Interests of Members of the Scottish Parliament Bill: Stage 1

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at 4:23 pm on 14 December 2005.

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Photo of Tommy Sheridan Tommy Sheridan SSP 4:23, 14 December 2005

It was wonderful to hear Margaret Smith claim that I misrepresented the Edinburgh accommodation allowance, but she did not tell me how I had misrepresented it. When she said that we should have a review of the scheme, I could not have agreed more. She and I agree that, in representing their constituents, MSPs—who, by the way, are treated much better than other public servants in the recompense that they receive for travel and accommodation—should not be out of pocket. However, what I and the rest of the people of Scotland are opposed to—which the Parliament would have opposed as well, if members had been aware of it at the time—is MSPs privately profiting from the use of an allowance scheme from public funds. That is the issue.

Mike Rumbles said that not a penny of public money was used to purchase his property. I will need to take his word for that because when I asked whether we provide 100 per cent mortgages to MSPs, I was told that I was not entitled to that information. However, I know that Mike Rumbles has received £49,000-worth of mortgage interest payments since the erection of the Parliament. The point is that, when he comes to sell on his property—