The SNP-Green government’s commitment to dualing the A9 is in tatters, Scottish Labour has said.
Scottish Labour’s intervention comes as Scottish Green Party MSP Ariane Burgess revealed to the Inverness Courier that dualing the A9 was not a priority.
This is despite assurances from the First Minister and Jenny Gilruth that the government is committed to the project.
Only this week, the SNP-Green government bizarrely attempted to blame the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a reason for the failure to progress with the project.
With Green MSPs now breaking cover to state that the dualing is not a priority, Scottish Labour is now calling for a parliamentary inquiry into the fiasco.
Commenting, Scottish Labour Transport Spokesperson, Neil Bibby MSP said:
“The truth is plain for all to see – the dualing of the A9 is not a priority for Green MSPs.
“The fact is that the people of the North of Scotland have been betrayed by an SNP-Green government that has broken its promises on the A9 time and time again.
“Nicola Sturgeon and Jenny Gilruth have claimed the Government is committed to the project but these comments exposed the split between governing parties.
“It seems that the scrapping of the dualing of the A9 by 2025 is the price that the people of Scotland have had to pay for the SNP’s deal with the Greens.
“Given these comments from Ariane Burgess, people in the Highlands will rightly believe that Green MSPs have had more influence on this Government’s failure than Vladimir Putin.
“We need the Scottish Greens and SNP Ministers to come clean on what discussions they have had in private on this project.
“It’s time for a parliamentary inquiry into this fiasco.”