HYPOCRITES! Ministers’ 300 limo trips in one month... as they lecture you on ditching your car!
SNP Ministers have been accused of ‘pure hypocrisy’ by taking nearly 300 chauffeur-driven limousine journeys in one month – while demanding that Scots leave their cars at home.
Nicola Sturgeon’s Ministers took the equivalent of almost ten luxury car journeys a day, all paid for by the taxpayer.
Almost a third of the journeys took Ministers between their homes and their workplace – either at Holyrood or government offices at St Andrew’s House in Edinburgh.
They varied from 170-mile journeys to the Highlands to a trip that would be a ten-minute walk.
Expensive cars used by Ministers in recent years include Kia Optimas, Kia e-Niros, Lexus hybrids, Mitsubishi Outlanders and Tesla Model 3s.
The shocking figures came as the Scottish Government urges the public to ditch their cars for public transport, or to walk or cycle instead.
Ministers have also given councils the powers to tax workers who use an office car parking space.
Scots who need to drive already face a cost of living crisis, largely driven by the price at the pump, with fuel hitting £2 a litre in some parts of the country.
Opponents said last night the Scottish Government is failing to lead by example. Liam Kerr,
Scottish Conservative net-zero spokesman, said: ‘At a time when the SNP-Green government is asking people to make fewer car journeys, they are ignoring their own advice.
‘This rapid rise in ministerial car use sends the wrong message to the public. It is blatantly a case of “do not as I do but as I say” – it’s pure hypocrisy.’
Neil Bibby, Labour transport spokesman, added: ‘Scotland is facing its biggest fall in living standards since rationing and the SNP are using our money to drive around in chauffeur-driven cars.
‘It is simply galling to see this extravagance while families are only given £4 a week in financial support from the SNP government.
‘After 15 years in government, the SNP have fallen out of touch with the reality of life for most Scots.’
The Scottish Mail on Sunday analysed the most recent records published for ministerial car use, showing journeys that were made in October last year.
The 286 journeys listed do not include limos taken by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, as details of her travel are not published for ‘security’ reasons.
Among the trips was a journey Health Secretary Humza Yousaf took from Holyrood to St Andrew’s House – a walk of ten minutes.
Mr Yousaf had been using a knee scooter in parliament in the previous weeks, after rupturing his Achilles tendon playing badminton, then suffering a fall while trying to scoot to the chamber. Finance Secretary Kate Forbes used a limo for a 170-mile journey from her accommodation in Edinburgh to her family home in Dingwall, Rossshire – a journey which, in a similar car, would cost private citizens a fortune in fuel.
Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth, who now has responsibility for running the nation’s railways after ScotRail entered public ownership on Friday, took a ministerial car 14 times in October last year in her old job as Culture Minister.
Her expenses for 2020/21 show she did not claim for a single train journey, but £1,210 in car mileage instead.
Transport campaign group Transform Scotland said yesterday the Scottish Government and ScotRail had been too slow in encouraging people to get back on board.
The group’s Colin Howden said: ‘While this messaging was entirely appropriate in the early months of the pandemic, when comparatively little was known about transmission of the virus, it was carried out for too long and too aggressively, and it appears to have directly led to longer run reductions in rail passenger demand.’
Ms Gilruth will now lead a push to encourage Scots to ditch their cars in favour of trains, buses, cycling and walking.
Last night, a Government spokesman insisted ministerial cars were ‘cost effective’ and in line with its green ambitions.
He said: ‘Travel is an essential
‘It is simply galling to see this extravagance’ ‘SNP have fallen out of touch with reality of life’
part of official government business. Ministers take their responsibility to travel sustainably very seriously and aim to use more sustainable forms of transport wherever possible.
‘The government car service provides a secure environment to conduct sensitive government business while travelling to and from engagements when public transport is not viable.
‘As part of our commitment to decarbonise our fleet, we have increased investment in fully electric and ultra-low emitting electric vehicles.
‘We are committed to phasing out petrol and diesel cars from the public sector fleet by 2025.’