Scottish Tories attack Alex Salmond's record at Westminster

It's been an interesting couple of weeks in Scottish politics as far as the relationship between the Conservatives and the SNP administration in Holyrood are concerned.

First, the Conservatives were the only opposition party in Edinburgh initially to support the budget proposed by Alex Salmond's administration.

And then, a week ago, David Cameron wrote a piece in Scotland on Sunday in which he talked about the need for co-operation between a future UK Conservative Government and the SNP-run Scottish Executive.

Some commentators - such as Alex Massie here - even talked in terms of there being an outside chance of the Conservatives forging an official coalition with the SNP north of the border in the future.

But there's no doubt now that normal hostilities between the two parties have very much resumed.

Yesterday, Alex Salmond attacked David Cameron for being "at sixes and sevens" over the circumstances in which he would hold a referendum on Scottish independence - a move which I recently suggested could settle the question of Scotland's constitutional status early in a Cameron Government.

And today the Tories have hit back at Scotland's First Minister - who represents Gordon in the Scottish Parliament and Banff and Buchan in the House of Commons - and accused him of misleading Scots by claiming to be "in the top ten hardest-working Scottish MPs" in his Holyrood register of interests.

According to today's Daily Record, Mr Salmond has the worst voting record of any MP representing a Scottish constituency in the Commons for the last two Westminster sessions, during which he has been First Minister.

Scottish Tory leader Annabel Goldie has called on him to resign as an MP and concentrate on being First Minister.

My hunch is that the charge will not especially resonate with the wider public in Scotland - not least because Mr Salmond is in the habit of ensuring he is in the Commons for the most crucial votes when his absence could have been made into an issue. 

I think the Conservatives' energies would best be used working on the ground in support of Jimmy Buchan, who was recently selected to contest the Banff and Buchan seat for the party come the next election.

Jonathan Isaby

Comments

[David T Breaker]

I think Alex Salmond's desire to restart the bitter words between the SNP and Conservatives is a sign that he understands the benefit Conservatives could gain by being associated with the SNP and Scottish Government.

All politics, even under proportional representation, tends to become a two sided argument, especially when there is an unpopular government. The momentum goes to the party that stands the best chance of removing them, so unless you are one of those sides (or likely coalition partner of one) you are doing well to cling on. At the last Hollyrood elections only the SNP could evict Labour, but had we been a likely partner for them, we'd have performed better - attracting the anti-Labour but pro-Union voters.

As for the referendum I oppose it. Like the EU and Quebec, it becomes a Neverendum as a new demand soon appears regardless of a No vote. It also sets a dangerous precedent.

[David T Breaker]

I forgot to add that by being in a formal governing partnership we would not only gain increased press coverage but also credibility as a governing party and dispell the mythical horrors that the Left have attatched to the Conservatives in the public conciousness.

[Stephen B]

If I recall correctly, i think that the SNP Westminster MPs have a self-denying ordinance on voting on purely English matters...which would explain why Salmond doesn't vote as often as,say, the Scottish Labour lobby fodder.

[Anon R]

Is it true that Alex Salmond attended on 17% of the House of Commons votes, spoke in only one debate and claimed £166,814 in expenses etc in the last 12 months ?

[Scots Tory]

You missed DC's Sunday Post article yesterday-
http://www.dcthomson.co.uk/MAGS/POST/postindex.htm

[David McEwan Hill]

Corrected version

What a waste of time. Alex Salmond made it clear he would stand down at the next Westminster election and put this to his voters and they elected him with huge majorities to both Westminster and Holyrood on that basis. He is an exemplary MP maintaining a very large fully staffed office for both posts which deals with all his constituency problems with dispatch.
He only takes a proportion of his second salary which is then donated to two prominent charities. One of them is Caritas. I can't remember the other. Have the Scottish Tories not got better targets of more important issues of policy to fill up their time. They certainly need to up their game.

[Onthejob]

Perhaps a better attack (if it exists) would be how many votes Alex salmond has taken part in that effect only England and wales.

[Opinicus]

I don't know who has started this new little war but someone from CCHQ should stamp on it soon. Until Gordon is removed from No10 our enemy's enemy is our friend or at least nodding acquaintance and this silly little story about voting in the Commons, an institution that has fallen generally into desuetude is just political graffiti for the mindless by the braindead.

[Ross Warren]

"Until Gordon is removed from No10 our enemy's enemy is our friend or at least nodding acquaintance"

I don't agree, if anything Alex Salmond is more of a danger to the well being of the union that even Brown. You know you cannot do a deal with the devil and hope he will play fair. Salmond is getting paid for sitting in our parliament, when he should be sat in the Tower. As for the referendum I oppose it. Even a resounding NO vote would only be the setting for yet another and another referendum. Can you see the SNP meekly accepting the will of their people.
The only referendum I would be happy to see, would be one in which all of the citizens of the four union nations got the chance to vote. Now that's what I call democracy.

[dean thomson]

"As for the referendum I oppose it. Like the EU and Quebec, it becomes a Neverendum as a new demand soon appears regardless of a No vote"
-David T Breaker

You really fail to understand the Scottish voting public don't you when you say things like that.
It is well understood in the Scottish media that if independence was voted down, then the issue would be dead for at least 20 years.
So all I can conclude from your statment that it another referendum would be immediately pursued by the SNP is a figment of the English media machine.

One referendum, that is all we need and I know that Scotland would vote for union, or further devolution. There little demand for independence- in a recient poll on this only 29% said they would vote for seperation.

Its a number in steady decline, I say this is our most opportune moment for a referendum because we'd almost certainly win for hte union and kill the issue off for 2--30 years.

[Ross Warren]

Dean Thomson, If we allow a referendum, we would have to be absolutely certain that it would return a vote for Union. Why would we want to chance our hand when misreading the situation would be a disaster for the whole of the Union. Why does Scotland imagine that its vote alone has to be sought. I believe that all four nations should have a say in this issue. Of course that is what separates me from that nasty Alex "plastic gnome" Salmond. It seems to me that loyalty isn't a word that could be easily laid at his feet.
No freedom for Scotland is possible, anymore than we English can divorce you. We are Four flavours of her Majesty's possession. Salmond
wants to slice up that cake, which is wrong and ignoble of him. This is what is forgotten when wicked tongues are allowed writ to babble their schemes. All talk of separation is the impossible dreaming of a vain and mischief making man. Of course Salmond is into Europe he wants to go hide under the skirts of Rome. It is to the credit of modern Britain that such a man is allowed the freedom to utter his bile. In other times we would not have suffered him so gladly.