THE SNP have hit back at “deeply insulting” comments from a Labour peer who claimed the Scottish Government was acting as an “elected dictatorship”.
George Foulkes, who sits in the House of Lords as Baron Foulkes of Cumnock, said earlier this week that he would be “intensifying” his campaign to get the UK Government to step in and prevent its Scottish counterpart spending in reserved areas.
Foulkes wrote on Twitter/X: “When @UKHouseofLords returns on Monday I will be intensifying my campaign to stop illegal spending by @scotgov.
“An elected dictatorship is always wrong but when it is a devolved government there is a way it can be stopped if the UK Government exercises its responsibility.”
Once again for those at the back. Scottish Ministers can only spend money that had been approved by Parliament. If there are to be further then those will be restrictions above and beyond those already imposed on the Scottish Parliament https://t.co/9FIu8qmJCQ
— Andy Wightman (@andywightman) August 30, 2023
The Labour peer, a former MP and MSP, has previously had cabinet secretary Simon Case, the most senior civil servant in the UK, publicly confirm that he had officials probing Scottish spending on independence.
Case was accused of having a partisan agenda after he said it would be “a bit worrying” if the SNP-Green government was using public money to prepare a case for independence.
The news came despite Michael Gove seeking to hire two civil servants to make the case for the Union.
First Minister Humza Yousaf has previously said his government is confident in its legal right to spend money in areas such as independence – and the salary of Minister for Independence Jamie Hepburn (below).
Responding to Foulkes, SNP MSP Stuart McMillan said his comments would be “deeply insulting” to Scottish voters.
The Greenock and Inverclyde MSP said: "Lord Foulkes' comments illustrate the Labour party’s contempt for Scotland’s democracy.
“It is deeply insulting to voters for an unelected peer in Westminster to be dismissing the democratically elected Scottish Government.
“People across Scotland can see clearly that neither pro-Brexit Labour Party or the pro-austerity Tories have any interest in standing up for Scotland and the only way for Scotland to be part of a true partnership of equals is through independence.”
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Fellow SNP MSP Kevin Stewart wrote previously: "George proving his buffoonery once again by using the phrase 'elected dictatorship'.
"He will never get over the fact that the people have voted the way that they have and not the way that he wishes."
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The First Minister has appointed a ministerial team that reflects the priorities that he will pursue in government – including tackling child poverty, improving public services, building a fairer, greener economy, and giving people the information about devolution and independence that they need to make an informed choice about Scotland's constitutional future.
“It is the role of the civil service to support the elected government of the day in developing and implementing its policies.”
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