News / …and the spat goes on
Last week the Westminster coalition government said they would put forward £10 million towards paying off the historic debt if the Scottish government would do likewise.
When the SNP government argued they had already paid £12 million towards repairing Sumburgh airport’s runway and allocated £5.9 million for new affordable housing, Carmichael described their stance as “nothing less than a disgrace”.
On Wednesday morning Councillor Wills retaliated with an email accusing the MP of “provocative and inflammatory” statements.
He wrote: “The ‘disgrace’, Alistair, is that successive Westminster governments have attempted to dodge their full responsibility for a commitment made long before the Scottish Government existed.
“The Scottish Government is helping in other ways to tackle Shetland’s shortage of affordable housing, and you know it.
“Your indignation therefore appears to me to be theatrical and synthetic.”
The Scottish secretary came back with an equally bruising response later the same day.
“I am sorry to learn that you feel like that. I have respected you in the past for speaking for your community rather than your party. I am sorry that this seems to have changed.
“I am surprised that you do not recognise the role of the Scottish Government in creating a crisis in this situation by ending the payment of housing support grant to SIC for the council to service the debt, despite the fact that they continued to receive this money from the Treasury.
“I am even more surprised that you ignore the role of the devolved administration in dealing with the housing debt of several other local authorities through the stock transfer deals approximately ten years ago.
“In these circumstances I would have expected you to take the view shared by your council colleagues that there is a role for the Scottish Government in dealing with this.
“The council asked me to secure £10 million from Treasury for this. I have done so. In these circumstances for you to accuse me of indignation that is theatrical and synthetic is just a little bit rich.”
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