A9 dualling debate: Could Inverness-Perth road cash really be spent on housing instead?

Campaigners are furious at a Glasgow politician’s call to divert the A9 dualling budget to housing instead.

The reaction was sparked by John Mason’s demand that his own SNP Government changes priorities, as reported by the P&J on Wednesday.

We asked Mr Mason – who is currently suspended by his party – to explain to Highlanders why he thinks they shouldn’t get the promised upgrade, 16 years after Alex Salmond promised it.

And we got a strong response from A9 dualling campaigner Laura Hansler, from Kincraig.

Read both of their views below.

John Mason: Glasgow MSP says priorities must change

With a very limited capital budget, Scotland must make tough choices about where to direct resources.

The housing emergency, acknowledged by all parties, must now take priority.

Rural areas face housing shortages as severe as urban centres and, we cannot afford to delay. An emergency means priorities have to change.

While infrastructure projects like the A9 and other road improvements (A82, A96, A77, A75) are important, the urgency of the housing crisis demands immediate attention. Roads can wait, but the growing human cost of inadequate housing cannot.

This does not diminish the tragedy of lives lost on the A9 or the devastation to their families. Road safety is crucial.

I have used the A9 many times over the years and the lack of service stations pressurises drivers to keep going when they are tired and need a break.  Recently I drove south late one summer evening and could find nowhere for a coffee.

Where roadworks are already contractually committed we cannot withdraw funding.

However, moving forward, housing must be our top priority.

Without additional capital from Westminster, it is an unfortunate reality that difficult decisions will need to be made and housing must come high on that list.

Housing is the foundation for tackling inequality and creating stable communities.

While roads are essential for growth, the housing crisis is a moral imperative that cannot wait. Scots in both rural and urban areas deserve safe, affordable homes and we must not push this issue aside any longer.

Laura Hansler: This should have been nipped in the bud

I was outraged when I saw the comments about moving money from the A9.

I don’t deny there’s a housing crisis, we’re all caught up in that. But the crisis hasn’t come from nowhere.

This just looks like an eleventh-hour backtrack which is infuriating people the length of the A9, not just locally but in the wider Highlands and islands.

People have life-changing injuries from collisions on the A9. People who have lived through trauma are listening to these words while we wait for the A9 to be dualled.

If they’re going to syphon off money from projects, that could amount to political manslaughter.

It looks like some MSPs are just chasing a central belt vote, a populist vote. They don’t seem to care what we’re doing up here and across the Highlands.

I should point out that I am ex-SNP. I left the party because I did not want to take this campaign on and have a conflict of interest come up along the way.

Now I see this happening, it is jaw dropping.

When John Mason spoke in parliament it should have been nipped in the bud by the minister, or by John Swinney.

Often, questions are planted, but why would this come up in the first place at all? The whole comparison between housing and the A9 is false, like comparing apples and aubergines.

The money for the A9 should be entirely ring-fenced. These budgets are not from the same purse, it’s not a comparison to be seriously made.

I’d like to see John Mason made to drive up and down the A9 every day over winter. See what he thinks then.

We were given cast-iron guarantees by the previous first minister – where are they now?

You can carry on the conversation in the comments section below.