Old tactics amid the new politics; Votes for Tory in bid to thwart Reid 2 Edition

IT WAS a case of new politics, same old party point-scoring on day one of the new democracy when the election of two deputies to the Presiding Officer Sir David Steel was marked by obviously partisan voting which saw some Labour MSPs vote for veteran Tory John Young rather than bring themselves to v...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inHerald (Glasgow, Scotland)
Main Authors Robbie Dinwoodie Scottish Political Correspondent, Views from the gallery: three political leaders make their mark on the Parliament. David McLetchie, left, and Donald Dewar with an impish Alex Salmond below Pictures DAVID CHESKIN
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Glasgow (UK) Gannett Media Corp 13.05.1999
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:IT WAS a case of new politics, same old party point-scoring on day one of the new democracy when the election of two deputies to the Presiding Officer Sir David Steel was marked by obviously partisan voting which saw some Labour MSPs vote for veteran Tory John Young rather than bring themselves to vote for the SNP's George Reid. Mr Reid won through to one of the deputy's posts on the final ballot to join Maryhill MSP Patricia Ferguson in serving on Sir David's team, but up to 16 Labour members voted for the Tory contender in the secret ballot, bringing drama and a distinctly partisan edge to a contest which boasted only four candidates for the three posts. Sir David beat Mr Reid comfortably for the Presiding Officer post, which is like a cross between the Westminster posts of Speaker and Leader of the House, by 82 votes to 44 with three abstentions.