THEY seek him here, they seek him there, but all they get is an empty chair….
“Absent” Alister Jack lived up to his nickname when he failed to attend a climate change hustings in his Dumfries and Galloway constituency.
While all the other parliamentary candidates turned up, the Secretary of State for Scotland was “empty chaired” at the meeting in Castle Douglas.
All four confirmed candidates for the Dumfries and Galloway seat were invited to the hustings, organised by the Dumfries and Galloway Climate Change Group.
Jack said he had a prior commitment and MSP Finlay Carson would appear instead of him.
“They said fine to that but then they wanted to know what Westminster thinks and they didn’t want to hear from [Carson] even though he said he could speak for the Conservatives.
“I’m doing the next three hustings, I had prior engagement on Friday.”
Jack has recently been criticised for failing to ask any questions in Parliament since February 14 despite taking an annual salary of £149,605.
“Not one question on why Northern Ireland farmers are getting tariff-free access to EU markets and a ‘cracking deal’, yet Dumfries and Galloway farmers do not deserve the same,” said constituent John Schofield.
“Not one concern about the devastating welfare cuts that his Government have forced on his constituency. Not one.”
Jack said he couldn’t ask questions as he was appointed a Government Whip in February and “Government Whips don’t speak in the Chamber.”
Whips by convention do not speak in debate but since February the SNP’s chief whip, Patrick Grady, has spoken a total of 53 times.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here