Mary Scanlon
- Name:
- Mary Scanlon
- Party:
- Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party
- Constituency:
- Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber
- Election result May 2003:
- 6205 votes (17.83%), third of six candidates
Elected as MSP from Highland and Islands region
- Election literature available in Aspect:
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- Election policy statement:
- For a member of the Scottish Parliament who will put the Highlands and Islands first,
do something about it........
vote Mary Scanlon.
The Scottish Parliament has failed to address your real concerns such as the Health Service, education, law and order and job creation. Worst of all we have seen more than £340 million wasted on a new building at Holyrood - more than eight times the original estimate ......
.... but the Scottish Parliament is here to stay - what we need to do is change the Scottish government to the only party offering something fundamentally different - the Scottish Conservatives.
Labour, Liberals and the SNP are all cut from the same cloth. Only the Scottish Conservatives - the effective Opposition for the last four years - will make the Scottish Parliament work better for you and tackle the issues that REALLY matter.
Follyrood
The waste of money on the Parliament building is a national disgrace. Only the Conservative Group in the Scottish Parliament have scrutinised this project and brought the massive overspends to public attention. Unlike Labour and Liberal MSPs, I have voted AGAINST increasing the budget every time the issue has come before Parliament.
No wonder many local people who opposed the creation of the Scottish Parliament see no reason to change their minds. And those who supported it are very disillusioned, but that does not mean that it is going to go away. What needs to happen is reform of the Parliament and for it to concentrate on the issues which really matter to ordinary people. Only the Conservatives have a coherent programme for reform with less MSPs and more time debating real issues. Not voting in this year's elections will not make the Parliament go away, it will only mean you getting more - much more - of the same. The only way to do something about it is to vote Scottish Conservative!
Rural Scotland
We have a Central Belt dominated Scottish Parliament and a UK Government that do not understand, or what's worse, care about rural Scotland.
Its time to do something about it! I am not prepared to stand by and watch our communities decline. If elected as your Member of the Scottish Parliament, I will continue to speak out to safeguard our traditions; I will continue to fight to protect services in rural areas; I will make encouraging well-paid jobs into the area my priority; and continue to highlight the need for investment in our roads, schools, police and local health service.
Creating Jobs
The legacy of the last Conservative Government is building a strong economy with low inflation, reducing interest rates and falling unemployment which has continued to this day - but there are worrying signs that matters may be about to take a turn for the worse.
Locally many of our small towns and villages are full of empty shops and our enterprises struggle under excessive burdens on economic growth. Scottish Conservatives will give small businesses a real boost by cutting business rates by 9% and tackling the over-regulation which prevents taking on new employees. We will invest an extra £100 million in transport infrastructure, funding improvements such as dualling of the A9 - and we will reform the Scottish Enterprise network, making it more responsive to business needs.
Mary Scanlon says ...
I have been privileged to spend four very busy years working to represent the people of the Highlands and Islands in the Scottish parliament.
I have taken every opportunity on behalf of the people of the Highlands and Islands and to ensure that the issues affecting us are put at the top of the agenda in Edinburgh. Over the next few years I will work to ensure we get value for money both locally and nationally and ensure that our needs are met.
I will continue to raise awareness of the needs of the Highlands and Islands in areas as diverse as healthcare, transport, education, tourism, business and the environment. Many areas of our lives could and should be better and I will work to ensure better health care, better and safer roads, the best possible education for our children and a reduction in rural crime.
Mary Scanlon on Enterprise
For businesses to flourish red tape and taxes have to be kept as low as possible. The Labour government have introduced 53 new taxes on businesses and business rates in Scotland are now 9% higher than in England.
The Scottish Conservatives will:
i) Restore the Uniform Business Rate to give businesses a level playing field.
ii) Invest in our transport infrastructure to help reduce business costs.
iii) Create a Department of Enterprise - with its own minister.
iv) Set up a Young Entrepreneur Development Fund to help young people from 18 to 30 to set up their own businesses.
The Scottish Conservatives will provide the best possible opportunities of all our futures by ensuring the continued development of local jobs.
Mary Scanlon on tackling rural crime
In a recent local survey the issue of youth crime was raised by a very large number of people. Rural crime is becoming an increasing problem and it is vital that action is taken to tackle it.
The Scottish Conservatives will:
i) Expand Neighbourhood Policing
ii) Promote zero tolerance of crime
Working together we can return our communities to the safe, secure places we all want them to be.
Mary Scanlon on health
Since the Scottish Parliament began in 1999, waiting lists across Scotland have risen by more that 19,000 and fewer patients are being treated. These are the real facts behind the spin, strategy reviews and glossy brochures published by the Labour, Liberal Scottish Government.
The Scottish Conservatives will:
i) Devolve Power to GPs: we will include GPs and Primary Care Teams in the seamless provision of health care as close to the patients home as possible.
ii) Expand local decision making for hospitals: While ensuring that hospitals remain part of the NHS we will give the local health teams greater say in local priorities with local management making decisions about which area of health care is most important for the local community not which is most important for government targets. Clinical judgement not political whims.
Mary Scanlon on Highlands and Islands Roads
Over the last few years many people have contacted me with serious concerns about the state of roads in the Highlands.
I share their concerns.
The Scottish Executive have done very little to improve the situation - in many ways it has got worse.
When the Conservatives were in government, roads were well maintained and regularly upgraded.
Under the Conservative government, roads were resurfaced every 25 years - contrast that with the recent admission from Highland Council that under the Labour - Liberal Coalition they can now only afford to resurface the roads every 100 years.
The Scottish Conservatives will:
i) Allocate £100 million to road and rail improvements following four years of neglect of our transport system by the Liberal/Labour Coalition.
I will drive to ensure a better deal for all road users in the Highlands and Islands, with safe, well maintained roads throughout our area.
- Personal details used in election:
- Mary Scanlon and her family live in Inverness. After a career in education she entered the Scottish Parliament in 1999 as a regional member for the Highlands and Islands.
Mary is the Conservative Spokesman on Health and Community Care and is the Joint Convenor of the Cross Party Group on Cancer. Since entering the Scottish Parliament, she has vigorously campaigned on issues of concern to her constituents - road improvements to the A9, Health Service delivery, improvements in education, more help for people with drug and alcohol problems, and many more.
Mary's interests outside her Parliamentary duties, when time allows are hillwalking and gardening.
- Further information:
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http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msp/membersPages/mary_scanlon/