We need to harness the growth potential Brexit offers farming and fishing
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ELECTION PROFILE: Sandra Skinner, Brexit Party candidate for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
A GRADUATE engineer, I came north to join Highlands Fabricators in 1998 where I met my husband Hugh. Our two daughters spent their formative years in the Seaboard Villages where we maintained a base while working overseas.
I held technical and commercial roles on some of the world’s largest oil and gas development projects, an opportunity which afforded me invaluable professional, personal and cultural experiences.
Since returning home I have been an active community volunteer and supported local salmon fishermen following the Scottish Government’s ban on the centuries-old tradition of coastal salmon-netting.
I appreciate many issues being raised locally are devolved: NHS, education, social care, etc. If elected as your MP I will work with the relevant bodies to address constituents’ concerns.
I am a highly motivated individual, with a positive outlook for a post-Brexit Scotland. Below are the areas which motivated me to stand in this election.
In 2011 Alex Salmond told us Scotland would become the "Saudi Arabia of renewables". Since then we have seen both our UK Government and Scottish Government invest significantly in the industry while seeing little benefit in our communities. As the man-hour-intensive fabrication work went overseas we heard much about BiFab "fighting for the scraps" – no mention of Highland yards!
I’ve put letters into newspapers, raised a petition, contacted ministers, MPs, MSPs and councillors requesting they support a call for publicly subsidised contracts to deliver local jobs. No support leads me to assume there is a fear any action could fall foul of EU state aid rules.
We have seen the flaws in our political system and realised it’s time to 'change politics for good'.
It’s important to harness the growth potential Brexit offers our farming and fishing communities in Scotland. Leaving the CAP provides an opportunity to produce policies that better reflect our unique agricultural conditions. Free from the CFP could spark a boom in Scotland’s fishing industry, generating £540 million and 5000 jobs within our rural communities. However, to achieve this we must take back full control of our 200-mile EEZ (exclusive economic zone) and ensure politicians don’t sacrifice this precious resource in future trade negotiations.
In 2014 Scotland voted to stay in the UK and in 2016 the UK voted to leave the EU.
Since then we have watched our politicians work to undermine these democratic results. We have seen the flaws in our political system and realised it’s time to "change politics for good".
A vote for the Liberal Democrats, SNP or Labour is a vote to Remain; voting Conservative is a vote to support an international treaty that puts both the Union and Scotland’s fishing industry at risk.
By voting Brexit Party on December 12 you would help restore UK democracy and public faith in the "Mother of Parliaments".
If elected I am ready to:
Work to ensure publicly funded investments help reverse Scotland’s manufacturing decline and deliver local jobs
Support a post-Brexit sustainable farming scheme
Oppose any parliamentary motion that would lead to the betrayal of Scotland’s fishing industry
Look to reform our political system so that parliament truly represents the people
- Sandra Skinner is the Brexit Party candidate for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross in next month’s general election. All five candidates in the constituency have been invited to take part in our Election Profile series in the John O’Groat Journal and Caithness Courier, in print and online.
