Alistair Carmichael

Straw to face MPs over Megrahi release role

The Lockerbie Case (Free subscription) | yesterday

Jack Straw is to face questions about his role in the run-up to the release of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi. MPs on the [Westminster Parliament] Justice Committee will press the [UK] justice secretary on why he decided not to exclude Megrahi from a prisoner transfer agreement signed with Libya. (...) Although Megrahi was released on compassionate grounds there have been many questions over the prisoner...

Brown is wrong to push ahead with Cold War Trident

Les Bonner (Free subscription) | 18/11/2009

“Gordon Brown is wrong to push ahead with this expensive programme,” said Alistair Carmichael, theLiberal Democrat Shadow Scotland Secretary. Commenting on the SNP’s response to the ‘Scotland Without Nuclear Weapons’ Report, Alistair Carmichael said: “Liberal Democrats oppose the like-for-like replacement of Trident for all of the UK. It is an outdated, Cold War...

Carmichael says Queen’s speech will be empty spin and ignore devolution

Les Bonner (Free subscription) | 17/11/2009

“We will see is the kind of empty spin that has made the country so sick of this Government,” said the Liberal Democrat Shadow Scotland Secretary. Commenting ahead of the Queen’s Speech, Alistair Carmichael said: “This amounts to little more than political posturing by Gordon Brown, as we can expect few of the measures to become law [...]

• Carmichael says Queen’s speech will be empty spin and ignore devolution - Liberal Democrats

Labour’s welcoming of unemployment figures for Scotland is shamefully complacent

Les Bonner (Free subscription) | 11/11/2009

Scotland risks being one of the worst hit parts of Britain unless real action is taken now,” said Alistair Carmichael , the Liberal Democrat Shadow Scotland Secretary.Today’s unemployment figures show that: The rate of quarterly increase in unemployment in Scotland is twice that of the UK average The rate of year-on-year increase in Scotland is outstripping that [...]

Charles Kennedy joins Eileen Baxendale on the Glasgow North East campaign trail

Andrew Reeves' running blog (Free subscription) | 07/11/2009

The Scottish Liberal Democrats candidate for the Glasgow North East by-election candidate, Eileen Baxendale has had a busy week with visits in Glasgow North East with Leader Tavish Scott, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland Alistair Carmichael and yesterday former UK Leader, Charles Kennedy MP. Eileen Baxendale hasn't taken a day off since she was selected to fight the seat made vacant over 120...

CAMERON AND GOLDIE MUST EXPLAIN POSITION ON MSPs STANDING FOR COMMONS – CARMICHAEL

Steve Beasant Liberal Democrat (Free subscription) | 04/11/2009

“It used to be the view of David Cameron and Annabel Goldie that MSPs should not also be MPs. It is for them to explain if they have changed their minds,” said the Liberal Democrat Shadow Scotland Secretary, Alistair Carmichael. Commenting on recommendation 40 in the Kelly Report, which states that ‘the practice of permitting a [...]

• Cameron and Goldie must explain position on MSPs standing as MP’s - Les Bonner

Heading Over the River for Failed Rebellion....Apparently

Stephen's Linlithgow Journal (Free subscription) | 31/10/2009

According to the Times some senior members of my own party view me as being in a minority of 'referendum rebels'. They are saying in the press that to change the party stance on a Referendum for Independence is a 'betrayal of those who voted for the party in the 2007 Scottish election'. Interesting choice of words ahead of events in Dunfermline later. Strange that on the day that we are discussing...

Lib Dems Stand Up for Scottish Banks and Business

Caron's Musings (Free subscription) | 29/10/2009

You may remember that when the banks collapsed, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott c ampaigned against the merger , pointing out that it would cost jobs, be hugely expensive for the taxpayer and restrict consumers' choice in banking. It was good to see Liberal Democrats vote against the Labour Government's plans to rush through the takeover regardless of the Competition Commission's concerns,...

The chamber twitters into a postal strike

Whitehall 1212 (Free subscription) | 22/10/2009

Reprint of yesterday's PMQs sketch almost as it appeared in the Herald ( because don't you love it when the subs cut out your pay off line). Dr John Pugh, the analogue Lib Dem MP for Southport, has a motion down condemning the growing tendency of hon. members to text, e mail and twitter their way through parliamentary debates. According to his motion "greater interest is shown in e-mails and messages...

Scottish Government deals killer blow to Royal Mail on eve of national strike

Andrew Reeves' running blog (Free subscription) | 21/10/2009

The Scottish Government have dealt a killer blow to Royal Mail by awarding the £8million Procurement Scotland/public sector contract which deals with the mail to NHS Scotland, colleges and most councils in Scotland to TNT from the 1st November. How must Royal Mail staff across Scotland feel now, today on the eve of the big UK wide strike when they find out the SNP controlled Government have stabbed...

Scottish MPs - pay back figures so far

Whitehall 1212 (Free subscription) | 14/10/2009

Over the course of yesterday we were able to contact about 30 out of the 59 Scottish MPs to find out what Sir Thomas Legg had asked of them and to gauge their response. The list is reproduced below but bear in mind this is only about half of the Scottish cohort and that one or two were not willing to discuss details until they had responded to Sir Thomas. Danny Alexander, LD, Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch...

Lib Dem MP: Where’s my nearest railway station? In Norway.

Liberal Democrat Voice (Free subscription) | 13/10/2009

The Voice enjoyed this snippet from Hugh Muir’s diary in today’s Guardian: Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrat MP for the distant seat of Orkney and Shetland, received a parliamentary travel expenses form, which asked: “What is your nearest mainline railway station'” He contacted the Fees Office to explain that his constituency is in the middle of [...]

Government must save McKinnon from excesses of extradition treaty

Les Bonner (Free subscription) | 09/10/2009

“It was the Labour Government which put Gary McKinnon in this position,” said the Liberal Democrat Shadow Scotland Secretary. Commenting on the news that Gary McKinnon has been refused permission to appeal to the Supreme Court against extradition to the US, Alistair Carmichael said: “The legal process for Gary McKinnon appears to be approaching the end of [...]

An Evolution of Devolution #ldconf

Stephen's Linlithgow Journal (Free subscription) | 20/09/2009

This morning I was in the hall bright and breezy for the Future of Devolution debate which was moved by Alistair Carmichael MP. When I say bright and breezy not quite early enough to hear Alistair moving the motion, after all it isn't every day one turns forty, but present for the rest of it. It started with Simon Hughes moving an Amendment calling for: "Urgent initiatives to address the democratic...

Lang and Lyon back Referendum on Independence

Caron's Musings (Free subscription) | 20/09/2009

I sat down to watch the debate on Devolution from Liberal Democrat Conference in Bournemouth a bit grumpily because I had forgotten the time and missed Alistair Carmichael's opening speech. In virtually any debate, I'd always class Alistair's contribution as the best, even if I disagree with him. He's down to earth, natural and funny and really good at these Conference speeches. I was pleased to hear...