A Labour MSP has used public resources to post a newsletter to party members during a selection contest to keep her job.
Siobhan McMahon’s report, which contains around 20 pictures of herself, was sent to Central Scotland constituents who include Labour members with a vote in the selection.
It is understood other party MSPs have sent out similar literature recently.
An SNP spokesperson said Labour had become a “chaotic spectacle”.
Labour is expecting to lose all its first-past-the-post MSPs at next year’s Holyrood election, but secure around 25 members on the regional Lists.
The shift has triggered a stampede amongst existing MSPs and activists for the top List places, which are determined by party members.
Leader Kezia Dugdale has been clear she wants fresh blood in her group, which could result in so-called ‘deadwood’ MSPs being cleared out.
Candidates were informed earlier this month of whether they had made the shortlist for their region.
The successful applicants were then able to buy party membership lists and contact potential supporters ahead of ballot papers coming out.
Last week, at which point candidates were able contact party members directly, voters in McMahon’s Central Scotland region received a copy of her newsletter through the post.
The document flagged up the MSP’s campaign to abolish non-residential social care charges and featured over a dozen pictures of her at events.
It also stated that she was “on the side of trade unions”, which can play a key role in internal selections.
The newsletter was paid for out of parliamentary funds as MSPs have a budget for sending out publications every year.
There are no restrictions on how often MSPs can communicate with their constituents in this way, but no publications can be issued within 4 months of a Holyrood election.
This means any newsletters are allowed before January 5th.
However, there are no rules barring MSPs from sending out materials during internal selection contests.
McMahon’s publication was sent to Central Scotland voters, who include party members.
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing, but the Holyrood expenses rules appear to give incumbents an advantage in internal List rankings.
A party source said McMahon would not be the only MSP to use her publications budget in this way, adding:
“It is not against the rules, but it looks like electioneering.”
Meanwhile, it has emerged that publication of the Labour shortlists was delayed due to a row in the Mid Scotland and Fife region.
Craig Miller, an MSP’s assistant, had initially been kept off the shortlist, but the snub triggered a row on the Labour floor at Holyrood.
Millar wrote on Facebook that he was “naturally” disappointed not to have made the cut.
However, the decision was reversed and he wrote: “Very pleased that I have been short listed for the Mid Scotland & Fife regional list.”
Asked how many people, as well as Labour members, received her newsletter, McMahon said: “My newsletter was sent to constituents across the Central Scotland Region. It was also sent to relevant stakeholders including community groups, charities, primary and secondary schools. The newsletter was approved by the Parliament.”
An SNP spokesperson said: “Labour’s infighting across the country is becoming a chaotic spectacle. If they put in half the effort fighting for other people’s jobs as they spend fighting amongst themselves for their own careers, their support might not have collapsed as badly as it has.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel