Better Life In Fife - Glenrothes - Kirkcaldy - Dunfermline - Leven - Cupar - St Andrews

Diesel Hits £6/gallon

The SNP - One Year In Government

Readers of this column will undoubtedly recall a similar header just a few weeks ago when we announced how petrol prices had reached £5/gallon with forecourt prices likely to escalate in the future. We didn't expect to make a similar announcement about diesel hitting the £6 mark for some time yet forecourt prices acheived this level well before the month of June was complete.

Despite this, the national government seems incapacitated and unable to act on account of spending plans supporting a welfare state system we are clearly unable to afford. Maybe it's high time we revised a system where one fifth of Scots claim some form of disability - can that really be true?

It's been a full year since the Scottish National Party assumed a minority government position in Scotland and there's no doubt that some of the policies have rankled traditional politicians elsewhere. Perhaps the most controversial involve education fees and freezing the level of rates but the one that probably affected most people was the scrapping of bridge tolls. Nowhere was this more welcome than in Fife; the only region of Scotland where you could enter free of charge yet pay a toll to exit when crossing the Forth and Tay Bridges. One year on, and in a weakened position of minority government, how has the SNP fared? In the article below, we dare to challenge the difference between convenient soundbites and reality.

Mony a Mickle maks a Muckle!

A Toll Free Scotland?

It may be politically incorrect to describe current circumstances as 'being in a recession' but it's hard to avoid such reference to a time with all the traits of one. Escalating prices coupled with poor employment and wage prospects are hallmarks of recession and one third of British families now freely admit having no money before the next paycheck arrives. Failure to obtain that paycheck, for whatever reason, may spell disaster with life changing consequences for many people.

On February 11th, 2008, Scotland became a toll free nation and in the five weeks following this abolition, some 35,000 additional vehicles crossed the Forth Bridge. In the days and weeks that followed, it became normal to see traffic backed up the M90 as far as the Halbeath Interchange during peak hours. Suddenly, it seemed as though a major obstacle to motoring had been removed and huge numbers of drivers were eager to experience this new liberty.

Modern Governments rarely have any money in reserve and rely heavily on taxation to fund a wide range of current ambitions and projects; some of which have been inherited by previous promises and laws from previous administrations. Pensions and commitments to capital expenses involving defence are typical examples of inheritence. The plan to build a new 'front-line' aircraft carrier for the Royal Navy carries important implications for the Fife Region since it might generate over eight hundred quality employment opportunities in the region. Engineering work on a new bridge or tunnel would help retain engineering excellence and skills within the region too. The issue concerning where the money will come from for a new bridge is paramount but the standard answer is already apparent and the appeal for private investors may already be part of the equation.

We've entered an era of reversal and where social circumstance harks back towards a period more common fifty years ago. Children stay longer with their parents with more finding it hard to obtain rewarding and well remumerated employment. Today, that age-old proven Scottish saying, 'Mony a mickle maks a muckle' has returned in force with many savings institutions offering better savings deals than have existed for many years. By contrast, lenders have become more prudent and selective about the kind of investments they are prepared to engage in. It's a major realignment with property prices in many regions entering a period of slower growth or even reduction in value. These days, we're tearing down factories and building houses on the same land. Debt levels have never been higher, both at family and national level. Ordinary people are feeling the 'pinch' and recognising how every penny counts.

In the retail sector, and as reported elsewhere on this web site, major supermarkets have seen customers depart in droves towards the smaller discount outlets where traditionally well-established brands are in a minority. By contrast, larger supermatket chains have tended to shun such goods in recent years but are now waking up to the fact that people have limited money to spend and they are ill-placed to meet the current budgets of many families.

Surprisingly, it seems smaller retailers recognised the trend at an early stage, and despite lesser resources, have acted to promote a more limited number of products. One local store, within walking distance from this location, was selling a popular brand of coffee seven per cent less than the nearest supermarket. The price of staples like milk and bread were competitive too and tinned goods typically were a few pence more. Moreover, these are the kind of retailers we are more likely to visit on a daily basis in order to buy newspapers etc. Overall, with car costs running at around a conservative estimate of 20p per mile and rising, it does make one wonder whether driving to the superstore makes sense on some shopping trips and where taking the bus is an impractical, uncomfortable and riddiculously expensive experience.

Investors will seek out the highest return and within the shortest timescale possible. The provision for tolls to be levied will surely form an important part of any contract. Sadly, it may turn out the SNP declaration of a toll-free nation might turn out to be a short-lived, unsustainable and premature.

Perhaps the big questions are whether we need another Forth Road Bridge or whether we can realistically afford it? Complex man-made structures command huge maintenance costs. The more complex the structure is, the more expensive it is to maintain it. Since the first day the older rail bridge was built and used, a team of painters were fully employed to maintain the coating of hard wearing paint made by Craig and Rose; a task that typically took four years to accomplish before starting out all over again. It's a task that involved several generations of workers. In more recent times, new high-technology paint more able to withstand the harsh Scottish weather and the corrosive effects of sea spray has been applied to the structure. The cost of maintaining the rail bridge over the past century has long exceeded the original expense of building it!

Four billion pounds is a lot of money by any standard and fails to address inflationary costs that typically occur during such projects - the Scottish Parliament Building is ample proof of how estimates prove closer to fiction when large civil projects are on offer. By the time, any new link was completed, it might cost several times more than origninally envisaged. Given that scenario, would drivers of an already beleaguered motoring fraternity willingly accept the level of fee needed to ensure ample return for investors?

In the years immediately preceding abolition of tolls, the number of journeys across the Forth Bridge was actually in decline. A huge number of those crossing the bridge headed west for Glasgow or else to meet better road communications leading south. Such facts beg the question as to how much we really need a new road bridge and especially when the political situation is unstable. Talk of independance from the United Kingdom is likely to deter some investors from this project.

Glenrothes - Sixty Years On

It is wholly natural to detest road charging of any kind and yet it is commonplace in many parts of the World. Tolls are common in France despite heavier income taxes.

Back in the post war era, Britain was a impoverished nation with huge debts incurred as a consequence of war. Many goods remained rationed even as the concept of 'New Towns' came into being. In Scotland, the intent to build the new towns of Irvine, Cumbernauld, Livingstone, East Kilbride and Glenrothes was declared in 1948 with the latter having far less convenient communication links with Glasgow or Edinburgh than the others. Despite this, it was hoped many Glaswegians would seek out work in the Rothes Colliery but the numbers anticpated were never fully realised. The colliery itself was forced to close in 1961 due to geological problems and the town turned its attention towards inward investment and was highly successful in attracting many new industries especially from the United States. Glenrothes became part of 'silicon glen' with many companies involved in electronics manufacture.

Even in America, where capitalist economy is king, the journey from rural New York State into the heart of the city might involve eight or more bridge tolls costing more than the fuel to get there! The City of Trondheim in Norway charges tolls on ring roads despite being part of an oil producing nation. In a similar way, toll charges are applied in several parts of England so why should Scotland be different? Scotland is a small nation of five million people, on par with Eire and Norway, and less than the number of residents in many capital cities of the World. If we really want a new Forth Road Bridge then some very serious questions about financing it lie ahead and perhaps found wanting when compared with other civil projects. A dual carriageway link between Perth and Inverness, for instance, might represent a better long-term investment and cost far less to build and maintain in the future.

In the post-industrial era, however, several new towns have fared less well than others. Glenrothes, it seems, has not done as well as perhaps envisaged and some regard it in poor light.

The Plastic Bag Windfall

Today, we see former industrial estates being reduced to rubble and torn down to provide land for new houses and there's no doubt that economists and housing charities see this as the only solution to overcome the shortage of decent accomodation. Trouble is, if there are few wealth creation options available then how can such structures be deemed as affordable? The Shelter charity estimates there is a shortfall of thirty-two thousand affordable homes in Scotland. Is the present course of action really set to resolve this difficulty or are there other forces at work? We'll be looking into this more next month!

Years ago, it was common for groceries to be packed in a plain brown paper bag; a practice still seen in many parts of the US, then supermarkets wanted low cost durable alternatives and the age of the plastic bag was born. Trouble is, they were too durable and difficult to dispose of so many stores jumped on the 'green' bandwagon and declared charging as a solution. Plastic trays and other wasteful packaging on many products remain in place so the net result is less expense for the retailer with greater profit and additional VAT revenue for the government! Yes, this is green politics at work!

Did You Know?

That former Union General and later President of the the United States of America came to Fife to observe the construction of the Tay Rail Bridge designed by Sir Thomas Bouch. Upon completion, the Tay Rail Bridge was one ofthe longest bridges in the World and President Grant subsequently encouraged architects in the US to equal or better this technological marvel. Queen Victoria, on her journey to Balmoralm crossed the bridge in a Royal Coach soon after it was opened. Sir Thomas Bouch was an automatic choice to build the rail bridge crossing the Forth Estuary and preliminary work was well in progress but on the night of 28th December, 1879, the 'high span' areas of the Tay Bridge gave way during a violent storm and the train fell into the icy water and claimed 75 lives. Bouch died a broken man and the contract for the Forth Bridge was passed to others. The poet, William McGonagall, wrote about this event in his best ever known work and has subsequently been dubbed as the 'worst poet' in history!