SNP will turn Scotland into the drug death capital of the world, says Esther McVey

SNP is failing says Esther McVey In a long list of failings by Scotland’s SNP Government, by far the most catastrophic has been their weak, liberal attitude towards drugs. Fourteen years of SNP rule has landed Scotland with the dubious title of the Drugs Capital of Europe, with the highest number of drug-related deaths across the continent – almost trebling in number from 2007 when the SNP came to power, hitting the poorest communities hardest with 18 times more deaths. So appalling is this failure, even Nicola Sturgeon – not someone overly-blessed with humility – begrudgingly conceded the SNP had taken ‘their eye off the ball’. I think what she was trying to say was that their eye had never been on the ball. Instead of robustly tackling drug crimes and the criminals behind them, the SNP went down the lefty liberal path of absolving blame, excusing illegal drug taking and criminal behaviour in order to reduce the stigma of drug addicts. As the death toll continued to rise, making it abundantly clear this hippy-dippy approach wasn’t working, the SNP didn’t change tack and get tough on the dealers, crack down on gangs controlling the streets or prosecute users, no, they ploughed on with their failure of a policy. Worse still, they have announced this week they’re doubling down on this drug surrender strategy. They will now provide safe places for people to take drugs in ‘drug consumptions rooms’ or ‘legalised druggie dens’ as GB news presenter Calvin Robinson called them. This must be the biggest capitulation in British history since the surrender of Singapore to Japan in the Second World War. Trending This path of ‘medicalising’ and not ‘criminalising’ drugs, and of providing safe spaces to take them has been trodden by others with equally disastrous results. Just look at the tragic example of San Francisco with its experimental ‘open-air drugs markets’. Drug dealing and deaths haven’t come down. In fact they have seen the exact opposite, with dealers freely doing their business and addicts openly injecting on the streets. Crime rates have soared and the quality of life for local residents has slumped. When you make safe spaces to take drugs, you also make safe places to carry drugs and deal drugs. As Scotland’s Lord Advocate made clear, it is not in the public interest to prosecute drug users for simple possession offences committed within a pilot of a safer drugs consumption facility. Scotland is already the drug death capital of Europe. Unless someone stops them, the SNP will turn it into the drug death capital of the world. READ MORE Bankrupt Birmingham shows why socialists should never run anything Keir Starmer slammed over migrant plan Starmer is EU’s champion in chief Only Keir Starmer could think the solution to illegal migration is to make sure all of those coming here by dinghy are allowed to come here legally instead. It’s like saying you want to crack down on the number of people convicted of burglary by decriminalising burglary. Starmer is saying he will join up to the EU’s ‘burden sharing scheme’ which even some EU countries are refusing to be part of. I think it is clear that if he should become Prime Minister, the man who tried to overturn the EU referendum result will become the EU’s champion in chief, bit by bit rejoining by the back door. Let’s hope HS2 will end There is speculation that Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt are in talks to scrap phase two of HS2 as costs spiral. If those rumours are true, then hallelujah! I’ve long said this white elephant of a vanity project must end. The problems with this keep on growing, from costs to delays, even the entire basis of the plan’s collapsed as passenger numbers have declined following Covid lockdowns as more and more work online and from home. Let us hope common sense will prevail with HS2 finally laid to rest and the money being spent on better local services and better broadband. SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info