Is Alex Salmond Britain's most useless MP?

Scotland's First Minister is under fire today from Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser.  Research by the Scottish Conservatives is being well reported north of the border, including by the BBC and The Herald.   The Scottish party has calculated that the MP for Banff & Buchan has participated in just four votes out of a possible 149 since 8th May.

Murdo issued the following statement:

“We warned before the elections that if Alex Salmond became the MSP for Gordon then the constituency would be saddled with a part-time MSP, dividing his time between London and Edinburgh. The reality is that it is his Westminster territory of Banff & Buchan which has suffered. He must be the most useless MP in the House of Commons, in terms of attendance and actual work done for his constituents.

People in Banff and Buchan did not vote for Alex Salmond in 2005 with the view that he would go on to completely ignore them. He is treating them with contempt and with the Prime Minister now having bottled a General Election, it is likely they will have to put up with another two and a half years of this nonsense.  Alex Salmond should do the decent thing and resign as an MP. He would still be left with two jobs to do – a constituency MSP and First Minister of Scotland, which should be more than enough for his ego.  The current tally of three is most definitely a crowd and I hope that if he truly does care about people in Banff & Buchan he will pave the way for a by-election in the very near future. As it currently stands, there is no hard-working MP for Banff and Buchan, which is the least that any constituency deserves.”

Related links: Signs of warmth between the SNP and Scotland's Tories but also Scottish Tory leader supports cross-party Commission to discuss 'Stage Two' of devolution

Comments

[Malcolm Dunn]

Good for Murdo. It's time someone punctured Salmond's bubble.

[Iain]

Well if Salmond is useless, what dose that make the rest the British political establishment? As an Englishman I can only envy the Scots having some one like Salmond who has and is fighting for Scottish peoples interests.

[HF]

Is this really going to help us win in Scotland?

[Gareth Young]

All Scottish MPs are part time.

So are all MSPs.

Alex Salmond has been the best politician of 2007 by a long shot. Here's to 2008 Alex, and here's to hoping that you continue to put the willies up the British nationalists like Brown, Cameron and Clegg.

[Robert Reynolds]

He cannot be more useless than my own MP, Dave Watts (Lab). Does he claim the full salary of an MP?

Is Boris planning to keep his seat if he becomes mayor of London?

[Edward]

To be fair to him, this may, at least in part, be because he is doing what we have urged him to for ages - only vote on matters concerning Scotlan and not England alone.

[Moral minority]

Salmon does not claim the full allowance. He has led the SNP from the doldrums to power in Scotland. The Scottish Conservatives would benefit with an equally "useless" Leader with charisma and campaigning skills.

The Tories would have little chance in a Banff by-election. Murdo is playing gesture politics. He can do much better than that.

[London Tory]

We could do with a few more Alex Salmond -types on our front bench. Proof that relentless campaigning and a bit of passion can result in political rewards. Some of our part time merchant bankers- please take note.

[Andrew Woodman]

Good research work but can't see it doing us much good whilst Salmond's on his honeymoon. The SNP could do us a lot of favours in Scotland as well if they get rid of Labour MP's and stick to their promise to not vote in English only matters.

[Ali Gledhill]

Salmond has said he will not contest the next election. He may be a useless MP, but he's not wrong when he says the Tories look "desperate" when attacking him over this.

Anyway, surely there are other MPs who attend fewer votes and participate less in debates?

[Inamicus]

As opposed to Boris for example. What's he going to do if he wins the mayoralty?

[IRJMilne]

HF - why would it not help us win in Scotland?

Ali Gledhill - only Ayatollah Galloway, the Honourable Member for Baghdad, might compare unfavourably.

[London Tory]

Banff and Buchan should be natural Tory Party territory.

[Ali Gledhill]

Participation in votes since 8th May 2007:

Gordon Brown | 8
David Cameron | 25

George Galloway | 5
Clare Short | 12

The Public Whip's website shows an attendance record: Labour MPs dominate the top, Conservatives more common at the bottom. Maybe this wasn't the best argument for the Tories to pick.

[Alan S]

Good publicity for the Scottish Tories but many Conservative MPs are part-timers.

[IRJMilne]

Ali Gledhill -

members with a worse-than-25% attendance record:

Alasdair McDonnell - SDLP
Alex Salmond - SNP
Mark Durkan - SDLP
Gordon Brown - Labour
Eddie McGrady - SDLP
George Galloway - Respect
Claire Short - Ind Lab

+ the Sinn Fein MPs.

--

It may not be a first rate point against him, but Banff and Buchan is a winnable seat for the Tories, or it should be.

[Votedave]

The voters of Banff and Buchan should never have voted out Albert McQuarrie in 1987.
He turned 90 on New Years' Day, but he would still make a better MP.

[dougal]

BoJo has pledged to resign from Westminster should he win the London Mayoralty.

[Buckinghamshire Tory]

In many ways, I am happy that the SNP enjoy success in Scottland, after all, it is not our seats they are taking.
It is especially satisfying now that Gordon Brown is Prime Minister and Labour leader, since he has regarded Scottland as his personal "fiefdom".

[Jonathan]

We finally come up with a strategy of working with the SNP to undermine Labour and then this schoolboy piece of nonsense.

We don't approve of Scotsmen voting on English debates. Salmond doesn't do it and we get this knee jerk response - with the accent on the jerk. This is what comes of the Editor praising people at New Year whilst under the influence. A lot more tonic next time, Ed.

[David McEwan Hill]

Whistling in the dark here. Alex Salmond is a first rate constituency MP and MSP with a record of dealing with his constituents affairs which is second to none. Lots of other MPs sit about the Commons most of the time contributing nothing other than meaningless votes.
Banff and Buchan is actually natural SNP territory now and the whole N East of Scotland will soon be the same.
It's about time the Scottish Tories realised what is happening in Scotland and threw their lot in with the progressive forces which will fashion an independent Scotland in the next ten years.

[John D]

4 out of 149 is a pretty awful record, and I support Murdo Fraser's criticisms because Salmond chose to be an MP at Westminster AND to lead the SNP in the Scottish Assembly.
Being First Minister should not absolve him of his responsibilities as an MP.
And to those saying Banff and Buchan should be natural Tory territory, we only gained it by 937 votes in 1983 and lost it again in 1987... I think it's been SNP for 30 of the past 34 years.

[rightsideforum]

He should have done the right thing and stood down when the SNP won last year.

Lets face it, the man has one hell of an ego and while I absolutely despise his politics, he's an extremely competent and effective politician.

[Scotty]

"He should have done the right thing and stood down when the SNP won last year.

Lets face it, the man has one hell of an ego and while I absolutely despise his politics, he's an extremely competent and effective politician."

Totally agree with your comments!
Salmond has enjoyed an incredible and extended honeymoon period which shows no signs of abating. Unfortunately Salmond will not be damaged by this kind of attack, though I agree he should have done the decent thing and resigned as an MP when he became First Minister.

[Votedave]

"And to those saying Banff and Buchan should be natural Tory territory, we only gained it by 937 votes in 1983 and lost it again in 1987... I think it's been SNP for 30 of the past 34 years."

The Banff and Buchan constituency was created in 1983, largely replacing the two old Banffshire and Aberdeenshire East constituencies. Both of these were gained by David Myles and Albert McQuarrie respectively for the Conservatives from the SNP (Hamish Watt and Douglas Henderson) in 1979.

The SNP did exceptionally well in both 1974 elections but lost nearly all their seats in 1979. In fact Banff and Buchan was notionally "held" by us in 1979 as well. Not quite 30 out of 34 years.

[The Secret Person]

Surely all Alex Salmond is doing is enforcing the Conservative 'English votes on English matters' legislation?

[ShameRemCreta]

visitò e disse che era un'appendicite acuta e sij doveva intervenire subito;csoì prepararono subito la sala operatoria ,mi fcero l'nestesia e mi operarono subito
lo irngrazai di cuore e lui mi invitò ad un altro concerto hce si sarebbe svolto pocoi
Ringrazai molto li veterinaio perhcè me lo fece gratis e lui ispoesche era il suo
Sono andata in discoteca per festeggiare un compleano di un'amica mia che festeggiava i suoi diciotto anni abbiaamo fatto incontri gratis con tante amiche ed amici,tutto era gratis ,c'era unb bel ragazzo chne im interessava però non avevo iniziativa per presentarmi,così una mia amkca con la faccia più tosta della mia ci presentò e ballammmo perr tutta la sera con lui ,poi mi ha fatto incontri con i suoi cugini che erano lì anche loro alla festa e ci siamo satenati ai balli latini americani ,e balli da discoteca,poi c'erano i cento cellr che fecerro nuo spogliarello e tutti noi abbiamo applaudito e poi ci hanno fatto incontri gratis e si snoo rpesentati uno per uno ,lla fine c'era unbuffet conh sopra di tutto e di più ,cose da mangiare che nemmeno cii sognavamo ,questa amica era figlia dk papà ,come si dice dalle parti nostre,era la figlia del presidente della banca.



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[Ian McKellar]

I suggest someone translates ShameRemCreta's imput from Italian into English.I've just done it on Babelfish- complete but amusing nonsense. Damn all to do with Eck's performance as an MP