Tories’ plea to election watchdog: Probe SNP’s £20m indy war chest

THE UK’s election watchdog is being asked to investigate whether the SNP is breaking rules by using publicly funded civil servants to promote its party political independence agenda.

After the Supreme Court dashed Nicola Sturgeon’s hopes of staging a lawful second poll on splitting the Union, she said the next General Election should be seen as a ‘de facto’ referendum.

Even though the First Minister’s comments identified independence as an election issue, the Nationalist Government has refused to reallocate funds being spent on pushing for a second poll.

Critics say any civil servants still working on Indyref 2 are being employed by the party using public money.

Now the Scottish Conservatives have written to the Electoral Commission to ask if the ‘break up Britain’ budget is lawful.

In a letter to chief executive Shaun McNally, constitution spokesman Donald Cameron said: ‘In effect, civil servants are being used to help a political party’s electoral preparations.’

The latest intervention comes after the Scotland Office called on Ms Sturgeon’s administration to ‘cease and desist’ from using the cash for its own political ends.

In all, £20 million has been set aside to organise a referendum while a team of 25 civil servants is being paid £1.5 million a year to push for independence.

Mr Cameron said: ‘The only logical conclusion is that Nicola Sturgeon plans to use Government resources on SNP propaganda and strategy for the next UK General

Election. That’s scandalous. Prior to the court ruling, this outlay merely exposed the Nationalists’ skewed priorities. But now it constitutes an affront to democracy.

‘The Electoral Commission has very clear rules on election expenditure, so I’m keen to get their take on something that appears to be utterly indefensible.’

The Supreme Court ruled last month the Scottish Government does not have the power under the Scotland Act to unilaterally organise an independence referendum. In response, Ms Sturgeon announced the SNP would be treating the next General Election, due in 2025, as a ‘de facto’ poll on splitting the Union.

In his letter, Mr Cameron said: ‘She made this statement, not as First Minister at her official residence of Bute House, or in the Scottish parliament, but as party leader of the SNP, using party branding at a hotel event.

‘I want to ask whether the Electoral Commission could provide clarification on the Scottish Government’s use of civil servants who may be assisting the SNP in a General Election campaign based on that single issue.’

Peers have called on the UK Government to pull the plug on the Indyref 2 budgets. Labour’s Lord Foulkes suggested the Auditor General for Scotland should assess whether the money is being spent appropriately.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘In light of majority support within the Scottish parliament for an independence referendum, Scottish Ministers remain ready to engage with the UK Government on delivering a referendum.’

The Electoral Commission said it would respond ‘in due course’.