John Swinney

Salmond “scared of separation”

November 24, 2011 By Alexandra Leave a Comment

Iain Gray used today’s First Minister’s Questions to corner Alex Salmond over his refusal to name a date for Scotland’s referendum on independence, accusing the First Minister of being “scared of separation”.

In typical First Ministers’ Questions style, Mr Salmond responded in kind by accusing the Labour leader of being “frightened of the concept of independence.”

The Labour leader urged Mr Salmond to “steady the ship and decide a date for the referendum,” after a week of bickering between Holyrood and Westminster, which saw Finance Secretary John Swinney accuse the UK Government of “becoming ever more hysterical” over the issue of independence.

The First Minister confirmed that the referendum would take place in the second half of the SNP’s current term in parliament, as set out during the party’s election campaign earlier this year, but refused to confirm a specific date.

Mr Gray said: “The longer this goes on, the more it looks as if Alex Salmond is trying to rig the referendum to get the results he wants.

“He always puts party before principal and isn’t that why he can’t name a date?”

Mr Salmond responded by saying: “Some people in the Labour party actually recognise that they lost the election and have to accept the mandate of the Scottish people.”

He added: “Westminster should keep out of the referendum and not meddle.

“It would be insulting and contemptuous for the Scottish people for Westminster to get involved.”

The First Minister went on to say that a number of opinion polls are showing increasing and substantial support for an independent Scotland. He reminded the main chamber that the SNP were re-elected with “a massive majority” six months ago on the basis of their promise to hold a referendum.

He went on to express concerns that the UK Treasury was not keeping the Scottish Government properly informed about the impact the euro will have on the Scottish economy. The Chancellor, George Osborne, is yet to respond to John Swinney’s request that economy-boosting measures are included in the Treasury’s autumn statement, including an increase in capital spending.

Filed Under: All Politics Tagged With: Alex Salmond, Danny Alexander, economy, Euro, Finance Secretary, First minister, first minister's questions, George Osborne, Holyrood, Iain Gray, independence, John Swinney, Labour, Politics, Scotland, Scottish elections, separation, SNP, the Treasury, UK Government, Westminster

NUS Scotland reacts to spending review

September 22, 2011 By Joseph Blythe Leave a Comment

NUS Scotland President Robin Parker "very worried" about cuts.

By Joseph Blythe

NUS Scotland have welcomed Scottish Government plans to increase funding for universities by around £75million. However they have said that they are “concerned” at proposed cuts to college funding, and warned that the government should ensure the number of places available doesn’t fall. The plans, announced yesterday by Finance Secretary John Swinney, are part of the government’s spending review, outlining the budget for the next three years.

There had been fears that austerity measures would lead to cuts in education, but Swinney was able to deliver on his party’s campaign promises of increased financial support and no tuition fees for Scottish students. He pledged a minimum income of £7000 for the poorest students, and the protection of the EMA for young students and pupils.

NUS Scotland President Robin Parker said “Taken together these proposals are a major step in right direction towards making access to education in Scotland fairer. This progress is very welcome news and testament to the hard work and campaigning by thousands of students across Scotland in the run-up to the last election.”

But he was less enthusiastic at the cuts facing the budget for colleges, saying “Colleges serve some of the most deprived communities in Scotland, offering an educational lifeline and local access to education to some of the most excluded in our society. They must make sure that no matter what, the number of places at college is at least protected and that quality is maintained.”

Filed Under: All Politics, Education Tagged With: budget, colleges, education cuts, John Swinney, Joseph Blythe, NUS, NUS Scotland, Robin Parker, Scottish Parliament, SNP, Spending review, tuition fees, Universities

Swinney wins award against backdrop of expenses row

November 20, 2009 By captaincalum Leave a Comment

North Tayside MSP John Swinney was named Scottish Politician of the Year at a ceremony in Edinburgh last night.

Mr Swinney

Mr Swinney, who is the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, received the award for his role in dealing with the financial crisis and for delivering a council tax freeze.

As he accepted the award he heaped praise on his colleagues.

“I think this is one of the things that is so important about the way we take our decisions, is that we do that in a way in which we support each other as a cabinet and as a team of ministers” he said.

“For me that is the most precious thing about serving in the SNP government – that spirit of working together, of mutual support and working together to make sure our government delivers for the people of Scotland.”

The award has drawn criticism in light of recent revelations about MSP’s expenses.

Mark Wallace, campaign director of the Taxpayer’s Alliance, says that the awards are a joke.

“It seems all too often that politicians don’t realise how deep the recession is and how angry the public are. There is no excuse for holding glitzy awards ceremonies while people can’t pay their bills.” he said.

“Politicians need to be more restrained, modest and humble, especially given the dire experiences of their constituents.”

Mr Swinney was unavailable for comment.

Filed Under: All Politics, Uncategorized Tagged With: Award, expenses, John Swinney, Politics, Scottish Parliament

SNP refuses Treasury financial advice

April 27, 2009 By domenicainedinburgh Leave a Comment

By Domenica Goduto

The Scottish National Party has refused offers of financial advice from the Treasury, despite concerns about the Scottish Government‘s ability to make appropriate spending cuts in the face of the recession.

Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy claims that the SNP Administration is “the least efficient of all four UK governments.” He offered First Minister Alex Salmond the services of top Treasury advisers and civil

SNP's Jim Murphy courtesy of daylife.com

servants in an attempt to improve the Scottish Government’s efficiency target, which Murphy said is “the lowest efficiency target of them all”.

“If it hit similar targets to those the rest of the UK is chasing, it would be able to find the relevant efficiencies and be able to help real people through the global recession. It cannot be exempt from tightening its belt along with the rest of us.”

The SNP’s refusal has created further tension between the Labour and SNP administrations . Labour claims that the 2% efficiency savings proposed by SNP finance secretary John Swinney does not measure up to the 3% savings to which Westminster, the Welsh Assembly and the Northern Ireland Assembly aspire.

A spokesman for John Swinney argues that “The very last people to advise Scotland about efficient government would be the very Treasury who have presided over a financial disaster, racked up £1.4 trillion of debt and whose forecasts aren’t worth the paper they are written on.”

This is not the first time the SNP Administration has turned down offers of assistance or otherwise refused to cooperate with Westminster. Last month John Swinney turned down the Treasury’s offer of £1 billion to be put towards the construction of the new Forth Bridge on the grounds that the money would simply be siphoned off from other sections of Scotland’s budget. First Minister Alex Salmond also faced criticism later in March for refusing to enter into discussions with the Calman Commission – an independent group set up to review the Scottish Government’s devolved powers – because Scottish independence would not be considered as part of the review.