THEY may not have been “bought and sold for English gold” as Robert Burns wrote of the Scottish parliamentarians who voted for the 1707 Act but it emerged at the weekend that more than half of Scotland’s Tory MPs now have jobs in Theresa May’s Government.
With David Mundell in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Scotland, no fewer than six of the 13 Scottish Tory MPs have been made Parliamentary Private Secretaries (PPS) in various government departments.
Last August it was announced that Alister Jack, MP for Dumfries and Galloway, had been made PPS to Conservative Lords’ leader Baroness Evans, while East Renfrewshire MP Paul Masterton was made PPS at the Home Office, and Ochil and South Perthshire MP Luke Graham became team PPS at the Cabinet Office.
There was no official announcement that Andrew Bowie, MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire, became Theresa May’s second PPS in the between Christmas and New Year. Kirstene Hair, MP for Angus, has been appointed PPS to the junior justice ministers, while Gordon MP Colin Clark is now PPS at the Department of Work and Pensions.
According to the New Statesman, both Colin Clark and Jack signed a European Research Group letter demanding “full regulatory autonomy” for the UK after Brexit. Both voted in favour of Theresa May’s deal on Tuesday, as did all seven on the Government payroll, but Douglas Ross, John Lamont and Ross Thomson voted against which at least should make for interesting discussions at the Tory group’s meetings.
A Conservative Party spokesman said: “We’re proud that Scottish Conservatives have been deemed so successful in their work as MPs that they’ve been promoted within government.”
An SNP spokesperson said: “The Tories have broken their promise to stand up for Scotland, and their shameful record on matters such as Brexit, austerity and the power grab on devolution proves this.”
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