A SCOTS politician has slammed proposals to place a “go to England” square on a Perth Monopoly board.
The Fair City has been granted its own version of the popular board game, after beating 19 other Scottish locations in a public vote.
Now, the community is being invited to nominate local landmarks to fill the spaces on the board.
However, a suggestion that those who land on the traditional “go to jail” square could instead “go to England” has sparked fury from a local councillor.
Conservative candidate Alexander Stewart, who campaigned hard for a no vote in the Scottish independence referendum, said he was left “speechless” after hearing of the proposition.
He said: “To change “go to jail” to “go to England”, I think that’s appalling. I’m speechless.
“I really hope it’s a joke rather than a serious suggestion because it’s not conducive to being part of the board game or being part of the UK.
“The Perth edition of Monopoly is a great opportunity for the city, but not if they put “go to England” on it.
“We have a high security prison in the city. It is a focal point of our history, so why would someone suggest going to England when they could be sent to the jail in our own community.”
Graham Barnes, Monopoly executive, said there was no guarantee it would make it onto the finished board.
“We have had two individual votes for ‘go to England’,” he said. “We will look at each and every suggestion after June 7 when the polls close – we are not going to rule anything out or anything in.
“I am sure that when the board comes in October it will be met with universal approval.”
Currently Scone Palace, where kings and queens were once crowned, is tipped for a leading spot on the board.
Also expected to be popular voting choices are Perth Museum and Art Gallery, McDiarmid Park, Scone Racecourse and Perth High Street.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of Monopoly, and 20 Scottish towns and cities were nominated to win their own board as part of the celebrations.
Perth came in first with 28.6% of the vote, with St Andrews coming in a close second with 27.9%.
