Holyrood’s limited ability to sack wayward MSPs needs to change, the Conservative and Lib Dem have said.
Willie Rennie said the Scottish Parliament’s lack of sanction meant “scandal-bound MSPs can sit on the backbenches claiming a full salary for years until the next election comes around without the voters having a say.”
The call comes as the recall petition in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency of the disgraced former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier draws to a close after six weeks.
READ MORE: Humza Yousaf faces byelection 'thumping' as SNP support evaporates
Westminster passed the Recall of MPs Act in 2015, which gives voters the power to start the process of sacking their representatives.
If an MP has been sent to jail, if they are suspended from the House for more than 10 sitting days or if they make false or misleading allowance claims, then a recall petition is opened for six weeks.
If 10% of voters add their names to the petition then the MP immediately loses their seat.
Conservative MSP Graham Simpson is currently taking a Member’s Bill through Holyrood which would introduce a similar process for the Scottish Parliament.
It could go further than the Westminster law and see MSPs who do not participate in parliamentary proceedings for a given period without valid reason automatically removed.
That is, in part, a response to Derek Mackay continuing to collect his MSP salary despite not returning to parliament after he was caught pestering a 16-year-old with creepy text messages in 2020.
He received around £130,000 in wages and resettlement grants.
So far Mr Simpson’s Removal from Office and Recall (Members of the Scottish Parliament) Bill has only been backed by Tory MSPs and two Labour backbenchers.
Mr Rennie previously backed some form of recall system following the scandal around Bill Walker, the SNP MSP who was sentenced to 12 months in jail after being found guilty of a string of attacks against his three ex-wives and a stepdaughter.
READ MORE: Scottish Labour gear up for 'seismic' recall byelection in Rutherglen
While the Lib Dem did not say that he and his colleagues could support the Tory MSP’s Bill, he said there needed to be a “route map” to show how voters could sack politicians in cases of proven misconduct.
He said: “With a recall by-election on the cards in Rutherglen and Hamilton West, I think a lot of Scots will be looking at the Scottish Parliament and wondering why there is no similar system in place to let them have their say.
“Scandal-bound MSPs can sit on the backbenches claiming a full salary for years until the next election comes around without the voters having a say.
“The Scottish Parliament should have serious sanctions for people who behave inappropriately and a route map for how to sack MSPs in cases of proven misconduct.
“We cannot be the only workplace in the country where there are no rules. Even the UK Parliament has had legislation applying to the recall of MPs since 2015.
“After parliamentary scandals involving MSPs like Bill Walker, I set out the principles that I believe should govern such a system, even addressing the Standards Committee on this matter, but I have been frustrated by the lack of willingness on the part of the Scottish Government to do anything more than mouth platitudes.
“There must be consequences for politicians and the decision about whether someone is fit for post should ultimately rest with the people who put them there.”
Mr Simpson said: “Willie Rennie says a lot of Scots will be wondering why the Scottish parliament has no recall system for MSPs.
“That’s why I have introduced a members bill that would do exactly that, the final version of which was lodged nearly a year ago.
“I look forward to getting the support of Willie Rennie and his colleagues, who have not yet backed my proposals, as the bill progresses. It is vital that MSPs who fall foul of the rules can be removed.”
READ MORE: UNSPUN: Patrick Grady is the latest example of a politician clinging on for life
Ms Ferrier’s recall petition was triggered after MPs backed a thirty-day suspension from the Commons over her pandemic rule breaches and subsequent criminal conviction.
The MP was found guilty of culpable and reckless conduct at Glasgow Sheriff Court last August after she admitted travelling on a train in September 2020 despite knowing she had Covid.
She also spoke in the Commons and visited a number of locations in her seat, including a mass in St Mungo’s church and a bar in Prestwick while waiting on the results of a Covid test.
After the positive result came through, she lied to colleagues and said she had to go home to visit a sick relative.
She was ordered to carry out 270 hours of community service after pleading guilty to wilfully exposing people “to the risk of infection, illness and death”.
The petition closes at 5pm on Monday, with the result expected on Tuesday evening.
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