THE NEW SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT

Alex Salmond: First Minister (Constitutional affairs)

Nicola Sturgeon: Deputy First Minster
Cabinet Secretary for Health & Wellbeing

Shona Robison: Minster for Commonwealth Games & Sport
Michael Matheson: Minister for Public Health

John Swinney: Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment & Sustainable Growth

Aileen Campbell: Minister for Local Government & Planning
Fergus Ewing: Minister for Energy, Enterprise & Tourism

Kenny MacAskill: Cabinet Secretary for Justice

Rosanna Cunningham: Minister for Community Safety & Legal Affairs

Michael Russell: Cabinet Secretary for Education & Lifelong Learning

Alasdair Allan: Minister for Learning & Skills
Angela Constance: Minister for Children & Young People

Richard Lochhead: Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs & the Environment

Stewart Stevenson: Minister for Environment & Climate Change

Bruce Crawford: Cabinet Secretary for Government Business & Strategy

Brian Adam: Minister for Government Business & Chief Whip

Alex Neil: Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure & Capital Investment

Keith Brown: Minister for Housing & Transport

Fiona Hyslop: Cabinet Secretary for Culture & External Affairs

Law Officers:

Lord Advocate: Frank Mulholland
Solicitor General: Lesley Thomson

ONLY BACK A WEEK AND MPS ARE WHINING ABOUT EXPENSES

MPs have again stuck two fingers up to taxpayers, claiming Parliament’s new expenses watchdog is treating them like benefit claimants. I am wondering why they think that they should be treated better than other citizens who are forced to claim benefits because they are ill or can’t find work. Seems that it’s ok for ALL benefit claimants to be assumed to be cheats and thus being treated badly, but MPs mustn't lumped together as expenses cheats, and must be treated better, even if they are.

Anyway our MPs are angry that the new regime requires that, like other people living and working in the country, and indeed working for the government, they are required to have receipts to back their claims, instead of us just taking their word for it. I wonder why we feel disinclined to do that.

There has also been a warning that the expenses watchdog staff will not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour. Isn’t it an indictment on our parliament that a warning of this type has to go out to our lawmakers, because some, including ministers who are now standing for leadership of the Labour party, did bully staff into paying unjustified amounts?

Some MPs say a reduction in second-home allowances could lead to them staying in one-bedroom flats, forcing them to live apart from their children during the week, like many business people already do, and women MPs have protested that a ban on taking taxis before 11pm could force them to use public transport to get home at night. Men, presumably, have a magic wand that they wave to avoid this.

Labour MP David Winnick (right) said that it was disgraceful that Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) is making members fund essential spending up front, as I have always been expected to do, despite never having had a salary of £65,000, and that staffing budgets have effectively been cut. Well, everyone is having to make cuts and work a bit harder Winnick; why would that not include you?

"The scandal that shamed parliament should never be repeated,” he said. “But this is another type of scandal.” No it’s not, you nelly. It’s what everyone is going through, and you brought it on yourselves in any case.

The rules come into force for this new Parliamentary session. The watchdog will pay salaries at the end of the month and the first expenses from June.

One of the most important changes is that MPs cannot any longer buy homes, claim back the mortgage interest, make improvements at our expense, and pocket vast profits when the properties are sold. Instead they can claim up to £1,450 a month in rent.

It seems to me that they learned almost nothing from last year. Perhaps the fact that so few of them have been punished in any real way has something to do with this. The older ones have retired, some having to pay back expenses overcharged, some not having to pay them back at all. Only four hapless and expendable Labour MPs and one Tory Peer have appeared in court over the cheating. Many of them have been returned to their seats by their grateful voters, including an MP who is about to appear in court charged with expenses fraud.

The IPSA have said rules were intended to restore public confidence in the MPs’ expenses system, but it would consider changes. It apparently is listening to feedback from MPs and the public on the rules.

So, if anyone from the IPSA is reading this blog, this taxpayer would like to say that he doesn’t want vindictiveness but he expects the new authority to safeguard the public’s money. Everyone is having to make do with less; everyone is working harder. MPs must not be any different from anyone else. Gone should be the days of their assuming some sort of superiority over the common herd.

“New Politics”® and jobs for the boys?

Danny in the back of 'The Sun's' own taxi driven by Grant Davis

Willie Rennie ex-Lib Dem MP for Dunfermline and West Fife is to get a job as a special advisor to the Scotland office now being run by his old mate Danny Alexander.

Willie sensationally won the Dunfermline and West Fife by-election in 2006 after the death of the sitting Labour MP Rachel Squire. His by-election victory rocked the Scottish political establishment at the time.

However, things reverted to type in the 2010 election when Willie lost to Labour’s Thomas Docherty.

But it seems that all is not lost for Willie as according to the 'Dundee Courier' Willie is to get a job from his old friend and colleague Danny Alexander the Scottish Secretary under the new Liberal/Conservative alliance. The more cynical among us might think this is jobs for the boys and hardly in keeping with the great dawn of “New Politics”®. Or is it a just reward for a job well done? Maybe it is a convenient tax payer funded shelf to sit Willie on until somebody in Scotland dies or resigns or something and then up can pop Willie to do his Dunfermline magic trick all over again.

What exactly will wee Willie be doing in the Scotland Office? An organ of government that the Lib Dems wanted to abolish.

Respect agenda? What respect agenda?

A Whitehall review of how treasury money is distributed across the UK has been signalled by government sources, which could ultimately lead to a reduction in how much money Scotland receives each year from London.

Westminster sources have suggested a needs-based assessment to replace the controversial Barnett formula will be flagged up in next week’s Queen’s Speech, which will lay out the Liberal-Conservative Government’s legislative plans for the coming session, and how funding for Scotland will be fitted into the “New Politics”® and the so called respect agenda.

Following discussions yesterday between the Chancellor and Danny Alexander, the Scottish Secretary, a decision has been made to set up a review to look at the Scottish Government’s request to receive a fossil fuel levy worth £185 million. A review? How long will that take? Either its Scotland’s money or its not. They are very quick to fire a starting gun on reform of the Barnett formula, that even Mrs Thatcher didn’t think was too outrageous in her mad rush to reform everything. But when it comes to letting Scotland benefit from her own natural resources we need a review. That will be like the Lib Dem supported Jenkins Commission that advocated AV+ in 1998 but was kicked into the long grass. And now the Lib Dems are happy to take a referendum on only AV which their alliance partners won’t be supporting. And what about Calman; Nick and Dave? When will we be getting the postage stamp tinkering with the Scottish settlement that, that promised? The respect agenda for Scotland is beginning to look like a lot more stick than carrot. “New Politics”® in action yet again but now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Conservative Party!

Meanwhile, David Cameron came under fire last night after making a bid to reform a key Tory committee that has historically been a focal point for backbench unrest. Conservative MPs are being balloted over whether ministers should be allowed to play a full part in the 1922 Committee. Traditionally, membership has been limited to backbenchers, when the party is in government. Not a cynical attempt to hobble the awkward squad is it? What happened to all that guff about decentralising government and parliament? Is there a point to that if at the same time you are going to centralise the working of your party to make it more easily controlled by the leading clique?

The surprise move could give the Prime Minister more control over the influential body amid growing disquiet about the coalition deal with the Liberal Democrats. What’s new about manoeuvring to control your own power base and scheming to stay at the top of the greasy pole?

Also the Lib Dems are apparently attempting to hold on to short money, a kind of tax payer subsidy to opposition parties to compensate for the fact that governing parties have the civil service and paid advisors to help them. But the Lib Dems are not in opposition any more. So is this just a fiddle?

This “New Politics”® is beginning to look more and more like just so much more of the old politics with a fancy name. And the respect agenda for Scotland is looking more like punishing us for not voting Tory, again!