BANFFSHIRE and BUCHAN COAST Liberal Democrats

February Column

Train usage makes the case for more rail services

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The phenomenal increase in the number of people using the trains in the North East should surely persuade the recalcitrant Scottish Government of the case for backing the long promised Crossrail commuter link from Inverurie to Stonehaven.

Over many years I have campaigned for extra trains and stations securing Sunday services and the re-opening of Dyce station and increased frequency and shorter journey times.

Since it was re-opened Dyce station has always exceeded expectations and this year has increased by 68 per cent and Inverurie is up by about 50%.

Yet ministers and Transport Scotland have so far failed to embrace the case for a new station at Kintore and for commuter services to Aberdeen and have questioned the viability of the proposals on the basis of unrealistically low forecasts of usage.

Compared with the massive costs of road upgrades, rail represents a valuable investment in infrastructure which eases road congestion and pollution. Faced with frustrating hold-ups on the airport roundabout and the Haudagain it is no wonder people are switching to rail, Thousands more would, I have no doubt if a more frequent service was available.

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Refreshing climb down by First Bus

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Also focussing on public transport I was delighted that First Bus responded to public pressure to withdraw proposals to end the Number 5 bus link between Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and Dubford in the Bridge of Don.

This route was developed with grants from the Scottish Executive and Aberdeen City Council and appears to have been well used judging by the storm of protest that plans to axe it triggered.

As the protest gathered momentum, First Bus initially offered a reduced service but then a complete climb down.

I organised a public meeting which Aberdeen First Bus chief executive, Bob Dorr, agreed to attend. I give him credit for acknowledging to the meeting that he had got it completely wrong and that more people appeared to be using the service than their records showed.

He undertook not only to maintain the service but to work with the local community to develop it increasing the number of buses deployed on the route from 8 to 9.

This was very refreshing and what could have been a lynching turned into a very constructive meeting and genuine thanks to Mr Dorr.

Since buses were deregulated there has been concern at the apparent conflict between commercial interests and public service. The competition authorities are currently reviewing bus operations in the UK on the grounds that bus services receive subsidies for particular routes to the tune of £1.2 billion a year yet do not always appear to meet the users' needs.

For a commercial public service provider to move from slash and burn to compromise to complete reversal over a period of four weeks based on a well focussed campaign by users is refreshing and I hope we will see more of this in future.

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Zimbabwe - on the cusp of change?

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The International Development Committee which I have the honour to chair made a visit to Zimbabwe last week which gave us a fascinating insight into that strife torn country since the inclusive government was established ten months ago.

This came about after the elections which were clearly won by the then opposition Movement for Democratic Change who were denied their victory by the violence and obduracy of Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF. Under pressure from South Africa a Government of National Unity was formed.

Most of the levers of power remain with Robert Mugabe who stole the Presidency. Morgan Tsvangirai was given the new job of Prime Minister and ministries were divided between ZANU and MDC. This is, to say the least, an uneasy arrangement.

Our committee's mission was to evaluate the UK's $100 million annual aid programme in terms of delivery and assess whether it could contribute to a positive change for the better.

One thing we quickly established was that the replacement of the hyper inflated Zimbabwe dollar with the US dollar has allowed a degree of normalisation of the economy and set in train some recovery. The cities of Harare and Bulawayo are in remarkably good shape and the shops are well stocked with goods of all kinds.

The problem for most Zimbabweans is that they live in rural areas, poor and traumatised and can only take minimal advantage of these improvements - although remittances received in dollars or other hard currencies are of more value than they were before.

The other benefit of this situation is that it has allowed donors such as the UK and NGOs to deliver real improvements in basic services.

We saw well run functioning hospitals delivering a range of treatments and drugs thanks to UK assistance and that of others. We also saw orphan and vulnerable children who had been displaced by ZANU brutality getting catch- up intense education and moving into primary schools offering them a real chance for the future and if the programme can be maintained helping Zimbabwe avoid the disaster experienced by South Africa with a generation of lost children.

So what is our verdict? Well we still have to take further evidence and deliberate on what we have seen and heard but I can confirm that our aid is reaching the poor and needy and making a difference, although we need to know more about the cost of delivery.

As far as the politics is concerned, we did meet Morgan Tsvangirai in his garden and found him upbeat and resilient. He believes the political process has reached the point of no return. Others are less sanguine and the sad truth is it could go unpredictably in almost any direction.

Nevertheless, the present arrangement is definitely delivering improving conditions for most Zimbabweans albeit from a low base. Support for ZANU-PF has fallen to around 10 per cent. If credible elections were to be held then real change would be secured. However as long as Mugabe controls the army, police and security services, that is unlikely.

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Who'll allow local taxes for local services?

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One of the issues of the forthcoming General Election is likely to be central control versus local decision making. In spite of having delivered devolution Labour has proved a highly centralising party like the Tories before them.

This has not stopped them presiding over an unprecedented financial crisis and, although, spending on the NHS has increased dramatically and waiting times have been reduced there is still a great deal of waste and distortion and worrying increase in hospital infections.

The Tories are planning to impose radical changes in education on English local authorities whether their communities want it or not.

The SNP has been even more centralising - freezing the council tax and imposing centrally determined targets on class sizes and free school meals reducing local councillors' discretion to determine the best priorities for local people.

I am in favour of some redistribution from rich to poor both in terms of individuals and communities. Nevertheless I believe local people should have more say in local decisions.

Here in the North East we make a huge contribution to the economies of Scotland and the UK yet too much of our taxes go elsewhere. That is why I favour the return of local business rates to local councils and a fairer local tax system which makes us less controlled by central government in Edinburgh or London. We should as far as possible have local taxes for local services not as determined by ministers with a political agenda driven from elsewhere.

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It's colder inland from Dyce

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The cold weather we have experienced since Christmas raises again the thorny issue of cold weather payments. I accept that the trigger has to be based on some weather centre but using Dyce certainly means that many communities inland from the coast suffer lower temperatures than Dyce records which would qualify them for cold weather payments if based on a more appropriate centre.

Malcolm Bruce

www.malcolmbruce.org.uk

9 February 2010