ANGER was growing last night as Douglas Ross, the Tory MP for Moray who doubles as an assistant football referee, ran the line at the glittering Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona rather than take part in the crucial debate on Universal Credit in the House of Commons.
Prime Minister Theresa May was forced to defend her MP in the row over Ross’s decision to earn more than £1400 as the assistant referee in the Barcelona v Olympiacos Champions League match rather than attend the debate on the fixing and pausing of the roll-out of Universal Credit, the Tories’ keynote policy that combines several benefits into one.
Falkirk SNP MP John McNally raised the refereeing issue at Prime Minister’s Questions, waving a red card at May and demanding answers on Ross’s absence.
McNally said: “Does this Prime Minister notice I am wearing a red card in my pocket today?
“She will be aware the Honourable Member for Moray is not in his place. Indeed, he is in Barcelona doing his other job, today of all days.
“What signal does she think this sends to hard-working members of the public who are expected to turn up for their day jobs or face sanctions?”
May replied to Tory cheers: “I think the constituents of Moray will be very pleased that they have a Conservative Member of Parliament who is [looking after] their interests in this house. And I can say that the Scottish Conservative members are doing more for the interests of Scotland in this Parliament than the Scottish nationalists have ever done.”
Mhairi Black, the SNP MP for Paisley, said: “It is beyond belief that while people across Scotland are being driven into poverty, debt, and destitution by the disastrous roll-out of Universal Credit, part-time Tory MP Douglas Ross is leaving his constituents without a voice or a vote in this key debate in order to make money on a football match.
“Tory MPs have never looked and sounded so out of touch with reality as they do in this debate.
“The Tory Government must now call a halt to the roll-out of Universal Credit, and serial absentee Douglas Ross must call time on his highly lucrative refereeing career.”
Earlier a Downing Street spokesman said: “The member in question has said this does not interfere with his parliamentary duties and he would not do anything that would do so.
“On some of these debates we may say to MPs if you feel your time can be better spent elsewhere, then [they should].
“You will see Tory MPs who take an interest in this speak in the debate and of course you will have ministers speak from the Despatch Box.”
It emerged yesterday that up to 650 people in Moray may be Universal Credit claimants – according to House of Commons figures – and could be faced with major issues seen throughout the country wherever Universal credit has started.
SNP councillors in Moray condemned the failure of Ross to stand up for struggling families in the region.
The SNP group said that in neighbouring Highland, delays in payments following transition to Universal Credit have resulted in significant hardship and a major increase in rent arrears to the council as claimants struggle with the changes, battling to pay the most basic household bills.
Paula Coy, an SNP councillor for Elgin City North. said: “Hundreds of people in Moray will be affected by changes to Universal Credit, which have seen people elsewhere being left facing debt problems and unable to properly feed their families and heat their homes.
“This debate in the House of Commons is a major opportunity for MPs to stand up for some of their hardest pressed constituents but our own MP will be absent from any vote while he pockets substantial additional income refereeing in Barcelona.
“If a claimant failed to turn up at the Job Centre they can be sanctioned and see their support cut. Perhaps Mr Ross should be sanctioned for failing to turn up and represent Moray in parliament.”
Responding to the criticism, a spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said: “Despite what the SNP thinks, the people of Moray are right behind Douglas and his refereeing, as they showed decisively when they elected him as their MP just a few months ago.”
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