Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Alex Salmond's Broken Promise

Mr Eugenides has a good story tonight HERE. He accuses Alex Salmond of breaking a pretty important election pledge that he would refuse his Westminster salary if he was elected to the Scottish Parliament. But what's this? A very revealing PQ on 29 June from the lovely LibDem MP, Jo Swinson...

Jo Swinson: To ask the Leader of the House which hon. Members elected at the
2005 election are not drawing their salaries as hon. Members. [146477]
Ms Harman: All current Members elected at the 2005 election are at present drawing their salary except for the five Sinn Fein MPs, none of whom have taken the Oath.

How very odd...

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

The SNP have been quite sure footed since they became the minority governing party in the Scottish Parliament.
I would be surprised therefore if this story were true on 2 counts--- AS would know that SOMEONE would check up on his promise, AND it's such an easy fact to check.
So I can't actually believe that he would be so stupid (but I could be wrong!)

Mr Eugenides said...

I agree, anon, they have. And I find it hard to believe that Salmond would simply go on claiming two salaries regardless, knowing it was so easily checked up on.

So what's the explanation?

Richard Havers said...

It's the pension!

Anonymous said...

mr eugenides

No explanation---I await developments.....

Anonymous said...

This is surreal - surely it is not possible to be an MP and an MSP at one and the same time ?

It certainly isn't possible to be an MP and a Welsh AM at the same time.

Anonymous said...

It's probably just an administrative cock-up like the situation with Prezza's council tax.

Anonymous said...

Sounds to me like there should be some sort of petition started Iain. Even us Labour bloggers might well sign up, especially if there is a nice little banner to place in our sidebars.

Michael Shilliday said...

LOL at annon @10:30! Do they not know that all nine DUP MP's are also MLA's?!

Anonymous said...

Wait a minute, just how do you stop your Westminster Salary! Write a letter to the gaffer saying please don't pay any money into my account? If there is such a procedure does it take a while to go through?
Sein Fein get no dosh because they haven't taken the oath. Maybe Alex Salmond is giving his cash to a good cause, just like Tommy Sheridan gave half of his scottish parliament salary to his party? This will be a non-story, Mr Salmond won't be so silly.

Chris Paul said...

I reckon once again that the Qs and As are a bit out of synch. Hansard doesn't seem to reveal when a question was tabled. Just when an answer was published. Again not when it was written.

But let's hope that Salmon is breaking his word!

Paisley was an assembly member, MP and MEP at one point. Labour rules don't allow this. But other parties are not bound by those.

Our MP - a Lib Dem hoaxer - has now passed the 2006 and 2007 local elections without coming off the council. In Manchester a Labour MP would have done. Though I'm told in Tameside we have one who has not.

Anonymous said...

I don't believe Alex Salmond has broken his word.

My view is that Salmond has no choice but to remain on the HOC payroll for June and possibly even July for purely technical reasons - in order for HOC to discharge its statutory duty to him over any untaken holiday pay or other outstanding sums owed to him.

Until all outstanding sums have been paid by HOC to Salmondand all outstanding holiday taken, Salmond will still technically be in HOC employment, though in practice he is now employed and paid by the Scots parliament.

Auntie Flo'

Anonymous said...

Remember, employers cannot issue P45s in respect of staff members who have left their employment until all final payments owed are made.

Such staff will still be on the payroll though no longer employees.

And employers with grudges have been known to delay issuing P45s out of sheer awkwardness...not that this could apply here...
Auntie Flo'

Anonymous said...

Salmond is a class act! He has me rolling in the aisles at FMQ's! I'm sure he's not silly enough to go back on his word regarding the salary from Westminster. We need people in the Conservatives with such self confidence, and the ability to take the living p*ss out of the opposition.

Anonymous said...

I think it is important that you verify this story, and not just pass on something from another blog. As most people have said, there could be a lot of red tape and delay involved with a salary.

Alex Salmond has a track record of being as good as his word. I would have thought it only courtesy to check with the SNP on the situation - a: that he promised to give up his salary in the first place, and b: that he has deliberately not done so.

Please don't descend to the level of Recess Monkey and Guido by merely recycling tittle tattle.

Anonymous said...

"Sore LibDems clutching at straws" story.

If it was after a year there may be a hint of suspicion but two months?

Does anyone seriously believe Salmond is going to break his promise and keep the money?

Anonymous said...

Alex Salmond keeping his word! He wouldn't know consistency if it came running across the table at him.

The is the man who declared on Monday that he wouldn't stand for leader of the SNP and by Friday was a candidate.

What was it said: "if nominated, I'll decline, if drafted, I'll defer, and if elected I'll resign".

Anonymous said...

Why not ask Alex Salmomd?

His office is still open for business in Peterhead.

Always better to go to the horses mouth don't you think?

He has been a consistently good constituency MP by the way. People who knock Alex Salmond have usually never met him.

Mr Eugenides said...

Salmond has now let it be known that it's in the pipeline:

"Arrangements are being made and an announcement will be made shortly."

He added: "I think I will be the first person in this position only to take one parliamentary salary.

"It can be done and I will do it. But it's not quite as simple as you might think it should be."

A spokesman for Mr Salmond said later: "These arrangements will be backdated to the election."

I wonder when the process was set in motion.

Anonymous said...

This is hardly unprecedented. Donald Dewar was an MP at the same time as being First Minister from 1999 to 2001. There are also several examples of (mostly Labour) politicians who have both been MPs and MSPs.

Lord Foulkes is also an MSP now, and recently asked to be moved to a different SP committee so that his appointments don't clash!

Richard Thomson said...

As an SNP hack, I went on the Westminster payroll full time pretty soon after the election (having been working for both an MP and an MSP previously), and my salary change reflecting this hasn't gone through yet at Westminster.

These things take time to process. At least, that's what I'm being told...

Anonymous said...

Seems to be a lot of hot air by the LibDems wafting back into their faces:



No wonder their by-election campaigns are spluttering and polls diving as they lower themselves to smears rather than policies.