Dear Orkney News,

Tavish Scott has been our elected representative since 1999 (almost 2 decades). During that time the LibDems have been in a coalition government with the Tories, his pal Alistair Carmichael was Secretary of State for Scotland and Tavish was transport secretary. With all that power in their own hands, the LibDems did nothing to improve the ferry fares for Shetland and Orkney. In fact Tavish was the Transport Secretary who signed the existing “expensive” Northlink ferry deal.

Now, shockingly, Tavish and Liam McArthur would have us all believe they are responsible for persuading the Scottish government to give Shetland a “fair deal”, when they can’t even persuade their own party to vote for the budget that carried the deal. Despite their two votes being surplus to requirements, they voted with the SNP because clearly it wouldn’t have looked good for them here if they hadn’t.

Tavish is as disingenuous as someone who shakes his fist at the ocean then claims credit for changing the tide.

Outside the pro-LibDem media bubble that exists in Shetland and Orkney, Carmichael, McArthur and Scott have virtually no influence. Charming as they may be, they are not capable of much by way of political persuasion.

Yours,  Angela Sutherland , Shetland SNP Branch Secretary