Like in the 2021 poll, SGA members have asked us to provide information to help them make choices on the ballot paper.
Prior to the Holyrood Parliament being dissolved, we polled candidates from all parties on how they might support gamekeepers, land and river ghillies and deer/wildlife managers, if re-elected.
In this guide, we focus on the response received from Murdo Fraser (Conservative candidate for Perthshire North constituency and Mid Scotland and Fife region).
Murdo, a former commercial lawyer, led the Conservative party in Scotland from 2005 to 2011 and has been a list MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife since 2001.
During his time at Holyrood, Murdo has been supportive of SGA inititatives. He attended a Perthshire fox control foot pack demonstration, run by the organisation, to see first-hand how foot packs operate. He was one of 17 cross-party MSPs who pledged support for the Rural Workers’ Protest in 2021.
On the impacts he believes our sector has on community, economy and biodiversity, he said: “A very positive one. The rich biodiversity we see in rural landscapes is only there because of a managed approach to the land, whilst rural economies and communities depend on gamekeepers and their families in areas where there are few other sources of permanent employment.”
In terms of supporting the sector, in future, he stated that his approach would be beneficial, “by supporting a vibrant rural economy and opposing further unnecessary and disproportionate legislation, and unjustified tax increases such as sporting rates, motivated by an ignorant and prejudiced view of rural life.”
On the subject of policies he’d like to pursue/support/advance in the next Parliament, if elected, he said he would like to, “end the excessive regulation, remove sporting rates, and promote measures to strengthen and grow rural communities. We also need better public education on the benefits of actively managed landscapes for biodiversity and conservation.”
On the policies he has been involved in, which impact our sector, he said: “I have regularly engaged with the SGA over many years, and other countryside representative groups, and have spoken up for role of gamekeepers in the rural economy.”
*These guides are meant for information purposes. They are not endorsements of any individual candidate or party by the SGA. Voting is entirely down to individual preference/conscience.
If you are a candidate and want to be featured in our member Election Guides, please contact info@scottishgamekeepers.co.uk
Who else is running in Perthshire North?
Angela Bailey (Labour)
Claire McLaren (Lib Dems)
Kenneth Morton (Reform)
John Swinney (SNP)
