Janice R. Andrews
First Minister John Swinney had doubts about the impartiality of the process, leading the SNP to decide against supporting a parliamentary suspension for former Health Secretary Michael Matheson.
The standards committee suggested that Mr. Matheson, who incurred a £11,000 bill on his parliamentary iPad, be subject to a 54-day salary deduction and a 27-day parliamentary ban. When the proposal comes up for vote later today at Holyrood, the SNP will oppose it and demand an investigation into the complaints procedure, arguing that it is prone to bias and prejudice.
It is anticipated that all other Holyrood parties will accept the measures, which, if approved by all 65 opposition MSPs, would guarantee Mr. Matheson’s 27-day ban. A friend of Mr. Matheson’s named Mr. Swinney declared that he would not vote in favor of the sanctions because he thought there were biases in the process.
The Scottish Greens formally endorsed the sentence, therefore if the opposition stays together, the SNP will not be able to stop it from being endorsed. SNP Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes made a criticism of the process in her amendment, although she did not try to change the punishment.
Mr. Matheson claims the process’s fairness was undermined. He resigned from the government in February before a report revealed he had broken expenditures regulations. The SNP amendment demanded an independent assessment of the complaints procedure and chastised Conservative Standards Committee member Annie Wells for remarks she made about Mr. Matheson in public.
The Greens had reservations about the process even though they supported the sanctions. There will be a debate on a proposal from the Scottish Conservatives asking for Mr. Matheson to step down, although it is anticipated that the Greens will oppose it.
If approved, Mr. Matheson would not be able to take part in legislative proceedings until early September due to the ban and salary penalty, which would take effect on Thursday. The whole scandal started when Mr. Matheson’s parliamentary iPad bill of £10,941.74 came during a family vacation. At first, he blamed it on a defective SIM card, but he later acknowledged that his boys had used the gadget as a wifi hotspot. Since then, he has expressed regret and promised to cover the entire cost.
Opposition leaders have criticized the SNP for not supporting the sanctions; Douglas Ross, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Anas Sarwar, the leader of Labour, and Alex Cole-Hamilton, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, have all called for Mr. Matheson’s resignation and a by-election.
