Robson and Lamont in early spat
Robson and Lamont in early spat
NO sooner had Euan Robson been unveiled in Selkirk as the Lib Dem candidate for Holyrood in May, than he engaged in a war of words with his Tory rival John Lamont.
Despite the new UK political landscape, the exchange confirmed that, at a Borders level, the two parties remain bitter rivals.
Last month, the Conservatives on Scottish Borders Council combined to oust Lib Dem education spokesperson Catriona Bhatia, daughter of Lord and Lady Steel, for revealing her opposition to nursery provision cuts. All the Lib Dems on the council voted against the sacking and it was the latest in a long line of splits between the power-sharing groups.
On Monday, Mr Robson focused on the fact the Mr Lamont, who defeated him in Roxburgh and Berwickshire in 2007, had failed for a second time in May to take the Westminster seat of Berwick, Roxburghshire and Selkirk from Michael Moore MP.
"For the past three years, Mr Lamont has been using the Scottish Parliament as nothing more than a stepping stone to the House of Commons," claimed Mr Robson.
"I will be focusing on developing economic opportunity, road and rail projects, health issues such as dentistry provision and improving our education system.
"All of these have taken a back seat for the last three years, while Mr Lamont unsuccessfully tried to get elected for Westminster."
Mr Lamont, adopted last month to defend his Holyrood seat, which now includes Selkirkshire, defended his record, claiming he had taken up more cases on behalf of constituents than the other Borders parliamentarians combined.
"I'm sure voters will not forget Mr Robson's record when he was last an MSP," said Mr Lamont. "After all, it was his government that closed hospitals in Coldstream and Jedburgh.
"I'll leave it to Mr Robson to explain his commitment to the Borders over the past three years, given that he has been desperately trying to get elected as an MP for an Edinburgh seat and also a seat in the European Parliament in Brussels."
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Weather for Selkirk
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: East
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Temperature: 7 C to 18 C
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