Saturday, May 14, 2011

Are Lib Dems briefing against their own Scottish Secretary?

You'd think so, reading today's Scotsman,who says that Lib Dems in Scotland are plotting to oust Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore.

It says that Liberal Democrat sources have told the Scotsman that they want to push forward our plans for greater devolution of power. Well, of course we should. We'll be facing an independence referendum shortly - you won't find many Liberal Democrats who think we shouldn't advance the ideas in the Steel Commission.  We need to make them a bit less academic and a bit more relevant but to me they are the best of all worlds - you have the greater autonomy and accountability as well as the benefits of  being part of something bigger. What's not to love?

The Scotsman describes a "gaping split" between Mike Moore and some Scottish Liberal Democrats. Well, he's implementing in its entirety what was in our manifesto which was transferred straight into the Coalition Agreement. If the Tories had been governing alone, it's likely none of this would have been happening.

What's completely and utterly ludicrous is that Lib Dem sources are quoted as saying we should celebrate the SNP victory.  It would be churlish not to congratulate the SNP, but the very idea that any of us could possibly celebrate our friends and colleagues being beaten is pure fantasy.

Every single time Mike Moore goes to meet Alex Salmond we get some sort of story in the press which is clearly aimed at undermining him. You have to ask yourself in whose interests it is to make that happen. There can only be one answer - Alex Salmond.

There is a huge amount of affection for Mike Moore in the Scottish Liberal Democrats. During this recent election campaign, he was a total superstar, supporting campaigns and candidates all over the country.

I've said before that I think he's too cautious sometimes. He can be too polite and let our opponents get away with all sorts of nonsense at Scottish Questions, for example.  If I were him today, I'd walk into the meeting with Salmond, congratulate him warmly, shake him by the hand and simply ask the question why on earth the First Minister is bothering to tinker with the Scotland Bill when it might well never be implemented. It doesn't come in until 2015 by which time we will have had a referendum on independence, which Salmond expects to win. What's the point of trying to change it?

It seems to me that Salmond just wants to pick an unnecessary fight with Westminster to bolster his own position. He should remember that respect works both way

4 comments:

Jock said...

Oh dear, you believe something written in the Scotsman newspaper. The SNP long gave up believing anything they said after thousands of nasty anti SNP stories.
Maybe after the SNP victory they're looking around for a softer target and found you guys ?
Michael Moore does seem distant though. Unknown to anyone outside the bubble and he's done nothing to improve his image. Most folk think of an angry man out to confront the SNP. He needs to lighten up and smile a bit.
Oh and get back to Scotland more often.

GHmltn said...

It is true, if we are to come back, we need our MPs and our stronger performers visible in Scotland and getting stuck into the debate.

Anonymous said...

'There is a huge amount of affection for Mike Moore in the Scottish Liberal Democrats'

Well, I'm glad he's popular somewhere.
Amongst the rest of us who are interested in Scottish Politics Moore comes across as just another London stooge - like a less oily Jim Murphy.
As for the Scotsman article, if the LibDems again embraced federalism they might be slightly more popular. Although, having said that, the party's lack of honesty and its unprincipled lust for power is certainly responsible for its annihilation in the recent elections.

Bill Pickford

Doug Daniel said...

"and simply ask the question why on earth the First Minister is bothering to tinker with the Scotland Bill when it might well never be implemented. It doesn't come in until 2015 by which time we will have had a referendum on independence, which Salmond expects to win. What's the point of trying to change it?"

That's a rather short-sighted attitude. So you think the SNP should put all their eggs in the independence basket? What happens if Scotland votes against independence (which, as we are so reliably informed by the press and various other unionist bods, is an absolute dead-cert) and we're stuck with the Scotland Bill? Do you not think it's the sign of a prudent, mature government to cover all eventualities and make sure there is a back-up if things don't go according to plan?

As for the stuff about picking fights with Westminster - come on, isn't that all a bit 2007? What does it say about how you view the role of the Scottish Government that you think trying to increase Holyrood's powers equates to trying to "pick an unnecessary fight" with the Westminster government? Come to think of it, isn't increasing the powers of Holyrood a Lib Dem policy?

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails