “It was the Scottish Conservatives who secured £60 million in the last budget for town centre regeneration across Scotland, and I am especially delighted that my home town of Fort William has benefited from the scheme. While the economic situation is still very uncertain, we believe that we are the party of local communities and small business in the Highlands, and we are the party providing the boost at a local level to help Scotland weather the worst of Labour’s recession.”

 For further information contact:

 Scottish Conservatives - Highlands & Islands Office: 14 Ardross Street, Inverness IV3 5NS.

Tel/Fax:  01463 233 986.

E-Mail: rosskyeconservatives@tory.org.

Web Site: www.rosskye.tories.org.uk                 

 

 

Out and About with
Donald Cameron
 

 

 

Visiting  the  Black  Isle  Show, Thursday 6th August Donald Cameron  has  a    powerful   message  for Highland  farmers  and  crofters.
 
(Donald speaking to  local business men  Frank Nicol Farm & Garden)

The farming industry is vital to the country’s economy and to the environment.  Farmers must be able to compete in a truly open market  and  receive fair prices for  their  high quality     locally produced food.

 

Donald,    highlighted the need to reverse the  serious decline in livestock numbers and in milk  production.

 Milk prices, for instance, have risen  in the shops  by  14% with no  corresponding  benefit to farmers.   
Conservatives  aim to   reduce  the    nation’s  dependence  on    imports  for  over  35%  of  our  food  by pro-active  support   for  the  industry.
( We must grow more from our own resources)
 

The Highland farmers must be freed from excessive regulations and bureaucratic interference.

As a Conservative,  Donald considers that it is essential to retain and increase the production  of high grade agricultural land.  With an open market and fair pricing a more viable and sustainable farming industry can develop, providing a quality livelihood for the younger farming generation.  

 

Donald at the NFU stand:  NFU President Jim Maclaren. Jamie McGrigor MSP and Frank Spencer Nairn

Electronic Tagging of sheep -  stop this   EU  LUNACY

 Farmers and crofters will be outraged at the latest  impractical,  one-size-fits-all,  EU  policy  that  the  government  are  set  to  implement  here,   compulsory electronic tagging of sheep.   The cost of this will be huge:  estimated at £3,000 extra per year for a farmer with 1000 ewes.

All  we  need  to  do  here in the Highlands is to move sheep on a   batch basis  through   markets and between farms.   An electronic tag is  simply  unnecessary.   Current  tags     include the UK herd number and are quite adequate and cost-effective,  as well  as  being efficient in practice.

  Donald visiting the  SRPBA  stand along with  Mary Scanlon MSP and Jamie McGrigor MSP.
 pictured here along with SRPBA members.
  (Scottish Rural Property & Business Association)

 

At this  point  in time,  with livestock figures declining at an alarming rate and when the outlook for farming is threatened by some very real financial pressures, the LAST thing our crofters and farmers could do with is a needless,  costly and bureaucratic system such as this. 

Please help the Scottish Conservatives fight it!


From the office of
MARY SCANLON MSP
Highlands and Islands

Dingwall gets £462,900 from Scottish Conservatives Town Centre Regeneration
Fund

"I am delighted that Dingwall has secured £462,900 in the first tranche of
the Town Centre Regeneration Fund allocations. This fund was secured by the
Scottish Conservatives in the Scottish Parliament. Labour and the Lib Dems
voted against it and Alex Salmond only agreed to it as a result of Scottish
Conservative pressure. I think it is a shame the SNP Government did not
think other Highland towns were worth giving the money to. However, there
is still money left in the fund and I think local communities should try
again. As a result of Labour's recession we need this money to help local
businesses and the community as a whole."

Scottish Conservatives working for you!


 

 

 

 

 

 

The independence party is over, now SNP must get on with governing

Commenting after the Scottish Parliament voted against holding an independence referendum in the lifetime of this session, Annabel Goldie MSP, Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party Leader, said:

“The SNP cupboard is bare. The last vestige of a flagship policy has been shot to pieces.

“Local income tax was ditched when the SNP lost a non-binding vote by five. Today they have been comprehensively mauled – losing by 25 votes. This in effect was the Stage 1 of a referendum bill. Now the Scottish Government needs to move on and deal with the real and pressing issues of the day, such as Labour’s recession and Scotland’s broken society.

“By the SNP’s own benchmark, this issue is dead. On the Politics Show last Sunday, Mike Russell said: ‘You don’t know if there is a parliamentary majority until there is a vote’. Well, there has been a vote and the SNP has lost it big time. It is time for the SNP to admit the party is over, to drop its independence obsession and to get on with being a devolved government in Scotland.”
 

 

Out and About with Donald Cameron

 

Fortrose Cathedral

 

 Fortrose Cathedral on the Black Isle.

Donald Cameron (Westminster Parliamentary Candidate for Ross Skye and Lochaber Constituency) with John Scott and Jo Clements visiting Fortrose on a fact finding tour of the problems of small rural businesses in the Highlands.

Donald emphasised that the  Conservatives at the Scottish Parliament were instrumental securing funding for the regeneration of the High Streets in Rural Scotland.

“Donald spent Monday 16th February campaigning across the Black Isle, from Fortrose to North Kessock and Kilmuir. After meeting with a representative of the fishing industry in Avoch, Donald visited several businesses in Fortrose, and met the voters face to face on the High Street there while a team of supporters assisted with leafleting. In the afternoon, Donald visited the Fortrose Leisure Centre and met many of the staff and management who showed him around the impressive facilities. Donald said: “We got a great welcome from the people of the Black Isle. Many of them are clearly worried about the economic situation: the Scottish Conservatives are the party of local communities and small business in the Highlands, and we are the party providing the boost at a local level to help Scotland weather the worst of Labour’s recession.”

 

 

For more information go to

www.helpourhighstreet.com

 

 

 

Struan Stevenson MEP  speaking 

TO SAC (The Scottish Agricultural College) ANNUAL DINNER 

                  Murdo Fraser:  speaking to the Association
                               on Saturday  the 25th October  in Strathpeffer.

Report to follow:

 

 

Mary Scanlon: Tory Plans To Cut Fuel Costs By £100 Per Year

Mary Scanlon:  SNP Alcohol Plan; Government by Gimmick!


Struan Stevenson MEP  on

An External Common Policy for Energy


Scottish Conservative Deputy Leader: Murdo Fraser M.S.P.
calls for halt to all New Wind Farm Plans

 

DONALD CAMERON

(Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for ROSS, SKYE & LOCHABER)

 

“The Scottish Conservatives’ inaugural Highlands and Islands conference in Inverness on Saturday was a great success and was attended by party activists from across the region including many from Ross, Skye & Lochaber.

Annabel Goldie, Scottish Conservative leader, said in her excellent speech to the conference that: ‘With Labour mired in failure, and the Liberal Democrats off the radar screen, voters may think that using the SNP as some kind of protest vote or tartan insurance policy at Westminster is an option. It is not. Voting SNP for Westminster is stamping Alex Salmond’s passport to independence. But it still leaves Gordon Brown in office. David Cameron and the Scottish Conservatives have demonstrated that they can make the Scottish Parliament work to improve Scotland. At Westminster, he can deliver the exciting policies of sharing economic growth with families, finding a route to providing affordable homes and emphasising a new social agenda for the 21st century.’  More
     
                                                                                                       
( Donald with Annabel Goldie )

Donald Cameron Hits Out at the Decline in Scottish Agriculture

                              Donald at Dingwall Mart              

    Enough is enough.

Twenty five years ago the Liberals won this Constituency from the Conservatives.  A genial young man won the seat, and went on to become Liberal Party Leader.  However, after all this time, we have to ask ourselves what the Constituency has gained from being Liberal, precious little. 


 

Donald Cameron from Lochaber was selected as the Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party’s Parliamentary Candidate for this constituency at a very well attended meeting held at the Strathpeffer Community Centre on Friday 15th February 2008. 
Donald Cameron
is a member of a family that has been well known and respected in the Lochaber area for many generations. He currently practises as an advocate in Edinburgh, but his family home and roots are in Lochaber within the constituency.  

Ross Skye & Lochaber is the largest constituency in the country equivalent in size to almost 1/3 of Belgium. Its needs vary as does its geography and it is the view of the Conservative Association for this region that our candidate both understands the area and supports those issues of most concern to the electorate. Donald, together with members of the Campaign Committee, will be seeking to raise the Conservative profile within this constituency, particularly on those matters that appear to have been largely ignored by the present incumbent. In his speech to members Donald stated that it was a good time for Conservatives - the government is in chaos and the Lib/Dems are not making much of an impact, even with their new leader. 

 

                                              

                                  Jack Brooker  What being a Conservative  means to the younger generation

                                                                            A YOUNG VOICE

 This is a good moment to consider what being a Conservative means to someone of my  generation. 

I support the party’s policies on law and order, a strong national defence and free enterprise. But there is a deeper conservative philosophy, which is a firm belief in the liberty of the    individual.  It was a Conservative Prime Minister whose Reform Bill of  1867 gave the vote to the ‘common man’ despite Liberal opposition.

Before and after World War II Conservative Prime Ministers made tough choices  on         disarmament,  appeasement and intimidation by vested interests in the face of Labour        opposition.  So fostering peoples’ aspirations, guaranteeing  personal liberty and the right to have a stake in society.

These liberties are now under attack!  Free enterprise threatened by an expanded   bureaucracy, excessive taxation to finance headline catching ‘initiatives’ and surrendering to the powers of the unelected EU commissioners.

It is time, once again, to stand up for our free society and genuine devolvement of power to the private citizen. Our deep belief in liberty sets us apart from our opponents for it is a principle which remains true as lesser ideologies come and go with the political tide.

Our opponents may come up with a good sound bite from time to time but, so long as we maintain our commitment to the freedom of the individual, Conservatives will always hold the moral high ground.     Jack  Brooker      (aged 18 years)                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                                                  
                                                      

2005 General Election Results

The May 2005 Election results for our constituency were particularly encouraging from a
Conservative  point of view, in that we were able to push the S.N.P. into fourth place.
This shows that there is everything to play for in the 2007 Scottish Parliamentary Elections.
 

 Scottish Liberal Democrats 19100
 Scottish Labour Party 4851
 Scottish Conservatives & Unionist Party 3275
 Scottish National Party 3119
 Scottish Green Party 1097
 UK Independence Party 500
 Scottish Socialist Party 412
 Independent 184

 

Contact Us

Wish to join us Membership Form