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NEWS RELEASE Tuesday 3rd May 2005 Scottish environment group says: Scottish sustainable transport campaign TRANSform
Scotland today encouraged voters to register their opposition to Liberal
Democrat hypocrisy on transport and the environment by taking their vote
elsewhere. David Spaven, Chair of TRANSform Scotland, said: "The Lib Dems, in power, have bottled it on
the critical decisions for transport and the environment. It is no use
for them to claim to be a party of the environment when they choose to
take the most damaging paths on every major environmental decision. We
can only conclude that voters shouldn't vote Lib Dem if they value the
environment. "It was a Lib Dem Minister, Nicol Stephen, who
gave the go-ahead for the M74 despite the public inquiry concluding that
it shouldn't be built. In Aberdeen, it is a Lib Dem council that is threatening
to tear up the greenbelt to suit the ambitions of developers, while in
Edinburgh, Lib Dems campaigned against congestion charging despite their
national policy being in favour of road pricing. [1, 2, 3] "And just last Friday, we saw the Lib Dems in
Fife promoting a Second Forth Road Bridge when their colleagues in Edinburgh
have rejected such a development." [4] ENDS Notes to editors: [1] Aberdeen western bypass The proposal is being advocated by Aberdeen City
Council, whose administration is a Lib Dem / Tory coalition. The council
leader is Cllr Kate Dean, a Lib Dem, and an ardent advocate of this destructive
project. [2] Edinburgh congestion charge The Edinburgh Lib Dems campaigned against the City
of Edinburgh Council's congestion charge plans - despite advocating congestion
charging schemes being a national policy of the Lib Dems. Nationally,
the Scottish Liberal Democrats have done nothing useful in delivering
road pricing in Scotland, and completely failed to intervene to promote
their national policy during the Edinburgh congestion charge referendum. Key Edinburgh Lib Dems who argued against their national
policy included Cllr Marilyne MacLaren is standing as Lib Dem candidate
for Edinburgh South, and Cllr Fred Mackintosh, who is standing as a Lib
Dem candidate in Midlothian. [3] M74 In March, Lib Dem Transport Minister Nicol Stephen
MSP gave the go-ahead to the M74 despite the Public Local Inquiry report
comprehensively rejecting the road proposal. [4] Second Forth Road Bridge Last Friday, the Forth Estuary Transport Authority
(FETA) decided to reject the recommendation made by their own officials
to adopt a sustainable transport package (Local Transport Strategy Package
3) and instead go for a strategy which proposed a Second Forth Road Bridge
(Package 4). The motion to reject the sustainable transport package was
proposed by a Fife Lib Dem - Cllr Tony Martin. At the same meeting, Edinburgh Cllr. George Grubb of City of Edinburgh Council moved an amendment to remove even the reference to a Second Forth Road Bridge from Package 3. With Lib Dems on opposition sides of the Forth having diametrically opposing views with regards to the desirability, or otherwise, of a Second Forth Road Bridge - this leaves us bamboozled as to what the Lib Dem policy on this proposal actually is.
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