MP Stone lashes out at 'raving bonkers' boundary change
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LOCAL politicians Jamie Stone and Gail Ross have united to condemn UK Government proposals to extend the boundaries of the Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross constituency.
The measures could see the name of Caithness being consigned to history in terms of Westminster representation if the expanded seat becomes known as Highland North.
Mr Stone condemned the idea of a larger constituency as “stark raving bonkers”.
The Boundary Commission for Scotland has released a report that recommends the number of UK seats in Scotland should be cut from 59 to 53. Westminster itself would see its total number of MPs cut from 650 to 600.
One ramification includes the expansion of the Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross seat, which has Mr Stone of the Liberal Democrats as its sitting MP, to include a part of Lochaber.
Mr Stone said: “These changes would make our constituency a monster in terms of size.
“People have a right of access to their local MP but that representative can only do so much and only drive so many miles to serve the electorate.
“The journey from Evanton in the south-east to John O’Groats is 103 miles. It takes two hours and 49 minutes to drive the 115 miles from Lochinver in the south-west to Wick in the north-east.
“My constituency covers 3675 square miles. We could fit all 73 London constituencies in my constituency, and have room left over around the sides.
“The proposed changes are simply an example of the Boundary Commission running mad and it undermines democracy.
“With the best will in the world, it is very hard to cover the communities within my constituency, even when driving hither and thither.
“The point is that constituencies and communities have a right of access to their elected member.
“Despite doing what I hope is my best, if there is a shortfall in what I can do in terms of reaching out, why would I not suggest that there is a slight democratic deficit?
“When an idea is stark raving bonkers, like this one, it just has to be said loud and clear.
“I will, of course, contest the seat at the next election. I may not hold the seat, as I may be voted out, but whoever represents the seat will have a very difficult time representing those good people if the constituency gets any bigger.”
SNP MSP Gail Ross, who holds the Holyrood seat of Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, stated that the proposed changes were unacceptable even though they could in theory help her party to win Mr Stone’s seat.
“That will be up to the electorate but I would rather we win a seat by having a good candidate and policies that appeal to voters than because the seat has been given extra territory,” she said.
“I share Jamie’s concerns as my own ward for Holyrood is a massive challenge for me to get around it.
“Despite all the technology in place, such as Skype and WhatsApp, you need to visit all the parts of your constituency to see what is going on and to properly speak with constituents face to face.
“I have colleagues who hold seats in urban areas who are shocked by the amount of travelling I have to do to meet and listen to constituents.
“We need more representation and smaller wards so that the electorate can be properly served by their MP and MSP.
“As for the proposed name change of the Westminster seat to ‘Highland North’, that will see Caithness taken off the political map.
“It will also be name that’s misleading as to how big the constituency is. I’m often referred to by some media outlets as a ‘far north MSP’ which doesn’t give any indication of how wide a range the electorate in my own ward is.”
