Political parties to use public funds for campaigns

Scottish political party bosses have agreed to continue the use of millions of pounds of public funds for party campaigning, despite strong criticism from an independent watchdog, and an accusation that at least one party is "laundering" the money to help its election efforts.

The four main parties have agreed to take no action on the siphoning of constituency support cash - intended for MSPs to provide office and research support for their constituents.

This goes against a recommendation from the Senior Salaries Review Board, which reviewed MSP salaries and support in 2001. It said the use of the Members Support Allowance (MSA) for party teams in the parliament is "inappropriate", it lacks accountability and transparency, it may not benefit the public at all, and it should be "reviewed urgently".

That was a year ago. The same report also recommended MSPs receive a large pay rise, which was implemented in the spring.

Last January, when the Sunday Herald exposed the extent to which taxpayers were funding party campaigning, the parliamentary authorities promised that the recommendation of an urgent review would be taken up. That finally happened last month - 10 months later.

The business managers of the four main parties concluded they would delay well into next year, and possibly 2004, before their review - allowing them to learn the outcome of an Electoral Commission study into the expansion of state funding for parties, a study which may not be launched until next spring, and will last around nine months.

The controversy concerns some (pounds) 400,000 annually required of MSPs' Members Support Allowances by party managers, to pay for pooled group funds. Labour levies the least - last year, each MSP had to sign over (pounds) 1680 - to provide researchers and speech- writers. The Conservatives and LibDems levy the most, with Liberals on a sliding scale between (pounds) 6000 and (pounds) 9000. Each SNP member must sign over (pounds) 5000 of their allowance.

More controversial, however, was a leaked memo, marked "strictly private and confidential", written by SNP group secretary Shona Robison, which told fellow MSPs their funds should be used to attack Executive parties, to "drive forward party strategy" and that leadership support teams funded by it should not be available to aid individual MSPs.

This is just part of the public funding of party activities. Opposition parties also receive (pounds) 370,000 Short Money to help them carry out their group work. This allows for more party political purposes than the MSA. The SNP in the Scottish parliament receives (pounds) 188,000 from short money, the Scottish Conservatives over (pounds) 102,000, and the LibDems (pounds) 70,000, despite not being in opposition.

That money has been boosted by (pounds) 2 million in a new grant scheme run by the Electoral Commission. For the UK parties, this pays (pounds) 438,000 into their London headquarters to help fund research teams, and some of it can be allocated to their Scottish offices. It gives a disproportionate boost within Scotland to the SNP, who receives (pounds) 146,000 to boost its headquarter staff in writing the manifesto for next year's election.

Although Labour has signed up to the continued delay in addressing the controversy, a spokeswoman attacked the SNP for Robison's admission that the money is used for the party leadership and electoral strategy: "The SNP seems to rely almost entirely on state cash and has admitted laundering parliamentary funds to pay for political party campaigning."

Copyright 2002 SMG Sunday Newspapers Ltd.
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