Gaming the System On Councillors Pay
A reminder from the blog archive that it's the SNP who abolished independent oversight of councillor expenses and opened the floodgates for SNP councillors to 'game the system' with lucrative 2nd or even 3rd jobs with friendly MSPs and MPs.
Not only do these arrangements allow councillors to 'fill their boots' at public expense - to my mind they also compromise the independence of Scottish local government.
Because councillors who rely on MSPs (for example a Government Minister) or MPs for a significant part of their income are in a weak position when it comes to standing up for the interests of their local communities.
Who Guards The Guards? (January 19, 2022)
Here's my 2013 letter of resignation to Derek Mackay the former SNP finance minister who is now throughly and deservedly disgraced.
Though I say so myself, everything I predicted about Derek Mackay's decision to abolish SLARC has come true.
Yet the SNP continue to operate without independent oversight which has allowed Scottish Ministers to cook the books and provide elected councillors with much better pay increases than the rest of the council workforce.
Put plainly - it's a damned disgrace.
Letter of resignation to Derek Mackay, Finance Minister - 28 January 2013
Who Guards the Guards? (January 11, 2022)
Recent history confirms that politicians behave very badly when there is a lack of independent scrutiny and here's a good example which explains how the SNP have been cynically 'gaming the system' over councillors pay.
And now that Scotland's Standards Commission has been told to get its act together maybe that's where to raise the issue in the New Year.
Who Guards the Guards? (November 22, 2021)
John Swinney took decisive action back in 2011, as finance minister, but it was arguably easier then because Glasgow was a Labour run council 10 years ago and 'doing the right thing' was pretty straightforward.
In 2021 Glasgow is a SNP run council and the two MSPs involved (Humza Yousaf and Nicola Sturgeon) are both fellow ministers - the latter being Mr Swinney's boss, of course.
So the question comes down to "Who guards the guards?"
How do ordinary citizens who raise legitimate questions and issues get taken seriously, if the complaints system is not independent and the political establishment is investigating itself?
Daylight is the Best Disinfectant - Deputy First Minister (November 15, 2021)
As regular readers know, I have a number of activities planned which aim to get to the bottom of what's been going on in Glasgow over councillors' salaries.
But I thought I'd step the campaign up a gear with a letter to the Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, who intervened 10 years ago, as Scotland's Finance Minister, to put an end to another 'top up' scandal in Glasgow.
So let's hope the Scottish Government acts decisively this time around - without fear or favour to any of the individuals involved.
Letter to John Swinney, Deputy First Minister - 15 November 2021
Dear Mr Swinney
Mark Irvine