BOYACK BLUNDERS ON HOMECOMING BY ATTACKING LABOUR’S RECORD IN OFFICE

BOYACK BLUNDERS ON HOMECOMING BY ATTACKING LABOUR’S RECORD IN OFFICE

GRAY’S TEAM MAKING A HABIT OF ATTACKING McCONNELL’S EXECUTIVE

SNP MSP Rob Gibson - a member of the Scottish Parliament's Economy, Energy & Tourism Committee - has seized on remarks made by Iain Gray’s party spokesperson on the Environment and Rural Development, Sarah Boyack, where she attacked her own party’s record on organising this year’s successful Homecoming celebrations.

Yesterday it was announced that the Homecoming Scotland celebrations had boosted the Scottish economy by at least £19.4m already. Despite this success Iain Gray’s Labour responded in a typically negative manner.

On STV News last night (Tuesday) Sarah Boyack said:

“Well it could have been a greater success if more money had been invested at the start … and there are particularly some issues about marketing the event in the early days. It could have been much better.”

However the Homecoming initiative was started in 2005 – TWO years before the SNP took office and under the authority of Jack McConnell’s Labour-led Executive.

This is not the first time that a Labour spokesperson has attempted to attack the SNP Government for something that was the responsibility of their party. Andy Kerr, Richard Baker and Claire Baker have all attempted to attack the SNP on the basis of policies and statistics that were the responsibility of their own party when it led the previous Executive.

Commenting Mr Gibson said:

“Labour has become so thirled to making negative attacks on the SNP and talking Scotland down that they now find themselves in the ridiculous position of attacking their own party’s record in office.

“Sarah Boyack’s blunder is the latest in a patter that is developing amongst Iain Gray’s team.

“I have to ask just what is going on in Labour? Do they think that the press and public are stupid and won’t notice their attempts to mislead them?

“In the teeth of a recession Homecoming has been a success and one would think that should be something labour could themselves welcome considering they were involved in its organisation and funding in its early days.

“However it seems that Sarah Boyack thinks her own Labour-led Executive didn’t invest enough money nor marketed it properly in the early days.