Charles Kennedy

The premature sudden death of Charles Kennedy last week exposed the hypocrisy of many of his colleagues. Some of the most effusive remarks came from the mouths of those ‘colleagues' who were determined to remove him as leader of his party several years ago.  

By all accounts Charles Kennedy was a well respected politician who was treated very shabbily by some of his colleagues.  Although I’ve always thought the LibDem Lembit Öpik was rather foolish, his article in yesterday’s Mail on Sunday has more than a ring of truth about it.

Rest in Peace Mr Kennedy.

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Should Alistair Carmichael Resign?

It doesn’t come as a surprise to those of us who are politician watchers that Alistair Carmichael lied about his knowledge of the leaking of the memo concerning a meeting with Nicola Sturgeon and the French ambassador.

All politicians use the definition of the truth with a degree of nonchalance and perhaps that’s why they’re low on the list of respected public servants. That, and their seemingly frivolous expenditure of our hard earned money to feather their abodes with luxuries most of us can’t afford, doesn’t endear them to their electorate.  Is that why so many people don’t vote?  

There has been so much chatter on the airways about whether Mr Carmichael should resign his seat or not.  I tend to agree with Michael White of the Guardian, (yes, I do read it occasionally), who says it’s a matter for his electorate.  Absolutely.

Yet the SNP - or at least Alex Salmond and Stewart Hosie - are very vocal in calling for his resignation.  Strangely Ms Sturgeon has kept rather quiet since she accepted Mr Carmichael’s apology.  

We now have parliamentary recall, a bill passed at the end of the last parliament to allow ordinary constituents to trigger a by-election.  If Mr Carmichael’s constituents are unhappy they should be able to instigate a by-election, but it’s not that simple.

The bill was promoted by Nick Clegg and allows for a recall petition to be opened only if an MP is sentenced to a prison term or is suspended from the Commons for 21 days or more.  If either of these criteria are made a petition will be opened for two months.  If 10% of eligible electors sign it, the seat would be declared vacant and a by-election would follow.  The incumbent MP could stand in this by-eection, although it’s unlikely that they would have much success.

The ‘Clegg Bill’ is very narrow in its remit although the Committee on Standards may decide to suspend him from the Commons.

Of course the SNP’s calls for his resignation have factored into the equation that Mr Carmichael won his seat by only an 817 majority over them and his would be an excellent scalp for their trophy wall, particularly when the new parliament has hardly warmed the green benches.

Did he try to stitch up Nicola Sturgeon and it backfired because the three parties involved in the discussions all deny she said she would prefer David Cameron in No 10, or was he convinced the record of the meeting was accurate?  Maybe a bit of both.

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Eastleigh

So there we have it. The Libdems kept hold of Eastleigh with UKIP coming a close second.

Nowadays there's nothing between the Tories, Labour and Libdems.  The imagine sums up politics today.

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Alex Salmond At His Best

How many more times will Willie Rennie (the leader of the Libdems in Scotland), announce he visited Afghanistan?  It was in July for goodness sake and he spent the usual hour or two, awarded by the military on these unnecessary visits, on the ground.

Yesterday at First Minister's Questions, he showed his ignorance regarding military matters.  To imply only the Army would participate in a Scottish Defence Force insults those serving in the RAF and Navy.

His question was poorly composed. Of course soldiers - and all military personnel - are loyal to HM the Queen, but the glue which holds regiments, brigades, squadrons and other segments of the military world together is trust.

To suggest that any Scottish soldier would be breaking the trust of his colleagues if he decided to join a Scottish Defence Force is absurd.

No need to say Alex Salmond handled Willie Rennie's naive, ill-advised and silly question with the contempt it deserved. Another pathetic performance from Mr Rennie.

Video courtesy of Moridura.

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The New Liberal Democrat Leader

Willie Rennie is now the leader of the Liberal Democrats in the Scottish Parliament.  Caron must be delighted.  Mr Rennie did not win his constituency vote but acquire his appointment through the list system here in Scotland and he was the only MSP to put himself forward for the leadership.  A shoo-in indeed.

However, like this blogger, I have issues with Mr Rennie's knowledge when he had the remit of Libdem defence in the Westminster.  In case anyone is unaware Mr Rennie was an MP entered the Westminster parliament after a by-election success but he was thrown aside by the Labour candidate in the 2010 general election.  He has a record of expenses claims.

He held the Libdem post for Defence.  I do hope he does himself a favour by keeping his mouth shut on this issue in the Scottish Parliament.  The man is so uninformed it's embarrassing.

How many civil servants (many of them paid far more than the average hard-worker could dream of) run the country?  The military needs generals as much, if not more so, than the country needs politicians who have no experience of military action or life then profess to vote for legislation on our HM Forces.

I hope Mr Rennie concentrates on the subjects with which he's more acquainted than the current military and wish him well.

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Transparency - a Murky Business

Since the Freedom of Information Act came into force I've used it a few times.  Have you ever tried the system?  Believe me your tenacity gets a thorough workout.

Two requests were handled speedily (and to my satisfaction) and the other four replied with a standard letter stating my request breeched the Data Protection Act, section xyz, paragraph abc.  I'm paraphrasing.  Two of those I thought were important enough to pursue so I did.  Neither was resolved and they became battles for access to information which ought to be in the public domain. It's time consuming interpreting the jargon and excuses and I can understand why many people give up.  One wrong word in your request and it's ammunition for the recipient to make life as difficult as possible for you.

The Deputy Prime Minister recently argued, in a high-profile speech, that openness should be extended to more organisations which benefit from public money 'yet who cannot be properly scrutinised'.  Few people would disagree with that statement.

But, tucked away in the civil service verbosity of a civil liberties package unveiled by Nick Clegg, are moves to exempt senior royals from freedom of information laws. The Royal Family is to be granted absolute protection from public scrutiny in a reform designed to draw a veil of secrecy over the affairs of the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William.

Tom Brake, the MP for Carshalton and Wallington, is 'disappointed' by the failure to enforce more openness. Disappointed?  I'd be much happier if he'd said he was furious but he possibly doesn't want to fall out with the royals, although his card may well be already marked 'no honour under any circumstance'. Quite rightly he states "the Royal Family are recipients of substantial sums of public money.  They should be accountable through FOI. In my view it should be possible to differentiate matters that rightly should not be subject to FOI from those that should in terms of the expenditure of public money".

Buckingham Palace disagrees because they say the FOI has failed to protect the constitutional position of the monarchy and heir to the throne.  The spokesman explained that the sovereign has the right and duty to be consulted, to encourage and warn the government, and by extension, the heir to the throne had the constitutional right and duty to prepare himself for the role of King. 'This constitutional position relies on confidentiality so that all such correspondence is confidential,' said a spokesman.

I sense Charlie is building his defences prior to being promoted.

But there's good news for us hoi polloi. 'The Ministry of Justice intends to increase the number of organisations to which FOI requests can be made, bringing bodies such as the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Financial Services Ombudsman, the higher education admissions body UCAS and also all companies wholly owned by any number of public authorities.

What have the royals to hide?  We'll never know now, but if you read the end of the Independent's article, there have been quite a few revelations in their expenditure when they were open for FOI business.  MPs will be rubbing their hands with glee and desperately hoping that they're next in line for protection from FOI.

Nick Clegg isn't doing too well in government is he?  Most of his principles seem to have vanished like 'sna aff a dyke'  because of his desire to sit on the front bench and look authoritarian.  I won't mention the armoured car and his protests about government ministers using such transport. The damage he is doing to his party appears irrelevant.  Time a libdem backbencher stood up and told him a few home truths.

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Keep Your Promise Mr Alexander

In this area most people know someone who belongs to the local voluntary Mountain Rescue service, mainly because the Grampians loom in the background.  There's no lack of support for these people either, because they risk their lives very regularly to save the lives of the unfortunate, the ill-prepared and the downright stupid who choose to go out on the mountain at any time of year.  They also respond to many other emergencies off the hill.

There are 12 rescue teams in Scotland who provide a 24 hour service and they are still almost entirely funded by public donations although the Scottish Government provides an annual £200,000 lump sum which is divided among the teams.  They're always strapped for cash, mainly because their equipment is so expensive and requires regular updating.  Fuel costs take a large chunk of their finances too.  But they seldom complain and do the best they can.  In fact the Tayside Mountain Rescue is effectively homeless and operates from temporary accommodation on a rural farm after failing to secure affordable premises.

Prior to last year's general election the LibDems promised the Mountain Rescue service would be given VAT exemption status.  They currently receive a VAT exemption on electrical items but everything else they have to buy is charged at full rate.  Rescue teams across Scotland presently face a combined VAT bill of between £150,000- £200,000 a year on other purchases and this figure is set to rise this week with the increase to the 20% rate.

The Mountain Rescue insist that their service should be free.  Not all agree, but surely such a service should have a VAT exemption certificate.

The SNP think so. Falkirk West SNP MSP Michael Matheson, a member of Ochils Mountain Rescue, has written to Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, calling for the abolition of VAT on mountain rescue services.  Prior to reaching the dizzy heights of the cabinet, Mr Alexander was the PR man (head of communications) for the Cairngorms National Park Authority so he should understand a thing or two about the operation of this value service.  Will he keep the LibDems promise to withdraw VAT contributions?  I'm not rushing to the bookies.

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LibDem Pledges

Thanks to ASE

There is a better way.  Two of Britain's biggest banks and one of its main building societies collapsed in October 2008 - over two years ago.  We, the taxpayers had no choice because our PM at the time decided he should use our hard-earned money to keep them afloat.  In fact, it was suggested in various quarters that there were deals done behind closed doors with Lloyds TSB.

More than two years on we have students protesting because they may have to pay higher fees.  Many reports say only around 25% of them will pay the full fees yet they decided to take to the streets.  They have every right of course, yet perhaps they should have been protesting against the bankers who brought the country to its knees.

Banks insist they're doing they're best for their customers.  We all know they're not.  The only people they're interested in is themselves and that will continue until we have firm command of their greedy and irresponsible behaviour, including their bonuses.

Politicians refuse to do much but pay lip service to the banks.  A wee bit extra taxation and a plea not to issue 'large' bonuses is as far as they're prepared to go.  Self interest is far more important than the interest of voters.

Isn't it wonderful, seven months after the UK elects a new UK government, we're no further forward, 26 months later, in dealing with the crux of our financial downfall.  The saying 'You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours' springs to mind.  Vince Cable, if he wants the LibDems to keep any credibility, needs to officially nationalise the banks who survive on taxpayers' money.  It's time we called their bluff.  Let's see how many decide to move elsewhere.

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Between the Devil and the Deep

"He doesn't know either."

For the past couple of weeks Vince Cable and Nick Clegg have been nipping round television and radio studios trying to defend the indefensible on university fees.  They seem to have forgotten they benefitted from a free university education.

During the election Nick Clegg insisted he would first abolish tuition fees, then changed his tune a little by saying he wouldn't increase them.

Now he seems stunned that the young voters who promoted him to the post of Deputy Prime Minister are angry and his response is that the proposed system is fairer than the current system.  Also Mr Clegg's unable, or unwilling, to say if he's even going to vote for the proposal, although Vince Cable thinks he may abstain, even though he's the man in charge of implementing the fee increase.  What a ludicrous situation to ask his Tory allies to vote for his proposal but not to do so himself.

The LibDems are between the devil and the deep on this issue, but if the increase in student fees can be halted by popular resistance so too can the whole programme of public service cuts. The aftermath of the vote should be interesting.

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Update

UPDATE

My apologies but I've been just too occupied elsewhere to write a post this evening.

For those of you who were interested in the devolution post, (not forgetting the comments), Joyce McMillan has now put her column online. The Dog That Did Not Bark: Or, The Strange Silence of the SNP.

A worthwhile read.

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The Libdems and Trident

I should have written about this last week and apologise for the delay but it is important that it's recorded because there was little in the MSM about it.

One of the Libdem's manifesto promises was the rejection of the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent. Nick Clegg said: "The world has changed, the facts have changed, you've got to change with them. So like for like replacement for Trident is just not right."

To be accurate Mr Clegg was not against nuclear weapons per se but wished for analternative to Trident and he wanted the incoming government to include Trident in the forthcoming Strategic Defence Review (SDR). In his words the question of Trident was 'non-negotiable'.

The Scottish and Welsh nationalists want rid of Trident altogether because they consider it a complete waste of money and well out of date.

Last Tuesday in the House of Commons, there was a vote on the proposal that government include Trident within the terms of the SDR. As Eric Joyce pointed out in a blog post, prior to the vote, Nick Harvey MP, now Minister of State for Defence, states on his website: 'It would be ridiculous not to consider Trident in the Defence Review."

However, just after the vote Eric Joyce posted again with the title: 'Er, so the Libdems just voted for Trident'.

Giving consideration to the abject state of our economy, it's a disgrace Trident is not even going to be discussed in any depth and our politicians are quite happy to spend around £130 billion on a weapons system which will be controlled, like the current one, by another country.

I suspect many Libdem supporters may have been feeling a little upset last week knowing that one of their leader's non-negotiable policies bit the dust so easily.

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Oh Danny Boy

Nick Clegg really needs to take some urgent action to sort out his MPs. The new Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, has been found to have done a 'Hazel Blears' - avoiding paying capital gains tax when he sold his taxpayer-funded second home at a profit.

There is no suggestion that Mr Alexander has broken any tax laws but he has used a loophole in the tax system for personal financial gain.

In the first televised leaders' debate Mr Clegg said: "There are MPs who flipped one property to the next, buying property, paid by you the taxpayer, and then they would do the properties up, paid for by you and pocket the difference in personal profit."

I don't expect he was aware one of his bright young things had done exactly that.

Time for the libdems to get their own house in order before they start legislating for a reduction in our standards of living.

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Done Deal?

EQUALS

The news is that a deal has been done between the tories and the libdems. I will wait to hear the details before commenting further.

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In the Interest of Fairness

In the interest of fairness let me introduce you to the Libdems campaign song.

The choir is perhaps the staff from libdem central office, the conductor is the Boy Wonder and the composer is unknown - or has left the country. Sensible person.

To my great relief the SNP haven't fallen for such a gimmick. Will it persuade more floating voters to vote libdem? Only if they're tone deaf.

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LibDem Policies At A Glance

With thanks to Fitaloon

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Superman?

A Morten Morland Cartoon

Nick Clegg, the people's superman of the past week, has seriously critised Labour and Gordon Brown in particular.

The speculation is that the price for any Libdem deal with Labour would be that it ditches Gordon Brown as leader. David Milliband has been touted as a possible replacement who would be acceptable to the Libdems.

This will be a blow to Gordon Brown who spent 90 minutes last Thursday agreeing with Mr Clegg who, it is reported, is exasperated with the way the Prime Minister has suddenly decided to talk about changing the electoral system.

Not everyone is impressed with the leader of the Libdems though. Douglas Murray recalls his one and only meeting. The thought of a Lib/Lab administration at Westminster fills me with some foreboding. It didn't work well in the Scottish Parliament where the Libdems were treated as a small and irritating necessity to Labour's hold on power.

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Nick Clegg Under Pressure

Andrew Neil questions Nick Clegg about his MP expenses. His constituency house isn't his home it's a home on loan from the taxpayer. It's a bit of a dump but he's tarted it up with taxpayer's money and when it's sold he'll give the profit back to the taxpayer.

Then, when Andrew Neil says he'd like to come and stay because he's a taxpayer, Nick Clegg says there's a limit. He's not keen on Mr Neil resting on 'my cushions' - bought by the taxpayer.

I think Mr Clegg has upset a few of his constituency neighbours by calling his house 'a pebble-dashed semi'. A neighbour said, "This is one of the smartest middle-class areas in the city and a lot of people want to live here." More details of his properties and claims relating to them can be read here. A photograph of the four bedroomed pebble-dashed semi is below.

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Nuclear Weapons - Labour and Tories Show Their True Colours

Alistair Carmichael (Libdem) and Angus Robertson (SNP)

On the Politics Show at lunchtime Labour and the Tories were asked why we need nuclear weapons. They couldn't give an answer other than to say the present world is unstable with Iran being a threat. Also they couldn't answer when asked under what circumstances they would be used, although Jim Murphy stated their existence kept many in employment in the Clyde area.

Angus Robertson (SNP) gave a direct answer by saying he wanted rid of them because he didn't want to see hundreds of millions of people killed by these chemical missiles, but the most impressive reply for me was from Alistair Carmichael (Libdem) who said it was time the nuclear issue depended upon the needs of the military and stopped being treated as a job creation scheme.

Well said Mr Carmichael. Of course if Trident was halted there would be job loses in Scotland but maybe we could well see Scotland become a far more innovative and motivated country if those who were made redundant put their skills to good use either on an individual basis or collectively. We've lost the ability to grasping opportunities - this could be a chance for many to start their own businesses.

We don't need Trident in Scotland. We don't even have any control over it as we're only a storage facility. The US is in charge and holds the keys.

Labour and the Tories are so happy to spend our money on weapons they admit are past their time, plus of course give billions to other countries through DFID. How can anyone with a sense of justice vote for them?

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Labour in Scotland - Not Their Week

The photograph is of Lewis 'Scooby' Rodden, a notorious gangster who was jailed in August 2005 for four years after being convicted of using threatening behaviour towards business rivals. During his trial at the High Court in Kilmarnock, Rodden pled guilty to having a samurai sword in public. At his trial the judge said his behaviour was like "organised crime in the United States in the last century".

Why am I discussing a gangster you may well ask. The simple answer is that Rodden, allegedly, attended a Labour party fundraising dinner for Jim Murphy's general election campaign. Labour sources admitted they were "shocked" that two of the party's biggest names (by that I assume they mean Jim Murphy and John Reid) shared a room with the notorious security firm boss.

The organiser of the bash was Councillor Betty Cunningham who is a member of Strathclyde Police Authority which monitors the force's conduct.

She said: "Lewis was there, aye".

Hours later she said she thought Rodden had merely been in the hotel and not at the Labour function, but she admitted she was on first-name terms with him, adding: "I know Lewis, in the sense of I've met him."

Last night, Scots Tory legal advisor Paul McBride QC blasted Labour. "I find it deeply concerning that a councillor, with a say over Strathclyde Police, should know Rodden by his first name. The mind boggles."

Labour's behaviour stopped boggling my mind some years ago. I've just been watching the luv-in between Jim Murphy and David Mundell on the Politics Show. (Alistair Carmichael, the libdem MP, more or less kept out of the Jim and Dave show). Jim Murphy denied ever meeting Rodden. He said Rodden had not contributed to his campaign and he had not been aware he was at the event.

The behaviour of both Murphy and Mundell left a lot to be desired in relation to their attitude towards Angus Robertson (SNP). It was playground stuff. At one point Mr Murphy is heard to say 'embarrassing' after Mr Robertson answered a question about nuclear weapons on the Clyde. Yes you were Mr Murphy, very embarrassing and I'm sure there were a few labour voters cringing. Time Mr Mundell and yourself grew up.

More importantly, the 4 MPs were asked if they knew what the minimum wage was. Not one could answer. Says it all really, just how out of touch these people really are from the electorate. If they'd been asked what the basic state pension was the answer would have been the same. Silence.

The more I see of some politicians the more I understand those who would like to see a 'none of the above' box on the ballot papers.

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Polls - Which to Believe?

Poll results have been the life blood of the press in the past couple of days. The Times today headlines 'Salmond's ratings slump as Brown stages revival'.

An Ipsos MORI survey of more that 1000 Scots reveals that the First Minister's voter satisfaction ratings are down by 9% from six months ago, while the Prime Minister's have risen by 9% in the same period and are now slightly ahead of the SNP leader.

The poll also shows that the SNP, on 32% support, are now 2% behind Labour on 34% - a direct reversal of MORI's findings only three months ago.

If the evidence from the poll is rather sobering for Mr Salmond, it is positively gloomy for the Scottish Conservatives with still no sign of a 'Cameron bounce' in Scotland. The tories are trailing third place on 17% with the libdems still further behind on 12%.

Nicola Sturgeon described the poll findings as "fantastic". She added: "We are neck-and-neck with Labour in Westminster voting intentions and we have a substantial 7-point lead in Scottish Parliament voting intentions."

Overall for me that's not a bad result for the SNP. Why so many feel Gordon Brown is a capable Prime Minister defeats me. Regardless of who is the government in Westminster after the general election, the country will begin to see the destruction 13 years of a labour government has done. The worst is yet to come. Labour are using every trick in their armoury to suppress the reality of the situation but they won't be able to do that forever.

Ipsos MORI Scotland interviewed 1,006 Scottish voters by telephone between February 18 and 21.

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