SNP NORTH AMERICAN
NETWORK NEWSLETTER
Issue 16, August 1999
WELCOME
NOTE-- due to regulations set by the Labour party in London
Only persons with the right to vote in the UK may contribute directly to the SNP. Supporters who have no vote in the UK are asked to contribute to our North America Fund, the income from which is retained in North America to support awareness-raising there about Scotland and the SNP
ALEX SALMOND TO VISIT U.S. IN NOVEMBER
As intimated in last month's newsletter we can now announce that the leader of the Scottish National Party, Alex Salmond MSP, is making plans to visit the US in mid-November. Plans are still at an early stage but it is expected he will visit the National Press Club in Washington DC, the Centre for Strategic Studies, the Woodrow WIlson Institute in Princeton as well as meet top American journalists to ensure that the SNP's case is heard in the United States. We hope to inform you in next month's edition of the full itinerary. SNP READY FOR BY-ELECTION IN HAMILTON SOUTH DESPITE CONFERENCE After months of electioneering another election hits the horizon with a Westminster by-election being called in the Labour-held seat of Hamilton South on the very first day of the SNP's National Conference. However the date - September 23 - and means by which Labour announced the by-election caused controversy. The sitting MP - Defence Secretary George Robertson - was to vacate the seat after being appointed Secretary General of NATO. This appointment was to take effect from October, but they have called the by-election sooner by elevating Mr Robertson to the UK's House of Lords so he can continue as Defence Secretary. The SNP have criticised the timing and methods and say the Labour Government is guilty of abusing their powers of patronage. Deputy leader John Swinney said: "The fact New Labour are resorting to jiggery-pokery just shows how worried they are about the by-election. New Labour must be running scared." Labour tried to insist the peerage was purely to honour Defence Secretary Robertson for his role in the war in Kosovo and to mark the fact he is to become Secretary-General of NATO. Yet they admitted that he would play no active role in the Lords before taking up his NATO job. Even the Tory party were critical of the move describing it as: "breathtaking political manipulation". It is expected that the SNP will select their candidate at the beginning of September and an SNP spokeswoman said: "We will fight this and we will fight it to win." COALITION LOSING CONFIDENCE OF BACKBENCH LIBERAL MSP's Scotland's coalition government - between the Liberal and Labour parties - is losing the confidence of backbench Liberal MSPs, many of who believe their party is being short-changed and that the power-sharing partnership could break up early next year. Just after the May election a majority of Liberal MSPs voted to ratify the coalition agreement with Labour. But if the vote was to be repeated now a majority would vote against senior Liberal figures have told the Sunday Times Scotland. "We have a lot of disillusioned people here." said one MSP last week. Scottish Liberal leader Jim Wallace, together with fellow cabinet member Ross Finnie and the two Liberal deputy ministers, Nicol Stephen and Iain Smith, will face accusations that they have "gone native" in government. Many of their MSPs believe Labour is carrying on as if it was a Labour-only administration and not a coalition. "It is as if we did not exist," said one disaffected backbencher. "This is not what I voted for and if I had my chance again I would vote the opposite way." Looming large in Liberal backbenchers' minds is the moment in December or January when the coalition government will have to decide its response to the independent inquiry into tuition fees and student hardship. It was the Liberal's u-turn on the issue of abolishing student tuition fees that caused much of the furore when the coalition deal was signed. Opinion in the group is said to have hardened to the extent that senior members believe it is inconceivable that the entire Liberal contingent, including ministers, will vote any way other than for the complete abolition of fees. SNP TO FIND OUT IF LONDON MP's GIVE VALUE FOR MONEY The SNP are to set up a major research unit to question the role and effectiveness of Scottish MPs at Westminster and to scrutinise the role and value for money of the Scottish Secretary - a Westminster Government post. Spurred o by the by the failure of the Scottish Executive, including the Liberals, to defend the Scottish Parliament in the wake of accusations of runaway costs at Holyrood, the SNP has decided to fund a research unit which will examine the value for money of the work of all Scottish MPs at Westminster. With the establishment of a Scottish Parliament MSPs will have responsibility for major issues such as jobs, health and education. It is expected that they will take up a third to 80% of the responsibilities of Westminster MPs yet they will be paid less and Westminster MPs will still claim full office cost allowances. Shadow Finance Minister Andrew Wilson said: "The last week has seen the Scottish Parliament hit by people who didn't want it there in the first place. It is utterly frustrating to see the Scottish Labour-Liberal Executive being unwilling or unable to defend the Scottish Parliament. That is why we have set up the major research unit to highlight the fact it is Westminster that is costly and inefficient and an unnecessary layer of Government." SNP research had shown already that Westminster MPs cost one third more than their counterparts at Holyrood - the estimated cost for the pay and allowances for an MSP is £102,328 compared with £135,555 for a Westminster MP.While Mr Wilson intends to use the results of the SNP's research to "to look at best value for money across local and central government in Scotland", the remit of the research will extend to the role and cost of the Scotland Office under Scottish Secretary, John Reid, in a bid to curtail his "empire building". EXECUTIVE CRITICISED ON TOURISM POLICY Responding to the Scottish Affairs Select Committee Report on tourism SNP MSP Fergus Ewing, shadow Deputy Minister for Tourism, said the problems highlighted in the report exposed the Government's inaction for the industry. He said: "Tourism is one of Scotland's biggest industries - especially in my constituency - and is worth around £2.4 billion in revenue and supports around 177,000 jobs. However Government assistance for the industry has been lukewarm whilst tourist numbers have declined at an alarming rate. "Ireland has made great progress in the tourism industry. Last year's Irish tourism figures showed the industry earned £2.3 billion in foreign revenue alone. The industry is growing more rapidly than the economy as a whole. And as we all know rain clouds do not respect national boundaries - so the bad weather argument doesn't wash. "The simple fact is they have put enormous resources into the industry - not just into marketing but training. However the Government has decided to put the problems facing the industry to a review. But the Scottish Tourist Board is carrying it out! Surely an independent body should be appointed to perform such a review, not the STB. "The Government could start by ensuring the value of the pound is lower on the international market. The high pound not only deters visitors from abroad but sees domestic tourists go abroad. And that our road fuel taxes should be lower - at nearly £ 4 a gallon (US$6.40 a gallon) they are a deterrent to the motoring tourist. Tourism should be treated as a priority not an afterthought."
SNP MSP TO VISIT TROUBLED EAST TIMOR AS UN DELEGATE
One of the SNP's newly elected MSPs has set off on a two-week journey to East Timor as part of a delegation of United Nations observers overseeing elections in the war-ravaged province. Linda Fabiani was on a panel of politicians discussing current events when a question came in on intervention in East Timor - the former Portugese colony which was invaded and annexed by Indonesia in the 1970's. While others fudged, Ms Fabiani agreed - and her comments were overheard by the East Timor (Scotland) Support Group. The group had been looking at the possibility of sending someone as an observer to the forthcoming elections and the members liked what they heard. Ms Fabiani said: "The support group were listening to the radio and they thought 'let's try her first'. Obviously what I had said touched them in some way and things moved on from there." "I am a little apprehensive about the journey and my mother is in a total panic, but I am also looking forward to the experience."
"This is a crucial time for East Timor and I was delighted to accept the invitation from the East Timor Support Group. The region has been living under the shadow of civil war for 23 years and this ballot is an opportunity to leave the conflicts of the past behind. "I admit that I am a little apprehensive but I'm looking forward to being around for such an important chapter in East Timor's history." War on Want has agreed to sponsor Ms Fabiani's trip, provided that through the support group she writes a full report on her return. She will be part of a general United Nations delegation, Parliamentarians for East Timor, but is the only MSP making the trip. JOIN THE EDINBURGH SNP CLUB Recipients of the newsletter may be interested in joining the Edinburgh SNP Club. The club, situated in the centre of Edinburgh, is purely for social events so any time you're in Edinburgh you may want to pop in for drink and a chat. The current e-mail contact for membership information is Ms Isobel Knox at ISOBELKNOX@aol.com; or write to the Edinburgh SNP Club, 16 North Saint Andrew Street, Edinburgh, Scotland; or telephone (0131) 556 2656 (To dial this number from outside the UK, please first dial the local country's international access code followed by 44 131 556 2656). AND FINALLY.... Further to our story on Liberal disillusionment with the Scottish coalition you may be interested in the comments made by one Labour MSP on his government colleagues. He said: "Their MSPs are not an organised group of politicians as we would understand the term. Instead of operating like a proper political party they are a group of individuals each with their own hobbyhorses. Dealing with them is like trying to negotiate with an octopus."
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