Ayr by-election 2000

'What if the Scottish parliament refused to have nuclear weapons in Scotland, while the Westminster government was determined to keep our nuclear capability there? The agitators would have a field day.'
Margaret Thatcher, 10 th Septemeber 1997.

Tories left 'golden legacy'

From BBC News

Tories say the executive is failing, not the parliament

The Scottish Conservative Party has launched its campaign for the Scottish Parliament by-election in Ayr, pledging to get the parliament back on the right track.

Party leader David McLetchie said the people of Ayr, and the public at large, had been let down by the parliament so far.

He laid the blame at the door of the Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition and accused the Scottish Executive of failing people by not delivering on the important issues.

He said the by-election on 16 March represented an opportunity for the public to tell Donald Dewar what it thought of the executive's performance thus far.

He added: "The Scottish people expected to see real attention paid to the issues that matter to them, but instead we have seen warped priorities with more attention paid to the millennium bug and Section 28 than fixing the crisis in the NHS or dealing with increasing crime figures."

The party's candidate John Scott said Labour was destroying the "golden legacy" left by the previous government.

People 'deserve better'

He said the situation in Ayr, with job losses, deteriorating crime figures and lengthening hospital waiting lists was indicative of how the executive was performing.

Mr Scott added: "The people of Ayr deserve better. As I have been talking to voters, the main message I have been hearing is they feel let down with Labour's broken promises and misguided policies.

Jobs have been lost all over the Ayr constituency, with Prestwick Circuits and GE Caledonian all laying off workers and, just yesterday, the announcement by Fullarton that 146 jobs were to go from their Prestwick plant.

"The local health service is in decline with orthopaedic waiting lists and bed blocking at an all-time high and valuable x-rays and records being lost due to bad administration.

"Crime in Ayr is rising as police numbers are falling. Criminals are getting away scot-free while prisons are about to close.

The Ayr by-election, the first for a Scottish Parliament seat, was called after the resignation of Labour's Ian Welsh at the end of last year.

Mr Welsh won the seat by 25 votes from the Tories' Phil Gallie at the Scottish elections in May.

23 rd February 2000

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