Category Archives: Scotland

Mark Pack

Charlie Gordon MSP: the curious case of high expense claims and payments to his son

By Mark Pack | Tue 3rd February 2009 - 10:22 pm

Labour MSP Charlie Gordon has been in the news over his high level of expense claims. It’s not the first time he, money and politics have been in the news, for he’s the man who resigned as Labour’s transport spokesman over a dodgy overseas donation for Wendy Alexander’s Scottish Labour leadership campaign.

Charlie Gordon’s payments to his son

This time though it’s the level of expenses he has been claiming as an MSP that are in the news – including the fact that a large part of them have been paid to his son, Gavin …

Continue reading »
Also posted in Online politics | Tagged | 6 Comments
Stephen Tall

Lib Dem Scottish and London budget news

By Stephen Tall | Tue 3rd February 2009 - 8:45 pm

Okay, okay I admit it – that title isn’t likely to entice in hordes of readers. But it is kinda important, so read on…

In Scotland:

The SNP will be able to pass its budget, second time around, thanks to the support of the Lib Dems. As the BBC reports:

In return for the party’s backing, ministers have agreed to take forward a strategy for boosting the economy. … The agreement was reached after Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens combined to vote down the budget in parliament last week, saying it would fail to help the Scottish economy through the

…

Continue reading »
Also posted in London and News | Tagged , , , , , and | Leave a comment
Stephen Tall

See if you can spot the flaw in The Scotsman’s reasoning

By Stephen Tall | Sat 31st January 2009 - 10:45 am

LDV reported this week on the Scottish Lib Dems’ decision to open talks with the SNP, following the casting vote rejection by the Holyrood parliament of the nationalists’ £33bn budget. In its budget analysis, The Scotsman poses the question, Why did the Lib Dems change their tune?

The article begins by mounting a fierce attack on the Scottish Lib Dems for ditching their principles:

Why had the party, which had adhered to its principle of a 2p cut in income tax throughout the process, suddenly thrown it all away to offer the SNP its support in getting the Budget through?

…

Continue reading »
Also posted in News | Tagged , and | 3 Comments
The Voice

Scottish Lib Dems offer to “get round the table” with SNP over budget

By The Voice | Thu 29th January 2009 - 9:49 am

Tavish Scott, Lib Dem leader of the Scottish Lib Dems, has offered to open discussions with the SNP government in Scotland to resolve the budget breakdown triggered by the Holyrood parliament’s rejection of the SNP’s budget for 2009-10.

Though the Tories fell in line with the SNP, the 16-strong Lib Dem group, together with Labour and the Greens, voted against – the budget was ultimately defeated on the casting vote of the presiding officer. But this morning the BBC reports:

The Liberal Democrats want discussions with the Scottish Government about what concessions might gain their support for a revised budget.

…

Continue reading »
Also posted in News | Tagged , and | Leave a comment
Andrew Reeves

News from Scotland: Save Our Forests

By Andrew Reeves | Tue 6th January 2009 - 4:20 pm

We have recently launched a major campaign in Scotland to “Save Our Forests” led by Jim Hume MSP, who served recently as a member of the Forestry Commission’s South of Scotland Regional Forestry Forum and for six years  a Trustee of the Borders Forest Trust.

The SNP are proposing to lease out 25% of the Forest Estate, but it is the most productive part – so according to the Forestry Union this would equate to 40% of the £41.4million income the Forestry Commission receives from timber sales. It would leave behind a very weak Forestry Commission (FC).

The FC was set up …

Continue reading »
Tagged | 3 Comments
Mark Pack

SNP plans to make local income tax, er.., a bit local

By Mark Pack | Mon 27th October 2008 - 9:45 am

The Sunday Times had the story this weekend, though it’s safe to say that Labour don’t really like this idea:

The SNP is facing accusations that its flagship local income tax policy (LIT) is in chaos after it opened the door to Scotland’s 32 councils setting different rates…

In a dramatic U-turn on the policy, the Nationalist administration at Holyrood is now looking at allowing councils to vary the rate downwards and giving them the flexibility to set rates locally but also setting a cap at 3p…

Mr Kerr added: “The idea that to appease the Liberal Democrats we could have

…

Continue reading »
3 Comments
Bernard Salmon

Your chance to interview Tavish Scott

By Bernard Salmon | Thu 25th September 2008 - 5:04 pm

The new leader of the Scottish Lib Dems, Tavish Scott MSP, has agreed to take part in a bloggers’ interview. This will take place at the Scottish Lib Dem conference in Edinburgh on Saturday October 11 between 3.25pm and 4pm.

The interview is open to any Lib Dem blogger. All that is required is that you write up the interview on your blog. If you don’t have a blog of your own, you could write it up on Lib Dem Voice or another site of your choice.

Anyone interested in taking part should contact me by email at [email protected]

Also posted in Blogger Interviews | Tagged | Leave a comment
Stephen Tall

Scotsman: Lib Dems to back SNP deal for Local income Tax

By Stephen Tall | Fri 5th September 2008 - 3:38 pm

This from today’s Scotsman:

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, yesterday gave his blessing to a deal with the SNP that could mean local income tax being introduced in Scotland. He said he wanted the party north of the Border to come to an agreement with the Scottish Government because he hoped a local income tax would be introduced and the council tax abolished.

Alex Salmond, the First Minister, announced earlier this week that he was going to push ahead with plans to introduce a local income tax, set centrally at 3p in the pound, and a bill would be published

…

Continue reading »
3 Comments
The Voice

Tavish Scott’s new team

By The Voice | Sun 31st August 2008 - 11:55 pm

Fresh from his election as Scottish leader, Tavish Scott has unveiled his new team. Liberal England and Caron’s Musings have the details.

Tagged | Leave a comment
Stephen Tall

Lib Dems to back SNP on local income tax?

By Stephen Tall | Fri 8th August 2008 - 2:51 pm

The Scotsman reports that the Lib Dems are going to come to the rescue of the SNP to ensure that the council tax is replaced by a local income tax in Scotland:

SNP ministers are prepared to do a deal with the Liberal Democrats which could see every council in Scotland set its own income tax rate, it emerged yesterday. The Scottish Government wants to introduce a nationally-set local income tax of 3p in the pound to replace the council tax, but its proposals have come in for heavy and sustained criticism since their publication earlier this year.

Business groups, councils,

…

Continue reading »
Also posted in News | 10 Comments
The Voice

Leadership election news

By The Voice | Wed 6th August 2008 - 9:32 am

In Wales: While Brecon and Radnorshire AM Kirsty Williams and Cardiff Central AM Jenny Randerson remain favourites, North Wales AM Eleanor Burnham launched her bid by promoting herself as a candidate best-placed to reconnect with Welsh speakers in the north.

In Scotland: Three weeks today the new Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats will be unveiled.

Also posted in Wales | Tagged | 7 Comments
Tavish Scott MSP

Tavish Scott: why I want to be Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats

By Tavish Scott MSP | Sat 2nd August 2008 - 5:21 pm

Scottish politics used to be predictable: Labour was the largest party, the SNP was bitter about it, the Tories were resented for existing and the Liberal Democrats were a voice of reason. But the results of the Holyrood election and last week’s Glasgow East by-election remind us that times have changed. Political parties are having to reposition themselves and adapt to the new dynamics. It’s a dangerous game, with the future of our country at stake.

For the SNP, the plan is clear. Pick fights with London, luxuriate in Labour’s decline, and hope for a Tory government at Westminster. Salmond’s …

Continue reading »
Also posted in Leadership Election and Op-eds | Tagged | 4 Comments

Ross Finnie: why I want to be Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats

By Ross Finnie | Fri 1st August 2008 - 2:21 pm

I want to be Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats because I believe I have the ability to drive the Party forward by making Liberal Democrat values and policies relevant to the people of Scotland.

At present I believe our message has become blurred and lacks a distinctive Liberal Democrat edge. We lack a political narrative that brings clarity and cohesion to our political projection.

I want us to concentrate on three themes:-

We must become regarded as the Party that stands up for individual freedom – not only human rights and civil liberties but also freedom from poor education, poor health, poverty …

Continue reading »
Also posted in Leadership Election and Op-eds | 6 Comments
Stephen Tall

Scottish Lib Dem leader nominations close

By Stephen Tall | Thu 24th July 2008 - 1:31 pm

The Press Association reports the (unsurprising) news:

The deadline for nominations in the race to lead the Scottish Liberal Democrats has closed with no late challengers in the three-way campaign.

Mike Rumbles and former ministers Tavish Scott and Ross Finnie will now concentrate on winning party support before the poll on August 26.

The candidates are hoping to succeed Aberdeen South MSP Nicol Stephen, who quit the top job earlier this month citing family reasons.

Also posted in Leadership Election | Tagged and | Leave a comment
Stephen Tall

Ming: Lib Dem MSPs should oppose independence poll regardless of conference

By Stephen Tall | Mon 21st July 2008 - 10:15 am

An interesting article in yesterday’s Times, with former national Lib Dem leader Ming Campbell wading into the current Scottish leadership debate, and in particular the controversy over whether Lib Dems should support a referendum on Scottish independence:

Sir Menzies Campbell has warned the next leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats to oppose an independence referendum, even if the party conference votes in favour. …

Two of the three candidates in the race to replace Nicol Stephen as leader of the Scottish Lib Dems have already said they are open-minded about a ballot on breaking up Britain. Mike Rumbles has proposed

…

Continue reading »
Also posted in News | Tagged , and | 19 Comments
Mike Rumbles MSP

Mike Rumbles: why I want to lead the Scottish Lib Dems

By Mike Rumbles MSP | Fri 4th July 2008 - 12:55 pm

I want to lead this party because I believe that it has never been a more important time to be a Liberal Democrat. The other parties are obsessed with eroding individual civil liberties:
* the Labour Party is hell-bent on forcing people to carry ID cards and increasing the length of detention without trial to 42 days;
* the Conservatives want to introduce random drug tests in schools; and
* the SNP continue to bring forward a whole raft of measures which will take away individuals’ rights, such as its proposals to ban all our young adults aged 18 to 21 …

Continue reading »
Also posted in Leadership Election | 20 Comments
The Voice

Nicol Stephen resigns as Scottish leader

By The Voice | Wed 2nd July 2008 - 10:37 pm

As the BBC reports:

The former Scottish deputy first minister said the stresses and strains the job placed on his family life had become too great.

However, he will remain as the MSP for Aberdeen South…

Mr Stephen, who has four children aged between four and 12, said in a statement that family now had to take priority.

“Everyone involved in politics knows that there are stresses and strains on family life. But when it goes beyond that, when it crosses a line, something has to be done.”

“And at that stage – when you have to make a choice between family and politics

…

Continue reading »
Tagged | 14 Comments
Alex Cole-Hamilton

Our correspondent in Scotland: Minority Report

By Alex Cole-Hamilton | Sat 15th March 2008 - 7:45 am

A look at the landscape of Scottish Politics after 10 months of SNP minority control…

Scotland is a very different place right now. Oh the lochs are still there, you can still drink your way from lowlands to highlands on the whisky trail (at a slightly higher premium thanks to the Chancellor) and the haggis hunting season is about to start once again in earnest, but the old order changeth.

Following the introduction, by Liberal Democrat MSPs, of STV for local government elections, Labour lost control of many fiefdoms that it had ruled with an Iron fist for a generation. The roll …

Continue reading »
8 Comments
Martin Veart

Opinion: We need to be serious in opposition as well as in government

By Martin Veart | Wed 5th March 2008 - 2:20 pm

Aviemore 2008 was a good conference. From the opening session with Nick Clegg’s first speech to conference as leader, through to Malcolm Bruce’s closing note, looking at Scotland through the prism of history, those attending the conference were upbeat and cheerful. It seems that opposition is really suiting us.

It is on that last note, however, that things for me rather soured. When the Liberal Democrats gain power, we are going to have to deal with the country and world how it really is, not how we would like it. That reality has to be faced up to by some members …

Continue reading »
Also posted in Op-eds | 1 Comment
Stephen Tall

High praise for Stephen from Scotsman

By Stephen Tall | Tue 12th February 2008 - 11:12 pm

No, not me – it’s the Lib Dems’ Scottish leader Nicol Stephen who has been earning plaudits from The Scotsman’s Hamish MacDonnell:

A couple of weeks ago, Wendy Alexander held a dinner for some members of the Holyrood political press corps. Her aim was to explain her thinking on the constitutional convention but, in the course of the evening, the Scottish Labour leader was told – quite bluntly – that she was pretty awful at First Minister’s Questions. She was informed that not only was she being beaten by Alex Salmond every week, but that Nicol Stephen was doing a much better job for the Liberal Democrats than she was for Labour.

That dinner happened just after one of Ms Alexander’s worst ever performances: she started by asking a question about SportScotland, went on to talk about the Budget and ended on police pensions, failing to score a point with any of her efforts. At the same session, Mr Stephen asked three pointed and direct questions about SportScotland and had the First Minister riled, angry and unable to answer clearly.

Continue reading »
Tagged and | 6 Comments
The Voice

Lib Dems save haggis

By The Voice | Fri 25th January 2008 - 11:51 am

News reached the Voice yesterday that nine Lib Dem MPs have signed an EDM supporting haggis, which brings over £1m into the Scottish economy, particularly in the run up to Burns Night.

The future of the haggis has been jeopardised by the withdrawal of funding currently used to train workers in the meat industry. Leading haggis producers consider there to be a shortage of the skilled workers necessary for ongoing haggis production.

You can find the EDM itself here, and the BBC report about it here.

Also posted in News | 15 Comments
Mark Pack

Award of honours returns to haunt Labour’s donations scandal

By Mark Pack | Sun 2nd December 2007 - 11:43 am

From today’s Scotland on Sunday:

THE businessman at the centre of the Wendy Alexander donation scandal was backed for an honour by senior figures in the Labour Party, it emerged last night.

MSP Charlie Gordon, who resigned last week as Labour’s transport spokesman after it emerged he arranged an illegal donation from Jersey tycoon Paul Green, has now admitted he earlier supported the same businessman for an unspecified honour.

Oops. There’s more in the full story.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Herald (who have been leading the way in investigating the Wendy Alexander donation story) reports evidence that questions over Paul Green’s donations were covered-up:

Continue reading »
Also posted in News | Tagged | 3 Comments
Mark Pack

Second Labour resignation over dodgy donations

By Mark Pack | Fri 30th November 2007 - 10:42 am

Rather overshadowed in the (English) media has been the news in Scotland that Scottish Parliament Labour frontbencher Charles Gordon has quit his post after it was revealed that Wendy Alexander’s Scottish Labour leadership campaign accepted an illegal donation:

The Labour Party in Scotland is facing the prospect of a wounding criminal inquiry after one of its most senior figures admitted illegally securing funds for Wendy Alexander’s leadership campaign.

Charles Gordon quit as Labour transport spokesman at Holyrood just hours after an investigation by The Herald revealed his involvement in securing a payment from a multi-millionaire tax exile.

Yesterday, he admitted approaching Paul Green

…

Continue reading »
Also posted in News | 1 Comment
Stephen Tall

BBC Question Time: open thread

By Stephen Tall | Thu 22nd November 2007 - 9:50 pm

Former Liberal leader Lord Steel is one of the panellists on tonight’s edition of Question Time (broadcast on BBC1 and online from 10.35 pm GMT).

He’ll be alongside Scotland’s Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP, Scottish Labour leader Wendy Alexander, Scottish Conservative leader Annabel Goldie, and David Aaronovitch columnist for The Times.

If you’re watching, and want to sound-off, please feel free to use the comments thread.

Also posted in Lib Dem TV | Tagged | 13 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Peter Martin
    @ Kira, The words you quoted were from Peter Davies'. Not me. I wouldn't agree with raising VAT on energy to 15% right now. I'd leave it as is. The point ...
  • Peter Martin
    “‘why can’t social care and NHS spending be treated as ‘investment’’. Of course, that wont wash”. I'd agree if were talking about re...
  • Peter Martin
    There's really only two fiscal rules that make any sense: 1) If inflation caused by an overheating economy is the main issue, then governments should tax mor...
  • Peter Davies
    @Kira Collins You seem to have missed the bit about raising tax allowances. That primarily helps those on low wages....
  • David Wright
    According to this well-argued article (by Lib Dem councillor Mark Ellis), a simple wealth tax wouldn't work, but tax on TRANSFER of wealth could, if current tax...