SNP brutally mocked for 'wasting their own money' after £160k leadership election blows hole in budget
The SNP has drawn cross-party criticism after their leadership election blew a hole in their budget
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The SNP has drawn cross-party criticism after their leadership election blew a hole in their budget.
MPs from the Liberal Democrats and the Alba Party have hit out at the Scottish National Party for its £160,000 spend on an election to replace Nicola Sturgeon last year.
Alistair Carmichael, Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland, joked: "It makes a change for them to be wasting their own money instead of the taxpayers."
He told GB News: "The SNP is a party in chaos and financial mismanagement is at the heart of that."
The party held an election in the wake of Nicola Sturgeon's sudden departure from office
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In a nod to the 110,000 campervan which found itself at the centre of the probe into the SNP's finances, Mr Carmichael said: "£160,000 is a lot of money. You could buy one and a half campervans for that."
Meanwhile, Neale Hanvey, Leader of the Alba Party, told GB News that the spend on the leadership election is "just one of the very many perplexing issues in the SNP's published accounts."
He continued: "Like any political party, the SNP is supposed to serve its membership in accordance with their stated objectives and not the public as you suggest.
"However the Sturgeonite SNP in Government don’t have the best track record meeting budgets.
"Something has obviously gone very wrong under Sturgeon’s rule, and a good dose of sunshine is required to sort it all out."
Leaked documents revealed that the SNP leadership contest - triggered by Nicola Sturgeon's shock resignation - cost the party £160,000 which was not budgeted for.
The huge sum was disclosed by Treasurer Stuart McDonald in a report to the meeting of the SNP's National Council last weekend.
He admitted that the SNP needs to "rebuild" public trust in the party, following the police investigation into its finances.
The MSP said: “While I cannot comment on the ongoing police investigation, one consequence is that there is work to do to rebuild trust in the processes and procedures that are in place to ensure financial management of our party.
"Working with staff, the Finance and Audit Committee and our auditors, steps have been taken and work is ongoing to refresh existing policies and introduce new policies which will improve accountability and transparency in financial decision making.
"Significantly, to improve the financial information that is available to staff, office bearers and NEC, colleagues on the National Executive Committee recently signed off on proposals to recruit a part-time qualified accountant; and while that recruitment process is ongoing. to engage an outside firm to undertake such work."
Noting that the first half of 2023 was "not without challenges", Mr McDonald admitted: "The overall cost of the leadership election was around £160,000, none of which was budgeted for.
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Alistair Carmichael, Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland, joked: 'It makes a change for them to be wasting their own money'
“Membership income has been hit by the overall fall in membership numbers (73,936 as at 29 June), while the cost of living crisis has also impacted on the level of membership payments. However, looking ahead, the position is significantly more positive.
“While making predictions is not always wise, I remain confident our 2023 accounts will show a surplus as we build towards what will be a crucial general election year.
"We still have much work to do to ensure we put the party on the soundest financial footing possible."