Election campaign break: Alasdair Allan

Over the next few issues of Dè tha dol? we are taking a break from our usual Tea Break feature and asking the candidates in the forthcoming Scottish Parliament election to take a Campaign break with us instead.

Alasdair Allan (SNP) popped into our office for a chat last month...

What’s your story so far?

I grew up in the Borders, near Selkirk. I studied Gaelic at Glasgow University and have been involved with the Scottish National Party (SNP) since I was about 18.

In 2006 the SNP in the Western Isles suggested that, since I had Gaelic, I should throw my hat in the ring to become the candidate here. I moved to Back in Lewis and in 2007 became the Western Isles MSP. I haven’t moved far since.

What are your achievements?

Most of the things that come to mind, look like small things – but they do make a difference. I’m proud of the times when I managed to get medical treatment for someone who couldn’t access it, or a house for someone who couldn’t find somewhere to live. My job is to be an advocate for things that matter in the community, and for the individuals who live here. My office counted that 7,000 people have come to me for help – in a place with a population of 27,000, that’s a big proportion. Fifty or sixty years ago, people never saw their political repre-sentatives, but now they have an ex-pectation that their MSP is going to be available - and that is how it should be.

One of our biggest achievements has been getting Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) ferry fares. The pressure that’s been put on to roll out broadband in the Western Isles has been important in bringing about change too.

What are the issues facing the islands?

A big chunk of my job has always involved ferries to some extent. At the moment, especially for Harris and Uist and Barra, the pressing issue is getting the ferries back up and running, but the only long-term solutions are to get new vessels built.

One of the most pressing issues is the sheer difficulty of finding a house. For a lot of people, it’s impossible to compete with those who’ve sold a house in a city. For others, it’s about trying to get enough rented houses in a place where most rented houses are holiday lets. I was involved in trying to get HHP to build rented houses in Leverburgh and now Hebridean Housing Partnership (HHP) are building more in Scott Road. The key was repeatedly asking, along with a lot of other people, for HHP to look at what the demand was. There is an issue with how we organise the building of affordable housing – looking at where there is a record of a demand. That approach is problematic because, if you look at somewhere there hasn’t been any housing to apply for, there isn’t a record of a demand. The community in Leverburgh made the case that these houses would fill up - and they did.

Everything comes back to housing – if there isn’t housing, people can’t get carers for their elderly relatives and staff can’t be recruited to work in the hospital. Of course we need a tourist industry, but there have to be houses for living in too.

How will you speak up for Harris?

I hope I’ve got a record of doing that through asking questions, making speeches in parliament and meeting with the community. I’d like to continue to speak about where more houses are going to be provided, how we’re going to maintain public services and making sure there is a reliable ferry service. In the future, that means Tarbert not sharing a vessel with Lochmaddy in summer. We need to make the case for those two services having their own vessel – and for two vessels on Sound of Harris route.

Most of what people are speaking to me about is to do with the cost of living, including electricity.

We face some cost of living issues here that people in other places don’t even think about – the cost of visiting a relative in hospital in Glasgow at short notice, for example. People on the mainland don’t necessarily under-stand that islanders are shelling out hundreds of pounds to travel. The Scottish government is paying half the airfare now, but we need to see if there is more that can be done to make flights affordable.

What’s your favourite Harris place?

St Kilda – it is technically part of Harris and I have been there as the MSP!

What are the next steps for Gaelic?

Gaelic has always been very close to my heart. I learned the language when I was 19 and use it whenever I can. There has been a lot of emphasis on Gaelic in schools and in broadcasting and I think the next steps are probably about Gaelic in the community, asking where are the places in the community that Gaelic can get used naturally. The next issue for Gaelic is the perennial problem of finding enough teachers to meet the demand.

What do you do when not working?

I like singing and have sung with Back Gaelic choir at the Mòd. I like historic ships, and I do enjoy my job - it is hard work, but it’s a privilege.

Tea break time: what are you having?

A bacon roll and a cup of tea. Luckily, there are lots of places for a great bacon roll here.

- Find out more about Alasdair at www.alasdairallan.scot

- Look out for interviews with other candidates on our website and in print.