Bid by Greens to ban wood burning stoves comes back to haunt SNP as government minister accused of ‘rank hypocrisy’ after relying on his fire during Storm Amy
Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston has accused the Scottish Government of “rank hypocrisy” after the minister for agriculture posted a picture of his woodburning stove “days after he voted against others having one.”
Jim Fairlie – known for the recent seagull summit in Inverness – spoke about how grateful he was to have a woodburning stove at home on social media after Storm Amy knocked out the power.
The post attracted attention online as one person asked him: “That one of those lifesaving wood burner things that you lot in Holyrood were thinking of banning?”
He responded, saying: “But didn’t because I and others lobbied against it as backbenchers for scenarios exactly like this.”
Mr Fairlie added: “As a backbench MSP I lobbied against the ban for exactly this reason. Thankfully it was a successful lobby and the rules were relaxed.”
But that was not good enough for Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston who pointed out that Mr Fairlie voted against his amendments to the Housing Bill aimed at protecting their use in remote rural and island communities.
Mr Halcro Johnston had previously worked with others to force a U-turn from the government after proposals from the Greens sought to ban woodstoves in new build properties.
The Tory MSP had highlighted the importance of stoves particularly during the kind of extreme weather that saw thousands of homes across the Highlands and Islands left without power during Storm Amy.
He said: “It beggars belief to see a Scottish Government minister voting against protections for woodburners in rural and island homes during the week, then message their constituents about the benefits of having one the very weekend when the power goes down.
“Across the Highlands and Islands, many people in remote and rural homes know just how important it can be to have a back-up source of heat. Thousands of homes lost their power over the last few days and were left reliant on the kind of heating that Mr Fairlie enjoys but doesn’t think others should have.
“Last year, when the SNP/Green coalition attempted to ban stoves in new builds, I championed them for these very reasons – arranging a debate on the subject and challenging out-of-touch central belt ministers who don’t understand the realities of life in rural communities.
“I was pleased that we forced them to u-turn then, but was disappointed when Jim Fairlie joined his SNP colleagues last week in voting against my proposed protections that would ensure cack-handed attempts to outlaw woodburners couldn’t happen again without the full scrutiny from the Scottish Parliament.”
He added: “To vote against something on Tuesday and sing its praises by Saturday is rank hypocrisy. I know how angry it has made many of my constituents across the Highlands and Islands”.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “There are no restrictions on the use of wood-burning stoves in Scotland, in either new or existing homes.”