First Minister urged to introduce new law to clean up politics

The First Minister is being urged to “clean up politics” by introducing a far-reaching Accountability Act in the Scottish Government’s first Programme for Government of the new Parliament, due to be published in September.

David Green MSP, the Scottish Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Public Sector Reform, believes people want to see action to “clamp down on scandal and incompetence, while driving up standards and performance in government.”

The SNP has said that reforming public services will be the “defining task” of the government, with its strategy committing to “create a culture of transparency, improvement and constructive challenge.”

However, in a letter to the First Minister, the newly elected Highland MSP warned that these commitments will “ring hollow unless the Scottish Government demonstrates leadership by changing the way it works."

The intervention follows Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP’s challenge to the First Minister at Holyrood to “stop standing in the way of efforts to clean up our politics” after former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell admitted embezzling party funds.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats’ package of reforms to restore trust in politics includes proposals to give voters the right to recall MSPs found guilty of serious misconduct, extend Freedom of Information rules, empower organisations funded by public money to speak out, and introduce measures to prevent sleaze.

In full, the Scottish Liberal Democrats are calling for new measures to:

• Introduce the right to recall your MSP in cases of proven misconduct after the SNP and Greens blocked a bill in the last session. 
• Enshrine the Scottish Ministerial Code in legislation to properly hold ministers to account in the event of scandals such as the ferries fiasco and the deletion of Covid WhatsApps.
• Introduce a new rule of Contempt of Parliament, so that the government respects and acts on the will of parliament. 
• Amend the Disclosure Act 2020 and Protection of Vulnerable Groups Act 2007 to apply safeguarding rules to politicians. 
• Introduce a new "duty to record" so that the public can access accounts of important ministerial meetings and decision-making processes. 
• Apply Freedom of Information rules to companies insofar as they provide government services. 
• Give organisations that receive funding from the Scottish Government a new ‘license to criticise’, recognising through this new legal guarantee that the services we rely on are worse off if organisations are concerned that speaking out will impact on their future funding and survival. 
• Strengthen the role of the Public Audit Committee so that it can scrutinise business grants of more than £250,000 before they are paid, to satisfy themselves that the recipient company pays a fair level of UK tax. 
• Ensure ministers receive annual training to prevent sleaze. 

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP David Green said:

“The SNP have too often put the interests of their party above anything else. Over two decades, it has bred a culture where scandal-hit ministers have failed to take responsibility for their actions.

"No issues better typify that more than the SNP’s ferries fiasco or the blocking of legislation that would have empowered the public to remove scandal-hit MSPs.

"The First Minister has promised openness, transparency, accountability but these commitments will ring hollow unless the Scottish Government demonstrates leadership by changing the way it works.

"That's why Scottish Liberal Democrats are urging the First Minister to adopt our plans to clamp down on scandal and incompetence, while driving up standards and performance in government.

"I believe there is an opportunity for the Scottish Government and the wider Parliament to find common ground and work together to improve standards and rebuild trust. That’s what people want to see."

ENDS