LABOUR peer George Foulkes is plotting to challenge Scottish Government spending on international offices as he ramps up his efforts to frustrate the work of the SNP administration.
He has already raised concerns about the Scottish Government’s spending on independence campaigning and told the Herald on Sunday he would redouble his efforts when Parliament returns this week after the summer break.
Lord Foulkes told the paper he had a five-point plan on which to target the SNP-Greens administration in Edinburgh, which he previously branded an “elected dictatorship”.
This would include challenging in the Lords chamber and in committees Scottish Government spending on international offices, the unelected peer said.
The Scottish Government spent £7 million maintaining international offices in 2022/23 in China, the USA, Canada, France, Ireland, Germany, Belgium and Denmark.
He told the Herald on Sunday: “I have had overwhelming support for the action I am taking - by email and in person. It is clear more and more people are getting fed up with the arrogance and hypocrisy of the Scottish Government.
“There must be a stop to all ultra vires spending, switching earmarked cash to other areas and accountability accepted for all the scandals from the ferries to Deposit Return Scheme and everything in between.”
Also in his five-point plan to challenge the Scottish Government were measures to highlight “scandals” facing the administration such as problems with ferry building, challenging spending by Independence Minister Jamie Hepburn.
Lord Foulkes also told the paper he intended to follow up a review by chief civil servant Simon Case, who he previously urged to probe Scottish Government spending on independence campaigning through its series of white papers making the case for ending the Union.
Case previously described the work of the team tasked with drawing up the papers – which costs the taxpayer at least £1.4m in salary costs – as “worrying”.
First Minister Humza Yousaf has previously described the work as legitimate, saying he has a mandate for it through the pro-independence majority in Holyrood.
Drew Hendry, the SNP MP for Inverness, told the Herald on Sunday: "This extraordinary attack from an unelected peer on the democratically elected Scottish Government shows, yet again, that the pro-Brexit Labour Party can't be trusted to defend devolution or stand up for Scotland's democratic right to choose our own future.
"The fact that the Labour Party has repeatedly joined with the Tories to attack and undermine the Scottish Parliament shows that independence is the only way to protect Scottish democracy and build a fairer and wealthier future for Scotland.
"At the general election, voting SNP is the only way to secure independence, tackle the cost of living and escape the damage of Westminster control for good."
