SALMOND – WESTMINSTER’S "EXTRAORDINARY DECLINE"

SALMOND – WESTMINSTER’S "EXTRAORDINARY DECLINE"

COMMONS REPUTATION “NEVER BEEN LOWER”

SNP leader Alex Salmond has recorded a special message to mark his departure from Westminster after 23 years as an MP.

In the broadcast, which has been posted on YouTube, Mr Salmond said his time in the Commons had witnessed an "extraordinary decline" in the reputation of the UK Parliament.

Mr Salmond said: "This coming Monday I stand down as a Member of Parliament after 23 years as an MP for Banff and Buchan.

"Now, the folk of Banff and Buchan are great and they will always be great. But Westminster has declined in an extraordinary fashion over the last two decades.

"When I went there at first, when you went into the chamber of the House of Commons there were folk worth listening to. You get none of that now, none of it at all.

"But even more seriously, the reputation of the House of Commons has never been lower. It is like the 90s and John Major and all that back to basics stuff amplified 10 times over."