One of the more surprising rows to emerge in the midst of the SNP’s annual conference was the suggestion that John Swinney was behaving like Robert Mugabe or Idi Amin.
asserted
Swinney → emerge → Mugabe
The charge came from Sandy Easdale, boss of McGill’s Buses, as he lashed out at Nationalist plans to bring bus services under public control by 2031.
Jenny Gilruth, John Swinney’s deputy, said the SNP government was ‘protecting’ the public, who had faced a series of route closures in recent years.
Yet many of the taxpayers who will bankroll these changes, possibly to the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds a year, will never be able to use the buses.
uncertain
who → come → buses
Even in urban areas, shift workers often find buses and trains unavailable when they need them most.
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they → find → them
You might think Mr Swinney’s vision, perhaps inspired by fellow bus enthusiast Andy Burnham, would lead to better provision but experience suggests otherwise.
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experience → think → provision
The SNP has a nasty habit of legislating and failing to deliver.
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SNP → have → habit
Many of those unable to rely on buses and trains depend on cars instead – yet they have become something close to pariahs in their own country.
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they → rely → country
Our roads increasingly resemble First World War battlefields – cash-strapped councils patch potholes only for them to reappear a few weeks later, particularly during Scotland’s gruelling winters.
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them → resemble → winters
What Scotland now needs is something that would be regarded as heresy in many Holyrood circles: a government that is unapologetically pro-car.
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that → need → circles
Scotland needs an unapologetically pro-car government - something that would be regarded as heresy in many Holyrood circles
Admittedly, the chances of that happening probably tend towards zero.
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that → need → zero
When the SNP governed alongside the Greens, they may well have been in negative territory.
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they → govern → territory
Mr Swinney would no doubt point to the long-promised dualling of the A9 as proof of his commitment to motorists.
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Swinney → point → motorists
Yet the project has become a byword for delay and broken promises.
At the current rate, it sometimes feels more likely that Elon Musk will perfect flying cars before the A9 is completed – we’re told by the end of 2035.
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we → become → 2035
If you were looking for a case study for Scotland’s neglect of motorists, you could do worse than start there.
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you → look → motorists
Then there is Glasgow’s Low Emission Zone, which effectively barred many owners of older vehicles from entering the city centre.
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which → be → centre
Drivers of those cars deemed to be the most polluting, who pay ever-rising council tax to support city services, find themselves unable to use them, at least if they want to travel by car.
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they → deem → car
Local businesses are clinging to survival thanks to reduced footfall while evidence of any dramatic environmental transformation remains difficult to spot.
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evidence → cling → transformation
But hostility to motorists extends beyond Holyrood.
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hostility → extend → Holyrood
The Resolution Foundation, Labour’s favourite Left-wing think-tank, wants fuel duty to be hiked in next week’s Budget despite motorists already facing soaring petrol and diesel costs.
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motorists → want → costs
It says continuing the longstanding freeze ‘should not be a priority’, claiming it mainly benefits the wealthy, and wants the levy to be hiked every few months.
But higher fuel taxes also push up the cost of food, deliveries, manufacturing, farming and services across the economy, while also punishing hard-pressed motorists.
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taxes → say → motorists
Small wonder that many have looked towards electric vehicles.
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many → look → vehicles
I’m a recent convert after my old diesel – year of manufacture 2012 – gave up the ghost.
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diesel → ’m → ghost
The timing was good as diesel prices spiralled though the tech upgrade is daunting – it doesn’t quite fly, but compared to my previous vehicle it has the feel of the USS Enterprise.
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it → spiral → Enterprise
There’s no doubt electric cars have become more affordable but Scotland’s public charging system remains patchy.
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system → ’ → ?
This is a real challenge in Glasgow and Edinburgh where the majority of residents live in flats and often can’t simply plug in at home overnight.
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majority → live → home
Instead, they are forced to rely on public charging networks which are more expensive than domestic electricity supplies.
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which → force → supplies
Electric car tax in the UK changed from zero to an excise duty of £200 for those registered on or after April 1, 2025 – or up to £640 a year for ‘luxury’ vehicles – under Rishi Sunak’s administration (supposedly to make road taxes ‘fairer’).
And former Labour chancellor Rachel Reeves announced pay-per-mile charges for EVs and plug-in hybrids, starting in 2028.
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Reeves → change → 2028
The result is that motorists find themselves trapped in a pincer movement.
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themselves → find → movement
Governments push green policies while using taxes to penalise those who go electric.
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who → push → those
There is no doubt electric vehicles (EVs) are part of the future, and much more should be done to bolster their adoption.
But much of the burden for promoting their use has fallen on private companies, through salary-sacrifice schemes and workplace charging initiatives.
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much → be → schemes
Glasgow City Council is encouraging the private sector to extend the number of publicly available EV charging points.
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Council → encourage → points
As a result, ‘funding for directly delivered local authority charging points has concluded’ and it has ‘no plans for further installations’.
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it → deliver → installations
That’s fine as far as it goes, unless the council is effectively washing its hands of the matter and leaving others to pick up the bill.
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council → ’ → bill
Meanwhile, Scotland still lacks a truly reliable national transport system.
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Scotland → lack → system
Ministers have failed to provide comprehensive rail and bus networks while simultaneously making it harder and more expensive to own a vehicle.
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it → fail → vehicle
Young drivers face lengthy waits for tests before being hit by insurance premiums that make car ownership seem like an impossible dream.
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ownership → face → dream
Councils have accelerated housebuilding, and rightly so, but too often new developments are built with inadequate parking.
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developments → accelerate → parking
Residents quickly find themselves competing for a dwindling number of spaces on surrounding streets.
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themselves → find → streets
The philosophy behind these decisions is rarely hidden – many planners and councillors openly argue that limiting parking nudges people away from cars towards bikes, buses and trains (how many have given up on ScotRail amid the ongoing ticket app debacle?)
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many → hide → debacle
But nurses working night shifts, carers travelling between appointments, or hospitality workers heading home in the early hours can’t simply jump on a train that isn’t running – and that makes them the real casualties of Scotland’s anti-car culture.
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them → work → culture
Nicola Sturgeon famously did not drive while First Minister, although she learned soon after leaving office.
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she → drive → office
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
