Lib Dems propose Salmond’s Law to expose MSPs’ pay
THE Lib Dems will today propose a ‘Salmond’s Law’ to crack down on MSPs’ outside earnings, as the party unveils its manifesto.
Leader Willie Rennie will argue for a change in Holyrood’s code of conduct to ensure greater transparency.
The move is a swipe at the former First Minister, who stood down as an MSP last month, after he earned tens of thousands for newspaper articles and interviews on top of his politician’s salary.
Under existing Holyrood rules, MSPs have 30 days to update the register of financial interests – and it can take another 30 days before the entries are made publicly available.
Mr Salmond started writing his regular £350-an-hour newspaper column in January of last year in the run-up to the General Election when he returned to the Commons as an MP.
He received payment in June of that year and immediately recorded it in the register of interests, meaning the sums involved were not publicly known until after the election.
Mr Rennie will today argue that earnings should be declared as soon as a contract is signed. Last night, Mr Salmond said he has donated thousands of pounds to charity and proposed a rival ‘Rennie’s Law’ to require Lib Dems to reveal how much of their earnings they have handed to good causes.
The spat demonstrates the bitterness between the two parties in the wake of a legal challenge that was launched against Lib Dem MP Alistair Carmichael. As the campaign reaches midway:
Nicola Sturgeon will today set out plans for further land reform, only weeks after Holyrood passed a new law branded a ‘Big Brother-style land grab’.
The Scottish Grocers’ Federation urged politicians to abandon plans for a drinks bottle deposit return scheme.
The Tories called for Scotland to be returned to the international education league tables.
The Lib Dem manifesto will be unveiled in Edinburgh. It will state: ‘We will change the MSPs’ code of conduct to make sure they declare earnings or future earnings from the moment they sign a contract for external employment.’
A party source said: ‘Alex Salmond was able to hide his outside earnings for months because he thought they might be embarrassing if they were revealed before the election. The rules need to ensure that voters know what their MSPs are up to, not simply serve to spare their blushes.
‘We want Scotland to be the best again and that means ensuring that our parliament meets the highest standards of transparency.
‘Salmond’s Law will ensure that MSPs will no longer be able to hide behind the rules to avoid being open about their outside earnings.’
Last year, it emerged that Mr Salmond was receiving more for his weekly article in two local papers than his job as a parliamentarian.
His weekly column has been axed for the duration of the Holyrood election campaign, and it is unclear if it will return after the election. Mr Salmond has also accepted payment from London-based station LBC for a weekly radio show.
While he was MSP for Aberdeenshire East, he was entitled to a £19,700 wage on top of his MP salary, which was handed to the Mary Salmond Trust, a charity working in the North-East.
Mr Salmond said: ‘I declared the earnings from my newspaper column in the House of Commons register of interests on the very day of receipt, on June 2 last year, although the Scottish parliament stipulation of declaring earnings within 30 days is a perfectly proper one. I have donated almost £47,000 to registered charities – equivalent to 60 per cent of my net earnings from parliamentary sources.
‘I therefore propose a new “Rennie’s Law”, which is to ask Willie Rennie and every other Liberal elected member to declare what percentage of their net parliamentary income they have committed to any charity.’