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Page last updated at 05:22 GMT, Friday, 2 May 2008 06:22 UK
SNP: One year in power



Sunday 4 May, 2008 marks a year since the SNP made political history by winning the Scottish Parliament elections.

Writing for the BBC Scotland news website, Scottish Green leader Robin Harper reflects on the last 12 months.


It's hard to be kind about the SNP government's record on the environment and climate change.

Robin Harper
Robin Harper said government transport policy was too car-dependent

There are some positives, such as ruling out new nuclear plants in Scotland while largely backing renewables.

We have also persuaded them to adopt our climate challenge fund, which will fund inspirational community carbon reduction projects.

However, they have little idea how to meet even their limited 2050 target of an 80% emissions cut. They have done nothing on insulation, energy efficiency, or improving building standards.

Worst of all, their transport policies are even more car-dependent than their predecessors, unlikely as that sounds, and will seriously aggravate emissions.

The costs and dangers of continued dependence on oil are being all too starkly illustrated this week.

The pattern is just as mixed on other issues. SNP ministers have moved away from PFI funding for public sector projects, a misguided policy that has delivered substandard infrastructure and fewer services at greater cost.

It's parliament's responsibility as much as the SNP's to ensure that the blight of poverty is lifted

Yet their Scottish Futures Trust alternative looks like it was drawn up on the back of an envelope.

Planning is another disappointment. The new national planning framework talks a lot about sustainability, yet all but one of the projects it would force through are anything but.

In the north east, the SNP have followed the last administration's lead, sucking up to a rich developer at the expense of an irreplaceable slice of our countryside.

In a parliament of minorities, though, it's not all down to the SNP.

It's the responsibility of all opposition parties, including the Greens, to turn around the government's outdated oil economics and grasp the opportunities a low carbon economy could bring.

It's parliament's responsibility as much as the SNP's to ensure the blight of poverty is lifted across Scotland.

The SNP administration must work with other parties to make climate change and poverty Scotland's priorities and, if they fail to do so, 2011 will surely mark the end of the nationalist experiment.



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