A Parcel of Rogues

Winnie Ewing : Shocking betrayal by the Liberals. Unbelieveable almost because they were meant to be the Home Rule party. So they're just another Unionist party like the others. In a way, worse, because they professed to be a Home Rule party. So it was really a set of constant betrayals and a lot of them would like to forget that little chapter.
Russell Johnston : I can't really remember what the reason was. I can't remember exactly now I must confess. I would need to refresh my memory. I'm sure I wrote notes about it at the time.
Winnie Ewing : We'll never forget and we'll never trust them. I mean, they are a party of Britain and I don't know where they're going in Scotland because they don't really seem to want what they say they want. I think they like it 'down there''.
How the Liberals helped sabotage the devolution bill of the 1970s in Parcel of Rogues, Channel Four Television, April 1998.

Westminster or Holyrood?

Scotland's 72 MPs face the choice of whether their future lies as a Scottish MP at Holyrood or as an MP in the British Imperial Parliament at Westminster.

As devolution is the preferred policy of both Labour and the Liberal Democrats, one might have expected a scramble for seats in these parties. Ironcially, only 9 of the 56 Labour MPs and 2 of the 10 Liberal Democrats have applied to stand for the Scottish Parliament.

The other 8 Lib Dem and 47 Labour MPs appear to 'like it down there' in Westminster.

MPs who wish to stand for the Scottish Parliament

Scottish National Party MPs & MEPs who wish to stand for the Scottish Parliament

All six of the Scottish National Party's Westminster MPs wish to stand for the Scottish Parliament. All six have been accepted for the SNP's list of candidates. In addition, Winnie Ewing, SNP MEP for the Highlands & Islands has been selected to lead their Highlands & Islands list.

MP	Westminster/European Constituency<	Decision of selection board	Candidate for Holyrood Constituency/Region
Roseanna Cunningham	Perth	Approved	Perth constituency Number 4 on Mid Scotland & Fife Regional List
Margaret Ewing	Moray	Approved	Moray constituency Number 2 on Highlands Regional List
Alasdair Morgan	Galloway & Upper Nithsdale	Approved	Galloway & Upper Nithsdale constituency Number 1 on South of Scotland Regional List
Alex Salmond	Banff & Buchan	Approved	Banff & Buchan constituency Number 1 on North East Scotland Regional List
John Swinney	Tayside North	Approved	Tayside North constituency Number 1 on Mid Scotland & Fife Regional List
Andrew Welsh	Angus	Approved	Angus constituency Number 2 on North East Scotland Regional List
Winnie Ewing	SNP MP for Hamilton, Nov 1967 (by-election)-1970 SNP MP for Moray & Nairn, Feb 1974-1979 SNP MEP for Highlands & Islands 1979-	Approved	Number 1 on Highlands Regional List

Liberal Democrat MPs who wish to stand for the Scottish Parliament

The Liberal Democrats profess to be the Home Rule party, yet astonishingly, only two of the 10 Lib Dem MPs applied to stand for the parliament. Both were accepted for the Lib Dem's list of candidates.

Donald Gorrie MP was rejected by his Edinburgh West constituency but was selected for the Central Regional List.

MP	Westminster Constituency	Decision of selection board	Candidate for Holyrood Constituency/Region
Donald Gorrie	Edinburgh West	Approved	Rejected by Edinburgh West constituency Number 1 on Central Regional list
Jim Wallace	Orkney & Shetland	Approved	Orkney constituency

Labour MPs who wish to stand for the Scottish Parliament

The devolved Scottish parliament is Labour's baby. However, only 9 of Labour's 56 MPs wished to stand for it, and of these 3 MPs were rejected, in theory for not being good enough, but in reality for being nationalists and left wingers. Network would have dearly liked to reject John McAllion and Malcolm Chisholm as well, but realised that such a drastic cull would have been totally unacceptable and would have left only one back bencher, John Home Robertson on the approved list. Ironically, the rejected MPs have the full backing of their constituency parties and they would have probably served their constituents better than many of the Network clones on Rosemary McKenna's list.

MP	Westminster Constituency	Decision of selection board	Candidate for Holyrood Constituency/Region
Dennis Canavan	Falkirk West	Rejected	Not allowed to stand #
Malcolm Chisholm	Edinburgh North & Leith	Approved	Edinburgh North & Leith
Michael Connarty	Falkirk East	Rejected *	Not allowed to stand
Ian Davidson	Glasgow Pollok	Rejected	Not allowed to stand
Donald Dewar	Glasgow Anniesland	Approved	Glasgow Anniesland
Sam Galbraith	Strathkelvin & Bearsden	Approved	Strathkelvin & Bearsden
John Home Robertson	East Lothian	Approved	East Lothian
John McAllion	Dundee East	Approved	Dundee East
Henry McLeish	Fife Central	Approved	Fife Central

* Michael Connarty withdrew his candidature after it was leaked to the press that he had failed his interview.

# Dennis Canavan has stated that he may stand against 'Stalinist Labour' as an Independent candidate in Falkirk West.

Scottish Socialist Party MEPs who wish to stand for the Scottish Parliament

Hugh Kerr, the left wing Scots MEP for Essex West & Hertfordshire East was expelled from the Labour party for criticising Tony Blair. He now sits as an MEP for the Scottish Socialist Party.

MEP	European Constituency	Decision of selection board	Candidate for Holyrood Constituency/Region
Hugh Kerr MEP	Essex West & Hertfordshire East	Approved	Number 1 on West of Scotland list

Previous MPs and MEPs who wish to stand for the Scottish Parliament

In addition to the above candidates, 13 previous Scottish MPs and MEPs and 1 previous MP for a Welsh constituency wish to stand for the Scottish Parliament. These are:

ex MP/MEP	Party	Constituency	Decision of selection board	Candidate for Holyrood Constituency/Region
Ron Brown	Scottish Socialist Party	Labour MEP for Edinburgh Leith, 1983-1992	Approved	Edinburgh Leith Constituency Number 4 on Lothians list
Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Lord James Douglas-Hamilton)	Con	Conservative MP for Edinburgh West, Oct 1974-1997	Approved	Edinburgh West constituency Number 2 on Lothians list
Phil Gallie	Con	Conservative MP for Ayr, 1992-1997	Approved	Ayr constituency Number 1 on South of Scotland list
Alasdair Hutton	Con	Conservative MEP for South of Scotland, 1979-1989	Approved	Roxburgh & Berwickshire constituency Number 5 on South of Scotland list
Margo MacDonald	SNP	SNP MP for Glasgow Govan, Nov 1973 (by-election)-Feb 1974	Approved	Edinburgh South constituency Number 1 on Lothians Regional list
Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknish (John Mackay)	Con	Conservative MP for Argyll, 1979-1983 Conservative MP for Argyll & Bute, 1983-1987	Approved	Appointed Conservative deputy leader in House of Lords following sacking of Lord Cranbourne by William Hague and resignation of his entire front bench team
Henry McCubbin	Labour	Labour MEP for North East Scotland, 1989-1994	Approved	Not selected
Anna McCurley	Lib Dem	Conservative MP for Renfrew West & Inverclyde, 1983-1987	Approved	Eastwood constituency
Dr Keith Raffan	Lib Dem	Conservative MP for Delyn (Wales), 1983-1992	Approved	Number 1 on Mid Scotland & Fife Regional List
George Reid	SNP	SNP MP for Clackmannan & East Stirlingshire, Feb 1974-1979	Approved	Ochil constituency Number 2 on Mid Scotland & Fife Regional List
Lord Steel of Aikwood (David Steel)	Lib Dem	Lib MP for Roxburgh, Selkirk & Peebles, Mar 1965 (by-election)-1983 Lib Dem MP for Tweedale, Ettrick & Lauderdale, 1983-1997	Approved	Number 1 on Lothians Regional List
Nicol Stephen	Lib Dem	Lib Dem MP for Kincardine & Deeside, Nov 1991 (by-election)-1992	Approved	Aberdeen South counsituency
Hamish Watt	Ind	SNP MP for Banff, Feb 1974-1979	-	Ind candidate for Gordon & North East Scotland list
Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Mike Watson)	Labour	Labour MP for Glasgow Central, Jun 1989 (by-election)-1997	Approved	Glasgow Cathcart constiuency

The Ragman Roll: Those who prefer Westminster

In 1992, the Scotsman asked who would stand for a Scottish Parliament and who wished to remain in Westminster.

The following MPs were honest enough to say they preferred 'down there'.

Liberal Democrat MPs who prefer Westminster

Robert Maclennan, Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross

Labour MPs who prefer Westminster

Tam Dalyell, Linlithgow

Calum Macdonald, Western Isles

Tony Worthington, Clydebank

Jimmy Wray, Glasgow Ballieston

Independent MPs who prefer Westminster

Tommy Graham, Renfrewshire West

Tommy Graham, who was expelled from the Labour party in September 1998, has stated that he may stand as an Independent candidate in the Scottish Parliament elections.

The following MPs also prefer to remain at Westminster

Liberal Democrats MPs who prefer Westminster

Malcolm Bruce, Gordon

Menzies Campbell, Fife North East

Charles Kennedy, Ross, Skye & Inverness West

Archie Kirkwood, Roxburgh & Berwickshire

Ray Michie, Argyll & Bute

Michael Moore, Tweedale, Ettrick & Lauderdale

Sir Robert Smith, Aberdeenshire West & Kincardine

Labour MPs who prefer Westminster

Irene Adams, Paisley North

Douglas Alexander, Paisley South

Anne Begg, Aberdeen South

Gordon Brown, Dunfermline East

Russell Brown, Dumfries

Desmond Browne, Kilmarnock & Loudoun

Lynda Clark, Edinburgh Pentlands

Eric Clarke, Midlothian

Tom Clarke, Coatbridge & Chryston

Robin Cook, Livingston

Alistair Darling, Edinburgh Central

Brian Donohoe, Cunninghame South

Frank Doran, Aberdeen Central

George Foulkes, Carrick, Cumnock & Doon Valley

Maria Fyfe, Glasgow Maryhill

George Galloway, Glasgow Kelvin

Norman Goodman, Greenock and Inverclyde

Nigel Griffiths, Edinburgh South

Jimmy Hood, Clydesdale

Adam Ingram, East Kilbride

Helen Liddell, Airdrie & Shotts

Tom McAvoy, Glasgow Rutherglen

John McFall, Dumbarton

Anne McGuire, Stirling

Rosemary McKenna, Cumbernauld & Kilsyth

David Marshall, Glasgow Shettleston

Michael Martin, Glasgow Springburn

John Maxton, Glasgow Cathcart

Lewis Moonie, Kirkcaldy

Jim Murphy, Eastwood

Martin O'Neill, Ochil

Sandra Osborne, Ayr

John Reid, Hamilton North & Bellshill

George Robertson, Hamilton South

Ernie Ross , Dundee West

Frank Roy, Motherwell & Wishaw

Mohammad Sarwar, Glasgow Govan

Malcolm Savidge, Aberdeen North

Rachel Squire, Dunfermline West

Gavin Strang, Edinburgh East & Musselburgh

David Stewart, Inverness East, Nairn & Lochaber

Brian Wilson, Cunninghame North

On second thoughts, no thanks! : those who changed their minds

Some MPs appear to have changed their mind since 1992. Among the MPs who declared that they would stand for a Scottish Parliament in 1992 but whose names are absent now are:

Liberal Democrat MPs who changed their mind

Menzies Campbell, Fife North East

Ray Michie, Argyll and Bute

Labour MPs who changed their mind

Norman Goodman, Greenock and Inverclyde

Jimmy Hood, Clydesdale

John Maxton, Glasgow Cathcart

Lewis Moonie, Kirkcaldy

George Robertson, Hamilton South

Rachel Squire, Dunfermline West

We were bought and sold for English gold, Such a parcel of rogues in the nation

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