Brian Taylor’s Big Debate broadcast live from Dynamic Earth

Today, BBC Radio Scotland broadcast Brian Taylor’s Big Debate live from Our Dynamic Earth.

At a venue just around the corner from where the Queen had opened the fourth session of the Scottish Parliament, and the day after The CIty of Edinburgh Council made the decision to continue with the trams project, there were many topics up for discussion.

The panel consisted exclusively of MSPs :- Transport Minister, Keith Brown, Labour Leader, Iain Gray, Deputy Conservative Leader, Murdo Fraser, Patrick Harvie who heads the Scottish Green Party and Willie Rennie who leads the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

There were four very challenging questions put to the panel today, but the one that we found most interesting was that posed on the matter of the tram project.

The question came from Edinburgh local, James Kerr:- “I am very concerned about the fate of Lothian Buses and, to an extent, council services in the face of the decision made last night by Edinburgh Council to continue with the tram project. Where are they going to find the £200m that they need to go ahead?”

Keith Brown very much took the limelight when he answered:-“John Swinney has made it abundantly clear every time he’s been asked, we will not up any more than £500m. It is not a small amount of money, it is half a billion pounds.”

Brian Taylor himself said:- “But surely things change? There is now a crisis. Surely it would be the governmental thing to do to now say: there is a crisis, and, if this project is to go ahead at all, it needs government support?”

Mr Brown replied:- “Things do change, but what has been pointed out is that, at the time, the project wasn’t properly subjected to a cost and benefit analysis. What’s interesting is that last night on TV Tom Harris, the Labour MP who was Transport Minister for the rest of the UK, said he took a look at the tram project in Edinburgh and he would not have approved it, because the cost and benefit analysis just wasn’t there.”

Do you have an opinion on the Edinburgh Tram Project that you would like to tell us about? Let us know in the comments section at the bottom of this page.

If you would like to hear the rest of Brian Taylor’s Big Debate click on this link.