Equality commitment by MP after‘hurtful smear’
Stirling’s SNP MP this week said he remains committed to equality issues after coming under fire for suggesting disabled, black and ethnic minority members are removed from the party’s ruling group.
Alyn Smith proposed the changes in an email to the SNP’S business convener Kirsten Oswald and national secretary Angus Macleod and said that while equalities representation remained“close to his heart”, the issue was“not as close as independence”.
The comments were made as part of a mooted shake-up of the party’s National Executive
Parliament elections, with the NEC recently introducing rules forcing sitting MPS at Westminster to resign their seats before standing for a Holyrood seat.
In his email, Mr Smith writes: “The NEC is too big, unwieldy, unfocused and, as recent events have proven, politically unsound.”
He says expanding the NEC to 42 people“is an experiment which has failed”and sets out a proposal to reduce it to just 18 members.
This would involve expelling the conveners for equalities, women, disabled members, Bame,‘outfor Independence’ and Scotsasians, as well as all the regional representatives.
But this week, in comments to the Observer, a spokesperson for Mr Smith hit out at his opponents for coordinating a “nasty, hurtful smear”and reiterated the Stirling representative’s commitment to equality issues.
He said:“this is a nasty hurtful smear, pretending that a dry proposal to reorganise the SNP organisation to boost equalities and focus our governance is some sinister plot.
“It is nothing of the sort. In Alyn’s 16 years of elected public service he has at every opportunity voted for, advocated and proposed the equalities agenda and will always continue to. Alyn is seeking to open up a conversation within the Party about reforming the NEC as currently over 40 members sit on the committee.
“As an initial proposal, Mr Smith has suggested that those national office bearers who hold equalities-focused positions should have their own constituted equalities forum body, giving equalities measures within the internal operations of the SNP a specific focus.
“This, if agreed to by members, will boost equalities within the party. He has also proposed a similar move for regional office bearers, these proposals are about focusing the NEC, not diminishing equalities.
“Having campaigned for and championed equalities throughout his 16 years in elected office, these are matters very close to Mr Smith’s heart.
“However, Scotland is held back from being the fair and equal nation that it can be by not having the full powers of a normal independent country. Achieving that vision fully requires independence, which is what Mr Smith and his SNP colleagues are committed to building support for through talking to residents across the country.”