They don’t have access to any unreported Murrell loans anymore?
This is inaccurate. Branches have their HQ account, which is simply an accounting practice, and their own separately governed bank accounts. No branch is bankrupt from this accounting move, in an election year, christ
(Article)
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SNP executives have angered party activists after the nationalists’ headquarters took tens of thousands of pounds from local branches and left some almost penniless.
Further concerns have been raised about the state of the party’s finances after money was taken from every branch across the country as part of a “general election levy”.
A generic email sent by Stuart McDonald, the party treasurer, on December 17 told the local branches that money would be taken by Edinburgh HQ.
Money was removed that day with sums as varied as £17,000 being taken from the Argyll & Bute branch, about £5,500 each from Coatbridge and Uddingston, and £2,600 from Edinburgh Newington & Southside.
The move has infuriated many activists, who are now concerned about how much money they have to run their local operations.
It was raised by MPs at this week’s Westminster group meeting, although the explanation given by McDonald, the MP for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth & Kirkintilloch East, was enough to receive a round of applause from his colleagues.
“The SNP are masters of the perception game, expertly leading branches to believe their every manoeuvre is a stroke of genius,” a party source said. “Yet, behind the curtain of promises for independence, we find ourselves in the all too familiar territory of the £600,000 fake indy fund fiasco.”
Since 2021, Police Scotland has been investigating reports of fraud over £600,000 raised from activists and apparently ring-fenced to campaign for independence. There is no suggestion that the levy being imposed by the party’s headquarters is unlawful.
In his letter from last year, McDonald said that the 25 per cent of membership fees that were supposed to be set aside and earmarked for local branches was “used and spent by HQ on all the other functions HQ undertakes”.
He said that similar levies had been imposed for last year’s Rutherglen & Hamilton West by-election, where Labour inflicted a heavy defeat on the SNP, the 2019 Shetland by-election, where the nationalists lost to the Liberal Democrats, and the 2019 European parliament elections, where it returned three of Scotland’s six MEPs.
The new charge is “significantly higher” than those which have gone before, McDonald said, because of new election spending rules and his belief that “the artificially high total of branch dividend balances need to return to a sustainable and workable level”.
The SNP will need to submit its accounts for 2023 in the coming weeks. The 2022 figures showed that the party had £220,000 of financial liabilities when offset against its assets, meaning it could not fulfil all its financial obligations should they be called in.
This was “principally due to the level of accrued branch dividends”, according to the accounts, and that “in practice branches will not draw on this accrual to any extent that may be to the detriment of the party’s ability to meet its obligations”.
Shortly after the accounts were published, Humza Yousaf, the first minister, insisted that the SNP was “not in a position that is insolvent and that of course the liabilities that we have, we can service them”.
An SNP spokeswoman said: “The level of branch funds in HQ accounts is now comparable with previous election years. Branches also raise funds, held in their own accounts, to fight campaigns locally. SNP conference agreed the party would put the offer of independence at the forefront of the general election campaign. Branches will recognise the need to properly fund that and this internal accountancy measure allows us to so.”
I suppose they need a new camper van.
Typical Tory tripe and gaslighting propaganda, dustbin journalism to say the least 🏴🏴
Hahahahahahahahahaaaaa
It’s really hard to imagine what could possibly have been said that led to doing this recieving a round of applause.
7 comments
They don’t have access to any unreported Murrell loans anymore?
This is inaccurate. Branches have their HQ account, which is simply an accounting practice, and their own separately governed bank accounts. No branch is bankrupt from this accounting move, in an election year, christ
(Article)
—
SNP executives have angered party activists after the nationalists’ headquarters took tens of thousands of pounds from local branches and left some almost penniless.
Further concerns have been raised about the state of the party’s finances after money was taken from every branch across the country as part of a “general election levy”.
A generic email sent by Stuart McDonald, the party treasurer, on December 17 told the local branches that money would be taken by Edinburgh HQ.
Money was removed that day with sums as varied as £17,000 being taken from the Argyll & Bute branch, about £5,500 each from Coatbridge and Uddingston, and £2,600 from Edinburgh Newington & Southside.
The move has infuriated many activists, who are now concerned about how much money they have to run their local operations.
It was raised by MPs at this week’s Westminster group meeting, although the explanation given by McDonald, the MP for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth & Kirkintilloch East, was enough to receive a round of applause from his colleagues.
“The SNP are masters of the perception game, expertly leading branches to believe their every manoeuvre is a stroke of genius,” a party source said. “Yet, behind the curtain of promises for independence, we find ourselves in the all too familiar territory of the £600,000 fake indy fund fiasco.”
Since 2021, Police Scotland has been investigating reports of fraud over £600,000 raised from activists and apparently ring-fenced to campaign for independence. There is no suggestion that the levy being imposed by the party’s headquarters is unlawful.
In his letter from last year, McDonald said that the 25 per cent of membership fees that were supposed to be set aside and earmarked for local branches was “used and spent by HQ on all the other functions HQ undertakes”.
He said that similar levies had been imposed for last year’s Rutherglen & Hamilton West by-election, where Labour inflicted a heavy defeat on the SNP, the 2019 Shetland by-election, where the nationalists lost to the Liberal Democrats, and the 2019 European parliament elections, where it returned three of Scotland’s six MEPs.
The new charge is “significantly higher” than those which have gone before, McDonald said, because of new election spending rules and his belief that “the artificially high total of branch dividend balances need to return to a sustainable and workable level”.
The SNP will need to submit its accounts for 2023 in the coming weeks. The 2022 figures showed that the party had £220,000 of financial liabilities when offset against its assets, meaning it could not fulfil all its financial obligations should they be called in.
This was “principally due to the level of accrued branch dividends”, according to the accounts, and that “in practice branches will not draw on this accrual to any extent that may be to the detriment of the party’s ability to meet its obligations”.
Shortly after the accounts were published, Humza Yousaf, the first minister, insisted that the SNP was “not in a position that is insolvent and that of course the liabilities that we have, we can service them”.
An SNP spokeswoman said: “The level of branch funds in HQ accounts is now comparable with previous election years. Branches also raise funds, held in their own accounts, to fight campaigns locally. SNP conference agreed the party would put the offer of independence at the forefront of the general election campaign. Branches will recognise the need to properly fund that and this internal accountancy measure allows us to so.”
I suppose they need a new camper van.
Typical Tory tripe and gaslighting propaganda, dustbin journalism to say the least 🏴🏴
Hahahahahahahahahaaaaa
It’s really hard to imagine what could possibly have been said that led to doing this recieving a round of applause.