COLIN CAMPBELL: Highland Lib Dem MPs can speak up against SNP without any restraints
When the next list of MPs’ expenses is revealed at Westminster, Jamie Stone and Angus MacDonald should not face too many critical questions over the fuel bills they've run up. They have plenty ground to cover. Mr MacDonald's constituency stretches from Inverness to the furthest flung crofts of Skye. Mr Stone's territory, almost bizarrely, runs from John O'Groats to Kiltarlity.
Not everyone agreed with the Boundary Commission when they got rid of one constituency and carved up the Highlands the way they did, linking communities with nothing in common and more than 100 miles apart.
But following the election a huge swathe of the region now has only two UK parliamentary voices, and while the geographical demands on Mr Stone and Mr MacDonald are heavy they also must give them very considerable clout.
The SNP presence of former MPs Drew Hendry and Ian Blackford has gone. Mr Stone and Mr MacDonald can justifiably claim to speak for most of the Highlands now, and they should expect when pressing the case for the region that they should be listened to.
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Neither are confrontational by nature. Anyone who has met Jamie Stone would testify to him being an affable man with a sharp and ready wit, no doubt part of the reason he increased his majority a few weeks ago by 10,000 votes.
People will be less familiar with Angus MacDonald, but he appears to be of moderate and agreeable temperament. He told me during the election that he personally liked Kate Forbes. He also had quite favourable words for his incumbent opponent, Drew Hendry. He clearly is not one to pick fights with political rivals for the sake of it, as so many politicians do these days.
Mr MacDonald has already insisted a major new green energy base should be located in the Highlands. In alliance with Mr Stone, he will press the case for this further.
Drew Hendry adopted several campaigns during his tenure, including opposition to excess parcel charges for Highland deliveries, and outrageous penalties set by private parking companies in Inverness. Both were worthwhile. But he had little or nothing to say about an issue which was and remains an absolute priority for the Highlands - the upgrading of the A9. And the Scottish Government's failure to deliver acceptable progress.
For most of her time in office Nicola Sturgeon exercised an iron grip on SNP discipline and any criticism from within which reflected badly on her and her acolytes was viewed as unwelcome to the point of being seen as a betrayal. Other SNP politicians also chose to stay silent on the issue but it's Mr Hendry who has most obviously paid the price.
No such self-imposed restraints apply to Mr MacDonald or Mr Stone.
There are various MSPs scattered across the region but MPs are a tier above. They are the senior politicians representing the Highlands and should expect to be treated accordingly. While not looking to stir up gratuitous discord, they should have no hesitation in highlighting where necessary the failings of the SNP government on the A9 and other major issues affecting this area.
With the widespread perception that it is too often biased in its priorities towards the central belt, they have the responsibility for presenting the case for the Highlands with vigour. And if and when they feel we're getting a raw deal, they should make it crystal clear in very loudly saying so.
