Douglas Ross: Honoured to be part of Royal Week in Scotland

This week has been Royal Week in Scotland, the first in the reign of King Charles and I was delighted to be part of some of the events.

The first was the Garden Party at Holyrood Palace on Tuesday where Krystle and I met so many local people, it seemed like most of Moray was there! It’s great how amongst thousands of other guests, we met people from Lossie, Hopeman, Burghead and many other parts of Moray.

Sadly, the main topic of conversation was the weather! It poured for most of the afternoon and umbrellas were an absolute necessity. While important to keep people dry, they did also obscure the views a little, so the King and Queen and the Princess Royal were probably seen by less people than normal, but they were determined to get round as many guests as they could.

The second event I attended was a historic ceremony at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh. I was there as a party leader and it was a huge privilege to witness the King receive the Honours of Scotland.

It was an incredible service with outstanding music. And as the King was presented with the sword, sceptre and Crown of Scotland he again pledged to reign as our King in the service of us all.

It was a uniquely Scottish event and the massive crowds lining the Royal Mile on the route from the Palace to the Cathedral showed, despite some tiny protests, that the majority of Scots are proud of the Royal Family and the work the King and Queen, with other members of the Royal Family, will continue to do. It is clear that our new Monarch has the same passion and dedication as the late Queen Elizabeth II.

While the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood is in recess for the summer, the House of Commons is still sitting at Westminster and on Monday at the committee I’m a member of, an issue that has been championed by The Northern Scot was highlighted.

We were questioning witnesses including a representative from HITRANS (Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership) and this allowed me to raise the dualling of the A96 through Moray.

The upgrade of this road has been promised by the Scottish Government for some time, but progress has been painstakingly slow. Fully dualling this road would vastly improve road safety and be a significant boost the local economy.

Last year Moray Chamber of Commerce released a survey which made it clear how important the business community regarded the need to upgrade this road.

With The Northern Scot championing this issue, I hope the new Scottish Transport Minister will listen to local people and businesses and deliver progress on their promise to dual the A96 from Aberdeen to Inverness.

With the school holidays now in full flow, I hope our teachers, school staff and pupils all have an enjoyable break. While some may head abroad, there is so much to do in Moray and I hope people support local businesses and organisations.

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