SNP committee ‘power grab’ likened to ‘putting Dracula in charge of a blood bank’

Allowing the SNP to take the top jobs in key Holyrood committees is like “putting Dracula in charge of a blood bank”, a Tory MSP has said.

Craig Hoy accused the SNP of a “power grab” after the governing party sought both the convenorship and deputy convenorship of the key Finance Committee.

It has done the same for criminal justice and public service reform.

Hoy said the SNP was trying to “hijack” the panel and could put up “a pair of party patsies” for the scrutineer roles.

Referring to the embezzlement by ex-SNP chief executive Peter Murrell and the row over party finances, he told the chamber: “It is sadly predictable that this secretive SNP government has grabbed those two vitally important positions.

“With MSPs quite rightly concerned about a £5bn pound budget black hole, would it not have been better for the SNP to allow opposition politicians to lead the scrutiny of the government's finances?

“Has John Swinney learnt no lessons from the SNP financial scandal about the importance of transparency and independent audit about the separation of powers? Clearly not; they have learned no lessons.”

He added: “MSPs from all parties across this Chamber were elected to this Parliament to question the government and to safeguard their constituents' interests and the taxes they pay, but this power grab on the Finance Committee is akin to putting Dracula in charge of a blood bank.”

A motion agreeing the establishment of committees for session seven of the Scottish Parliament was lodged yesterday and taken today.

Put forward by parliamentary business minister Jamie Hepburn, it confirms that 16 committees will be established, with convenorships decided after discussions between parties.

Hepburn said the decisions had been made “collaboratively”, with allocation of places related to Holyrood’s use of the D’Hondt electoral system.

The minister, who had to quit the same job in the last parliament after an altercation with former Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, said the SNP would be “entitled to more committee places” than it had agreed under the D’Hondt formula, and could have argued for three more.

Tory Stephen Kerr accused the SNP of being “obsessed” with process and said the “optics” of the situation were “unseemly”.

Hepburn called Hoy’s position “desperate” and said the SNP would have a minority presence on every committee. He said party business managers had “made their choices” and “every single decision has been taken in line with the standing orders of this parliament”.

Accusing Hoy of advancing a “cry me a river” argument, Hepburn said previous administrations had also held these convenorships, stating: “I'm afraid to say you can cry about it all you want. There's nothing new here.”

Current presiding officer Kenneth Gibson was the SNP convenor of the Finance Committee in the last parliamentary term.

The nomination period for committee convenors is now open and closes at 1pm on Tuesday, after which a ballot will take place.

The list of committees, convenorships and deputy convenorships is as follows:

Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee Convenor: SNP; deputy convenor: Scottish Conservative Party

Finance Committee Convenor: SNP; deputy convenor : SNP

Public Audit Committee Convenor: Scottish Labour Party; deputy convenor: SNP

Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee Convenor: Scottish Green Party; deputy convenor: Reform UK

Equalities and Human Rights Committee Convenor: SNP; deputy convenor: Scottish Conservative Party

Public Petitions Committee Convenor: Scottish Labour Party; deputy convenor: Scottish National Party

Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee Convenor: SNP; deputy convenor; Scottish Green Party

Climate Action Committee Convenor: SNP; deputy convenor: Scottish Green Party

Criminal Justice Committee Convenor: SNP; deputy convenor SNP

Economy, Tourism and Energy Committee Convenor: Reform UK; deputy convenor: Scottish Labour Party

Education and Gaelic Committee Convenor: SNP; deputy convenor: Scottish Labour Party

Health, Care and Sport Committee Convenor: Reform UK; deputy convenor: SNP

Public Service Reform Committee Convenor: SNP; deputy convenor: SNP

Rural Affairs Committee Convenor: Scottish Green Party; deputy convenor: Scottish Liberal Democrats

Social Justice, Housing and Local Government Committee Convenor: Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party; deputy convenor: Reform UK

Transport Committee Convenor: Scottish Liberal Democrats; deputy convenor: SNP