John Lamont MP and Rachael Hamilton MSP have both welcomed comments from the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, to upgrade the A1 north of Berwick.
The Prime Minister, in his speech to Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, stated that he would ‘restore those sinews of the union that have been allowed to atrophy’ with a promise to improve infrastructure across the north of the UK.
In this announcement, it gave specific mention to the A1 north of Berwick and the A75 in Dumfries and Galloway.
Both Mr Lamont and Mrs Hamilton have campaigned for years, urging the Scottish Government to dual the A1 fully, latterly pushing for the route to feature in the Union Connectivity Review. The Scottish Government have so far refused to engage with the review.
Mrs Hamilton added that as transport is a devolved matter in Scotland, the Scottish Government must work constructively with the UK Government to connect nations.
Recently, South of Scotland Conservative MSPs wrote to the Scottish Transport Minister calling for HGV speed limits to be increased on the A1 and other southern routes, to reduce journey times, improve safety and reduce costs for haulage companies.
John Lamont MP said:
“I welcome the Prime Minister’s enthusiasm to improve transport links across the internal borders of the UK.
“These links are vital for businesses and an upgrade to the A1 would be a real boost to the economy.
“But there are also huge benefits for local people because faster travel times make it easier to access work and educational opportunities.
“With an upgraded A1, and a new station at Reston, Berwickshire will be able to reach its full potential.”
Rachael Hamilton said:
“The Prime Minister understands the importance of an upgraded A1 for connectivity and safety.
“Yet we see the SNP Government in Edinburgh failing time and again to properly commit to dualling the route between Dunbar and Berwick.
“It should never be the case that a route between two major cities should be left partially dualled, especially given the volume of traffic.
“The SNP isn’t interested in cross border routes, instead they would rather progress their divisive separatist agenda”.
