Another academic refuses to appear before Wendy Alexander's House Committee of un-British Activities

 

 

 

Are you now, or have you ever been, a supporter of real economic power for Scotland?  

 Wendy Alexander, when she was Labour's leader in the Scottish Parliament, was often accused of intransigence and arrogance. It characterised her behaviour in the financial scandal that forced her resignation over an illegal donation and its cover-up. Now she is back in the spotlight and we see examples of those charateristics all over again in the approach of the Holyrood commitee, which Alexander chairs, charged with examining the Scotland Bill.  When the bill was unveiled, Wendy put out a call for as many people as possible to contribute to its scrutiny, which one could interpret as a generous, inclusive gesture. No evidence of generosity has been found.  Alexander has run the Scotland Bill committee in much the same way as Senator Joe McCarthy conducted the House Committee for Un-American Activies. He outed alleged Communist sympathisers. Wendy outs anyone who suggests she might be wrong. Question Wendy's nonsensical Bill and you risk public humiliation. The respected academic Alan Trench has filed a devastating post today on why he will no longer give evidence to the committee.  Trench, of the Constitution Unit at University College London and Edinburgh University, is unhappy at the way the committee monstered two other academics, Professor Andrew Hughes Hallett and Professor Drew Scott. 

Trench says the professors were "ambushed" by the committee. He writes: "In its zeal to build a case for the bill’s proposals by attacking the Scottish Government’s position, it has bludgeoned one of the few sets of critical witnesses willing to appear before it."  This undermines the reputation of parliament and could dissuade expert witnesses from coming before other Holyrood committees in future, says Trench.

To avoid the same thing happening to him, he asked in advance about what they wished to discuss. They were unable to give him a clear answer. This is embarrassing for the parliament as well as Alexander because Trench regularly gives evidence to Westminster Committees and is the adviser to the House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee.

In his post, which is very strongly worded for an academic, Trench suggests the committee's make-up us is contentious. Alexander, who as Labour leader in the Scottish parliament came up with the idea of the Calman Commission on which the Scotland Bill's findings are based, cannot be a remotely impartial chair. Its two expert advisers worked on the Calman Commission. One of them, Jim Gallagher, was appointed by Gordon Brown when in government and is considered by some to be the real author of the Calman Report. The committee's line of questioning to anyone not supportive of the bill has been hostile. Two nationalist inclined adademics, Jim and Margaret Cuthbertson, have already refused to give evidence for this reason. Trench is no supporter of the SNP.  He just considers The Scotland Bill deeply flawed and hoped to suggest improvements. What a shame he had no confidence he would get a fair hearing.

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Alan's excellent blog is here http://devolutionmatters.wordpress.com

Comments

[Gary]

Slight point of pedantry. McCarthy was a member of the US Senate, not the House of Representatives and, as such, was running his own show independent of HUAC.

[Wardog]

Thanks for the link to devolution-matters Joan, a truly excellent site.

The wight of academic papers is growing, there is a definite momentum behind fiscal autonomy.

Unionism is fast becoming a conservative force borne out of ideology and not evidence or based on the first principal of Governance, what's best for the people.

It's days are numbered.

[EUSNA]

Rosne,

Joan, do you anything else about this story?

"UK students urge Scots independence" (Press Association)

"A group calling itself English, Welsh and Northern Irish Students For Independence has been leafleting university campuses on the understanding that the European Union would force an independent Scotland to scrap tuition fees for students from the rest of the UK."

---------------------------------

I am afraid there has been some misunderstanding. I was handing out those leaflets at the Edinburgh Uni Refreshers' Fair last week (so campus, singular), but was doing so as a representative from the Edinburgh University Scottish Nationalist Association. There is no such group as English/ Welsh/ Northern Irish Students for Scottish Independence, that was just the heading of the leaflet.

I wonder where the PA got a hold of this? I shall write to them to correct them forthwith...

[Mogreb-El-Acksa]

The expert witnesses should appear before Wendy's witches' cauldron. By not doing so it allows Wendy to claim that the committee has not heard any evidence finding fault in the Scotland Bill.

Surely expert witnesses should put a nation's future well-being before short term personal discomfort.

Also,is there no mechanism to safeguard the treatment of witnesses before committees in the parliament?

[Clarinda]

I'm happy to be corrected but I cannot find anything on BBC 'Scotland' or in the Scotsman about this story of any significance but the Herald has managed to spin Mr Trench's considered withdrawal as an invited witness on good evidence of the bitter and rabid treatment of two aclaimed experts - as a "snub"! Surely it is this intemperate Committee that is snubbing rational and intelligent debate?

[ratzo]

A remarkable follow-up by Prof Drew Scott is now in the comments section on Alan Trench's blog.

[Dave McEwan Hill]

One should never confuse a lot of learning and a lot of thinking with a lot of intelligence.

[rosne]

Joan, do you anything else about this story?

"UK students urge Scots independence" (Press Association)

"A group calling itself English, Welsh and Northern Irish Students For Independence has been leafleting university campuses on the understanding that the European Union would force an independent Scotland to scrap tuition fees for students from the rest of the UK."

[Subrosa]

I took the trouble to watch the whole session yesterday Joan and Wendy Alexander's behaviour was appalling in my opinion. The two gentlemen had every right to walk out there and then.

Mr Tench is unhappy he has not received an adequate briefing. All committees should provide their guests with a detailed brief as we know.

This is serious insofar as the standard of this committee is far below the level the public expect and deserve. The chair of any committee is responsible for its integrity and actions.

Surely someone in Holyrood can investigate this more thoroughly?

[Doug Daniel]

I just don't understand how the person who set up the Calman Commission can be trusted to act as the chair of a supposedly independent committee on the Scotland Bill. There is something seriously wrong in how committees are set up in Holyrood if this is allowed to happen. If it happened in another country, we'd laugh at how undemocratic and corrupt it was. It's no laughing matter when it's your own country's future at stake, though.

[CassiusClaymore]

A lengthy period of silence from this dreadful and thoroughly disgraced individual seems appropriate considering her very lucky escape from prosecution.

Sadly, however, she appears to be back in full self-important mode. The hilarious thing is how intelligent she seems to believe herself to be. Being cleverer than the rest of the morons on the Labour benches isn't conclusive proof of genuine intelligence. If she'd ever had a proper job, like one where you have to succeed or fail on your own merits, perhaps she'd be more self-aware. Or perhaps not.

CC

[cynicalHighlander]

Holyrood TV here about 1 hour says enough.
http://www.holyrood.tv/popup.asp?stream=http://vr-sp-archive.lbwa.verio.net/archive/110111_scotland_bill.wmv

We live in a very corrupt establishment.

[Barontorc]

Yet another academic has thrown justified bile at the farce that is the Calman Commission, after the sordid treatment dished out to Professor Andrew Hughes Hallett and Professor Drew Scott.

These two professors are expert witnesses put forward by the Scottish Government to assist in scrutiny of the Scotland Bill being pushed by the unionist parties of the UK; a Bill which will become "in effect" with no alteration, unless proper scrutiny is given and changes made to best suit the workings of Scotland.

To thereby be put in a position where the competence of their research was traduced by certain members of the committee, namely the Chair - "Bendy" Wendy and the Tory "Taxi" McLetchie to the point where no contributions could be made tells all about the purpose and intent of this unionist Bill.

I am personally very grateful, in the name of all thinking Scots, that these academics, first of all agreed to participate, but then took the trouble to vent their frustrations via a very critical letter to the unionist newspaper the Scotsman with no get-out clause for the Scotsman to avoid printing it.

Now Alan Trench has joined with the Cuthbertsons to expose this whole farce as the charade it surely is.

Scrap this Scotland Bill if it will not bear scrutiny.