That's it then, Labour has chosen a new functionary of its group in Parliament. From a field of three Labour has managed to choose the only one who has lost a Parliamentary seat (to the Conservatives who still hold the seat they took from him) and the one who devised that stunning Labour tactic in the budget of winning their amendment but abstaining on the vote. Marvellous!
Didn't take him long to tell his first lie. Here's a bit from his victory speech:
I was a founder member of the Scottish Parliament Labour created and my name is on the first legislation it ever passed.That'll come as a surprise to Jim Wallace who piloted the first legislation through Parliament (emergency legislation called the Mental Health (Public Safety and Appeals) Act). His deputy was Angus MacKay.
So was Iain Gray's name on the first regular piece of legislation to pass? Well, that was the Public Finance and Accountability Act which was introduced by Jack McConnell, supported by Jim Wallace, Wendy Alexander and Tom McCabe.
With a dedication to truth of that quality, Godammitgate will have a successor ...
7 comments:
Calum,
I'm afraid your wrong. Take a look at this list of Session 1 bills in order (scroll down a wee bit) - the first bill passed on the books was the
Mental Health (Public Safety and Appeals) (Scotland) Bill
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/bills/billsnotInProgress/index.htm
- and Jim Wallace and Iain Gray's names are on it.
Kez
Kezia, you're Labour's top researcher - here's the link to the Act (it was then a Bill) which I identified as being first and which you've agreed was first.
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/bills/billsPassed/b1s1-en.pdf
On the final page (6) you'll find
Introduced by: Jim Wallace
On: 31 August 1999
Bill Type: Executive Bill
For contrast, here's the second one - the Public Finance one:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/bills/billsPassed/b2s2.pdf
On the final page (30) you will find:
Introduced by: Mr Jack McConnell
On: 7 September 1999
Supported by: Mr Jim Wallace, Ms Wendy Alexander, Mr Tom McCabe
Bill Type: Executive Bill
Not a good start by Iain, he'd better *ahem* "up his game".
CC
Gray is there fir one reason and one reason only - nuclear power.
He's Londons Nuclear Power candidate and is there to help steamroller environmental daeath into Scotland
Interesting theory there, but I think Labour politicians are worrying about a whole range of things at the moment, including whether their party can survive this bedlam into which it has fallen.
Calum,
I wholeheartedly refute the suggestion that I'm Labour's top researcher and so, I would imagine, would most of them..!
Thanks for the thought though
Kez
Oh, there's so many things that could be said ...
As you note the first bill was piloted through by Jim Wallace (and his name is the only one on the bill). To be fair to Iain Gray he did wind up the debate on day 1 (2nd September 1999). However, he had no involvement in the committee stage (which was on the floor of the whole Parliament) on 8th September 1999 when the only Executive representative to speak was Jim Wallace.
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