David Maddox: Getting back to the classroom

There used to be a cruel saying "if you can't do, teach." I must I admit I always took slight offence at it as the son of two teachers and the husband of another.

But sometimes my experience of politicians makes me think the saying should be: "If you can't teach, get elected."

A classic example was on BBC Scotland's Big Devolution Debate last night from Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray, a former Maths teacher (pictured right).

"Has it [the Scottish Parliament] made a difference?" he asked rhetorically. "Yes it has. When the Parliament started one in five children in this country lived in poverty. That's now one in three. That's significant progress."

So more poor children is a good thing or has Mr Gray just got his sums wrong?

David Maddox: Half term report cards

Here are the spoof half term report cards put together by Labour and distributed to hacks prior to FMQs today (click on the link):
Report%20Cards_Layout%202.pdf

Pity that Iain Gray, the Scottish Labour leader, apparently forgot to actually use them in his four questions preferring his usual mantra on broken promises.

Nevertheless a spokesman for Alex Salmond felt the need to put out a response to them:
"The verdict of the people is what counts, which on the basis of the 50 key policies we have delivered over the past two years is highly satisfactory. The SNP have a commanding lead in the polls, even at the government's mid-term point. The score Iain Gray should be worried about is that only 7% of Scots support him to be First Minister - Alex Salmond is more popular than Iain Gray even among Labour supporters!"

The statement came with this briefing:
Polling%20Brief%2006-05-09.doc

The marks may be poor all round, but, as the SNP, say the final examiners (the voters) will give their verdict in 2011.

David Maddox: The Numbers Game (9)

The weekend poll which gave the SNP a 10 point lead in list voting intentions and 12 point lead in constituency voting intentions for a Holyrood election has brought about a predictable but nevertheless interesting press release.
The SNP have worked out that they would gain 11 seats overall and actually more importantly should pick up 26 new constituency ones.
This is based on the predictor Scotland Votes, which somehow seems to work out a solution from one of the most complex voting procedures in the world.
The constituency number is always considered more important by parties because it gives them a much stronger platform to build for the future.
According to the latest poll this would see Labour leader Iain Gray and many of the shadow cabinet thrown out.
However, the usual bucket of salt needs to be applied. Like Electoral Calculus this does not take into account local circumstances or personal votes. For example the SNP also claim they will take out Presiding Officer Alex Fergusson, who was number two on their target list last time and actually managed to hugely increase his majority.

Seats that potentially fall to SNP (and their potential victims):
Airdrie and Shotts - Karen Whitefield, Education Committee Convenor (Lab)
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth - Cathy Craigie (Lab)
East Kilbride - Andy Kerr, Labour's Finance spokesman
Falkirk East - Cathie Peattie (Lab)
Cathcart - Charlie Gordon (Lab)
Glasgow Kelvin - Pauline McNeil, Labour Culture spokeswoman
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross - Jamie Stone (Lib Dem)
Ross, Skye and Inverness West - John Farquhar Munro (Lib Dem)
Edinburgh Central - Sarah Boyack, Labour's Rural & Environment spokeswoman
Edinburgh North and Leith - Malcolm Chisholm
Edinburgh West - Margaret Smith, LibDem Education spokeswoman
Linlithgow - Mary Mulligan (Lab)
Midlothian - Rhona Brankin, Labour's Education spokeswoman
Dunfermline West - Jim Tolson (Lib Dem)
Kirkcaldy - Marlyn Livingstone (Lab)
Clydesdale - Karen Gillon (Lab)
Cunninghame South - Irene Oldfather (Lab)
East Lothian - Iain Gray, Labour Leader
Galloway and Upper Nithsdale - Alex Fergusson, Presiding Officer (Con)
Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale - Jeremy Purvis, Lib Dem Finance spokesman
Clydebank and Milngavie - Des McNulty, Labour transport spokesman
Dumbarton - Jackie Baillie (Lab)
West Renfrewshire - Trish Godman (Lab)
Aberdeen Central - Lewis McDonald, Labour Energy spokesman
Aberdeen South - Nicol Stephen, former Lib Dem leader
West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine - Mike Rumbles, Lib Dem Chief Whip

David Maddox: FMQs - Tories first to get unwanted double

Annabel Goldie (pictured right), the Scottish Conservative leader, made it an unwanted double today for her party after she was pulled up for insulting First Minister Alex Salmond with a nickname - "two salaries Salmond."

The strictures from Presiding Officer Alex Fergusson (Conservative) followed a similar lecture to by Speaker Michael Martin to Ms Goldie's UK leader David Cameron in Westminster yesterday for describing Gordon Brown as "phony" during PMQs.

Mr Salmond speculated that this may have been the first time a party has achieved the double.

Ms Goldie's questions were actually directed at the SNP's insistence (supported by all parties except the Tories) to push forward with free prescriptions for all. She claimed this would lead to £40 million of cuts in frontline health services.

Ironically, considering her foray into nicknames, she accused the First Minister of being "more interested in headlines and sound bites."

Mr Salmond gently reminded her that she and her party voted for the measure in the budget.

Earlier Labour leader Iain Gray accused Mr Salmond's government of not acting fast enough on apprenticeship guarantees. He raised the problems of a 19-year-old constituent Lewis Doig who could lose his apprenticeship just three months before he qualifies as a tradesman.

Tavish Scott, the Lib Dem leader, meanwhile pointed out that the UK government's economic recovery plan had the second least amount of green measures of any major economy after Spain. Mr Salmond happily agreed to publish the equivalent Scottish figures to prove his administration is better.

And stop press (although it was already in a popular tabloid this morning) the Scottish and UK governments at last agree on something- introducing legislation to stop more former prisoners from suing for compensation for having to slop out. In answer to a question from Nationalist MSP Stewart Maxwell (a former minister) Mr Salmond said that he would look at deducting board and lodgings from any compensation awarded.

David Maddox: FMQs - Independence defiance

In the face of certain defeat tonight over an independence referendum Alex Salmond made it clear that this is one policy that his party will not be shelved despite the parliamentary arithmatic.
Under attack from Labour leader Iain Gray, Mr Salmond took great pleasure in reminding his opponent that "consistency on the referendum is not Labour's strongest suit."
After all it was Labour less than a year ago, he pointed out, who backed a referendum under the ill-fated Wendy Alexander leadership. And he quoted Mr Gray's own appearance on Newsnight Scotland in May last year when he said Labour would support a referendum "whenever it comes."
But Mr Gray's response may be the historical footnote to the SNP's great missed opportunity.
"It was the First Minister who said 'no!'," he said before underlining the fact that the offer has now well and truly been withdrawn.
Which leaves the question of whether in retrospect the SNP really did miss an opportunity by not going for a referendum when Labour's support was there and Labour was so weak the SNP would have been in a great position to win. Maybe this will in time go down in history as the Nats great missed opportunity.
Both Tory leader Annabel Goldie and Lib Dem leader Tavish Scott asked about the appalling case of the death of the Dundee toddler Brandon Muir, which provoked a strong defence of social workers from the First Minister and an admission that nobody is really sure how many children are in similar circumstances to the little child.
Read more on all these exchanges in the Scotsman tomorrow.

David Maddox - FMQs: Who is to blame for bankers?

There is nothing more likely to get politicians going than to find out that some industry fat cat has managed to manipulate the system to get a big pay-off. The same logic rarely applies to themselves.

So it was not surprising that FMQs today was dominated by the £650,000 a year pension for life that the former Chief executive of RBS Sir Fred Goodwin (pictured left), still just 50, has been awarded affter he led the once great bank to ruin. That would pay for more than a dozen MSPs afterall.

But in the fine tradition of finger pointing it took just a couple of questions for the blame game to start on who was responsible.

Labour leader Iain Gray suggested that it was Sir George Mathewson (pictured right), Sir Fred's predecessor, who also happens to be the "chief economic adviser" to Alex Salmond, the First Minister.

He asked Mr Salmond "which side are you on?" and went on to point out that Sir George was a supporter of short selling that had led to the collapse of some banks and bonuses.

"Iain Gray should remember that he's here to question the actions of the First Minister," countered Mr Salmond. He then went on to state that it was the UK Government in October which arranged Sir Fred's pay off, a view backed later by Lib Dem leader tavish Scott.

Only Annabel Goldie steered clear of the topic, perhaps mindful of the often made accusation that hers is the party for fat cats. Afterall who else would be willing to attend dinners to raise £530,000 for the party, like the one which was declared in yesterday's Electoral Commisions donations.

David Maddox: FMQs - Local Income Tax recriminations

As might be expected Alex Salmond, the First Minister, was having to fend off attacks over his humiliating decision to dump LIT yesterday.

Opening the salvos against the Mr Salmond was, as usual, Iain Gray, the Labour leader.

He said Mr Salmond was "throwing the Scottish Government's programme for Scotland in reverse..." That the FM "has been caught red-handed selling short Scotland's voters..." and was "retreating in the snow from LIT like Napoleon from Moscow."

He went on to ask if the FM would drop his last remaining manifesto promise on a referendum on independence and for good measure tore up a copy of the SNP manifesto with some effort (I heard he had been down at the gym lately).

A combative Mr Salmond refused to take up Mr Gray's request to apologise to voters (or impressed by the tearing antics) and hit back reminding Mr Gray that it was the £1 billion cuts for Scotland's budget planned by Labour in the Treasury that did for LIT.

He said that apologies should come from the "council tax cabal of Labour and the Tories" and the Treasury for chopping Scotland's budget. He reminded Labour of the "Duncan McNeil declaration" of last year where the chairman of Labour's parliamentary group said they would support a referendum whenever it came.

Tory leader Annabel Goldie asked if the LIT policy was so good "why he didn't go to the ramparts to fight for it?"

She asked if he will now cut council tax bills.

Mr Salmond mocked her for her party having five policies on the council tax in recent times and said that a cut was now impossible because of the cuts in the Scottish budget from Westminster.

Lib Dem leader Tavish Scott reminded Mr Salmond of his election address to the people of Gordon (the FM's constituency) which showed smiling people saying they would vote SNP because it would abolish the council tax. "Are they still smiling?" he asked.

"We did not have the votes," said Mr Salmond.

Then Mr Scott changed tack. Why is there not a minister for economic recovery from the ministerial reshuffle but a new super minister for independence? Drop the independence bill he demanded.

Mr Salmond said Mr Scott can't have it both ways complaining that he dropped one manifesto promise and then demanding he drops another.

And he reminded him that on the day Mr Scott was elected Lib Dem leader he said "I'm not intuitively against" the Scottish people deciding their own future.

"Go back to your first day," he called, and "let the people of Scotland have the democratic right to decide their own future."

David Maddox: Bad day for Grays (not just the squirrels)

Iain Gray, the Scottish Labour leader (pictured right), might think that he has enough on his plate taking on Alex Salmond and the SNP, while still trying to sort out the mess his party North of the border was left in after Wendy Alexander vacated the leadership.

But, if this was not difficult enough he seems to have had to contend with everything that UK Labour Party leaders have had to throw at him too.

First there was the suspension of his East Lothian constituency party over the argument surrounding the reselection and attempted deselection of the local MP Anne Moffat.

Then just as he was preparing to give a major speech today on the economy at Ravenscraig where he was to deliver a withering attack on the SNP Scottish Government, then up pops UK Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform Tony McNulty (or McNumpty as one Scottish Labour activist called him today) (pictured left) on Sunday's Politics Show to praise the SNP.

Here's a quick competition, spot the difference:

McNulty on Sunday: "Broadly I think they (the SNP) are doing all they can and they are working – certainly in as far as my brief in terms of employment is concerned – they are working with us in common cause."

Gray today (Monday): "I say very clearly today that, if and when the SNP decide to focus on the economic challenge, concentrate on the actions they can take with the powers they have the Labour Party I lead will not shirk from working with them in the Parliament."

No wonder the Nationalists could hardly stop laughing. Their official spokesman on this occasion, John Mason, the hero of last summer's Glasgow East by-election, suggested that Mr Gray was "overtaken by events" mainly from his own party and perhaps "should have rewritten his speech."

I wonder if this is a picture of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's reaction when he was told how things were going in Scotland.

David Maddox: FMQs - end of the cosy consensus

After yesterday's budget love-in which spilt over into this morning's Lib Dem sponsored debates on borrowing powers and the financial services industry it seemed like we had entered some Never Neverland full of politicians giving each other consensual mutual massages - really quite nauseating.

But, thankfully, First Minister's Questions (FMQs) has at last brought us back to normal. Labour leader Iain Gray has picked one of his old favourites, the Scottish Futures Trust, to attack Alex Salmond on.

"Just PFI with window dressing," said Mr Gray quoting Professor John Kay from a Scotsman article. "Where are the schools, hospitals and jobs?"

As this is third or maybe fourth time Mr Gray has now chosen this subject for FMQs, Mr Salmond's response is well practised. This goes as follows: Yes the SNP is building schools ("started by Labour," cry out Labour MSPs, as they have done on the other occasions), the problems are Gordon Brown's recession or depression as we must now call it, and just wait for Gordon Brown to cut £1 billion from the Scottish budget to pay off his £1 trillion recession debt.

Tory leader Annabel Goldie was keen to find out how many times Mr Salmond had met the Prime Minister. However it was clear she was more keen to promote the Conservative's new helpourhighstreet.com website launched after the SNP agreed to the Tory/ Labour idea (depending which party you are speaking to) of having a town centre regeneration fund of £60 million. She was to be disappointed though, Mr Salmond made it clear he would rather meet Mr Brown than log on to her party's website.

But, the spirit of love (for the Nationalists) has not been dropped by the SNP's new bedfellows, the Lib Dems. Tavish Scott, Scotland's fourth party's leader, chose to use his questions to attack Mr Salmond's greatest enemy Gordon Brown especially his line on "British jobs for British people."

"Would the First Minister use the phrase Scottish jobs for Scottish workers?" he asked.

"Not in the manner the Prime Minister did," answered Mr Salmond.

Which poses the question, what manner would he use it in?

David Maddox: FMQs - the budget recriminations continue

No surprises, FMQs has been dominated by yesterday's events and the defeat of the Scottish Government's budget.

Labour leader Iain Gray went on the attack and said that there was no sign of First Minister Alex Salmond (pictured) and the SNP losing the "hubris and arrogance" that brought them to this position.

But Mr Gray was himself under severe fire for leading the no vote, especially after he seemed to suggest that Scotland could wait until June for a new budget after the new financial year has started.

A furious First Minister Alex Salmond, his jowels rippling withe rage, said the £1.8 billion lost in the budget would equate to 35,000 jobs. Tory leader Annabel Goldie went on to accuse Labour of trying to "stage a bloodless coup to esconse Iain Gray as First Minister."

But, interestingly, given my posting below, the exchanges between Mr Salmond and Lib Dem leader Tavish Scott were in tone, at least, very conciliatory. None of the personal animosity of the Scottish Inter Faith Council and the truth inquiry of latter weeks. Mr Salmond pointed out that the Lib Dems' (now dropped) 2p income tax cut would lead to a net loss of 600 jobs and had no majority across the chamber even if the SNP were "miraculously" converted to it.

As mentioned earlier, the two are set to have talks. There could be some interesting developments.

You can read all the in depth analysis and Rab McNeil's sketch in tomorrow's Scotsman.

David Maddox: Budget - Tomorrow is another day

Well after all the excitement of this truly extraordinary and historic day in Holyrood I'm going to sign off. You can read the in depth analysis and reports in tomorrow's Scotsman.

But needless to say the blame game has already started. Labour have blamed the SNP, the Tories have blamed Labour, the Lib Dems have blamed the SNP, and the SNP have blamed everyone except the Tories and themselves. Funnily enough, anybody who is not in a political party has blamed the Greens.


One interesting point is that somehow, even though their thinking is often different, the Lib Dems have still always voted the same way in Holyrood as Labour on the budget every year since the parliament was reconvened. More and more they look like an extention of Scottish Labour to those not well versed in the machinations of Holyrood, which is reflected in the declining polling ratings north of the border, which in some cases have dipped into single figures.


As one final note, it is clear that the SNP smelt disaster early in the afternoon and were resorting to pretty desperate measures.
This high priority e-mail was sent out by one of their backbenchers Christina McKelvie (pictured) at 2.51pm to her public sector trade union colleagues calling on them to lobby Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray:

I am writing about this afternoon's budget debate in the Scottish Parliament. The implications for Scotland if the Budget Bill is not passed are serious. Section 6 of the 2008 Budget Act would be the legislation which governs such an eventuality. That section can be found here - http://www.oqps.gov.uk/legislation/acts/acts2008/asp_20080002_en_3 In short, it means that the Scottish Government would only be allowed to release, in any calendar month, one twelfth of last year's budget or the amount paid out of the Consolidated Fund for the corresponding month last year. There is no allowance made for inflation. This would leave a shortfall of some £1.8 billion or £150m per month and leave the Scottish Government without the flexibility to spend money to protect jobs and investment.
As you will appreciate, such a situation would jeopardise public sector pay deals; increased funding for the NHS; increases to the local government settlement which would affect the ability of those local authorities to freeze council tax again this year; funding to cut business rates for small businesses; and accelerated capital spending in the region of £230 million. With the economy struggling as it is at the moment, I'm sure you will agree with me that Scotland could ill-afford such a cut in public spending this year. Cuts on that scale would not only affect the pay of public sector workers, they would adversely affect public services and would prevent the Scottish Government the opportunity to ensure that Council Tax stays frozen this year and that prescription charges come down - costs which fall heaviest on poorer members of society.
Can I urge you, therefore, to contact MSPs who you may know and urge them to support the budget this afternoon. In particular I would urge you to contact Labour's Leader in the Scottish Parliament, Iain Gray MSP, and urge him to take his party with him and vote to protect Scotland 's public spending this afternoon.
Yours,
Christina McKelvie MSP

Hamish Macdonell - budget goes down to the wire

THE brinkmanship which has characterised the SNP's budget process for the last two years has got even more tense than usual.
The Steamie understands that John Swinney, the Finance Secretary, rang Andy Kerr, Labour's finance spokesman, twice over the weekend to discuss Labour's budget demands.
Mr Swinney is also due to meet Labour leader Iain Gray tonight to see if the two sides can compromise on the budget.
Labour wants major new investment in skills and apprenticeships in return for its support and the party has made clear to ministers that they will have to be given what they want or they will vote against the budget - they are very unlikely to abstain this year as they did last, to universal derision.
With the Greens also playing hard-ball and refusing to soften their demands for a major investment in house insulation, Mr Swinney needs something to give if he is to get his budget through.
He has apparently promised the Greens £10 million for home insulation when the Greens want £100 million. He will never go as high as £100 million but the Greens want him to raise the £10 million to a more respectable figure before they will consider supporting the budget.
Like Labour, the Greens do not intend to abstain, they say they will vote for or against, but they will not sit on the fence.
It is likely to go down to the last few minutes of Mr Swinney's wind-up speech on Friday. He will try to promise extra in that speech to get one of these two parties in board. If he fails to do enough, the budget may fall.
Then we will be in for recriminations.
ends

Kenny Farquharson: Crumbs!

Iain Gray must be mad.

At this time of year, with Hogmanay in sight, is it really wise for the Scottish Labour leader to make disparaging comments about a great Scottish institution?

I refer, of course, the crumbliest flakiest biscuity treat in the world - Scottish shortbread.

Gray issued a press release this afternoon that berated First Minister Alex Salmond for various failings, personal and political, and summed up with these words:

"What is Alex Salmond's response to the economic crisis? I see his he is launching a commemorative shortbread tin tomorrow."

Now, that's just bad politics.

Does Gray not realise the esteem in which the glorious petticoat tail is held in this country?

Does he not appreciate how highly the Scots value the buttery delight of a good shortbread finger?

These are matters that transcend mere politics.

Gray was referring to an event in the First Ministerial diary for tomorrow when Salmond is launching the Walkers shortbread range to celebrate The Homecoming 2009 - the event designed to attract the diaspora and their dollars back to Scotland.

The First Minister has The Steamie's full support on this one.

What next, Iain, black bun??????

Kenny Farquharson: Flat-pack policies for Labour?

Labour MSP Margaret Curran has been in Sweden looking for ideas on how to get her party back into power.

She's been speaking to members of the Social Democrat party who - like Scottish Labour - know what it's like to be kicked out of government after losing the trust of the people.

So are we going to see some Ikea-style flat-pack policies being imported to help Scottish Labour? Is party leader Iain Gray a dab hand with a screwdriver?

Gray told a Policy Forum meeting in Stirling today: "One lesson we've learned from Sweden is the Social Democrats approach to regaining power. They said to the Swedish people: 'You sacked us now we want to reapply for the job'. The Policy Forum's role is to prepare our job application to the people of Scotland."

Just remember to count the rawl plugs, Iain.

David Maddox: Who rules the waves?

It may be a coincidence that Holyrood has at last been given control of the seas around Scotland, but today's fight has been over its waves.
Iain Gray, Labour's leader in Holyrood, put out a press release at 1.06pm telling Alex Salmond that his £10 million Saltire Prize for the first company to successfully harness Scotland's wave power was "not enough." For those who need reminding this is the prize the First minister launched with great fanfare at the National Geographic Society when he was in America for Scotland Week.
Mr Gray - who was so keen to push his message that he had it sent out again at 1.43pm just to make sure journalists hadn't missed it - demanded that the Scottish Government also sets up a £40 million fund for Scotland's wave and power industry as asked for by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME). Apparently Labour in 2006/07 set up the Wave and Tidal Energy Scheme which gave out grants worth £13.9 million and this was then wound up by the Nationalists when they came to office.
Normally, the SNP respond quickly to such attacks, but their response this time took four hours with the lines accusing Mr Gray of "carping" and "making himself look ridiculous."
SNP MSP Rob Gibson is quoted as saying: "Under the 8 years of a Labour-led Executive - during which Iain Gray was a minister - nothing was done to incentivise Scotland's massive marine renewables potential.
"Labour barely scratched the surface. They were and are split from top to bottom on nuclear, and unable to embrace Scotland's clean, green energy potential."
Surprisingly, he forgot to mention Labour's support for nuclear power, but that will no doubt come up another day.