Dh’fhaodadh an deasbad air an A9 a bhith na comharra air cùrsa ùr dha Alba, le Murray MacLeòid

Chaidh Fearghas Ewing air a’ chasan son cùis an A9 na thogail.

[English-language version below]

Bha na briathran a thug e seachad air an A9 cruaidh is geur agus tha fhios gun do ghortaich e àrd-uaisealan a’ phàrtaidh, a tha cho eòlach air na buill aca a bhith balbh agus a’ dèanamh an rud a thèid iarraidh orra.

Ach, bha e cho ceart ’s a ghabhas. Tha an dàil gus am prìomh rathad seo a leasachadh – a tha a’ ceangal ceann a tuath na h-Alba ris na bailtean mòra aig deas – na mhasladh, an dèidh ministear na còmhdhalach Jenny Gilruth ag ràdh nach eil dòigh aca targaid 2025 (an targaid aca fhèin) a choileanadh.

‘S iomadh rud air an do chuir i a’ choire: bho ìre na h-atmhorachd, Brexit, cogadh na h-Ucràin agus am pandemic. Ach, cha robh i fhèin no an riaghaltas ri choireachadh… o muirt, nach eil fhios nach robh.

Bha Mgr Ewing e fhèin anns a’ chaibineat agus tha e dhen bheachd gu bheil 2045 airson an rathad gu lèir a dhèanamh dà-fhìllte nas ciallaiche a-nis a thaobh targaid.

Tha e gu math eòlach air na draghan timcheall an A9. Mar gu leòr a tha a’ fuireach shuas aig tuath, tha fios aige agus tha e eòlach air teaghlaichean a chaill cuideigin ri linn tubaist air an rathad chunnartach seo.

A’ tarraing coimeas ris na h-àireamhan aig deas agus an seòrsa rathaidean a gheibh thu ann an sin, thuirt e: “Dha na Gàidheil, tha thu eadar trì tursan is deich tursan nas dualtaiche do bheatha a chall ann an tubaist-rathaid an taca riutha-san a tha a’ fuireach ann am meadhan na h-Alba.”

Nochd faclan Fhearghais Ewing mus do dh’ainmich Nicola Sturgeon gu bheil i dol a' leigeil dhith a dreuchd mar cheannard, a’ cruthachadh strì ris nach robh dùil airson a h-àite a ghabhail agus a tha an ìmpis sgaraidhean sa phàrtaidh – a bha air gu mòr air an cumail air cùl dhorsan gu seo – a thoirt am follais.

A’ leantainn eisimpleir Fhearghais, dh’aontaich dithis dhe na tha a’ seasamh, Ceit Fhoirbheis is Ash Regan, nach robh an suidheachadh mu thimcheall an A9 idir iomchaidh. Ach, mar dhithis a tha ann an àrd-dhreuchdan anns an riaghaltas, nach saoileadh tu gum biodh iad air rudeigin a dhèanamh mu dheidhinn a-rèist.

A thuilleadh air an targaid air a dhol a dholaidh, tha e cuideachd air a bhith na nàire cho beag fiosrachadh ‘s a bhathar a’ cumail ris an t-sluagh mu dheidhinn adhartais an A9, chun na h-ìre agus nuair a thàinig e am follais cho deireannach ‘s a bha cùisean - rud a bha a’ dol a thachairt co-dhiù - gun do dh’fhàg e daoine feargach agus dha-rìribh a' faireachdainn gun robh iad gam mealladh.

Tha Ceit Fhoirbheis is Ash Regan a’ sealltainn gur dòcha gu bheil atharrachadh a’ tighinn air an SNP, gu bheil iad deònach tòiseachadh air bruidhinn agus air èisteachd ri coimhearsnachdan, fiù ‘s ri daoine aig a bheil beachdan rudeigin eadar-dhealaichte. Tha tòrr a’ crochdadh air raoin buill a’ phàrtaidh anns a’ bhòt.

Ach, ‘s cinnteach a-nis g’ eil e soilleir nach eil a bhith a’ bagairt air daoine agus a’ daingneachadh sgaraidhean anns an dùthaich air soirbheachadh dha Alba, no aige sin, fiù ‘s dhan argamaid airson neo-eisimeileachd.

Tha an cothrom aig an SNP slighe ùr a ghabhail. Bhiodh cùrsa ùr a stiùireadh air an A9 na thoiseach-tòiseachaidh math dhaibh.

English-language version:

Thank goodness for Fergus Ewing. Finally, here was an SNP MSP prepared to break with the party-discipline orthodoxy and stand up for his constituents, who let’s not forget put him there in the first place.

His comments on the lack of progress on the upgrade of the A9 were visceral and would doubtless have stung a party hierarchy so used to obedience and even deference among their ranks.

But he was absolutely right. The delays on a crucial part of Scotland’s transport infrastructure – the main thoroughfare that connects the north with the Central Belt – is nothing short of embarrassing. As transport minister Jenny Gilruth confirmed in Holyrood that the 2025 deadline was “unachievable”, she blamed everything under the sun, from inflation, Brexit, the war in Ukraine and the pandemic – just not herself or her colleagues, perish the thought.

Mr Ewing, a former Cabinet Secretary who now estimates the realistic timetable to be more like 2045, knows more than anyone the issues involved. Like many of us living in the Highlands, he knows families who have lost loved ones at the hands of the A9 deathtrap.

Comparing the road infrastructure and accident statistics to further south, he said: “For a Highlander, the chance of dying on the road is between three and ten times greater than those living in the Central Belt.”

Mr Ewing’s crucial intervention on the A9 preceded the surprise resignation of Nicola Sturgeon, prompting a leadership race that looks to all the world that it will expose hitherto hidden divisions within the party. Following Ewing’s example, two of the candidates, Kate Forbes and Ash Regan, have both publicly acknowledged the deep failures of the A9 (along with signalling other departures from party lines). But considering both are senior figures in the government, it does beg the question as to why more has not been done to resolve it?

Other than the complete failure to hit targets, the other issue that has rankled over the A9 has been the complete lack of transparency, avoidance of questions and general obfuscation, until finally the poor public who are relying on its upgrade are left feeling betrayed and lied to, when the inevitable reality comes to light.

The comments from Kate Forbes and Ash Regan suggest that there may be a readiness for a change of culture in the SNP; to engage with communities rather than dismiss legitimate concerns with bluster and hyperbole. There is a lot hanging on the party membership getting this vote right.

It must surely be obvious now that doubling down on division and seeking rancour, rather than working towards mutual respect, has ill-served Scotland’s wider interests and, if anything, has only proved counterproductive in terms of winning the independence argument.

The SNP has the chance of a new direction in front of it. It could do a lot worse than embrace that with a new-found determination to sort the A9, and quickly.