Tories tell Salmond to quit as MP over 'poor' Westminster record

Published on Monday 16 February 2009 20:51

ALEX Salmond faced calls to quit as an MP yesterday after it emerged that he now has one of the worst attendance and activity records of any Scottish member of the House of Commons.

The Scottish Conservatives claimed the First Minister had "misled" the people of his Banff and Buchan constituency by claiming he has one of the best records of any Scottish MP.

But a spokesman for Mr Salmond hit back, insisting the First Minister's work in the Commons from 2005 to 2007 (before he rejoined the Scottish Parliament in 2007) still put him in the list of top ten parliamentary performers from Scotland over the entire parliamentary session.

Mr Salmond's decision to stay on as an MP in 2007, when he was elected to Holyrood, has always been contentious, but it was thrust back into the political spotlight yesterday by the Tories, who published details of Mr Salmond's attendance, voting and contribution record at Westminster since 2007.

They claimed the First Minister was now one of the poorest performers among Scottish MPs, attending fewer votes, tabling fewer motions and asking fewer questions than almost all the other Scottish MPs.

They also pointed to Mr Salmond's entry in the register of members' interests at Holyrood, where the First Minister still insists that he "consistently ranks in the top ten hardest working Scottish MPs".

"This is not good enough and Alex Salmond, like his manifesto, is again misleading the people of Scotland," the Scottish Conservative leader, Annabel Goldie, said yesterday.

She said Mr Salmond's claims that he will be Scotland's "voice at Westminster" was another "empty boast".

"He should stop misleading the people of Scotland whether in the SNP manifesto or on the Scottish Parliament's register of interests. Alex Salmond should resign as an MP now to concentrate on being First Minister."

In 2007-8, the First Minister had the third-worst record for speaking in the chamber and was joint last in the submission of oral contributions, while the year before, only ten of Scotland's 59 MPs tabled fewer oral questions.

However, a spokesmen for Mr Salmond said: "Anyone who has observed the First Minister and his contributions at Westminster couldn't possibly think anything other than he has been a very powerful voice and advocate for Scotland's interests."

He insisted that Mr Salmond has been "consistent" with voters all along in his roles as First Minister and MP.

"When he stood as an MSP for Gordon, he was quite clear that he would continue to serve as MP for Banff and Buchan until the next Westminster election at which point he would stand down," he said.

The Scottish Government later released its own figures which indicated that Mr Salmond remained in the top ten for contributions of Scottish MPs, but only if that record was taken back to 2005, not taken from 2007 to the present day, as the Tories did.

The First Minister has made 657 contributions in the 2005-2010 Parliamentary term so far, compared with David Mundell, the sole Scottish Tory MP, who has made 288.

There was no plan to alter Mr Salmond's submission in the Holyrood register of interest, a party spokeswoman added.