FM’s sleight of hand with truth
The Courier | 22 November 2012
It was another bad day at the office for the SNP yesterday as it emerged Alex Salmond had once again misled Parliament over economic figures.
A week after being forced to apologise for saying college funding was going up when it was actually being cut, it crept out that the First Minister had also inflated the number of green jobs supported in Scotland during a separate debate.
Mr Salmond would love there to be 18,000 people employed in the renewable energy sector.
It is, after all, a flagship SNP policy and wind turbines themselves cause more than their fair share of controversy, particularly in Courier Country.
Unfortunately for the government, the good news of more work in that area coming to Scotland has been overshadowed by the chamber being misled.
What the latest case also calls into question is the transparency of the Scottish Parliament.
How can it be that the official records were essentially changed behind the scenes?
It is quite right for the First Minister’s team to have lodged the amendment, but if it had not been highlighted by the Scottish Conservatives, the correction would have slipped under the radar.
Holyrood quite correctly prides itself on being open and honest with a range of issues, as do its elected representatives, and there are procedures in place advising how a change should be publicised. This incident, though, does not reflect well on anyone. It should not be the case that an MSP can make an erroneous public statement to the chamber then alter it discreetly with only a gentle push towards telling other members.
If people are to have trust in their elected officials they need to be told up front when mistakes are made.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/11/23/fms-sleight-of-hand-with-truth/