Lib Dems want to see the lessons of lockdown learnt so that civil service jobs can be located in the Highlands after unemployment in the north almost doubled with Inverness and Nairn candidate Dr David Gregg saying 'we don't need more centralisation'
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Liberal Democrats have called on the next Scottish Government to deploy more civil service jobs in the Highlands after the pandemic illustrated how people could work from home.
That could mean more jobs for the Highlands as the party said it was time to “learn the lessons of the pandemic” and establish new civil service roles outside the central belt.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats manifesto will be launched later today by party leader Willie Rennie and it will commit to a fresh programme to consider new civil service jobs and government agencies for rural locations.
David Gregg, the candidate for Inverness and Nairn, said the “economic uncertainty of the pandemic demands a renewed approach to creating and protecting jobs in the Highlands, for the Highlands”.
Official figures show that unemployment in the region has almost doubled, up by more than 97 per cent between March and December 2020. In Scotland, just 9.4 per cent of people pre-pandemic worked from home, the lowest in the UK.
According to Highlands and Islands Enterprise, remote working can “introduce career opportunities in rural communities, including new options for people who might find it difficult to attend a traditional workplace.” Dr Gregg said: “The economic uncertainty of the pandemic demands a renewed approach to creating and protecting jobs in the Highlands, for the Highlands.
“We don’t need yet more centralisation.
“During the pandemic, the number of people working remotely shot up. Just imagine the opportunities, once limited to the big cities, that can now be afforded to people living across the Highlands and Islands.
“The next Scottish Government should put their money where their mouth is.
“It is time to demonstrate remote working is the future by moving more civil service jobs to rural areas.
“We can build back better and create jobs for people desperate for work, but that means moving on from the divisions of the past and putting the recovery first. That is the alternative Liberal Democrats offer at this election.”
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