Today's Sunday Herald headline reads "MSPs set to pocket £2m by using your money and they won't say if they will pay it all back.'
It appears 28 MSPs currently charging taxpayers for the cost of mortgage interest on a second home in Edinburgh, 12 are Nationalists, half of whom are cabinet secretaries or ministers. They include finance secretary John Swinney and housing minister Alex Neil, who would make profits of £95,000 each if they sold up. LibDem Nicol Stephen would make a profit of £200,000 or almost four times his salary while presiding officer Alex Fergusson would make £125,000. Tavish Scott, who stands to make £120,000 on his second home in Edinburgh, said Nick Clegg's call for all libdems to pay back any profits was found by last year's review team to be too complicated to work.
As most of us know after a review of the practice last year, all mortgage interest claims will stop in 2011 but according to SNP sources, Crawford and Adam contacted Nationalist MSPs to tell them not to be drawn on the subject. "It's blind panic."
No need for panic from any MSP. Just assure the public you will pay an agreed share of the profit on your property when you sell it. Better still, agree to sell it before the rules change in 2011, pay back the money then the matter will be closed.
Behaving like Gordon Brown and bunkering themselves isn't doing the SNP any good at all, in fact if it continues it will be very damaging. Come on Alex, show some leadership and sort this matter out in the next couple of days. If you allow it to fester the whole of your party will become tainted with greed and sleaze. Take action now.
Pity the Sunday Herald did not list all the 28 MSPs.
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12 comments:
What a shame. They're all at it. Boy do we need something to change. Perhaps a United Kingdom is the way forward? All of us join together to bring about a better culture?
Yes they are indeed. The Scottish parliament is way ahead of Westminster with the expenses business though because they've been publishing them for a few years now.
Sadly I think the UK is finished now OR. The break-up started in Maggie Thatcher's day when she decided to treat Scotland badly concerning the oil and now the papers are available for all to see, the Scots are angry. Of course successive governments have just continued the same treatment and I certainly still think we're treated like 'a necessary evil' here. That was so evident to me when I returned nearly 20 years ago and it's even worse today.
The best thing would be for us to go it alone and England too and be the best of pals. This antagonism perpetuated between the two governments now is beginning to be noticed by staunch tories here. Our cultures are different no matter what anyone says, although I do think some Scots wear their grievances rather too much - I perhaps am guilty of that too!
The Scottish MPs aren't interested in Scotland they're only interested in keeping their jobs as is becoming more and more evident daily.
Some years ago (!) my SNP branch in conjunction with another wrote to HQ expressing concern at the use of taxpayers' money by MSPs to build property portfolios. We suggested that the SNP should loudly and publically distance itself from this practice, and end it at the first opportunity. We also pointed out (prophetically) that at the moment property made profit but that this might not always be the case - if an MSP lost money on a property deal, would the taxpayer be asked to refund this as an 'expense'?
We were swatted aside. Now the chickens come home to roost. Salmond must take the firmest possible line on this - we need the electorate to see many miles of clear water between practices in Edinburgh and practices in London.
I second your call for action, subrosa.
Vronsky I'm just so disappointed John Swinney is one of them as I would have thought John well above that type of behaviour.
As you say action has to be taken now and your comment about miles of clear blue water is perfect.
In fact I think I'll email John and express my disappointment. He may well ignore it but at least I will feel I'm not talking behind his back.
subrosa,
I think you made a typing error when describing Swinney and Neil's expected profits. It should read £95,000 although I'm not sure how this was calculated. I'm not too sure what is actually wrong with this. Is the suggestion that they should have rented or is that an alternative which I'm not aware of?
I'm with you on this too Subrosa. The future of Scotland is, at least in part, dependent on building a fair and decent society, which does not include MPs or MSPs or MEPs making vast amounts out of property.
Gordon Brown's dithering on these things has affected his party's ratings. Cameron, who has as many miscreants, has acted far more decisively and has not suffered so badly in the polls. Salmond must now lead in this matter or the SNP will suffer. SNP members must not be seen to profit from property portfolios.
Oh, and Tavish comes out of this looking cheap and self serving!
Thanks for pointing that out Brownlie, yer a darling :) Amended now.
The point is that some MSPs have bought properties using interest only mortgages which they are able to claim on their expenses. So we pay the interest and the property increases (or doesn't) over the time the MSP owns it. It sells say, for a profit of £95,000. The MSP pockets the whole profit even although the taxpayer has paid their mortgage for x years.
This is being done away with in 2011 and only hotel expenses or second home rents will be permitted.
Not only Tavish tris but Nicol Stephen was an expert at building a property portfolio at the taxpayers' expense.
subrosa,
Thanks for that - it has penetrated my thick skull at last.
Bravo Sb . . .yours is a far more intelligent analysis than mine! lol I just wanted to put the word around! ;-)
You're far too complimentary TP but you see I don't often get Saturday nights out. At your age I do hope you do!
This is a bit like being convicted of 'intent'. Their houses have increased in value and we howl that they will presumably make a profit at some time in the future. This is obviously the right moment to 'break' this 'story', since all the parties will be cleaning up their act in the near future and it will disappear as an issue and astory. But - yes - the whole list would have been entireyl feasible and indeed desirable.
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