McConnell annoyed at vocal MPs; First Minister sick of Westminster

Jack McConnell is becoming increasingly frustrated with Scottish Labour MPs at Westminster interfering in devolved matters and believes they are showing disrespect for their colleagues at Holyrood by publicly criticising his policies.

The First Minister is said to be angry that Westminster politicians are discussing subjects that are no longer reserved, particularly when he is not making statements regarding the policies of the UK government.

The past 12 months have seen Scottish Labour MPs speak out on a range of issues that are the responsibility of their colleagues at Holyrood, from PR for local government to selection in education.

But relations between MPs and Executive ministers have worsened in recent weeks because of the controversy over impending hospital closures in Scotland. Although health is devolved to the Scottish parliament, a large number of Labour MPs have hit out at the Executive for its policies on the NHS.

Many believe the health minister, Malcolm Chisholm, is not doing enough to resist health board plans to close hospitals and centralise services. They fear this will become a big issue at the next general election and affect their chances of re-election.

Last week, David Cairns, the Labour MP for Greenock and Inverclyde, said that any hasty decision to downgrade his local hospital would be "madness". The Labour MP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, George Foulkes, urged Chisholm to "get a grip" on health.

But while Chisholm met Scottish Labour MPs privately last week to explain Executive policy, many were left unconvinced and later briefed against the health minister.

The First Minister's official spokesman has hit back by saying that any criticism of the Executive should be made behind closed doors. "There needs to be mutual respect between parliamentarians in the Scottish parliament and at Westminster. There are ways for ministers and MPs to discuss these matters, and these are generally done in private," he said.

This was a coded reference to the Scottish Labour MPs who criticised the Executive in newspapers and on television. Former foreign secretary Robin Cook lashed out recently by saying that the plans for hospitals in his area amounted to the "economics of the madhouse".

McConnell's spokesman said: "If the First Minister has any concerns about anything the Westminster MPs say or do, then he would raise them in the appropriate manner."

The Labour MP for West Renfrewshire, James Sheridan, said politicians at Westminster had a duty to represent the people they were elected to serve: "MPs have a legitimate right to articulate the concerns of their constituents. If officials in the First Minister's office are upset, that's their problem."

Hospital reorganisation is the latest health policy to divide Labour politicians at Westminster and Holyrood. A number of Scottish MPs believe that legislating for free personal care for the elderly was a costly error.

SNP leader Alex Salmond said the row was evidence that the Executive's policies on the NHS were dividing Scotland. "Scottish Labour MPs are clearly rattled by the upcoming Westminster election. It's clear they have no confidence in the Executive's health policy," he said.

In a separate development, a LibDem MSP has said that the Executive's health minister should be replaced if he doesn't make the tough choices necessary on the reorganisation of hospital services.

Mike Rumbles MSP, LibDem spokesman on health, said there were circumstances in which moving Chisholm would be justified. "I would say there is a crisis just now. The time has come for Malcolm to knock heads together. If he doesn't do that, perhaps another individual could be brought in," he said.

Copyright 2004 SMG Sunday Newspapers Ltd.
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