A Place to Stand

This article by the NotTory MSP Brian Monteith contains a long statement of why he believes the Borders Railway is going to be a white elephant & also goes on to support nuclear power, putting the important point that new reactors can be put on the current sites already used by Hunterson & Torness.

I don't know enough on this to say whether he is right that

Many MSPs believe the railway will never happen, that it made more sense to vote it through and leave it to ministers to take the decision to halt the scheme when they see the real cost rather than be honest but unpopular before next year's elections. How naive. This railway is the Liberal Democrat's Holy Grail and the very reason for their existence in the Borders.........

I can assure you, the railway's costs will go seriously over estimate. Borders Council, whose project it is, will ask for more finance and the coalition government will oblige meeting, say, 80 per cent of the costs. Local taxpayers will be asked to meet the rest - still a lot of money

Clearly ALL of the other MSPs believe that it won't, or conceivably are willing to pretend. However what really got me was the following sentence

I asked to speak against the Bill, the only person to do so, but as I was not called the arguments went unheard

Being allowed to speak, even alone, is what Parliament (from the French - Parler = to talk) is supposed to be about. Give the SLD their due each time I spoke alone against a conference motion (on the smoking ban, motion against 3rd world free trade, motion for political correctness inspectors in Scottish industry) I was given the proper chance to speak. Speaker George Reid, who I would normally say has done a decent job, should be ashamed of this. No matter how many parties are approving this behind closed doors it is his job to see that opposition views are heard.

Whether Mr Monteith will turn out to be wrong & all the other MSPs right, or vice versa, will be determined by events.