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SNP code of conduct puts party loyalty before local accountability

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Political parties are funny old beasts. To be successful they need to have bright people with a range of different ideas who will still stand firm and toe the line when their proposals have been rejected by the leadership.

It is this level of loyalty which has become crucial in the SNP’s meteoric rise over the past decade.

Yet, as an army of new members descend on the party’s largest ever conference at Glasgow’s Hydro today, instilling further discipline is very much in the minds of those in charge. New internal rules are to be debated, some of which might prove controversial.

First up is a proposal to have all of the party’s MPs sign up to a special code of conduct.

This will require a pledge that elected politicians will not “publicly criticise a decision, policy or another member” of the SNP at Westminster, either in parliament or in other venues such as the media.

In reality, this is pretty much what any whip’s office would verbalise to their group.

It is realpolitik and anyone who thinks otherwise is being extremely naive.

However, there is a difference between being told even if in extreme terms what will happen to you if you go against the party line and having a formal written constitution which could lead to your expulsion for standing up for the community you are elected to represent.

Before she became Holyrood’s Presiding Officer, Tricia Marwick risked the wrath of the SNP leadership when she went against policy and fought for jobs at Diageo’s Leven plant, on her patch, when the Scottish Government’s focus was on Kilmarnock.

She remembered her first duty is to her constituents. It would be interesting to see how a rule such as that being proposed for the MPs would have been implemented on the MSP.

The reasons for formalising the rules are obvious. It looks extremely likely that a large number of SNP members are going to be returned to the House of Commons in May.

Most of them will have no parliamentary, in fact relatively little political, experience and will need some help settling in.

When I say “help”, I really mean a potential boot up the backside if they want to speak out of turn.

There is a loyalty to the party which will rightly be expected. It is understandable to expect folk not to go rogue after being elected on an SNP ticket but there has to be a semblance of balance.

Of course, this motion will be voted on tomorrow. It could be that excitable new members use their democratic right to stand up and reject it.

Except, I reckon that’s mighty unlikely. This isn’t causing a stooshie anything like the joining of Nato did a few years back.

SNP members will most likely vote their Westminster freedom away. That really is pretty ironic, if you think about it.

* FORMER LIB Dem leader Paddy Ashdown is quite the character. Aside from his rather acerbic literary take on Alex Salmond’s referendum diaries, his loose cannon nature proves both entertaining and stressful for party staffers.

However, as campaign coordinator, he still knows how to turn on the charm.

During a door-knocking session in North East Fife, he was invited into a woman’s Newport home after being told she had a house guest who was a fan of his.

It turns out the person was Chinese and he ended up having a full-blown conversation in Mandarin. It’s just a pity for Paddy and his party that she’s not eligible to vote!

* WITH PURDAH now under way and the general election looming, the final meeting of the UK Cabinet took place this week and David Cameron had presents for his team.

The Prime Minister handed out bottles of “Co-ale-ition” beer to all 33 senior ministers at the last get-together before voting day.

Described as “indispensable political ale,” the bottle featured a cartoon of Dave and his deputy, Nick Clegg, outside No. 10 on its label.

* I’VE BEEN known to muse that, when things are looking tough for Scottish Labour, the party retreats to Glasgow.

Interesting, then, that a new list of phone numbers for their press team has three out of the four points of contact begin with “0141”.

Just think, it was only three months ago that party leader Jim Murphy told journalists: “I will be working out of the Scottish Parliament.”

* DON’T WORRY, though, for Mr Murphy continues to be as patriotic as always.

Not content with his previous online Twitter handle of “jimmurphymp”, he’s now gone for the much more powerful “JimForScotland”.

It’s all a bit, well, Alex Salmond