McLeish May Be Short of Cash

18th January 2002
The Scotsman newspaper today quoted friends of Henry McLeish as expressing the opinion that since resigning as First Minister, Henry McLeish and his wife have had to make cut backs. It appears that without the combined MSP and First Minister salary of £110,000, Henry might not have enough money to live on - even with the recent award of a £34,000 pension.

As a socialist, any story of hardship makes my heart weigh heavily. Since it's Henry McLeish we're talking about here, I won't be shedding any tears. Henry was the Scottish First Minister who was discovered to have taken over £36,000 in rent from tenants subletting his Glenrothes office.

When the story came to light Henry made a "full and frank disclosure" regarding FIVE sublets which he had not declared, but omitted details of a SIXTH sublet. No-one I have spoken to believes that this omission was an honest mistake. The sublet involved a charity which employed a prominent member of the local Labour Party who was well known to McLeish (the woman in question his election agent in 1997).

The conclusion I have drawn is that Mr McLeish was lying when he claimed he was making a "full and frank disclosure".

So I don't feel sorry that Henry is worried about his cashflow. The longer this story runs, the more it appears that McLeish is a victim of his own greed. I certainly have not heard anything from lawyers claiming to represent Mr McLeish that would force me to retract anything published on this website so far!