Glossy photocalls can't hide SNP's failure to deliver - Jackie Baillie

The A83 over the Rest is a crucial transport link | Transport Scotland

It could have been the promotional photo for Scotland’s latest Tartan Noir crime thriller TV series. A serious man stares wistfully through the late summer clouds across the mighty Glen Croe in Argyll. The scale of the job is not lost on him - and there is more than a glint of ambition in his eye.

But no - it’s not a rebooted Taggart or a new series of Rebus. Instead, it is a series of glossy photographs released by Transport Scotland to mark Transport Secretary - and current SNP leader in waiting - Stephen Flynn’s visit to the Rest and Be Thankful.

But the imagery is apt - the SNP’s record on big infrastructure projects is nothing short of criminal. Just take the Rest and Be Thankful as an example.

The A83 over the Rest is a crucial transport link that connects Argyll and the Highlands with Glasgow and the central belt. For businesses in Argyll, it is a lifeline - for those living on the west coast it is one of the only ways to get to the shops, hospitals, and services that the central belt offers. The alternative is a diversion of many miles across mountain roads - an alternative that can lead to missed deliveries, missed business opportunities, and missed medical appointments.

Now, the road has been prone to risk of closure – it is a fact of the geography of the area. But what we have seen over the last few years has been quick fixes that have failed and a reluctance to listen to the communities affected.

The SNP government has spent over £80 million on safety nets, catch fences, and drainage systems to prevent landslides.

And still the road is often closed or down to one lane.

After a decade of problems and kicking the can down the road, the SNP government has started work on a long-term solution for the Rest and Be Thankful. But the reality is that this has begun far too late, is moving at far too slow a pace and it is unclear whether budget is available - in the meantime communities continue to suffer.

As the MSP that covers the Rest and Be Thankful, I am inundated with messages from concerned constituents that are bearing the brunt of the lack of long-term thinking for the A83. Now, I am glad that Stephen Flynn has taken the time to visit Glen Croe and get his picture taken.

But what I am worried about is the history of other big SNP infrastructure photo ops. Readers won’t need reminded about the glossy photos of beaming ministers launching new ferries on the Clyde - it’s just a shame some of the windows were painted on and the ferries were delayed year after year.

We all know about the £100m new Barlinnie prison in Glasgow - now due to cost well over £1bn.

And I have written in this paper about the scandal that is the SNP’s abandoning of plans for the new Monklands hospital, where John Swinney and Neil Gray got their photos taken just prior to the election..

Glossy photos and big announcements are one thing.

But what the people of Argyll need, what the patients in North Lanarkshire demand, and what the Scottish taxpayer expects is delivery - not more drama.