Newsnicht - David Kerr

Last night I watched Newnight Scotland, only because David Kerr, the SNP candidate for the Glasgow NE by-election was to be interviewed. The interviewer was Glen Campbell instead of the regular Gordon Brewer. Did that make a difference? That's a matter of personal opinion.

Mr Kerr, ex-BBC employee and for a time, editor of Newsnight Scotland in the past, seemed confident and performed well initially. The nonsense about his place of birth he handled well although he could have been slightly more assertive. Clement Park Nursing Home, Lochee was my place of birth but I wouldn't consider I 'belonged' to that area, as I spent the first 11 years of my life in Dens Road, which lies at the opposite side of the city.

His answer regarding MPs' expenses was clear and precise but then came the question - "Do you think we should still have troops in Afghanistan?" What a disappointing response. Mr Kerr thinks we should have troops in Afghanistan and they should continue to stay there until a strategy review is done. A strategy review could take months, in fact would definitely take months and meanwhile 9000 men and women struggle to do their best to survive in conditions few of us would tolerate or even imagine.

He doesn't seem to have any idea about the Afghan war or military processes - that was obvious from his body language. I was hoping he had some knowledge of the present situation of our armed forces but it appears the issue is not important enough to him for it to to warrant any serious study.

Some of you may think I was wishing David Kerr would say, "Bring them home tomorrow," and you are right, but I am always happy to listen to those who disagree with my view. What is it about politicians (and prospective politicians) that they're unable/unwilling to say more than, "We're in Afghanistan to protect our streets?" None has taken the line that being there is causing harm to these islands for future generations. None has openly stated we're not in charge of our own military but we're the support forces for any decision the US makes. Defence is one of the few areas over which Britain has control, for the present anyway. Many other areas of government have been removed and are now decided by the EU.

I know I'm not a lone voice saying our military should be withdrawn as soon as possible and I also know that in the past couple of days more people agree, because they realise Afghanistan will not be controlled by westeners and will fight to keep what we in the west consider is a corrupt and discredited president and government.

If Mr Kerr does wish to brush up on today's military matters, there's no finer place for him to start than EUReferendum or its sister/brother blog Defence of the Realm.

Let's see how the other candidates perform this week. Being first in such a situation is always a disadvantage because the questions are fresh but overall David Kerr did quite well and I'd give him 7 out of 10. Maybe my expectations were just too high.

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Glasgow North East By-Election - Is David Kerr Right?

There's a by-election happening in Glasgow next month, so every word every candidate utters is being analysed and critised.

Today in the press it's David Kerr's turn to be pilloried.

During a radio debate he said, "After 74 years, for all the huff and puff, nothing has been achieved.

"We created ghettos of social housing and, by dint, ghettos of poverty as well."

Labour candidate said, "He'd rather talk our area down than solve the problems we have. Calling our area a ghetto is a disgusting slur to local people."

Labour MSP Paul Martin added, "Like Willie, I have lived in this constituency all my life and know how offensive this kind of sneering comment is. He is talking down at people."

While I think 'ghetto' is perhaps a poor choice of word because of certain connotations, I understand perfectly what David Kerr means. During the Glasgow East by-election I canvassed in the area and the main complaints were:

It's all very well to build new houses but there aren't any shops or other amenities. They're closing the school and have built a bigger school, but that's quite a walk away. Health facilities are also not within walking distance. We were promised all these things but, said one woman, I've been here 7 years now and nothing has happened.

To many the heart had been ripped out of the community particularly with the school being moved so far.

Yes, the new houses did look good but most new houses had transport sitting outside. Many people can't afford cars so rely on local services or buses to go about their business. The size of some council estates is vast in cities like Glasgow but planners lack the skill of ensuring the balance of new housing is appropriate to the developer's plans.

It's not only council estates which are affected in this way. When I returned to Scotland I lived in a small village outside Perth. This village was ripe for development and the plans included a pub, shops and community centre. In the years I lived there none of these promises came to fruition and the small local shop struggled to serve a growing community. Incomers had no choice but to use Perth as their local centre, but the one thing which did keep the community together was the village school. It expanded and cope with the influx of young families and with an excellent Head, it became the focus of the community.

The die was cast years ago when the developers were too interested in only building houses instead of communities and I think many areas of Scotland suffered in the same manner. Planning departments passed proposals for village styled estates which looked paradise on paper, but the councils allowed builders to concentrate purely on housing.

I'm quite sure the people of Glasgow North East understand what David Kerr meant when he said what he did. What labour forget is that when housing is built without appropriate local services, this does create poverty - not necessarily financial poverty, but the poverty of loneliness and isolation. That kills too.

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