TORY HYPOCRISY ON DUAL MANDATE MPs

TORY HYPOCRISY ON DUAL MANDATE MPs

RULED OUT FOR N IRELAND BUT NOT FOR SCOTLAND

Commenting on the section of the Tory manifesto which will stop Northern Irish MPs from having a dual mandate with membership of the Northern Irish Assembly but not MSPs - like John Lamont and Alex Johnstone who say they will remain as MSPs if elected as MPs - the SNP's election co-ordinator, Stewart Hosie, said it showed the Tories were not serious about Sir Christopher Kelly’s review into MPs' expenses which ruled that the practice of dual mandate should end by May 2011.

Commenting Mr Hosie said:

“The SNP said we will not only abide by the rules of the Kelly Commission, but we will abide by the spirit of it. Unlike the machine politicians of the London parties the SNP's candidates will be local champions.

"The Tory manifesto position is rank hypocrisy. If they will end this practice in Northern Ireland they should end it in Scotland.

"John Lamont and Alex Johnstone have misled their constituents by failing to make clear their intentions when they were elected to Holyrood.

"Annabel Goldie must now be clear, what will she do with these MSPs and will she instruct them to be straight with their constituents and stick to their Holyrood seats. "


On page 84 of the Tory manifesto it says:

"We will produce a government paper examining the mechanism for changing the corporation tax rate in Northern Ireland, in order to attract significant new investment. And we will stop the practice of ‘double-jobbing’, whereby elected representatives sit in both Westminster and Stormont."

No mention is made of Holyrood or Cardiff.