Eilidh tours Fraserburgh's centre of excellence for whitefish

Dr. Eilidh Whiteford MP has today toured Young’s Fraserburgh, which is now Young’s Seafood Limited’s Centre of Excellence for White Fish processing and packaging.

Dr. Eilidh Whiteford, the MP for Banff & Buchan, saw the progress, investment, job creation and development underway at the site. Since announcing plans to make the Fraserburgh site the Centre of Excellence for White Fish in June 2014, Young’s has rebranded the site from Macrae to Young’s Fraserburgh, made a multi-million pound investment into the site as part of the expansion programme and appointed new senior managers to the team. The expansion programme means that the site now employs between 600 and 700 people, with more roles during busy seasons, in the local community. During her visit, Eilidh met the management, new members of the team who have benefitted from job creation and saw the new equipment installed at the site.

Commenting on her visit, Dr. Eilidh Whiteford MP, said:

“I’m pleased to see the development, investment and job creation underway at Young’s Fraserburgh. Fish processing makes a significant contribution to the local economy, with a strong skill base in the community and it is fantastic that there are so many employment and development opportunities here.”

Darren Beecham, Managing Director of Young’s Fraserburgh, said:

“We are delighted to show Dr. Eilidh Whiteford MP the progress we have made with our plans for Young’s Fraserburgh. Development continues and we’re grateful for the continued support of our MP.”

Pete Ward, Chief Executive of Young’s Seafood Limited, said:

“Having made a number of changes and a significant investment into our site, to develop it into our White Fish Centre of Excellence, we’re very pleased with the progress made to date. We are committed to continuously improving our operations, striving for manufacturing excellence, and providing our customers and consumers with the best value and best quality fish.”

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SNP will fight Tory social security cuts 'every step of the way'

Ahead of the Queen’s Speech, the SNP has made clear that it will fight the Tories’ plans for £12bn in welfare cuts ‘every step of the way’ – and that promoting an alternative to continued cuts will be the party’s key priority at Westminster.

The Tory’s commitment to further welfare cuts comes as new statistics published last week show that around a third of the UK population experienced poverty in at least one year between 2010 and 2013 – higher than the EU average of 25%.

During the General Election campaign, the SNP promoted an end to austerity with modest increases in public spending – and SNP MPs will use the party’s unprecedented mandate to put ending cuts at the heart of Westminster’s agenda.

Commenting, SNP Westminster Social Justice spokesperson Dr Eilidh Whiteford said:

“We are already well aware of what to expect from the Tory government in this Queen’s speech, with the continuation of the relentless assault on the poor and a further £12bn in cuts to social security – and the SNP will lead the fight against these cuts every step of the way.

“With Labour all over the place and each of their leadership candidates seemingly getting ready to race even further to the right, the SNP is the only real opposition to unfair Tory cuts in the House of Commons – and people in Scotland can be assured that we will fight George Osborne and David Cameron’s plans to impose more cuts on disadvantaged people at every turn.

“The UK Government’s continued commitment to the savage welfare cuts that are inflicting such hardship on so many people underlines why they can’t be allowed to take decisions on social security on Scotland’s behalf any more. The Scottish Parliament needs full powers over employment and social security to allow us to support and empower people – and SNP MPs will fight to have these powers delivered to Scotland.

“At the General Election, people in Scotland gave the SNP an unprecedented democratic mandate to put an end to the cuts agenda which is hurting people across our communities – and we will use this mandate to work with progressive allies both inside and outside of Westminster to lead the fight against Tory austerity and put forward a better plan to benefit people in Scotland and right across the UK.”

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SNP Call on Labour to Challenge Tories on Austerity

LABOUR SHOULD CHOOSE AUSTERITY DEBATE FOLLOWING QUEEN’S SPEECH
The Scottish National Party has called on Labour to use a House of Commons debate to challenge the Tories on austerity.

Labour will have the opportunity to choose debate topics for each of the five themed Queen’s Speech debates over the next week.

The Tory’s commitment to further welfare cuts comes as new statistics published last week show that around a third of the UK population experienced poverty in at least one year between 2010 and 2013 – higher than the EU average of 25 per cent.

During the General Election campaign, the SNP promoted an end to austerity with modest increases in public spending.

Commenting, SNP Westminster Social Justice spokesperson Dr Eilidh Whiteford said:

“Labour need to show some backbone and use the Queen's Speech to challenge the Tories on their austerity measures.

“We are already well aware of what to expect from the Tory government in this Queen’s speech, with the continuation of the relentless assault on the poor and a further £12bn in cuts to social security – and the SNP will lead the fight against these cuts every step of the way.

“The UK Government’s continued commitment to the savage welfare cuts that are inflicting such hardship on so many people underlines why they can’t be allowed to take decisions on social security on Scotland’s behalf any more. The Scottish Parliament needs full powers over employment and social security to allow us to support and empower people – and SNP MPs will fight to have these powers delivered to Scotland.

“With Labour all over the place and each of their leadership candidates seemingly getting ready to race even further to the right, the SNP is the only real opposition to unfair Tory cuts in the House of Commons – and people in Scotland can be assured that we will stand up for Scotland in Westminster."

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Macduff youngsters welcomed to Westminster

Pupils from Macduff Primary School have enjoyed a first-hand experience of what goes on in the UK Parliament, following last week’s visit to the House of Commons.

Banff & Buchan MP Eilidh Whiteford welcomed the pupils for a look at what happens behind the scenes in the UK Parliament. The youngsters visited Westminster Hall, Central Lobby, and the House of Lords debating chamber.

Speaking after the visit, Eilidh said:
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“It was a pleasure to welcome the pupils to Parliament. I’ve given talks to Macduff’s P6 and 7 classes frequently in recent years, and it’s a great experience for them to come down and see the Westminster Parliament and learn about its quirky traditions. They ask questions worthy of any politician in the Commons debating chamber and there is no doubt a few budding politicians in their ranks.”

A little part of Macduff Primary remained in London following their visit. A flag, designed by pupils at the school, will fly in Parliament square for one week alongside flags designed by schools across the UK to commemorate Westminster’s 750th anniversary. The Macduff Primary design will represent the historic country of Banffshire.

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