The Scottish Conservatives have pledged to upgrade the country’s key trunk roads as part of their plans to turbocharge the economy and get Scotland working.
On visits to Ayrshire yesterday (Wednesday) and Dumfries and Galloway today, leader Russell Findlay witnessed first-hand the impact of the SNP’s failure to invest in the lifeline A77 and A75.
He has accused John Swinney and the “useless SNP” of repeatedly breaking their promises to fully dual major roads across Scotland.
Findlay added that the Nationalists’ betrayal of motorists was resulting in far too many accidents, some fatal, as well as stifling economic growth.
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said: “Year after year, John Swinney’s useless SNP has broken its repeated promises to upgrade Scotland’s lifeline roads.
“I’ve seen the impact on communities here in Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway with the A77 and A75. But it’s the same sorry story across the country.
“The SNP’s broken promises are resulting in far too many accidents, some fatal, while the economy continues to suffer.
“Our number one priority is to get Scotland working by growing the economy which is why we would urgently upgrade these key routes.
“If the SNP win a majority in May, this work will continue to stall, which is why voters should use their peach ballot paper to back the Scottish Conservatives.”
Notes:
Accelerate the dualling of key roads. We would pass emergency laws to fast track the dualling of roads such as the A9, A96, A1, A75 and the A77. The law would establish a bespoke procurement process that addresses industry concerns about the balance of risk in previous procurement contracts and overrides any legislative hurdles that are currently holding up these projects.
The SNP has failed to dual any of the A96, despite promising to do so in 2011. The 2011 SNP manifesto promised a dualling of the A96. So far, the SNP government has failed even to begin any material dualling works. This includes the Nairn bypass, the non-completion of which Humza Yousaf even criticized while running for the SNP leadership. They have spent £30 million on the Inverness to Nairn upgrade despite no construction having actually begun. (
Scottish Government FOI Response, 16 February 2023,
https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202200324323/. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="1">
link; SNP Manifesto 2011, April 2011,
http://www.andywightman.com/docs/SNP_Manifesto_2011.pdf. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="2">
link).
The SNP have not committed to the full dualling of the A75. Hyslop said: “We are committed to improving safety, resilience and reliability for everyone who uses the A75, including freight operators. The initial design work looking at options to bypass the villages of Springholm and Crocketford on the A75 is well underway. We have identified a number of initial options to the north and the south of the villages including single carriageway, both with and without overtaking lanes and dual carriageway options”. (
Transport Scotland, 22 September 2025,
https://www.transport.gov.scot/news/a75-springholm-and-crocketford-update/. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="3">
link).
The SNP have neglected the A77. In 2022, the Scottish Government published their Strategic Transport Projects Review 2 which included upgrades to the A77, which runs from Glasgow to Cairnryan. However, two years after the review was published, there is still no delivery plan from the Scottish Government. (
Daily Record, 4 November 2024,
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/ayrshire/msps-debate-rural-roads-a77-34144040. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="4">
link).
The former UK Conservative Government was forced to intervene to upgrade the A75 in Dumfries and Galloway. The A75 is the main artery which links Northern Ireland, to the North of England through South-West Scotland but it has been described as inadequate. It was estimated that around 45% of Northern Irish trade with the rest of the UK goes through the South-West of Scotland and others suggests that around £20 million of goods use the A75 every day. The UK Government announced in 2023 they would commit £8 million to help develop options to improve the A75. (
Scottish Daily Express, 7 December 2023,
https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/comment/a75-wholly-inadequate-thats-uk-31624165. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="5">
link).
