ONE of Scottish Labour’s rising stars is under pressure to ditch a series of company directorships in line with the party’s proposed ban on second jobs for MSPs.
Businessman Daniel Johnson, who took Edinburgh Southern from the SNP on election night, currently has four directorships in family firms.
Pauline McNeill, the former MSP who was re-elected in Glasgow after a five-year absence, is also faced with cutting her links to a consultancy she set up while outside Holyrood.
Labour’s manifesto states the party would “ban second jobs for MSPs”, adding: “Serving the people of Scotland in the Scottish Parliament is a privilege. It should be the only job MSPs do. We will ban MSPs from holding paid directorships and consultancies.”
Labour’s democracy spokesperson Claire Baker repeated the commitment immediately after the election, saying: “We will push for a ban on MSPs holding second jobs.”
The hard line is an issue for Johnson and McNeill - the only Labour MSPs affected.
However Johnson, 38, said he planned to reduce, rather than end, his company dealings.
He has been a director of family business Aspidistra Ltd since November 2005.
Its most recent accounts, for the year ending 31 July 2015, show it had net assets of £6.1m.
The company paid £575,000 for shops on three streets in Edinburgh, including Paper Tiger and Studio One in Stafford Street that Johnson ran until Christmas as managing director.
Since 2001, Johnson has also been a director of a related company Aspidistra Property Ltd.
In addition, he has been a director and 50 per cent shareholder of Over the Counter Ltd since 2008, and a director and the sole shareholder of Stripe Retail Ltd since 2011.
He told the Sunday Herald yesterday that his main financial interests were in Over The Counter Ltd and Stripe Retail Ltd, and that he planned to remain a shareholder but “not have much dealing on a day-to-day basis, just the odd board meeting”.
He said he wanted to reduce his interests down to a single company. “It won’t be immediately. My intention is that within the next 12 months to probably reduce it. I need to talk to my accounts and lawyer. I probably will be the director of one limited company, to keep it as transparent as possible. I also want to concentrate on my job as an MSP.”
McNeill, 53, the MSP for Glasgow Kelvin from 1999 to 2011 until she was beaten by the SNP’s Sandra White, also has two company directorships according to Companies House.
Last November, she founded the public affairs consultancy McNeill & Stone Ltd with Tory Sara Stone, a former Downing Street adviser to David Cameron.
McNeill is a co-director and 50 per cent shareholder in the firm with Stone.
Since December 2013, McNeill has also been a director and shareholder of the Nationwide Milk Service Ltd, although this company is currently appears to be dormant.
McNeill yesterday said she has resigned from the Nationwide Milk Service, but was still taking advice on her future relationship with McNeill & Stone.
She said: “I will be following the Labour manifesto commitment and not take on any employment or consultancy. I just need to work out how I do that and not completely abandon my business partner and make sure she can continue what we started to build.”
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