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Johnstone's View 14th August 2009

As they used to say in ‘The A-Team’, “I love it when a plan comes together!” So it was last week when Stonehaven became one of the beneficiaries of the first tranche of money to be allocated from the Town Centre Regeneration Fund. The grant of £181,500 will be used to carry out work on Stonehaven Town Hall and will do more than improve the external appearance of the building; it will yield benefits to the community for years to come. It is also however, a tangible demonstration of how the Conservatives can use their influence to deliver real progress, even while we are in opposition.

Action to improve the state of our town centres has long been a Conservative priority, but the budget negotiations at Holyrood over the winter gave us a real opportunity to force the hand of government and get something done. Having already persuaded the SNP minority government to advance a cut in business rates to the smallest businesses the year before, this time we made it a condition of our support that a £60 Million fund to be made available to provide additional help for projects designed to improve the appearance of our town centres.

As many of you may be aware however, this vital concession was almost lost when Labour and the Liberal Democrats tried to vote the budget down, coming very close to achieving their objective when a tied vote halted progress. Matters were resolved just one week later when both parties, realising the stupidity of the position they had got themselves into, caved in and agreed to the spending plans.

Last Thursday, Communities Minister Alex Neil made the first of two expected announcements regarding the destination of this money. It is in keeping with the spirit of the ‘New Politics’ which we enjoy in Scotland that, as he unveiled the successful applicants, the SNP Minister acknowledged once again the role of the Conservatives in bringing this fund into existence. No one could have been more delighted than I was that a project within shouting distance of my own front door should be one of the first to be successful. Neither must we forget however, that congratulations are due to everyone who contributed to this successful bid.

On another level entirely, this news may have come at a significant time for all those who have lost faith in the democratic process. For far too long, our elected representatives have busied themselves by complaining about the failure of government to deliver for us here in the Mearns, often forgetting that they themselves were, for some time, part of that very government. Long gone are the days when, as a government minister and latterly, as a distinguished back bencher, Alick Buchanan-Smith was able to deliver tangible benefits to the community he represented. Just look at the A90 and the by-passes at Stonehaven and Laurencekirk for starters.

Yet now, all too often, we are encouraged to believe that we are the poor relations, the forgotten outpost, the big losers in the lottery of tax and spend. It is so obvious to the independent observer that this was not always the case. The futility of our current situation is as a direct result of the representation we choose, a self fulfilling prophesy. The consequences of choosing to step out of the political mainstream are that we exist outside that mainstream.

This small victory for the Mearns should show us that it is, after all, still possible for politicians to deliver. Over time, our expectations have been kept low and our rising alienation has been cultivated by those who think they have something to gain, then used by them to our own disadvantage.

There are more grants to be made from the Town Centre Regeneration Fund, so it is not too late for other communities to make a bid. More importantly however, this is a timely reminder that there really is a connection between who we choose to represent us, what goes on in our names in Parliament, and what is actually delivered on the ground. Amazingly, this simple connection goes un-noticed by more and more people at every election.

From this small victory, we must now raise our aim and shoot for the higher targets which we have been denied for too long. With the Political landscape now getting ever closer to a catastrophic upheaval, and an electoral landslide, we in the North East of Scotland cannot afford any longer to be represented by spectators shouting from the sidelines. We have far too much to lose – we need to get back into the game.