Dining At The Top Table

Alex Salmond has come under a lot of criticism for his eating habits in the past two years. Thankfully, this represents a comment on his tendency to take people to dinner and claim food on expenses rather then criticism about his weight.

The lastest affair is selling lunch in the Scottish Parliament Restaurant, at auction, for £9,000.

Now, this is nothing new. The SNP have used meals with the great and the good of the party for fundraising for many years, favouring small auctions rather then the banquets used by Labour and the Conservatives. In many ways it seems fair enough – the auctions are only open to party members, they are designed to let supporters meet the leadership and they sound like a good day out.

Unfortunately, they are a fundraising technique more suited to minor party then a party of government. Not least because no matter who wins the auction or what they discuss with the First Minister, it does effectively amount to cash for access. Let us not forget that that simple phrase not only felled several Tory MPs in the 90s, but also helped see John Major’s defeat in 1997 and caused occasional problems for Labour.

I highly doubt that Alex Salmond’s views will be changed or influenced by whoever was fortunate enough to win the auction, but the Office of the First Minister must remain above the possibility of any such impropriety. While the possibility of cash for access is equally likely at Labour and the Conservatives gala banquets, these do provide a more acceptable fundraising model which should be adopted by the party in future. They also have the added benefit of allowing more party members to participate.

In addition to this issue, there is also the question of dining in the Parliament itself. James at TwoDoctors covers this aspect of the affair in detail.