SNP MSP Bob Doris today contributed to the stage one debate on the Scottish Budget and has criticised the Labour Party for refusing to put forward workable proposals to reinstate the Glasgow Airport Rail Link. The Scottish Government budget was drafted against massive £834 million cuts from the UK Treasury. Despite enormous pressure, the SNP Finance Minister John Swinney has protected jobs and frontline services, including a number of key Glasgow infrastructure rail and road projects.

Mr Doris commented: "The priorities of this budget are the real priorities of the people of Glasgow. The NHS is protected; rail and road projects in Glasgow are protected.

"I was looking forward to a serious debate about GARL today but there was not one single amendment to the budget from the other parties. I have been listening intently to the arguments of Labour party MSPs about the cancellation of GARL and I would have expected at a bare minimum to hear a costed proposal from Labour. There was nothing.

"If they have some respectable way of funding the project without suffocating vital budgets like the NHS I want to hear it and I will be delighted to support it.

"Scotland has an effective government but it needs an effective opposition. This is just plain silly - they can’t just shout about projects we all want to see happen. Despite 2 hours of debate we are still none the wiser about the budgets Labour were going to cut to pay for GARL.

"It’s exactly this reckless Labour mentality that ruined the economy in the first place. People in Glasgow and across Scotland will sleep safer knowing that an SNP Government at Holyrood is responsibly looking after the nation's finances, not speeding down Labour's road to ruin."