The Scottish Conservatives are encouraging Scots to have their say on the removal of MSPs who fail to carry out their duties, before consultation on the Removal from Office and Recall Bill closes tomorrow (Wednesday).
The ‘Mackay’s Law’ Bill is being put forward by Scottish Conservative MSP for Central Scotland, Graham Simpson, and will allow for the dismissal of MSPs who fail to take part in parliamentary proceedings for more than six months without a valid reason.
Currently, unless an MSP chooses to resign, there are no levers in place for constituents to remove them. This issue was recently highlighted when former SNP member, Derek Mackay, continued to collect an MSP salary for 15 months after resigning in disgrace from his position as Finance Secretary.
‘Mackay’s Law’ would bring the Scottish Parliament in line with local authorities who already have this rule in place for councillors.
The Bill would also ensure the automatic removal from office of any MSP sentenced to a prison term regardless of the length of sentence.
Graham Simpson is urging any Scots who haven’t yet had their say on the Bill to respond to the consultation before the deadline tomorrow. Responses to the consultation can be submitted to www.parliament.scot/MSP-removal-from-office.
Scottish Conservative MSP for Central Scotland, Graham Simpson, said: “This is the last chance for Scots to have their say on whether MSPs who fail to carry out their duties should still get a taxpayer paycheque.
“The vast majority of MSPs enter politics to serve their constituents to the best of their ability – but, as the case of Derek Mackay highlighted, in all parties there may be members who have abused their position or failed to meet the high standards expected of them.
“This Bill will provide the levers to remove them from office and ensure that Scottish taxpayers are never again left paying for an empty seat in Holyrood.
“I believe this is a common-sense law that will give the Scottish public the power to remove their representatives for wrongdoing – but I also want to hear your views. So far, we have received an encouraging number of responses to our consultation, but I would urge any Scots who haven’t yet responded to share their views on the Bill.
“In that way, we can make sure that the Bill we put forward to the Scottish Parliament fully represents the needs and priorities of Scottish constituents, when it comes to holding their MSPs to account.”
Notes:
The Removal and Recall Bill would allow for the automatic removal of MSPs who fail to fulfil key parts of their parliamentary duties or receive a prison sentence, and looks to empower constituents to recall MSPs.
Former finance secretary Derek Mackay continued to sit as an MSP despite not attending a meeting of parliament for 15 months. Mackay quit as finance secretary in February 2020 amid reports that he sent a 16-year-old boy inappropriate messages on social media, and quit the SNP a month later. He continued to sit an independent MSP until the next election in May 2021. During that time he did not attend any meeting of the Scottish Parliament (BBC, 06 February 2020, link); (BBC, 20 March 2020, link).
Despite repeated calls for his resignation Mackay continued to receive a salary and claim expenses while leaving his constituents of Renfrewshire North and West without representation in the parliament. Mackay collected the full £64,470 salary, received an automatic severance payment of £11,945, and claimed a total of £14,192 while an absentee MSP. (The Herald, 05 February 2021, link); (The Daily Record, 08 October 2021, link).
At present Councillors in Scotland are bound by a law which means that if they fail to attend council meeting for six consecutive months they can lose their job. The exception is if there is a valid reason such as illness, maternity leave, or serving as a member of the armed forces during war or an emergency. There is no such mechanism for MSPs. (Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, link).
MSPs are disqualified from their position if they are sentenced to prison for more than one year under the current legislation. This requirement is in effect applied to members of the Scottish Parliament via Section 15 of the Scotland Act 1998. The Scotland Act 2016 gives the Scottish Parliament the power to amend the Act in the area of regulating Parliament’s own affairs.
These provisions came into focus when Bill Walker MSP received a prison sentence in 2013. Walker was convicted of 23 charges of assault and one charge of breach of the peace and sentenced to one year in prison. Walker chose to resign as an MSP, but under the current provisions he could have kept his seat for the duration of his sentence, with no means by which his constituents or other MSPs could have removed him from office.
MPs can be recalled from office by their constituents if certain criteria are met. Under the Recall of MPs Act 2015, a by-election will be triggered if 10% of the voters in a constituency sign a recall petition within six weeks of it being lodged. (House of Commons Library, Recall Elections, 09 November 2021, link).
There is no equivalent mechanism for constituents to recall MSPs.