TAX and axe... The SNP's pre-Christmas Budget was deeply disappointing for the South-West of Scotland.
First, the tax. A penny on the top rate and a new so-called advanced rate widens the gulf between what you pay here in Scotland, and what those in the rest of the UK pay when doing the same jobs.
And let's forget the idea that this is all about 'the rich'. Anyone on a salary of £28,867 is, says the Chartered Institute of Taxation, paying more tax in Scotland.
It matters in the South-West where we want to make Dumfries and Galloway as attractive as possible for our young people, and where we need to attract professionals.
The bright, the ambitious – they have choices about where they live and work. A tax regime that punishes, instead of rewarding, enterprise makes it harder to recruit here.
And the axe. It was deeply disappointing, though sadly not surprising, to learn that the rural affairs budget faces huge cuts. Only an SNP/Green government fixated with the Central Belt could countenance such a move.
The much delayed A9 upgrade got a mention in the budget but again A75 and A77 are conspicuous by their absence. We must keep up the pressure for action on both these vital roads, especially when the UK Government has stepped up to the mark on the A75 with £8m to prime the pumps to get a blueprint for serious improvements in place.
Media coverage makes it abundantly clear that the crisis Scotland is in lies at the door of the SNP, and that their bungled Budget makes matters worse.
It could not be clearer that we need strong Scottish Conservative voices at Holyrood and Westminster to fight for the South West.
Only we understand rural Scotland's challenges, which can be met with support for business so that we can generate jobs and prosperity for our communities.
The choice at the forthcoming General Election is stark. The way to set aside years of SNP division, indifference and waste and to get the South-West firing on all cylinders is to vote Scottish Conservative & Unionist and keep the SNP out.
