Osborne Must Abolish Lords 'Plush Fund'

“NO JUSTIFICATION” FOR PROTECTING FUNDING FOR PEERS
Following the Chancellor’s decision to cut public funding for political parties in the House of Commons, the SNP has called for him to abolish so-called Cranborne money for opposition parties in the House of Lords.

The Chancellor announced in his Autumn Statement that ‘Short Money’ for political parties in the House of Commons would be reduced by 19 per cent. However, he has not announced a similar cut for opposition parties represented in the Lords. Cranborne money is provided to the Labour, LibDem and Crossbench groups in the House of Lords, and is intended to pay for staff and office expenses.

Total funding for opposition parties in the Lords is set to increase to £924,989 this year – an increase of 46 per cent since 2010-11.

Commenting, local MSP Stewart Stevenson said:

“People will find extraordinary enough that members of the House of Lords are spending almost £1 million for assistants but for this ‘Plush Fund’ to be protected by George Osborne while imposing austerity cuts on public services.

“Surely if funding to support democratically elected representatives in Parliament will be cut, there can be no justification for protecting spending on unelected and unaccountable peers. The Tories are fond of saying that ‘we are all in this together’ – clearly this does not include their colleagues in ermine robes.

“The SNP has never, and will never, accept seats in the House of Lords or the public money this would come with. We believe that the case for reform of the upper house is unanswerable - the Chancellor should start now and abolish the ‘Plush Fund’.”

Stevenson Welcomes Restrictions on Promoting Nicotine Vapour Products

Stewart Stevenson, SNP MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, highlighted this week the serious health implications of using nicotine.

In Tuesday's Scottish Government debate on the Health (Tobacco, Nicotine etc. and Care) (Scotland) Bill Mr Stevenson spoke about the serious health problems which arise from the misuse of Tobacco and Nicotine.

The Bill was brought forward by Shona Robison, Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport on the 4th July 2015 and will introduce measures to limit exposure to smoking and to limit the prevalence of smoking behaviours. It will also require health and social organisation to inform people when they have been harmed as a result of the care or treatment they have received and will introduce criminal offences for ill treatment or wilful neglect.

Speaking in Tuesdays debate Mr Stevenson said:

“The Bill that is before us addresses the advertising and promotion of nicotine vapour products. I welcome restrictions on those products because, although they are certainly known not to carry many of the chemicals that are present in cigarettes and that cause ill health and death, they have nonetheless not yet been shown to be entirely safe to be sold.

“However, if NVPs reduce harm and enable people to move away from the well-known and well-understood problems that are associated with nicotine addiction, that is fair enough and, for the time being, I am prepared to accept them.”

Mr Stevenson finished by highlighting that the dangers of tobacco and nicotine on our health is not new information, he said:

“We have known that tobacco is an evil, poisonous material for 400 years. Why are we still debating the subject now?”

David Cameron's 'Rank Hypocrisy' on Clean Energy Exposed

PM’S RHETORIC CONTRASTS WITH DECISION TO CUT CCS PROJECT
The UK Government’s ‘rank hypocrisy’ on clean energy has been exposed again today – after David Cameron’s speech on climate change in Paris yesterday contrasted with his decision to cut £1 billion in funding from a vital carbon capture project in Peterhead.

During the Paris climate talks, David Cameron said that instead of making excuses to future generations, “we should be taking action today”. This is despite his government cutting a £1 billion grant which could have created 600 jobs in Peterhead while helping Scotland become a global leader in clean energy technology – which was promised in the 2015 Tory manifesto.

Commenting, SNP MSP Stewart Stevenson said:

“For David Cameron to try and lecture others on the environment just days after his government’s decision to cut the CCS funding in Peterhead is nothing less than rank hypocrisy – something which we’re getting all too used to from this Tory government.

“The Prime Minister may enjoy posing with world leaders and posturing as environmentally friendly on the international stage – but people in Scotland can see through his empty, vacuous words and will instead judge him on his actions.

“David Cameron says that we should be taking action on climate change today – and he’s right. Unfortunately, the only real action he’s taken in recent times has been to cut a vital clean energy project in the North East of Scotland.

“The Tory decision to cut the vital £1bn carbon capture and storage project won’t just cost 600 jobs in the North East of Scotland – but is a huge missed opportunity to help Scotland become a global leader on green energy technology and is just the latest example of the failure of the UK Government to support Scotland’s energy industry.”