The Scots Independent Newspaper Online

UPDATE: ELECTORAL COMMISSION

Monday’s BBC Newsnight Scotland led on an investigation into the curious failure of the Electoral Commission to make any progress in the case of Scottish Labour Leader Wendy Alexander’s admission that she broke the law in accepting an illegal donation to her leadership campaign fund.

Wendy Alexander Despite the fact that the Newsnight inquiry was typically under-resourced some important detail emerged. In particular we find that there exists a special Protocol (drawn up before the May Election) between the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) and the Crown Office to the effect that alleged breaches in electoral law cannot be investigated by the police except when referred to them following a recommendation of the Electoral Commission to the Crown Office. This is confirmed in a letter to Mark Hirst, indefatigable researcher to the equally indefatigable Christine Grahame MSP, and the man who made the original complaint to the police regarding the illegal donation.

Paul Hutcheon This completely reverses the normal procedure whereby the police investigate an alleged crime and refer their findings to the Crown Prosecution Services, in the person of the local Procurator Fiscal, who then decides if the accused has a case to answer. Effectively the Electoral Commission can block all investigation of a criminal act, no matter how blatant or clear-cut.

This is what seems to be happening in the case of Wendy Alexander. Now it could be that a jury would recommend that Ms. Alexander’s actions merit a fine, a suspended sentence or a period of community service rather than the year’s incarceration in Cornton Vale prescribed by law. She is, after all (one hopes), a first-time offender. That is, however, something the courts should decide, not the seemingly supine Electoral Commission.

On Newsnight the Sunday Herald journalist, Paul Hutcheon, who broke the original Wendygate story, could not conceal his contempt for what he termed the “quangocrats” intent on buffering Labour politicians from the laws applicable to mere mortals. Certainly the Wendy Alexander case (not to mention the vastly more serious failure to bring her brother Douglas to face criminal charges) seems to indicate that the real function of the Electoral Commission is to cover up electoral malpractice rather than expose it.

POST-SCRIPT

The following “reader’s comment” was posted on the Daily Telegraph website on Wednesday:

For the last two months the Electoral Commission in Scotland has supposedly been engaged in an investigation into the Alexander election fund donations.

This morning, a report appeared on “The Herald” website. The gist of the report was that The Herald had seen an internal Commission document that revealed that the Commission has in fact no processes or procedures in place to manage investigations of the type it is supposed to be carrying out on the Alexander donations.

Almost immediately, the Herald report disappeared. It no longer features in the paper’s news section.

Last week I wrote to the Commission asking for information on the Alexander investigation. I encountered a blanket refusal to provide any information at all, not only on the content of the investigation, but on the names of the Commission Officials who were supervising it, and even on the process they were using. I have a better understanding of the refusal to provide me with any information on the process now I know that no such process exists.

The Scottish quality press (The Herald and The Scotsman) now appear to be carrying out a policy of total self-censorship on this story. The BBC in Scotland, since the day it broke, has done everything in its power to keep the story as far to the back of its news bulletins and its web news pages as is humanly possible.

This situation is an affront. It would shame a banana republic. Increasingly, it appears that there are now people in power, or who would be in power, who can subvert the whole democratic process, and silence our supposedly free media.

Mr Cochrane, put aside your well-aired grievances against the SNP for a short while and let the people of Scotland know what the hell is going on here. There is a story that needs to be told and we’re certainly not going to hear it from the Scottish media.

Posted by David Ferguson on January 23, 2008 8:38 AM

HANKERING AFTER SCHENGEN

The careless use of Europe as a synonym for the European Union (EU) ignores the fact that there are a patchwork of European institutions or organisations, ranging from the Council of Europe to Eurovision, which have separate identities and memberships which do not necessarily include all or only EU member states. For example, the Council of Europe, the European Economic Area (EEA), the Organisation for Cooperation and Security in Europe (OCSE) and the European Commission for Human Rights (ECHR) encompass a broader spectrum of Europe than even the expanded European Union.

In terms of the ordinary European citizen one of the European institutions bringing the most immediately tangible benefits is technically unrelated to the EU. The Schengen Agreement which allows free movement of almost 400 million Europeans between its 24 member countries was started as a five-country initiative in 1985 and has gradually expanded to encompass all the EU member states except the UK and Ireland.

For those of our readers who travel frequently to mainland Europe the increasing impression of being regarded as second-class citizens starts at the airport arrivals lounge. The non-Schengen areas are cordoned off, usually in the least attractive and poorly serviced areas of the airport. There are queues at the passport controls and, once through these, there is no return to the attractions of “dufry” shopping and the trendier bars and restaurants.

Travellers to Scotland from the Schengen countries undergo a similarly negative experience. Thankfully our airport arrival halls no longer display the cringe-inducing “best wee country in the universe” slogans which once evoked much sarcastic comment from new arrivals but the queues at passport control still grate, especially for young Europeans used to frontier-free travel.

airport departure lounge For nationals of the former Soviet Bloc nations the experience of arriving in the UK evokes bad memories. It seems like a throw-back to old times and completely at odds with the ethos of a Western Europe where you can cross borders as readily as crossing the street. If only Scotland could be part of Schengen!

Before the more Eurosceptic of our readership keel over with apoplexy I must stress that the attractions of Schengen are unconnected to the arguments for and against the EU. The proof of this is that both Norway and Iceland, neither of which are ever likely to join the European Union, have been members of Schengen for the past 11 years. Even more conclusively Switzerland, which has an almost fanatical aversion to compromising its national sovereignty by joining any international organisation, is due to become part of Schengen in the next few months.

Unfortunately for Scotland we risk being left out of the club, even after independence, unless England agrees to join too. For the moment there seems no possibility of that.

We are not alone in this dilemma. In Ireland, both north and south, the dilemma of Schengen exclusion is becoming a hot political potato. While the abolition of free movement between Province and Republic is regarded as an unthinkably backward step the UK Government’s determination to construct an “e-border”, amounting to electronic control of access to all “British” land borders, leads to a series of unpalatable options. The Republic is unlikely to accept that its territory is included within the UK e-border. Yet it would be not only unacceptable but deeply ironic if the population of Northern Ireland were to find themselves outside the “British” e-border and only able to enter “Great Britain” on the same basis as “foreigners”.

Meeting of Council of the Isles Whatever decision they take will be not only a mess but a further hurdle to gaining the benefits of European cooperation. The obvious solution is for everyone to join Schengen.

Schengen is a success. The systems for having uniformly secure external borders and shared information and intelligence are robust and proven. The information technology back-up in the form of SISone4ALL actually works. Without prejudging the e-border alternative it is fair to say that recent events do not inspire confidence in the UK’s ability to develop and manage large and sophisticated IT systems.

Westminster’s motives for staying out of Schengen are petty and chauvinistic, part of the culture of bad grace which dictates that Gordon Brown turns up late to sign the Lisbon Treaty. Unless the other countries of these islands take steps to make Westminster see sense we risk ending up, yet again, expensively and permanently out of step with our European neighbours, much in the same way as we have ended up driving on the wrong side of the road.

So at last we have a project for the Council of the Isles: persuading the First Minister of England (aka G.Brown) to stop making an ass of himself and sign up for Schengen.

Read Christina McKelvie MSP's Weekly Diary

WESTMINSTER NEGLIGENCE COSTS SCOTLAND WORLD CARBON CAPTURE LEAD

Speaking in advance of the Second Reading of the Energy Bill in the Commons on Tuesday, SNP Westminster Treasury spokesperson, Stewart Hosie MP, commented on the public announcement this week by BP that Hydrogen Energy – the joint venture between BP Alternative Energy and Rio Tinto – have announced an agreement with Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s initiative for renewable and clean technology, to work together on the front-end engineering design of an industrial-scale hydrogen-fired power generation project in Abu Dhabi, capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂), which would then be available for transportation and storage.

Stewart Hosie Previously, BP and Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) were working to develop a word leading carbon capture project at Peterhead, but the Westminster Government continually delayed their carbon capture competition and then excluded pre-combustion gas-fired projects from the competition. As a result, BP has decided to look elsewhere to test this crucial low carbon technology.

Mr Hosie said:

“This is the inevitable result of the Westminster Government’s dithering and delay over carbon capture, and failure to give any support to the world leading Peterhead Project. The UK Government even excluded Peterhead from their own carbon capture competition, and now the activity is going to Abu Dhabi.

“This development leaves Westminster’s environmental credibility in tatters. Instead of supporting a project to develop potentially planet saving technology in Scotland, the UK Government is prepared to squander vast resources on nuclear power – which the government’s own figures show will have a negligible impact on carbon abatement, and generates lethal waste remaining toxic for thousands of years.

“It is extraordinary that the UK Government will spend billions to save a bank, but not invest a modest sum to develop carbon capture and give Scotland a global lead in this vital technology of the future. It is a perfect illustration of why the Scottish Parliament needs responsibility for energy policy.

“Scotland still stands in a strong position to take advantage of carbon capture opportunities – at Peterhead and elsewhere – with our existing knowledge and skills base through North Sea oil and gas development. But Westminster’s actions have cost us a world lead in carbon capture technology – which can only be explained by the UK government’s negligence and obsession with wasteful nuclear power.”

LEADERSHIP CRISIS FOR LIBERAL DEMOCRATS

Commenting on a press conference on Tuesday by Road Sense – the group opposed to the Aberdeen by-pass route - who were commenting on Freedom of Information documents releasing information about the by-pass - Brian Adam MSP (Aberdeen North) said:

Brian Adam "These are extremely serious allegations. The fact remains that the Aberdeen by-pass was the subject of delay and indecision by a LibDem Transport Minister, and Nicol Stephen publicly boasted while Deputy First Minister that he would lobby hard on the matter.

"Mr Stephen's majority was slashed by the SNP last Mayfollowing the LibDems' disgraceful handling of the by-pass issue.

"Nicol Stephen's has let the North East down very badly and now faces a leadership crisis in the area, as his bizarre behaviour over theTrump proposal has seen his ratings plunge to just 5% in his own
backyard.

"In contrast the Scottish Government's ratings are running at over70%, as we get to grips with the appalling legacy left by the LibDems.

"We are getting the AWPR (Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route) on track, and already we have made major announcements for a new dental hospital for Aberdeen and a new prisonin the North East. Where the Labour/Lib Dem coalition failed, the SNP are delivering.

"Nicol Stephen's leadership crisis could well finish off the Lib Dems in the North East."

BACKGROUND:

Regional polling figures for the North East, now available on the YouGov website, show that Nicol Stephen is facing a leadership crisis in his own back yard.

The figures are:

Q: Thinking about the performances of the political party leaders since the Scottish election who has impressed you most?

NORTH EAST

Alex Salmond - SNP: 49%
Wendy Alexander - Labour: 7%
Annabel Goldie - Conservative: 5%
Nicol Stephen - Lib Dem: 5%
Don't know: 34%

Q: How do you think the SNP Government has fared so far?

SCOTLAND

Well: 63%
Badly: 26%
Don't know: 12%

NORTH EAST

Well: 71%
Badly: 19%
Don't know

SNP NAME AND SHAME SCOTLAND’S LOTTERY RAIDERS AS VOLUNTARY SECTOR
CONDEMN DIVERSION OF FUNDS

SNP Westminster spokesperson on Culture, Media and Sport, Pete Wishart MP, has published (Sunday)a roll of shame, naming Scottish Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs who, earlier this week, voted to raid over £180million from good causes in Scotland to subsidise the spiralling cost of the London Olympics.

Thirty-six Scottish MPs voted to approve further payments to the Olympic Lottery Distribution fund.

Pete Wishart The diversion of these funds has also prompted voluntary sector leaders to warn that they face "death by a thousand cuts", with the Chief Executive of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Martin Syme, warning that “good projects serving some of the most
disadvantaged people up and down the length of Scotland will close.” A selection of quotes from other voluntary sector leaders is detailed below.

Mr Wishart said:

“This raid on lottery funds will hit every community across the country, and it was simply despicable for Scottish MPs to short-change their own constituents like this.

Good causes and community projects in some of the most deprived communities will close as a result of this betrayal, and those MPs who voted this through should be named and shamed.

My criticism is not about the Olympics itself, which I am sure will be a great occasion, but I do not believe that good causes should be sacrificed to meet the spiralling cost of these games. Let us be clear, the millions diverted from local causes will be spent on regenerating London, not on promoting sport or the greater good.”

Note 1: Quotes from voluntary sector leaders who have condemned on the raiding of funds by Scottish Labour and Liberal Democrat Members of Parliament:

Martin Sime, director of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations: "The National Lottery is already turning down lots of good proposals because it hasn't got the money, and it's going to turn down more. There will be loss of jobs and service. At precisely the time when more work is needed to combat social problems, there aren't the sources available to make that happen. It's not justified and it's wrong in principle. We're not anti-Olympics; if they want to have the games in London, then fine. But why should Scottish charities have to pay for that?"

Helen MacNeil, chief executive, Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector (GCVS): "It's all very unsettling. We know of organisations where staff are leaving or are on redundancy. It's a nightmare trying to plan ahead when you don't know if funding streams for chunks of work are going to be there in three months time. It's death by a thousand cuts. The cards are stacked against us at the moment and a lot of small to medium-size groups are in serious danger."

Ian Brooke of South Edinburgh Voluntary Sector Support Project: "In the last year, there have been organisations I expected to get grants which didn't get any. It's been surprising. We'll have to wait to find out who suffers, but it may be grassroots groups that are the most disproportionately affected."

John Duncanson, general maneger, Possil Renewal: "Money seems to be getting squeezed because warchests are being built up for the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics. We've shown you can change lifestyles and opportunities, but we can't get support for love nor money."

Allan Teesdale, Ashdown Grove Community Association for pensioners in south Edinburgh: "It's communities like ours that put money into the lottery; we buy the tickets. We've done very well so far with grants, but it's sad that less money will be available. Quite a few pensioners will suffer."

Note 2: The Labour and Liberal Democrat Scottish MPs who voted to approve further payments to the Olympic Lottery Distribution fundwere:

1. Alexander, Douglas (Paisley and Renfrewshire South )
2. Banks, Gordon (Ochill and South Perthshire)
3. Barrett, John (Edinburgh West )
4. Begg, Anne (Aberdeen South)
5. Brown, Russell (Dumfries and Galloway)
6. Browne, Des (Kilmarnock & Loudoun)
7. Cairns, David (Inverclyde)
8. Campbell, Sir Menzies (North East Fife )
9. Carmichael, Alistair (Orkney and Shetland)
10. Clark, Katy (North Ayrshire & Arran)
11. Clarke, Tom Coatbridge (Chryston and Bellshill)
12. Connarty, Michael (Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
13. Darling, Alistair (Edinburgh South West)
14. Davidson, Ian (Glasgow South West )
15. Devine, Jim (Livingston)
16. Donohoe, Brian (Central Ayrshire)
17. Doran,Frank (Aberdeen North)
18. Hamilton, David (Midlothian)
19. Harris, Tom (Glasgow South)
20. Hood, Jim (Lanark and Hamilton East)
21. Joyce, Eric (Falkirk)
22. Lazarowicz, Mark (Edinburgh North & Leith)
23. McFall, John (West Dunbartonshire)
24. McGovern, Jim (Dundee West )
25. McGuire, Anne (Stirling)
26. McKechin, Ann (Glasgow North )
27. McKenna, Rosemary (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth & Kirkintilloch East)
28. Moffat, Anne (East Lothian)
29. Murphy, Jim (East Renfrewshire )
30. Osborne, Sandra (Ayr, Carrick, Cumnock )
31. Reid, John (Airdrie and Shotts)
32. Sarwar,Mohammad (Glasgow Central )
33. Sheridan, Jim (Paisley & Renfrewshire North)
34. Strang, Gavin (Edinburgh East )
35. Swinson, Jo (East Dunbartonshire)
36. Thurso, John (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)