Moray MP Douglas Ross has urged Moray’s SNP MSP Richard Lochhead to be “fully upfront” over whether he support his SNP Government’s £45 million cut to the rural affairs budget.
Douglas has demanded answers from the local MSP – who was previously Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs – following confirmation of the cuts by SNP Finance Secretary Shona Robison in the Scottish Parliament this week.
Douglas says the cuts to the rural affairs, land reform and islands budget are a “hammer blow” at the “worst possible time” for rural communities like Moray.
Included in the cuts are a reduction of £28 million in the agriculture budget, which Shona Robison says will be “returned in the coming years”.
The cuts have also been criticised by the National Farmers Union of Scotland (NFUS) who highlighted how the cuts were imposed without any warning or consultation.
Douglas says Richard Lochhead must show he is on the side of farmers and those working in the agriculture sector in Moray by “standing up” to his colleague Shona Robison and opposing these cuts.
Douglas added that the budget cuts are a prime example of how out-of-touch the SNP-Green government are with rural areas like Moray and urged Shona Robison and First Minister to urgently outline when this funding will be restored.
Moray MP Douglas Ross said: “These cuts – totalling £45 million to the rural affairs budget – are a hammer blow for Moray at the worst possible time.
“Moray’s SNP MSP Richard Lochhead – himself a former rural affairs minister in the SNP Government – now needs to decide whose side he is on.
“He needs to be fully upfront about whether he backs his SNP colleague Shona Robison’s devastating cuts or whether he is going to stand up to her and put the interests of those working in Moray’s rural communities first and oppose them.
“These budget cuts confirm how out-of-touch this SNP-Green government are with the needs and interests of constituents here in Moray.
“Our rural communities and agricultural sector continue to go above and beyond, yet they are always an easy target for this central-belt obsessed SNP-Green government to pass down cuts to.
“Richard Lochhead cannot be silent on this. He must put his constituents interests first, not his party’s. I hope he will stand with me and urge Shona Robison and Humza Yousaf to urgently confirm that this funding will be restored.”
