Jack McConnell
Background
Jack McConnell is the third First Minister in the devolved Scotland. There is a 'widespread view of [McConnell] as a 'machine politician'.[1] This is often explained in terms of his history as part of the Labour 'Lanarkshire mafia'.[2] [3]
Lobbygate
McConnell was centrally involved in the first lobbying scandal of the Scottish Parliament known as 'Lobbygate'. A former General Secretary of the Labour Party in Scotland, McConnell was recruited to a lobbying firm which was a joint venture between Beattie Media and Scottish law firm Maclay Murray & Spens, called Public Affairs Europe Ltd.[4]
Pro-Nuke
McConnell has launched an internal Labour party consultation on whether new nuclear power stations can be built in Scotland, but it is widely predicted that if Blair gives the green light for nuclear, Scotland's Labour party will follow suit.
Scotland's First Minister is said to be "paving the way for a Scottish Labour U-turn which would remove its opposition to new nuclear power stations being built in Scotland." [5]
Resources
David Miller 'Corporate power, institutional corruption:endemic lobbying means corporations control too much of Scotland' Spinwatch, September/October 2003.
References
- ^William Dinan 'Open Scotland's Executive' Spinwatch, 21 October 2002.
- ^ Kenny Farquharson, 'The Scent of a Rose May Prove Less Sweet', Sunday Times December 29, 2002, not available online.
- ^, Iain Macwhirter, 'After centuries of council cronyism, Holyrood has to finally blow the lid off sleaze Analysis: The Third Age affair goes much deeper than Henry McLeish and Officegate. It has its roots in a loathsome part of Scottish political and economic life', "Sunday Herald", March 10, 2002
- ^ Philip Schlesinger, David Miller and Will Dinan Open Scotland, Journalists, Spin Doctors and Lobbyists, Edinburgh: Polygon 2001.
- ^ Paul Hutcheon, "First Minister Asks Scottish Labour to Consider New Nuclear Power Stations", Sunday Herald, January 15, 2006
