The SNP has been accused by opponents of attempting to install a party loyalist as Holyrood’s next Presiding Officer in a bid to avoid full scrutiny of the government.
Sources told The Herald that senior figures in John Swinney's party have been lobbying for their SNP colleague Clare Haughey to win the prestigious and highly influential post, which will be decided in a secret ballot of MSPs on Thursday.
They contend it is a move to stop another SNP MSP Kenny Gibson - who is highly regarded across the political spectrum and known for robust questioning of ministers as a committee convener in the last parliament - from getting the post.
Ms Haughey snubbed a hustings event for candidates on Wednesday but attended a private event for SNP MSPs. She is vying for the role against the Lib Dems’ Liam McArthur, and Mr Gibson and fellow SNP MSP Stuart McMillan.
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The £136,112 per year role is seen as especially vital given the divided nature of opposition parties in the new parliament, with Labour and Reform tied on 17 seats, the Scottish Greens on 15, the Tories on 12 and the Liberal Democrats on 10.
Although the Presiding Officer will be decided in a secret ballot, The Herald has been told that some SNP figures have been lobbying the SNP’s 58 MSPs, urging them to back Ms Haughey.
Some MSPs said they saw Ms Haughey’s candidacy as an overt attempt to install an SNP loyalist in the presiding officer’s chair, who would help the government avoid scrutiny.
In a manifesto circulated to MSPs, Ms Haughey insisted she had demonstrated “cross-party working in a non-partisan way” through her previous work on committees, and had a “track record” of challenging government.
However, the claims were dismissed by some opponents, who said she had shown herself incapable of the traits required to become an impartial presiding officer.
"I see that there is lobbying going on for Clare Haughey," one MSP told The Herald.
"Clare Haughey in my view would be awful as Presiding Officer. She is one of the most partisan people. I think the prospectus that Kenny and Liam have put forward have got a lot of people talking. Both of them are highly regarded in the parliament."
The MSP added: "In the first round of voting I will be voting for Kenny to make sure he goes through. I don't know who I will vote for after that."
A senior Labour source told The Times: “Clare Haughey is probably the single most violently partisan member of the parliament."
They added: “There is clearly a government candidate, and that’s Clare Haughey. In a divided parliament, to put someone incapable of working cross-party in that position would be dangerous. She would be absolutely awful.”
Another MSP said Ms Haughey’s failure to attend cross-party hustings but appear at an SNP-only event, which also saw Mr McArthur excluded, said “all you needed to know” about her candidacy. “She clearly thinks she doesn’t need to worry about us minions in the opposition,” they said.
Mr McArthur was initially reluctant to stand for the post, due to concerns about his Orkney constituency, after the Lib Dems lost Shetland to the SNP at the election. However, he was persuaded to run by colleagues.
He is well-liked across the parties and respected for how he took his assisted dying bill through the last parliament. The bill was defeated but many MSPs believed he worked collegiately, listened to critics and did not demonise opponents.
Mr Gibson, who won plaudits for his work running Holyrood’s finance committee in the last term and has been known to defy the SNP leadership, is pledging to be a radical reformer who would shake-up the devolved parliament.
At the unofficial hustings on Wednesday, which was well attended by MSPs, he said debates in the parliament had become stale and Holyrood needed a radical cultural change.
He told MSPs: “We are not paid to read out loud for a living. We are here to exchange ideas and information. In 27 years, that’s still not happened. If I was the presiding officer, I’d make sure that did happen.”
Mr McMillan, the Inverclyde MSP, is also seen as an SNP loyalist but is viewed as the outsider in the race. MSPs will vote in a secret ballot, with the lowest-ranked candidate eliminated and new rounds of voting taking place until one wins a majority.
The new presiding officer will have to deal with the emergence of Reform UK as a force in the chamber, and resolve a dispute over who gets the first turn at First Ministers’ Questions after the tie for second place.
Reform UK have won a first victory, after it was decided they will occupy seats traditionally sat in by the second party.
The outgoing presiding officer, Alison Johnstone, took the decision on the basis that Malcolm Offord’s surname is before Anas Sarwar’s alphabetically.
An update from David McGill, the chief executive of the parliament, said: “The implications of the election result on other aspects of parliamentary business, such as First Minister’s Questions and speaking times in debates, will be considered by the new presiding officer in consultation with the parliamentary bureau, and members will be advised in due course.”
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