SNP MPs could put Conservatives into top Commons jobs – but will they?
Now, this is interesting!
Tory MPs are crawling to the SNP for support in their bids to get £15,000-a-year pay rises as chairs of select committees.
There’s no way of knowing who votes for whom – the ballots are secret – but if Conservatives get any of these top jobs, we’ll have some very serious questions to ask the nationalists!
Tory MPs are being accused of hypocrisy for turning to Scottish nationalists for support in landing plum jobs at the House of Commons.
Their plea for help comes despite weeks of Conservative election scaremongering over the “frightening” prospect of Labour cutting backroom deals with the SNP.
Now they are seeking SNP support themselves to chair select committees with an £82,000-a-year salary.
Chairing a select committee is a highly prestigious role that comes with a £15,000-a-year pay rise on top of the standard £67,000 MPs’ salary.
They are chosen by a secret ballot of all MPs at the start of each Parliament.
Nothing untoward about canvassing for support as Chairmanship is not a party appointment but by election on the individual votes of all MPs. For example, the last chaır of the DWP Commıttee was Dame Anne Begg, who was a Labour MP, Margaret Hodge, Accounts Committee too…both of who received high praise from all sides on their skills of commıttee leadership. .
Error!
You simply can’t ignore any possible dig at the SNP, can you Mike? As Andy has said, committee chairmen have always been cross-party and well-mixed. I am glad of that too, since, although the outcomes of investigations may not beat a majority government, it’s often the only way the government’s machinations can get to the general public ear.
We’ll just see what happens.
I should have added the obvious. If Tories get top jobs, the most likely reason is that Tories voted for them. Duh!
Then why do they need anybody else’s vote?
Because there maybe more than one candidate for the post?
Yes indeed – from any party with an MP in Parliament.
Indeed, as I pointed out in my first comment in relatıon to two Labour MPs, Anne Begg and Margaret Hodge each chairing a commıttee under the coalition government…….Salmond for Foreign Affairs Commiıttee, anyone?!!
Are you saying Anne Begg and Margaret Hodge wrote begging letters to Tory MPs or Plaid Cymru, or the DUP, in order to chair those committees?
Let’s see the evidence, then.
No, not at all. I have no ıdea what canvassıng, if any, they did. My poiınt was that to be the chair of a committee one does not have to be a member of the ruling party.
No doubt, lıke the forthcomıng election of a Labour Party leader the candidates are free to canvas support among those eligible to vote.