01/05/2026
Across the combined hustings and public discussions, the central themes were rural Highland
public-service pressures, depopulation, housing, roads, healthcare access, maternity services,
dentistry, childcare, policing, planning, energy costs, Scottish Water, local democracy and constitutional politics.
Speakers broadly agreed that Caithness, Sutherland, Ross and wider Highland communities face severe and interconnected challenges: poor roads, weak transport links, shortage of GPs and dentists, centralised maternity and specialist healthcare, overstretched
police/fire/ambulance services, unaffordable housing, childcare shortages, depopulation and communities feeling ignored in planning decisions. They differed sharply over responsibility
and solutions.
Scottish Labour representatives argued for practical change, stronger accountability, localised
services and “getting the basics right”.
SNP representatives defended existing Scottish
Government action on childcare, roads, affordability and rural support, while emphasising
depopulation, Brexit-related workforce shortages and, in some sections, the need for independence to control energy costs.
Conservative speakers criticised 18–19 years of SNP government, centralisation, broken promises and underfunded services, calling for change
and stronger opposition. Liberal Democrat speakers focused on local empowerment, planning
reform, rural proofing, healthcare access and avoiding renewed constitutional division.
Reform UK speakers presented themselves as an alternative to established parties, calling for more police, better governance, nuclear energy and less grievance politics.
The strongest recurring public concern was that rural communities are being asked to carry
urban-designed systems: travelling long distances for maternity or five-minute hospital appointments, relying on digital mental health care where face-to-face support is needed, dealing with dangerous roads, under-resourced community councils, and watching decisions
on wind farms, health boards and public services being made far from the communities affected.
Key Points
1. Rural public services are overstretched and often inaccessible. Health, dentistry, mental health, maternity, policing, fire cover, ambulance facilities, childcare, roads and transport were repeatedly described as failing to meet local needs.
2. Depopulation is a systemic crisis. Candidates linked population decline to housing shortages, weak job opportunities, poor healthcare access, inadequate childcare, poor
transport, planning barriers and young people being priced out of staying locally.
3. Healthcare access dominated the discussions. GP shortages, NHS dentistry, maternity centralisation, long travel to Raigmore or other hospitals, delayed specialist appointments, and lack of local mental health provision were frequent concerns.
4. Maternity services in Caithness were a major flashpoint. Audience members and candidates challenged whether a promised maternity review would be genuinely
independent and whether Caithness should have its own focused review rather than being folded into a national process.
5. Roads are seen as a safety and wellbeing issue, not just an inconvenience.
Speakers cited potholes, poor workmanship, underfunded maintenance, dangerous travel for elderly residents and pregnant women, and a large funding gap faced by Highland Council.
6. Planning and local democracy were repeatedly criticised. Community councils were described as underfunded and overwhelmed by complex wind farm and infrastructure applications, with many residents feeling objections carry little weight.
7. There is tension between local control and national coordination. Most speakers supported more local decision-making, but some argued that national structures can still be useful for strategic services or specialist capacity.
8. Childcare is both a social and economic issue. Speakers agreed that childcare affects women’s employment, family formation, recruitment and depopulation, but differed on whether the priority should be statutory provision, funding following the child, childminders, wraparound care or family tax support.
9. Energy costs exposed major political divisions. SNP voices argued Scotland needs
independence to control energy markets, while others argued for immediate UK-level reforms, decoupling electricity from gas, grid investment, community ownership, transmission-charge reform and nuclear options.
10. Nuclear energy, especially around Dounreay, was divisive. Several speakers supported small modular reactors or broader nuclear development as clean, reliable energy and a source of jobs, while others focused more on renewables and market
reform.
11. Scottish Water privatisation was broadly rejected. The panel generally opposed
privatisation but called for better governance, sewage monitoring, environmental
protection, accountability and infrastructure investment.
12. Emergency services are under pressure. Police coverage, drug crime, rural task forces, fire-station staffing and ambulance facilities were raised as serious public safety concerns.
13. Political accountability was a major theme. Speakers frequently challenged government records, disputed figures on roads budgets, questioned whether reviews were genuinely independent, and called for measurable commitments and timescales.
14. The independence question remained divisive. SNP speakers defended Scotland’s potential as an independent country, while Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Reform-linked speakers generally argued that constitutional debate distracts from urgent public-service problems.
15. The audience repeatedly asked for practical, local, measurable action. Public contributions showed frustration with broad party claims and demanded specifics on
roads, maternity, planning, Across the combined hustings and public discussions, the central themes were rural Highland
public-service pressures, depopulation, housing, roads, healthcare access, maternity services,
dentistry, childcare, policing, planning, energy costs, Scottish Water, local democracy and
constitutional politics.
Speakers broadly agreed that Caithness, Sutherland, Ross and wider Highland communities
face severe and interconnected challenges: poor roads, weak transport links, shortage of GPs
and dentists, centralised maternity and specialist healthcare, overstretched
police/fire/ambulance services, unaffordable housing, childcare shortages, depopulation and
communities feeling ignored in planning decisions. They differed sharply over responsibility
and solutions.
Scottish Labour representatives argued for practical change, stronger accountability, localised
services and “getting the basics right”. SNP representatives defended existing Scottish
Government action on childcare, roads, affordability and rural support, while emphasising
depopulation, Brexit-related workforce shortages and, in some sections, the need for
independence to control energy costs. Conservative speakers criticised 18–19 years of SNP
government, centralisation, broken promises and underfunded services, calling for change
and stronger opposition. Liberal Democrat speakers focused on local empowerment, planning
reform, rural proofing, healthcare access and avoiding renewed constitutional division.
Reform UK speakers presented themselves as an alternative to established parties, calling for
more police, better governance, nuclear energy and less grievance politics.
The strongest recurring public concern was that rural communities are being asked to carry
urban-designed systems: travelling long distances for maternity or five-minute hospital
appointments, relying on digital mental health care where face-to-face support is needed,
dealing with dangerous roads, under-resourced community councils, and watching decisions
on wind farms, health boards and public services being made far from the communities
affected.
Key Points
1. Rural public services are overstretched and often inaccessible. Health, dentistry,
mental health, maternity, policing, fire cover, ambulance facilities, childcare, roads
and transport were repeatedly described as failing to meet local needs.
2. Depopulation is a systemic crisis. Candidates linked population decline to housing
shortages, weak job opportunities, poor healthcare access, inadequate childcare, poor
transport, planning barriers and young people being priced out of staying locally.
3. Healthcare access dominated the discussions. GP shortages, NHS dentistry,
maternity centralisation, long travel to Raigmore or other hospitals, delayed specialist
appointments, and lack of local mental health provision were frequent concerns.
4. Maternity services in Caithness were a major flashpoint. Audience members and
candidates challenged whether a promised maternity review would be genuinely
independent and whether Caithness should have its own focused review rather than
being folded into a national process.
5. Roads are seen as a safety and wellbeing issue, not just an inconvenience.
Speakers cited potholes, poor workmanship, underfunded maintenance, dangerous
travel for elderly residents and pregnant women, and a large funding gap faced by
Highland Council.6. Planning and local democracy were repeatedly criticised. Community councils
were described as underfunded and overwhelmed by complex wind farm and
infrastructure applications, with many residents feeling objections carry little weight.
7. There is tension between local control and national coordination. Most speakers
supported more local decision-making, but some argued that national structures can
still be useful for strategic services or specialist capacity.
8. Childcare is both a social and economic issue. Speakers agreed that childcare
affects women’s employment, family formation, recruitment and depopulation, but
differed on whether the priority should be statutory provision, funding following the
child, childminders, wraparound care or family tax support.
9. Energy costs exposed major political divisions. SNP voices argued Scotland needs
independence to control energy markets, while others argued for immediate UK-level
reforms, decoupling electricity from gas, grid investment, community ownership,
transmission-charge reform and nuclear options.
10. Nuclear energy, especially around Dounreay, was divisive. Several speakers
supported small modular reactors or broader nuclear development as clean, reliable
energy and a source of jobs, while others focused more on renewables and market
reform.
11. Scottish Water privatisation was broadly rejected. The panel generally opposed
privatisation but called for better governance, sewage monitoring, environmental
protection, accountability and infrastructure investment.
12. Emergency services are under pressure. Police coverage, drug crime, rural task
forces, fire-station staffing and ambulance facilities were raised as serious publicsafety concerns.
13. Political accountability was a major theme. Speakers frequently challenged
government records, disputed figures on roads budgets, questioned whether reviews
were genuinely independent, and called for measurable commitments and timescales.
14. The independence question remained divisive. SNP speakers defended Scotland’s
potential as an independent country, while Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat
and Reform-linked speakers generally argued that constitutional debate distracts from
urgent public-service problems.
15. The audience repeatedly asked for practical, local, measurable action. Public contributions showed frustration with broad party claims and demanded specifics on
roads, maternity, planning, dentistry, childcare, policing and housing.
