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« Show Scotland is United against fascism this Saturday | Main | Sillars challenges the SNP to drop opposition to NATO and Trident »

November 15, 2009

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Monty said:

"your original quote isn't in the SNP speech, that's the one where he's touting for financial business in Harvard and citing Scotland as a good place to do that business."

Indeed, Monty, and my earlier post specifically said that I was using two different sources from two different times. I was just trying to underline the point that things woudldn't have been a whole lot different if the SNP had been responsible for financial regulation rather than Labour in Westminster.

As for the speech/interview conundrum, perhaps it was the same text used for both mediums (not unusual) or maybe someone made a slight error about the medium, but either way it doesn't seem of great significance, particuarly if you say you don't doubt that the words in question came from Alex Salmond.

Joan, thanks for the response, and indeed it is better to be correct than consistent, but the essence of the point I was trying to make was that it wouldn't have mattered if Scotland had been indepedent or if Labour/The Tories/The Lib Dems had been in power at Westminster.

But of course hindsight is a wonderful thing for the politicians!!

I'll leave Stuart and Monty to slug it out over who said what when. However, Stuart, I would point out that I understand that the SNP's uncritical embrace of the banks caused them problems a year ago when they collapsed. But there is no harm in changing your position in response to events. Better to be correct than consistent. The SNP's economic policies are analysed by the Cuthberts in Gerry Hassan's book, The Modern SNP. I blogged about it here
http://joanmcalpine.typepad.com/joan_mcalpine/2009/10/httpwwwtimesonlinecouktolnewsukscotlandarticle6879415ece.html

Hi Stuart, your original quote isn't in the SNP speech, that's the one where he's touting for financial business in Harvard and citing Scotland as a good place to do that business.

The original quote is even murkier now.

David Lister writes "Mr Salmond told The Times: "


Angus McLeod, with no apparent knowledge of the original quote writes a year later,

"Labour hit back last night by challenging Mr Salmond over his criticisms of the UK's light-touch regulation of the banking sector as a major contributor to the financial crisis.

They released an extract from a speech by Mr Salmond during last year's Scottish election campaign in which he said: “We are pledging a light-touch regulation suitable to a Scottish financial sector with its outstanding reputation for probity.."

Thus citing the source as Labour, hence my surprise that it's not catalogued anywhere else. I don't doubt he said it, I just hate inconsistencies, what with being full of them myself!

cheers

Monty

I linked the sources to the text, but it seems HTML doesn't work in the comments section - my apologies.

The links are

Alex Salmond quoted in the Times:

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article1624032.ece

My letter to the Scotsman:

http://heritage.scotsman.com/opinion/Another-fine-mess.5415831.jp

Alex Salmond's speech on SNP website:

http://www.snp.org/node/13617

My blog post:

http://planet-politics.blogspot.com/2009/09/cross-party-consistency.html

Montague

Are you disputing Alex Salmond actually said this and/or alluding that Angus Macleod or someone else is being dishonest?

I actually got the quote from another Times article from before the 2007 Holyrood elections, which (supposedly) quotes from what Alex Salmond told the newspaper:

"Mr Salmond told The Times: “We are pledging a light-touch regulation suitable to a Scottish financial sector with its outstanding reputation for probity, as opposed to one like that in the UK, which absorbs huge amounts of management time in ‘gold-plated’ regulation.”"

I also used the same quote in a letter to the Scotsman earlier this year, and I can't recall it being disputed.

Here's another cracker that I've used before. Note that it's from April 2008, thus little more than a year and a half ago:

"And of course we Scots are lucky enough to have the one of the best brands in the world - a global recognition and affection for our culture that money cannot buy.

"Take financial services. With RBS and HBOS - two of the world's biggest banks - Scotland has global leaders today, tomorrow and for the long-term."

While you're still probably casting doubt upon the veracity of statements made by Joan's colleaguew, unfortunately that one's from a speech by Alex Salmond reproduced on the SNP website.

Not that I'm having a go at Mr Salmond in particular, it's just the fact that although he's a highly capable individual and an economist to boot he's still a fallible human being and, worse still, a politician to his core. And please see this post on my blog pointing out the cross-party consistency of the major parties in this regard ;0)

#Stuart

"We are pledging a light-touch regulation suitable to a Scottish financial sector with its outstanding reputation for probity, as opposed to one like that in the UK, which absorbs huge amounts of management time in ‘gold-plated’ regulation."

You know it's interesting that the earliest placing of the above paragraph I can find on-line is in the Times of October 17th 2008, shortly before the Glenrothes by-election.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article4959115.ece

Wherein Angus McLeod refers to the statement given to him by Labour, who released an extract from a speech made by Salmond during the Holyrood election campaign of 2007.

Now call me a posturing mountebank, if you must, but I'd rather read the original statement and the context within which it was given, than simply regurgitate a Labour party press release.

Oddly enough I can't find it anywhere.

"A take-no-prisoners SNP campaign would argue that these banks ceased to be particularly Scottish when they operated under the City of London’s lax rules. We could have regulated them ourselves had we been independent."

But, Joan, a year before it all went belly up Alex Salmond said:

"We are pledging a light-touch regulation suitable to a Scottish financial sector with its outstanding reputation for probity, as opposed to one like that in the UK, which absorbs huge amounts of management time in ‘gold-plated’ regulation."

Joan
“Can Scotland afford to stay in the Union?”

Excellent.

The SNP (and the non-party and cross-party independence groups) have to move on to a more aggressive, dynamic and up front campaign on independence. It can start on St Andrew's Day.

I'm a-loving your slogan, “Can Scotland afford to stay in the Union?” Ms lassie Go. I suspect it might get quite a few airings. Mayhaps, you'll even persuade Jeff to support Independence!


I think Andrew Nicoll has a point Joan.

Looking at the comments from voters in the Sunday Times it's obvious that none of the epoch making scandal emanating form London means very much in Glasgow North East.

It's not a case of 'blaming the voters', it's a case of anaylsing what made them vote for a party that has so utterly failed them. Why didn't they consider any of the myriad of alternative paths to them.

Why didn't they consider that with six months to go, they could register a protest vote against this Government.

The truth is that was never on the cards, the small sample of comments on the sunday times own site explains why.

Labour successfully abused devolution to make the race localised and focused on issues that do not concern Westminister.

What's scary is that the medi went along for the ride, nowhere did any journalist adequately ask about Willie's Bain claim to be 'local' despite working in London half the week.

Nowhere did they even ask, does he pay council tax?

Nowhere, did the media ask him about afghanistan, iraq, post office closures, spending , in short the media bought Labour's line that this race is somehow between the Scottish Government and UK Government.

With entirely different powers, how can that ever be so.

Yes the SNP may have failed to direct the media but then again with little or no nationalist sympathetic political editors in Scotland, what can we expect?

Joan, I have to say, I thought you were awesome on Newsnight. Talk about "rising above" the campaign that was was spot on for me. I know it wasn't a competition but you were the standout commentator for me amongst a couple of impressive panels.

Looking forward to reading your thoughts in full in today's Times.

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