The SNP have dropped manifesto pledge after manifesto pledge since
they took office in 2007. As Alison McInnes MSP for the North East
stated “The SNP produced a wish list, not a manifesto.”
The SNP failed to keep its manifesto promises to;
· Dump the student debt,
· Cut class sizes
· Create a local income tax
Over the last few weeks the cracks have been widening within the SNP.
It has emerged over the past few weeks that Alex Salmond and Nicola
Sturgeon were auctioning off lunch with themselves in the Scottish
Parliament restaurant. This is a clear breach of Parliamentary rules,
as Mike Rumbles MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine said:
“Scottish Ministers should not be available to the highest bidder.”
According to reports, lunch with Alex Salmond sold for around £9,000
while lunch with the deputy leader of the SNP Nicola Sturgeon cost
£2,000.
This past week, senior SNP Glasgow Councillor Alex Dingwall defects to
the Liberal Democrats after 31 years in the party, citing a lack of
faith in the SNP’s ability: “I believe that Glasgow needs a change in
how our city is run and a party that sets out a clear, credible
alternative to the current Labour Administration. Regrettably over the
last year it has become clear to me that the Glasgow SNP Council Group
lacks both the leadership and the authority to set out an alternative
vision for our city.”
(Read more on http://andrewrunning.blogspot.com/2010/02/snp-glasgow-councillor-alex-dingwall.html)
Liberal Youth Scotland welcomes Councillor Alex Dingwall to the
Liberal Democrats and look forward to working with him in the near
future.
Finally this week it was revealed that Nicola Sturgeon wrote a letter
of support for Abdul Rauf before he was sentenced for defrauding
£80000 of taxpayers’ money from the Department of Work and Pensions,
and not for the first time. While Ms Sturgeon and her party may defend
her by saying she has a duty to take on a case when approached, the
members code is clear: an MSP cannot take on a case when it would
require them to “take inappropriate action”. Clearly defending a man
who has defrauded the public on more than one occasion is
inappropriate, and this seriously calls into question the judgment of
a senior Government minister.
The SNP are in meltdown. Labour are finished. The Tories’ false
promises mean nothing but disappointment. Only the Liberal Democrats
can deliver real change and real progress. Be part of a movement for
change, and join the Lib Dems today.
