THE Telegraph has asked Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West’s general election candidates a series of questions ahead of the July 4 poll, inviting them to provide extended responses for our readers’ consideration.
The first of these questions is: What would you do to boost job opportunities in Inverclyde?
SNP candidate Ronnie Cowan responded:
WHILE actively seeking to bring investment into Inverclyde, we can’t rely on a knight in shining armour that we can tempt with subsidies and grants.
They have no loyalty to this area and as we have seen, will up sticks and relocate when it suits them.
We must start asking what we can do to support the industry we have to thrive and grow from seed, the industries of the future.
Seven years ago, I brought renewable energy leaders, including energy providers, to Inverclyde Council and the council showed no interest. Since then, those companies have set up elsewhere in Scotland.
I have pushed for increased regeneration of peatland, which will create new jobs and protect our environment and I have championed the growth of Hemp as a clean, green, carbon-negative raw material for the clothing industry, housing industry and biodegradable plastics industry.
We need to grow it locally and to create a negative carbon footprint we need to utilise it locally. That means the manufacturers must be in Inverclyde too.
Our waterfront has been underutilised for too long. Plans are hopefully coming to fruition soon to address that, but it has taken far too long.
I have organised job fairs in Inverclyde, but we need to expand beyond that. We need to be involved in the development of the Clyde once again. We have the natural assets and the people to flourish but we won’t do that by waiting for the scraps from a bigger table.
Scotland needs the financial levers to grow our economy and negotiate international trade deals that suit Scotland. Only independence can provide that.