Stirling MSP Evelyn Tweed has condemned The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson for comments made about Scotland’s mining communities, on his recent visit.
Speaking about energy transitions and the need to move away from fossil fuels, the Prime Minister joked that previous Tory Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had provided a head-start with her widespread closure of pits during the 1980s.
Communities across Stirling, particularly in the Bannockburn and Eastern Villages ward, were hit hard by the rapid de-industrialisation promoted by the Conservative Westminster government. Huge swathes of Scotland, Wales and the North East of England relied upon coal mining and adjacent heavy industry for employment. Livelihoods were removed with speed, often with little thought to an area’s socio-economic prospects afterwards. Levels of poverty, illness, long-term unemployment and reduced life expectancy were subsequently recorded across the board.
Evelyn Tweed MSP said:
‘After dismissing a constructive offer from our First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to meet and discuss Covid recovery, the Prime Minister decided to disrespect Scotland once again by making crass and insensitive jokes about the devastation inflicted on communities I represent by the Tories and Margaret Thatcher.
‘Towns and villages across Stirling, and indeed Scotland, have taken decades to recover from such wanton economic and social vandalism. It’s a complete slap in the face to families and communities in my constituency to make light of their suffering – made doubly insulting when Boris Johnson himself has made his views on investment in Scotland well known, quipping: ‘A pound spent in Croydon is of far more value to the country than a pound spent in Strathclyde.’
‘It’s clear that the Prime Minister simply doesn’t care about Scotland, and neither does his government. Scotland’s transition from fossil fuels to renewables cannot be left in their hands. Only with independence can we develop a just and fair transition to a greener economy, ensuring communities can reap the benefits of Scotland’s vast natural resources and renewable energy potential.’
