Holyrood candidates for Fife battleground clash at Glenrothes hustings
Candidates vying for the Mid Fife and Glenrothes seat in the Scottish Parliament were given a grilling by the Glenrothes public as The Courier's latest hustings ensured another healthy debate between the area's politicians.
Facing the public are (from left) Jim Parker, Callum Leslie, Claire Baker, Tricia Marwick and Allan Smith, with The Courier’s David Clegg (standing).
- By Craig Smith
- Published in the Courier : 13.04.11
- Published online : 13.04.11 @ 07.19am
With voters heading to the polls three weeks on Thursday, Tricia Marwick (SNP), Claire Baker (Labour), Callum Leslie (Lib Dem), Allan Smith (Conservative) and Jim Parker (Pensioners) were on the stage at the Rothes Halls as the battle to win people's hearts and minds hots up.
Previously known as Central Fife, the Mid Fife and Glenrothes seat promises to be a key battleground for all the political parties over the coming weeks, just like it was in 2007 when Mrs Marwick seized Central Fife as the SNP benefited from a sizeable swing from Labour.
Mrs Baker, who has been at Holyrood as a list MSP since 2007, is hoping to wrestle the seat back into Labour hands this time around, although Mr Leslie, one of the youngest candidates in the country, Mr Smith, a local businessman who has lived in Fife since 1986, and Mr Parker, a former miner who has stood in various elections locally since 2003, will all be hoping to have a say in the final outcome.
Council-run care homes, cuts, creating a culture of enterprise, boosting town centres, and tackling crime and anti-social behaviour were among the topics, and generated strong responses from the public.
As expected, privatisation of care home provision in Fife again proved controversial after local man John Morton posed a question on that issue.
Mrs Baker said Fife's SNP/Lib Dem administration had made the wrong decision, adding, "I have real concerns about the move towards the private sector and I think it's the wrong decision along with the 70% of people who responded to the consultation who have just been ignored."
During discussions, she also criticised opposition parties for perpetuating forward a "myth" that the country's deficit had been caused by Labour, insisting it had been caused by "greedy bankers."
But Mrs Marwick blamed the previous Labour government at Westminster for the budget cuts which she reckons have forced councils' hands, and suggested the only party which has closed care homes in the constituency was indeed Labour.
Noting the council had said it would cost it £40 million to replace ageing homes, she said, "My preference would be that the council continues to provide care for our elderly but the reality of the situation is different.
"I'm not prepared to tell the council that they need to cut £40 million off other capital projects... it was Alistair Darling who said to prepare for cuts worse than Thatcher."
'Best value'
Mr Smith said there was no evidence to suggest care home provision in the private sector was worse than in the public sector, while Mr Parker brought cheers from the audience when he said a co-operative should be considered as a "third way."
"I'm not saying it would solve everything but there's something indecent about people making millions of pounds out of caring for older people," he continued.
Mr Leslie said, "I don't have a strong opinion either way — as long as we've got a strong regulatory body, as long as we're providing a good standard of care at best value to our best pensioners.
"That's what's important, not whether they are private or public."
Job creation, attracting people back into traditional High Streets and developing a culture of enterprise were all among the similar themes raised throughout the evening.
Mrs Marwick and Mrs Baker clashed over which party was responsible for developing the Fife Energy Park, for example, with Mrs Baker saying, "We're facing an unemployment crisis in Fife. It has reached a 12-year high and we have 3000 people on Jobseekers Allowance.
"I have consistently argued the case for Fife."
But Mrs Marwick rubbished Mrs Baker's suggestion that Labour had instigated work at the Methil site and said her and the SNP's record spoke for itself, particularly on the Small Business Bonus Scheme.
She said, "When Claire speaks about unemployment, does she not understand that until last year it was the Labour party in power at Westminster?"
Mr Smith said his party were committed to investing in business start-ups and acknowledged Federation of Small Businesses representative Janet Torley's view that it was important to start young.
"There needs to be a move away from public sector employment but creating entrepreneurs is not something you can snap your fingers and do," Mr Smith said.
01.51pm - 13.04.2011 Eoin Ryan - Glenrothes, Scotland Report This
John Morton, like Clare Baker wants it both ways. He opposes the Construction of a Care Home in Markinch, but claims to support them. Laughable.
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