Scottish Labour in turmoil as Malcolm Chisholm stands down from front bench

Just eleven days after Scottish Labour announced their new front bench team, they have been plunged into turmoil as Malcolm Chisholm resigns.

Malcolm Chisholm was their education and life long learning spokesman.

Malcolm Chisholm said he reconsidered his position after failing to be appointed by his party as convener of Holyrood's health committee.

A Labour spokesman said:

"Iain Gray asked Malcolm Chisholm to use his experience and ability in the shadow cabinet and he had agreed to do so.

"He has since reconsidered and changed his mind."

Ken Macintosh has taken his place as education spokesman while Patricia Ferguson becomes the culture spokeswoman.

Malcolm Chisholm MSP, Edinburgh Northern & Leith

This is Malcolm Chisholm's fourth resignation, the first back in 1997 was over child benefit cuts, then Iraq and in 2006 over trident which was a "matter of principle".

In 2006 Malcolm Chisholm was the Communities Minister and resigned from the Scottish government after voting with the SNP over the replacement of Trident.

He was one of four Labour members who supported the SNP's motion opposing the replacement of the nuclear submarines with up-to-date models.

Is this the end of Malcolm's front bench career and was the resignation just sour grapes?

Labour leader Iain Gray: "I want a zero tolerance approach on literacy"

The Scottish Labour Party have distributed their regional election addresses across many parts of Scotland and in many editions there is an interview with their leader, Iain Gray.

Iain Gray is quoted within this interview as saying;

"I want a zero tolerance approach on literacy,"

A very odd line to take.

Does he mean he will stamp out literacy in our schools?

That is certainly what he implies, did he mean to say he wanted a zero tolerance to illiteracy?

According to the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, the definition of literacy is;

• the ability to read and write
Far more resources are needed to improve adult literacy.

• knowledge of a particular subject, or a particular type of knowledge
Computer literacy is becoming as essential as the ability to drive a car. 

According to Dictionary.com, the definition of illiteracy is;

• a lack of ability to read and write.

 

• the state of being illiterate; lack of any or enough education. 

• a mistake in writing or speaking, felt to be characteristic of an illiterate or semi literate person: a letter that was full of illiteracies.

I think that Iain Gray and Scottish Labour may have made a mistake here....why would you want a zero tolerance approach to the ability to read and write?

Ed Miliband's insult to the voters of Scotland

Yesterday was Scottish Labours conference, if you missed it, it's understandable as media coverage was lower than that of other Scottish Parties because Labour chose to have their Autumn one covered in more detail.

Maybe Ed Miliband realised that with hardly anyone watching, he could say whatever he wanted?

So, despite the fact that in their thirteen years of government, of which Ed Miliband was part, Labour sold off Britain's gold at a twenty year low price, offered Britain's pensioners a miserly and insulting 75p increase, failed to link the basic state pension to earnings, oversaw a £10 million tax credit bungle, insulted people by doubling the basic rate of tax from 10p to 20p, let bankers run riot, oversaw £3 billion of benefits being overpaid and took us into an illegal war in Iraq.

They also left no money in Liam Byrne MP's own words and left us saddled with paying interest payments of £120 million per day on their debts!

So, what were Ed Milibands words of wisdom to the voters of Scotland?

Hitting out at the Tory-Lib Dem coalition, Mr Miliband told the conference:

"I have never wanted this to be a five-year government because of the damage it will do.


"And when people ask me, 'what are you going to do to reverse things in 2015', I say 'we can't wait until then'.

"So let's use these elections to give us the best chance of stopping it going to the full term."

Sorry?  Mr Miliband, I hate to tell you this, but it appears your advisers forgot to mention that the Scottish Parliament elections on May 5th (or May 6th in Dunfermline according to Labour) have nothing to do with removing the coalition government as voted for in last years election.

The Scottish Parliament election is about voting for your local and regional MSPs (use both of your votes) and who then forms the Scottish Government.

Don't be so patronising and rude to the Scottish voters a d insult them that they should make this a vote on the coalition because you lost last year.  Isn't it time you stopped blaming the voters for voting you and your party out of office?

I realise you blamed the previous Tory government for most of the thirteen years you were in power, but they rejected you and your party last May.  Get over it.

As red Ed mentioned the coalition, let me just mention four of the achievements made by the new coalition government because of the Liberal Democrats being part of it (in no particular order) in just ten months;

1. The link between pensions and earnings, scrapped by Margaret Thatcher, was restored in the Coalition’s first budget. The annual increase in the state pension will be protected by a ‘triple lock’ - the rise will be in line with earnings, prices or a 2.5% increase, whichever is the greater.

2. We have scrapped the ID card programme. The ID card database was publicly destroyed on 11th February 2011.

3. In June’s emergency budget we increased the rate of Capital Gains Tax to 28% for higher rate taxpayers while keeping it at 18% for basic rate taxpayers. This will raise an extra £1bn and end the disgraceful situation of bankers paying a lower rate of tax than their cleaners.

4. In June’s emergency budget, we raised the tax threshold by £1,000, lifting 880,000 low earners out of tax completely (from this April). It will increase each year of the Coalition Government until it reaches £10,000, which will lift an additional 3 million people out of tax altogether.

In Scotland Tavish Scott fought for local Post Offices to receive over £1million support, last year 50 of Scotland's Post Offices developed their business thanks to the Post Office diversification funds, a further £1 million has gone into the fund for this year.

Other concessions made to the Liberal Democrats in the Scottish Parliament budget include:


· Additional funding for FE bursaries of £15 million, spread across 2010-2011-12 to provide additional student support for current student numbers.

· Additional funding of £8 million in 2011-12 that would support an additional 1,200 college places and associated student support.

· 1,500 additional Modern Apprenticeships, including 500 places for the renewables sector, at a cost of £2 million

· 2,000 additional flexible training opportunities

That is what the the voters of Scotland are looking for, solutions for Scotland, not a power grab as Ed Miliband has suggested.

Labour MSP John Park stands down as Dunfermline candidate?

The Scottish Labour Party are often the first to attack other parties for sneaking out news on quiet days so is anyone surprised to learn that John Park MSP is no longer the candidate for the Dunfermline constituency in next years elections?

Have Labour conceded that Jim Tolson, the sitting Lib Dem MSP is going to hold his seat and they are running scared so have pulled John Park and are allowing him to just run as a regional candidate and avoid the hassle of a hard fought campaign and the embarrassment of losing?

We know John Park MSP has been appointed as Scottish Labour's election co-ordinator yet he has mysteriously disappeared as the candidate for Dunfermline on their website and yet to be replaced.

There is nothing about this on the Fife Labour Party website, the Scottish Labour website nor on John Parks' website - maybe we will learn the result of this decision officially shortly, when they've decided what to say spin about it.

UPDATE 27th December 17:57

Direct from the man himself, John Park on twitter said to me the reason he is no longer contesting the Dunfermline seat is because he is now the election co-ordinator plus;

lots of extra responsibility combined with a young family and not enough hours in the day means that you have to make decisions sometimes that are honest!

Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray stabbed in the neck

I thought this photo on The Herald website was a great catch.

It shows Iain Gray MSP, leader of Scottish Labour with an obvious item sticking out of his neck, so which of his own MSPs has done that?

Obviously, it is a microphone, just in case you were wondering?

Labour's Jack McConnell to quit as an MSP

Scotland's former first minister, Labour's Jack McConnell, is to quit Holyrood at next year's Holyrood election.  The MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw and life peer said it had been "the greatest privilege" to have served as an elected member since the parliament was established in 1999.

Jack McConnell was recently made a life peer, taking the title Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale.

This announcement today will end the speculation that Jack was considering a return as Scottish Labour leader following next May's election.  As recently as May when he was made the life peer the questions of whether he would re-stand were unanswered.

Only last year Jack McConnell announced he had decided to seek re-election as a candidate in the 2010 Scottish Parliament election.

Despite being named a future British High Commissioner to Malawi immediately after he resigned as leader of the Scottish Labour Party, three months after losing the 2007 election by one seat to the SNP, Jack McConnell never got the chance to take up the appointment, following Labour's UK general election defeat.

But he has said that Scotland's partnership with the African country would continue to be at the heart of his work once in the House of Lords.

Lord McConnell told the BBC:

"I have been an elected representative for most of the last 30 years and it is time to move on.


"I have been involved in national Scottish politics, including the creation of the Scottish Parliament and serving in government, for most of those 30 years, and it is time for others to take Scotland forward now."

"As I enter the next decade - my 50s - I look forward to new challenges.

"I will continue my work on peacebuilding - across the world post conflict reconstruction is the single biggest development challenge of our time."

Whatever the political differences with Labour's Jack McConnell, he still stands as Scotland's longest serving First Minister and he commanded the respect from people across the political spectrum, although it should be said, not all of the time.

Jack McConnell has courted controversy in his years as well.

Here is the full statement by Jack McConnell MSP:

I have tonight told the members of Motherwell and Wishaw CLP that I will not be putting myself forward for election at the May 2011 Scottish Parliament elections. My successor in the Constituency, and the Scottish Labour Party campaign, will have my full support in those elections.


I will be forever grateful to the many people locally and nationally who have helped me in the causes I have promoted, and the decisions I have made. Together we have made Scotland, and the constituency, better than they were on my election in 1999.

I have been an elected representative for most of the last 30 years and it is time to move on. I have been involved in national Scottish politics, including the creation of the Scottish Parliament and serving in Government, for most of those thirty years, and it is time for others to take Scotland forward now.

In my application to become a Labour candidate for the first Scottish Parliament elections I wrote that devolution would be judged not simply by the creation of the parliament, but by the ambitions we set out for Scotland and what the Parliament delivered for the people of Scotland.

It is that focus on ambition for Scotland, and on making a real difference, that has driven me over the last 30 years and will continue to drive me as I seek new challenges beyond the Scottish Parliament.

As a young councillor and political activist during the 1980s I argued for devolution, because I believed then, as I do now, that democratic renaissance would be good for Scotland.

In the 1990s, I worked alongside people from across the party divide to make the Parliament a reality, and for the last decade I have been proud to serve my nation - and the people of Motherwell and Wishaw - as a member of our young Parliament.

As Scotland's longest serving First Minister I focused my efforts on creating the right conditions so that the people of Scotland could flourish.

Growing the economy was my priority - moving Scotland on from the devastation of the 1980s to prosperity.

I knew we had to tackle Scotland's terrible health record - and that banning smoking in public was the right thing to do.

I challenged outdated prejudices - such as sectarianism, and stood up against anti social behaviour.

I put the future of our young people at the heart of our policy making - through the biggest school building programme our country has seen, the creation of the national youth volunteering programme Project Scotland and our efforts to support vulnerable youngsters.

And I wanted Scotland to look outwards, away from the introspection of the past, to find our place in the world as a modern entrepreneurial and multicultural nation.

When we left office in 2007, Scotland had more jobs, more people, and more confidence than could have been imagined a decade before. Services were better, economic investment was increasing, health was improving, our reforms were reducing crime and Scottish education was competing with the best in the world again.

Older Scots were warmer, more mobile and better cared for. Younger Scots had more choices and more chances. And in building a modern multicultural nation, we had refreshed our international image, and our population was increasing not declining.

As I enter the next decade - my 50's - I look forward to new challenges.

I will continue my work on peacebuilding - across the world post conflict reconstruction is the single biggest development challenge of our time.

The partnership between Scotland and Malawi will remain at the heart of my work - the link between our two countries is precious and shows that people united under a common moral purpose really can change the world.

I will continue to campaign to improve the life chances of vulnerable young people, whether here in Scotland or elsewhere.

And I will promote the vision of a modern multinational and multicultural United Kingdom, and speak up for devolution and diversity in the House of Lords.

I do not see this as end of Part One, more as the start of Part Two.

Throughout my career - from the classrooms of Lornshill Academy to Bute House, I have always tried to do the right thing.

I have made mistakes - we all do - but I believe I have served my country well and will continue to do my best in this new phase of my life.

It has been the greatest privilege. Thank you.

Fraud probe Labour Councillor John Holden charged

A bad day for Scottish Labour today with a Glasgow Labour Councillor arrested and now a Highland Labour Councillor charged.

The BBC reports;

A Highland councillor has been charged following an investigation into alleged benefit fraud.


John Holden, who represents the Inverness South ward, was investigated by police, Highland Council and the Department of Work and Pensions in 2008.
The Crown Office confirmed Mr Holden has been charged, but declined to give any further details.

The case against him is due to call at Inverness Sheriff Court next month.

Mr Holden has said he would rigorously defend the case.

The Labour councillor has been suspended from the party's group on the council.

A Scottish Labour spokesman added: "As a police investigation is ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further."

Labour MSP Rhona Brankin to quit Holyrood at next election

Rhona Brankin MSP has served as a Labour MSP for 11 years now and at the tender age of 60 has decided enough is enough and she plans to hang up her jacket and retire from Holyrood, although she doesn't seem to rule out other roles in public life.

Rhona Brankin, said:

"After 30 years of being active in the Labour Party, I feel the time has come to step aside from frontline politics."

The former Labour Scottish Executive minister said she wanted to spend more time with her family and take up other roles in public life.

Rhona served as deputy minister for culture and sport, deputy minister for environment and rural development in the early years of the Scottish Executive.
She then went on to be deputy minister for health & community care and minister for communities.

Rhona Brankin is a former chair of the Scottish Labour party and was a member of the Constitutional Convention that drew up the blueprint for the Scottish Parliament.

She recently took over as convener of Holyrood's Public Petitions Committee when her Labour colleague Frank McAveety MSP stepped down after making inappropriate comments when the microphone was still on about a female in the public benches during a debate in Holyrood.

Rhona Brankin's current Midlothian seat will disappear at the election in May next year, with a new Midlothian North and Musselburgh constituency emerging after boundary changes.

Anne Moffat MP collects ill health pension as she was planning to stand down as MP

Although when you first read this news story that Anne Moffat MP had in fact planned to stand down due to ill health and had already agreed a pension on this basis you think Anne Moffat has had the last laugh over her former colleagues.

Technically she has, but it isn't her laughing just at the East Lothian Labour Party, the Scottish Labour Party or even Iain Gray MSP, she in fact is laughing at us, the taxpayers, who as well as the Scottish Labour Party she has therefore taken for a ride.

Because it is us, the taxpayer who will be funding her £30,000 per year pension.

It appears that Anne Moffat MP had intended to actually stand down due to ill health.

If that is the case, then why has she gone through multiple selection races?  Surely that actually implies no she wasn't and was therefore keeping all her options open at our expense?

She said she kept the deal secret so that her opponents in the constituency did not know she planned to step down.
One of the criteria for receiving an ill health pension from the Commons is that you can no longer perform the duties of an MP.

According to the BBC this deal was arranged "some time ago", which could mean that when Anne Moffat was hospitalised for a suspected brain haemorrhage she sorted this out then.

The ill health retirement, means she will be paid a pension which assumes she served as an MP until she was 65.

There is something not quite right with all of this;  Either Anne Moffat planned to stand down due to ill health or she planned to carry on, I would suggest that as she has until recently been actively fighting a reselection campaign and has publicly stated she intended to carry on that she therefore forefeits this pension package because of that.

I suspect that the House of Commons Authorities and their pension provider may view this in a similar light if everyone is being honest and wanting to clean up politics?