Ross Thomson made getting a fair deal for Aberdeen his number one priority and focused on this since his election in June 2017.
The downturn in our crucial oil and gas industry hit Aberdeen hard and we have not been helped by Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP Government which focuses its attention on the central belt – at the expense of communities in Aberdeen. It’s time that changed and that Aberdeen got the attention and fair share of resources it needs.
The past few years haven’t been easy for the Aberdeen or the rest of the North East. Oil and gas is still recovering from the collapse in prices and the economy is still fragile.
Aberdeen has been let down by the SNP. Business rates are up. Council tax is up. Income tax is up. However, when it comes to funding and public services, Aberdeen misses out.
Farmers have had their payments delayed. Local schools, police and hospitals have been centralised and cut. Yet the SNP continue to their obsession with indyref2, the SNP have forgotten about the North East.
Ross said, “We’re not asking for much. We’re just asking for a fair deal for Aberdeen and especially for the North East. We need to restore our public services, make funding fair, grow our economy, with a future for farming and fishing.
“Under the SNP NHS Grampian has lost more than 1 in 10 of its GP practices. Almost half of NHS Grampian patients are not being treated within the SNP’s legally binding timescale of 12 weeks. 1 in 5 NHS Grampian patients are waiting longer than 62 days for urgent cancer treatment.
“Our schools are suffering too. The pupil-teacher ratio in Aberdeen schools has hit the worst level since records began in 2003. More than 700 teaching posts in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire had to be readvertised because of a lack of applicants. Children, teachers and parents are suffering.
“There’s so much the Scottish Government could be doing to support the North East, like targeting resources to boost the area’s economy, better supporting our hospitals, more local policing and improving vital transport connections – and I am campaigning on all of these.”
