Senior members of the Lib Dems in Angus are backing The Courier’s drive to put the brakes on crippling fuel prices.

Angus Councillors David May and Alison Andrews are squarely behind the newspaper’s Fight for fairer Fuel .

They praised The Courier’s stand and urged widespread public endorsement for it, a move echoed by Sanjay Samani, Liberal Democrat campaigner for Angus North and Mearns.

Mr Samani explained,

“I have signed the paper’s petition and applaud The Courier for taking this initiative.”

“There is no doubt that a fuel duty stabiliser will reduce the impact of fuel price rises, making a real difference to hard-pressed families and boost businesses in our rural area.”

“I would encourage people in Angus, Tayside and the North East to sign the petition and show their support for this excellent Courier campaign.”

Sign up your support for the campaign by clicking here for the Fight for Fairer Fuel petition on The Courier website.

Montrose member Mr May, Angus Council’s convener of infrastructure services, has added his signature to the petition as a mark of his full support for fairer fuel.

“As Angus is a rural area, our residents and businesses are at the mercy of rocketing fuel costs,” he explained.

“I call on the UK Government to take urgent action to address the rising price of fuel by postponing the scheduled duty increase in April.

“In my view, this would help stimulate the Angus economy as well as that of wider Tayside by protecting motorists, road hauliers and, in particular, our many remote, rural communities from high and volatile fuel costs.”

His colleague Mrs Andrews, who represents Kirriemuir and Dean on the local authority, said a fuel duty stabiliser was essential for fragile communities buckling under soaring prices at the pumps. She commented,

“Where I live in rural Angus, it’s impossible to manage without a private car.  The area I represent has a high proportion of remote communities where petrol and diesel are a necessity, not a luxury. Families and local businesses are all struggling as it is, and rising fuel costs impact painfully on everyone.”

“I would urge the chancellor to apply his imagination to this problem and introduce a fuel duty stabiliser in his budget.”

Local Lib Dems have backed a petition to save Noranside Open Prison to be submitted to the Scottish Justice Secretary.

Cllr David May commented:

“The SNP Minister’s decision to close Noranside will hugely affect the staff and their families from across all of Angus.”

“Whilst they have been offered choices to transfer to other prisons, prison officers may simply not be able to afford the extra travel or disruption to their family life.  Some may even be forced to move home, out of Angus.”

“The decision may also limit their career prospects as more prison officers compete for fewer senior positions.  The impact of this poorly thought through decision will be long lasting.”

Angus and Mearns campaigner, Sanjay Samani, added his support for the petition, saying:

“It is welcome that Nigel Don MSP and John Swinney MSP, have backed Lib Dem Justice Spokesman, Robert Browne MSP in his criticism of Kenny MacAskill’s decision.”

“However, it is entirely within Mr Swinney’s power as Finance Secretary to provide the funding to save Noranside.  So the question has to be asked why he has not done so.”

“It is vital that Noranside Open Prison, and its staff continue their excellent work, rehabilitating criminals, giving them real prospects and minimising reoffending in the area.”

Cllr May also raised concerns about a bonus culture within the prison service, wasting funds that could be better used to keep Noranside open.

“Reports suggest that overcrowding payments, totalling millions, are encouraging prisons to hold on to prisoners that should be released to open prisons like Noranside.”

“There are questions that need to be asked about bonus payments to top officers.”

“In addition, there are plans to pay huge sums to repair Castle Huntly’s roof.  How can that make economic sense, whilst closing Noranside.”

The Scottish Government are in a mess over the closure of Noranside Prison.  SNP Finance Minister, John Swinney MSP has promised to fight the closure, criticising the decision of his own cabinet colleague, Kenny Macaskill MSP.

The SNP need to get their story straight on Noranside.  On the one hand you have the Justice Minister deciding to close the prison and on the other, you have the Finance Minister and colleagues saying it should stay open.

The decision to close the prison makes no sense given the good work done by the prison and the impact on local jobs and the local economy.  The SNP should be supporting local people and businesses in Angus.

Noranside is currently underutilised purely as a result of Kenny Macaskill’s own decisions.  Long term criminals are being released directly from closed prisons without any transition or preparation for a completely changed environment.  Noranside provides an essential service for cutting re-offending rates.

Yet again, we have a simplistic solution from the Scottish Government, who cannot see the wider picture.  And in fact, it seems as if the SNP’s left hand can’t see what the right is doing.

Angus Cllr David May also called for Noranside to remain open, commenting:

“It is clear that the SNP are now totally split over what to do with Noranside. Kenny McCaskill needs to do a U Turn, as Noranside is a vital part of the justice system.  The Angus open prison has an excellent reputation for the rehabilitation of its prisoners.  I have heard that they get their parole and do not return, which is surely what we want from all of our prisons.”

“Furthermore, at a time when a recently released  Scottish government report shows that the prison population is growing, it is astonishing that the SNP Justice minister has announced plans to close what has been described by many as the hugely successful Noranside open prison.”

“In addition it is an open secret that there is still overcrowding in other prisons, as I have heard that one prison governor asked for ideas on how to spend the money he gains from overcrowding.  If this is true and the prison population is rising it really is absurd that Mr Macaskill plans to close Noranside.”

“I am also concerned about reportsof a bonus system in operation in our prison system which only applies to the best paid staff.  If this is the case the SNP Justice and Finance ministers need to explain why they support this especially at a time of cuts and what is the basis for the bonuses.  Surely it is not based on overcrowding?”

The Scottish Government’s decision not to release the remaining Town Centre Regeneration Funds for Brechin is a disappointing decision

The SNP Government has really let down people in Brechin again.  By denying them access to over £900,000 of funding, it will be a bitter blow for attempts to give Brechin’s town centre a much needed boost.

Given that the money was already budgeted, the SNP must explain where the money has gone and where they have spent it instead of Brechin.

The whole Town Centre Regeneration Fund has been handicapped by the SNP from the start.  A sensible proposal for investment in town centres across Scotland by Conservative MSPs, has been hobbled by a poor implementation by the Scottish Government.

With short deadlines, poor communications and no committment to make the funds available when needed, the government has made the process as difficult as possible and clearly begrudged creating the fund in the first place.  It is yet another case of the SNP’s ‘Not Invented Here, We Know Best’ attitude.

The Town Centre Regeneration Fund is precisely the sort of investment that towns like Brechin desperately need during difficult economic times.

It is little surprise then, that people in Brechin will see this as just another broken SNP promise.

SNP Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill’s decision to close Noranside Prison is badly thought out and must be reconsidered.

Rumours of the planned closure of Noranside had been rejected as “groundless” by the SNP Government in late November. Now we hear the opposite is true.  This is the worst possible Christmas present from the SNP Government for the 55 employees at Noranside and their families.

It will also be a blow to the many shops and businesses in Forfar and Angus who supply the prison.  To hear this in the week leading up to Christmas could hardly be worse.

Noranside has been underused recently, purely because of Mr MacAskill’s own decisions. We are now hearing that many long term prisoners are already being released directly to the community, rather than via open prisons such as Noranside.  There has to be a real worry about public safety following this ill judged decision.

Angus Cllr David May also commented:

“It is all very well for the SNP minister to say there will be no compulsory redundancies but it is a fact that either the staff will have to move and leave Angus or they will lose their jobs. So much for the assurance that they will be redeployed as the minister is really giving those at Noranside the worst possible Christmas present”

Local Cllr Alison Andrews is on the visiting committee of the prison, and was told recently that there was no chance it was in line for closure.

“The work that goes on at Noranside is absolutely brilliant. Some of these prisoners have been locked up for 20 years or more and it’s vital that we give them some preparation and training before they go back to life outside.”

“If that layer is removed from of the justice system, prisoners will be released directly from closed institutions after years and years, straight out into a completely different world for them.  Their chances of coping with these huge changes are much better if they have had the excellent support, training and preparation from Noranside.”

“I know for a fact that reoffending rates are not as high among those who have had the opportunity to be in an open prison.”

Mrs Andrews is also worried about the future of civilian employees and the way this  directly affect them.

The Irish Bailout highlights the urgent need for the UK to get to grips with the national debt.  Any financial package agreed with Ireland will come with stringent demands on cuts to the Irish budget to ensure that the country can meet its debt obligations.  We cannot afford for a similar situation to arise in the UK.

That is why the Coalition Government’s plans for dealing with the budget deficit and the public finances are so critical.  By criticising every single reduction in spending proposed by the Government, Labour and the SNP are burying their heads in the sand.  It is vital that the UK Government remain in charge of the deficit reduction programme, rather than have it imposed by national creditors as part of a financial rescue package.  It cannot be appropriate for Germany, France, the US and China to impose decisions on cuts on us.

If Labour want to regain some credibility on economic issues, they need to be open about what cuts they would make.  They need to be honest that the scale and scope of their plans would need to be broadly in line with Coalition proposals. That way all parties can have an honest, open discussion about how to ensure that reduced spending is as fair as possible, and ensures growth in the economy.  If Labour actually suggest constructive alternatives to any decisions they oppose, their opposition could be taken far more seriously.

When Greece faced its budget crisis before the election, there were fears that the problems would spread.  The countries expected to have issues were in order of concern, Spain, Ireland, Portugal and the UK.  That was a reflection of the relative scale of each country’s debt compared to their GDP and their ability to manage their debt.  Prior to the Comprehensive Spending Review, there were very real concerns that the UK could have gone the same way as Ireland has done.  That is precisely the prospect we would face if Labour’s suggestions in opposition were taken seriously.

There is also a lesson for Scotland’s economy in the Irish crisis.  If Scotland were independent and RBS and HBOS were headquartered here, then the crisis facing Scotland would make the Irish situation look like a missed mortgage payment.  Scotland cannot be independent and also support a financial services sector the size it currently has.  Without those businesses in Scotland, the loss of jobs and corporate taxation receipts would be equally devastating to the Scottish economy.

Labour started racking up the UK’s national debt a long time before the credit crisis, spending more than they received in tax receipts in every year since 2001.  We now have a legacy of debt that genuinely threatens independence and democracy in our economic decisions making. It is time that Labour take responsibility for their mistakes and engage genuinely and constructively to try and get our debt under control.