Russell Brown responds to Joan McAlpine’s Trump Quote
Written by author on October 14, 2012
Last week SNP South of Scotland MSP Joan McAlpine said to the media that the concerns local people have about the number of wind turbines in our area should be ignored. Read my response here.
So Joan McAlpine says that if you think the Scottish Government should listen to local people when it comes to wind farms you are “like the Donald Trump of Dumfries and Galloway”. Well unlike Donald Trump, and indeed Ms McAlpine, the thousands of local people who signed my petition have never been wined and dined by Alex Salmond. And unlike Mr Salmond and Ms McApline, they have to live on a daily basis with our region being asked to take an unfair share of wind turbines.
I believe that wind energy has its place as part of a balanced energy policy. Long before Ms Alpine began her occasional interest in our region, I supported wind farms where the location was appropriate, and still do. But even most supporters of wind energy understand that local people are worried about the sheer number of wind turbines in our area, particularly when they are imposed on our region by Ms Alpine’s Government. Twice this year alone Dumfries and Galloway Council has democratically rejected planning applications for wind farms, only for the Government to ignore these decisions and press ahead with the wind farms regardless.
Joan McAlpine represents the central belt view held by the SNP that the people of Dumfries and Galloway are to be ignored and any complaints are nothing more than a nuisance. We saw the same thing when Alex Salmond laughed in people’s faces when they tried to raise their fear about the number of turbines at the public meeting in Stranraer last year. With central belt based MSPs like Ms McAlpine, who think local people who voice genuine concerns should be ridiculed and cast aside, it is clear that my petition is more important than ever. It’s time to come together and stand up for Dumfries and Galloway. It’s time to show the SNP that we won’t accept them ignoring local people any more.
