Indignation is rising once more furth of the Forth. Northern hostility towards a perceived southern domination of Scottish affairs was fully aired during the last, failed devolution debate more than 20 years ago. It was particularly vehemently articulated in Shetland, the part of Scotland that feels least Scottish. Such hostility and suspicion abated over the years, to the extent that there was genuine pan-Scottish support for home rule in last year's devolution referendum. But such feelings should not be discounted, and there will be an inevitable concern in the north that central belt issues will dominate the Scottish Parliament. A voting system is promised which will be truly representative in geographical terms, if not political ones, since it is geared towards returning New Labour.
And we are promised a new breed of politician who will be the antithesis of the central belt, Old Labour stereotypes. But the old doubts about southern hegemony will persist and, indeed, were aired yesterday in a different context from Aberdeen, not just Scotland's but Europe's oil capital. Railtrack, the privatised concern which is responsible for the rail infrastructure throughout Britain, stands accused of creating a north-south divide by stopping all significant rail investment north of the Forth. The city's planning chief complains that there are few major Railtrack projects planned for Scotland for the next 10 years and that even those favour the central Scotland market, in particular the Glasgow-Edinburgh routes and some in parts of Fife.
He argues with justification that ''negative'' policy enticements such as road pricing, taxing workplace parking, and raising petrol duty are not enough to encourage more people to use trains. Extra investment is essential to make rail travel more attractive to commuters and business people. He is right, but is he correct to suggest that the north is suffering disproportionately in the investment stakes? He sees a commitment to electrifying the Aberdeen-Edinburgh line as a leap of faith on Railtrack's part but the Glasgow-Edinburgh line must surely be the priority. It is used by many more people and will become even more important because of the Scottish Parliament.
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