Saturday, January 31, 2015

A Note of Thanks to my Local MSPs.

This is just a short (and long overdue) note to thank my local MSPs, and Jim Eadie in particular, for their recent contribution to the active travel debate in the Scottish Parliament. I didn't know anything about Jim before writing to him last month, but it turns out he's well known and respected for his hard work campaigning on a range of issues, notably on the issue of people's right to walk or cycle to work and school safely. He also mentioned my blog post, which was nice! My regional MSPs Kezia Dugdale and Alison Johnstone also made really excellent, passionate speeches. You can see the transcript of the debate here.

We live in an age of cynicism about politics and politicians, and I just wanted to put on record how impressed I am with my local MSPs and how much they've done, working together across party lines, to advance causes that I care about like safer streets for pedestrians and cyclists.

The Scottish Parliament as a whole has been deeply disappointing in its approach to active travel. I sincerely hope my MSPs can work to encourage a more enlightened approach. So, to Jim, Kezia and Alison, well done, thanks a lot, and back to work! The final budget settlement will be soon and I'm sure we'd all love to see an increased and longer term commitment to fund active travel.  

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