Alexander flies back for new role

Published on Tuesday 7 May 2002 01:00

WENDY Alexander was back at her home yesterday after returning from her trip to Amsterdam which followed her shock resignation as enterprise minister.

Now a backbench MSP, the former minister was determined not to add to the reasons given for her resignation in a letter she personally delivered to Jack McConnell, the First Minister, on Friday.

Smiling and looking relaxed, Ms Alexander was approached by reporters as she left her home in Glasgow’s West End, with a female friend, having spent most of the morning attending to paperwork.

Ms Alexander, who was casually dressed, said simply: "I have nothing to add."

Ms Alexander’s resignation has led to Scottish Enterprise postponing an announcement it was due to make today on its operating plan for 2002-03.

A spokeswoman said the delay would enable the chairman, Sir Ian Robinson, and the chief executive, Robert Crawford, to brief Iain Gray, Ms Alexander’s successor, on the contents of the plan.

It is an extensive document covering annual targets and spending commitments for the Enterprise Network and a 10-year expenditure plan for new intermediary technology institutes. The spokeswoman said the launch of the plan would be rescheduled at the earliest opportunity.

Ms Alexander is expected to be present today at a ceremony in Glasgow to mark the unveiling of a statue of Donald Dewar, the late first minister who died in October 2000. She was a close friend of Mr Dewar and minister for communities in the first Scottish cabinet.

The Scottish National Party challenged Mr Gray to set a target for long-term economic growth in Scotland and to repudiate the "steady as she goes" remarks the new minister made in an interview following his appointment.

Mr Gray made the comment to underline his promise to continue the programme of policies already set in train by Ms Alexander.

Andrew Wilson, the SNP spokesman on the economy, pointed out that Scotland had a "growth" rate of just under 0.1 per cent.

In a letter to Mr Gray, he called on him to build a consensus across business, politics and government towards ending decades of relative economic decline.

Claiming it would be disastrous for Mr Gray to continue with his "steady as she goes" approach, Mr Wilson said: "The reality is that this is a policy of steady as we sink further and further down the world economic league table."

He added: "Iain Gray has entered office under a cloud of Jack McConnell’s making, but to be fair, he should be given the chance to show what he can do. He needs to make very clear, very quickly, that he means to leave Jack McConnell’s complacency behind and strike out for a growth agenda."

Mr Gray spent his third day in office talking to civil servants in the enterprise department, business leaders and officials from the higher education sector about his new role in the cabinet.

An Executive source said: "Mr Gray has been receiving intensive briefings from officials and getting to know his portfolio.

"He is absolutely determined to get on top of his brief as quickly as possible. He is very enthusiastic."

Ms Alexander told the First Minister of her decision to resign at a 7.30 am meeting at his home in Wishaw on Friday. The news came as a complete surprise to the First Minister.

In a letter giving her reasons, she said that, five years after she had joined the Scottish Executive to work with the late Mr Dewar, she felt the time was right to stand down.

But her announcement was followed by a frenzy of weekend speculation about the effects of her wide-ranging brief as the "minister for everything" - a comment she once made about the breadth of her ministerial responsibilities - and about her private life. Ms Alexander plans to be back at the Scottish parliament tomorrow to take up her new role and position as a back-bench MSP.

Mr McConnell tried to put the difficulties caused by Ms Alexander’s resignation behind him by carrying out his scheduled engagements.