By Jim Mennie
Reform raised this at FM’ Questions yesterday 2nd June and @StephenFlynnSNP replied.
I think it’s only fair that this should be reported factually.
The Scottish Government remains the SNP minority administration (58 MSPs). Reform UK holds 17 regional list MSPs and has no executive power. Only the Government can fund, procure and build these projects. Opposition parties can scrutinise and campaign, but cannot allocate budgets or award contracts.
Historical context: Why early progress on the A9 was blocked (2007–2011 period)
This is the part that is frequently omitted or downplayed in current debates. When the SNP formed its first minority government in May 2007 it explicitly promised in its manifesto to cancel the Edinburgh Trams project (and the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link) and redirect the money to road priorities including dualling the A9. John Swinney (then Cabinet Secretary for Finance) stated publicly that the SNP wanted to divert funds from the trams to the A9.
On 27 June 2007 the Scottish Parliament debated the new Government’s transport priorities. The SNP motion to endorse its plan (which included not proceeding with the trams) was defeated.
Opposition parties (Labour, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats) passed amendments forcing the SNP minority Government to continue funding the Edinburgh Trams project within the budget limits set by the previous Labour–LibDem administration.
Because the SNP lacked a parliamentary majority, it was unable to reallocate the transport budget as it wished. Swinney has since confirmed: “I was criticised in 2007 for wanting to divert money from the Edinburgh tram project to the A9 … parliament stopped me.” The trams project (originally approved and budgeted by the pre-2007 coalition) continued and ultimately cost far more than planned. Only after the SNP won a majority in 2011 could it formally commit to full A9 dualling (target 2025) without needing opposition support for its spending priorities.
This 2007 parliamentary vote is a documented fact (Official Report, 27 June 2007) and explains why serious A9 dualling work could not begin immediately after the SNP took office — despite their manifesto pledge. Later delays (post-2011) have had different causes (funding models, cost inflation, procurement), but the initial “stonewalling” by the other parties is historically accurate and often absent from SNP-led narratives today.
What the Scottish Government (SNP) is actually doing now
The SNP has maintained its commitment to both routes and is spending real money on them:A9 Dualling (Perth–Inverness)
Target: Full completion by end of 2035 (revised from 2025).
Budget: ≈ £3.7–3.9 billion (fully capital-funded).
Progress: Two sections completed; two major sections under construction (Tomatin–Moy and Tay Crossing–Ballinluig, both due 2028); further procurement underway.
2026 Delivery Plan sets milestones: ~50 % dualled by 2030, 85 % by 2033.
A96 Dualling (Inverness–Aberdeen, focus on Nairn Bypass)
Still committed to full dualling.
Phased approach due to fiscal pressures.
Land acquired for Inverness–Nairn section; 2026/27 budget funds advanced works; main construction targeted 2029/30 onward.
Physical works are happening and preparatory spending is committed — though slower than originally promised.
What Reform UK is doing (and what they cannot do)
Reform’s 2026 manifesto contains only a high-level pledge: “Embark on a 10-year plan to upgrade our major trunk roads” (no specific mention of the A9 or A96, no dates, no extra funding model).
In Holyrood, their Highlands & Islands MSP Max Bannerman is actively questioning delays, lodging motions citing the A9/A96 as examples of “blocked” capital projects, and criticising the SNP for slow progress.
As a minority opposition party they have no mechanism to deliver faster dualling themselves — they cannot instruct Transport Scotland, award contracts, or reallocate budgets.
Balanced bottom line
SNP/Scottish Government: They are delivering active construction and funded preparatory works on the A9 and A96 right now, but the projects have been slower than promised for years. In their first term (2007–2011) they tried to prioritise the A9 over the Edinburgh Trams but were blocked by opposition votes in a minority parliament — a key early obstacle that is frequently overlooked.
Reform UK: They are correctly highlighting current delays and holding the Government to account, but their manifesto offers no detailed or costed alternative for the A9/A96, and as opposition they have zero executive power to build anything faster.
The dualling will ultimately be decided and funded by whoever holds government. The 2007 episode shows that even when one party wants to accelerate roads, parliamentary arithmetic and pre-existing commitments can prevent it.
Both sides’ current positions are on the public record; the history is also on the public record.
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