THE Tory sleaze row could “enhance” the number of people voting Yes in indyref2, the Justice Secretary has said.
Boris Johnson and his Tory government have been mired in corruption claims after a botched attempt to save now former MP Owen Paterson from suspension. Paterson was found to have been paid £100,000 to lobby ministers and officials on behalf of two companies.
The issue of MPs' second jobs has dominated the UK newspaper headlines for almost two weeks, with Johnson recently likening his handling of the Paterson scandal to “crashing a car into a ditch”.
Leader of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg has also found himself under fire for his role in pushing through an amendment in the House of Commons which intended to establish a review of the MP standards investigation process.
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However, this was quickly scrapped as the government was forced into a screeching U-turn the next day by the public backlash.
Rees-Mogg even claimed he “encouraged” the Prime Minister to defend Paterson, appearing to take responsibility for the scandal and watering down Johnson’s involvement.
Now, Justice Secretary Keith Brown has said that the behaviour of the Tory government will undoubtedly push more people towards voting Yes in indyref2.
Asked if he thinks the current stories of corruption and MPs' second jobs coming from Westminster help the Yes case, Brown said: “I do think there’s a particular group of former No voters, people who voted No in 2014, who have just been appalled by what they’ve seen as almost like the disintegration of the British state.
"Whether it's proroguing Parliament or signing an international treaty you then renounce two minutes later, or some of the behaviour of the Tory party.
Brown said that he believes the Tories behaviour will boost Yes vote
“I think those people are turning away from that prospect of a UK which they formerly respected as an international actor and they’ve lost that respect for it.
“I think that would probably enhance the number of people looking to vote Yes at a future referendum.”
Asked if he believes a second referendum will take place in 2023, as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said and is a manifesto commitment for the SNP, Brown (pictured below) said he was confident.
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He said: “It’s all down to Covid as the First Minister has said, she’s been absolutely consistent on that.
“It depends on the situation with Covid, if we’re through the crisis of the pandemic then there’s no reason why we can’t proceed with a referendum.
“And that’s the only thing that should be any kind of bar to moving forward to the referendum.”
A UK government spokesperson said: “As we’ve said many times before, our focus is on tackling Covid-19 and supporting the economic recovery through our plan for jobs.
“Scottish people have been clear that they want to see the UK Government and the devolved Scottish Government working together to defeat this pandemic.
“And we are providing a record £41 billion per year – the largest annual funding settlement in over 20 years - to the Scottish Government to improve the lives of people in communities across Scotland.”
It comes as accusations of corruption against the UK Government have intensified after a Tory minister said officials have been “unable to locate” minutes of talks held between a health minister, Randox and Paterson (pictured below).
The opposition want to force Johnson’s administration into releasing a record of meetings between ministers, officials and the diagnostics company amid concerns over how nearly £600 million of Covid testing contracts were awarded to the firm.
And, the SNP called for two days of debate on “Government sleaze and corruption”, and for more discussion of “cash for honours” in the House of Lords.
Speaking to Commons leader Rees-Mogg, SNP MP Pete Wishart said that the Tory had “defied every single rule and principle of political gravity” by staying in his job amid the row.
Wishart added: “We do need at least two days of debate on all the issues around Government sleaze and corruption, and we need to see the Prime Minister leading those debates.”
However, Rees-Mogg claimed MPs have spent “quite enough time” debating their own standards and should focus on issues that impact their constituents.
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