Westminster has an opportunity to ban dual mandates to prevent MPs and peers from also serving MSPs at the same time.
More immediately, the House of Commons’ Modernisation Committee is looking at improving working practices, standards and conditions, with a remit that includes second jobs. This gives a clear opportunity to improve our representative democracy and abolish dual mandates once and for all.
Below is a copy of the text I used to write to my MP on the matter. I am also submitting evidence to the Modernisation Committee.
Feel free to use my letter as the basis for your own contact.
Whether it’s Stephen Flynn in the SNP, Douglas Ross in the Conservatives, or any future Labour or Lib Dem MPs hoping for dual mandates, double jobbing is bad for effective representation of constituents.
Email to MP: abolish dual mandates once and for all
Dear[NAME] MP
I am writing to express my concern about dual mandates held by Members of Parliament and peers in the House of Lords.
Voters deserve full-time MPs to speak up for their constituencies in parliament. Not part-timers. That is why I believe MPs shouldn’t be able to hold additional full-time roles in the Scottish Parliament or the London Assembly, and be restricted from holding elected roles in local councils.
MPs cannot be members of the Senedd in Wales or Stormont in Northern Ireland in addition to their Westminster roles. Why not the same for the Scottish Parliament and the London Assembly?
Please write to the Modernisation Committee to represent my views and call on them to recommend that the law is changed so MPs are unable to hold additional elected roles, as part of their remit looking at second jobs for MPs.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I look forward to you raising this matter.
A ban on MSPs also being able to serve as MPs has moved one step closer thanks to Conservative MSP Graham Simpson’s retabled amendment to the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill.
The amendment follows SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn announcing his intentions to stand for Holyrood in 2026 and hold a dual mandate until 2029.
Simpson initially tabled the amendment at stage 2, but didn’t push it after being offered a potential consultation on the matter in the future. He will now retable at stage 3 following the momentum building against “double jobbing” in recent weeks.
The roles of MP and MSP are full-time positions. Voters deserve full-time dedicated representatives. Not part-timers.
The case for a dual mandates ban is one of principles and practicalities. For effective representation to happen, not to mention travelling between three locations and handling casework directly relating to two layers of government, MPs and MSPs should focus on the day job of representating constituents in one clear capacity.
Dual mandates should be banned.
What next?
The BBC reports that a vote on the amendment could come before Christmas 2024. If all opposition MSPs unite on the matter, then a dual mandates ban could become a reality.
Parliamentary Business Minster Jamie Hepburn has said he supports a consultation on the issue but there’s a chance the legislation wouldn’t come into force until after 2026 if parliament went down that route.
This shouldn’t be a party political issue. Whether it’s the SNP’s Stephen Flynn, the Conservatives’ Douglas Ross or Labour and Lib Dem MPs and MSPs past, dual mandates fail to meet the standards required to deliver effective representation.
And yet there’s a clear party political slant to the way this is coming about – opposition parties coming together amid an SNP divided on this issue due to one of their own paving to double job despite past party opposition.
It’s also worth highlighting that this probably wouldn’t be happening had Douglas Ross retained his seat in Westminster, as well as his leadership of the party.
Perhaps this change in this way is inevitable with dual mandates not currently being widespread across different parties and Scottish politics being so divided.
That said, a dual mandates ban will be welcome. MSPs should vote for this when the time comes.
Westminster leader Stephen Flynn plans to stand to become an MSP at the 2026 Holyrood elections. Flynn intends to remain an MP, if he wins the Scottish Parliament seat of Aberdeenshire South and North Kincardine, implying he would hold a dual mandate by representing seats in both Holyrood and Westminster until 2029.
Dual mandates – no matter which party holds them, and Scotland’s four main party’s have held them at one time or another – are bad for representative democracy.
Being an MSP or and MP is a full-time job. Constituents deserve representatives working full-time for them, not juggling multiple mandates and travelling across the country all the time. No matter which party they come from, whether it is the Conservatives’ Douglas Ross, the SNP’s Stephen Flynn or any of the former Labour and Lib Dem dual mandates holders at Holyrood.
Westminster has rightly banned MPs from holding elected office in the Northern Irish Assembly. And there is an effective ban of MP-MSs for Wales with exceptions in the case of an impending Senedd election.
More widely, dual mandates are banned in many democracies across the world. Even France, long known for its representatives holding dual mandates – and even triple mandates – has clamped down on the practice in recent years.
Members of the European Parliament are also forbidden from holding roles in their national parliament alongside their MEP roles.
Stephen Flynn MP has every right to stand for the Scottish Parliament. But it’s surprising he’s made the decision to do so while explicitly saying he’s remain an MP if he were to be elected.
Westminster’s Modernisation Committee has an opportunity here to recommend preventing MPs from holding seats in the Scottish Parliament concurrently.
In the meantime, Stephen Flynn MP should reconsider his intentions to hold his Westminster seat if elected to Holyrood.
The newly formed Modernisation Committee in the House of Commons should consider recommending banning MSP-MP dual mandates as part of its remit concerning MPs’ outside employment.
Labour formed the government on the back of a manifesto pledge to clamp down on paid advisory and consultancy roles. However, the new committee has an opportunity to take those proposals further and tighten restrictions on second jobs more broadly.
Dual mandates, where an individual holds two full-time parliamentary positions at the same time, are bad for representative democracies. This includes MSP-MPs and MSPs-Lords. The phenomenon results in representatives not fully dedicated to their constituents in one clear capacity.
A ban on the practice is long overdue, with the most prominent example in recent years being Douglas Ross being an MP, and MSP and taking on further employment at the same time. That said, this is an issue something all main parties have been of guilty of, especially in the early days of the Scottish Parliament.
The Modernisation Committee should consider the issue as part of their remit.
“Labour will establish a new Modernisation Committee tasked with reforming House of Commons procedures, driving up standards, and improving working practices. The absence of rules on second jobs also means some constituents end up with MPs who spend more time on their second job, or lobbying for outside interests, than on representing them. Therefore, as an initial step,Labour will support an immediate ban on MPs from taking up paid advisory or consultancy roles. We will task the Modernisation Committee to take forward urgent work on the restrictions that need to be put in place to prevent MPs from taking up roles that stop them serving their constituents and the country.”
The Scottish Conservatives are using the Alternative Vote to elect their new leader, following the departure of Douglas Ross from the top job. The Alternative Vote is a preferential system for single-seat positions, allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference to ensure the winner receives a broad base of support.
There’s no denying this system is fairer and more representative than First Past the Post. Indeed with at least six candidates standing to replace Douglas Ross, under FPTP the winner could in theory have been elected with less than 17% of the total vote. However, AV negates this possibility.
The Scottish Conservatives ultimately recognise the absurdity of FPTP hence their use of AV to elect their leaders. Furthermore, the party benefits significantly from the broadly proportional Additional Member System used to elect MSPs. If the Scottish Parliament used, First Past the, the SNP would likely have completely dominated at the 2021 election.
Yet the Conservatives continue to back First Past the Post for Westminster elections. If preferential voting is good enough for internal elections, it begs the question why not support the Single Transferable Vote for Westminster votes?
Of course, the way we elect representatives isn’t going to take centre stage in this election. But it’s worth flagging the mismatch between Conservative support for First Past the Post at Westminster with their rejection of it to elect their own leaders.
Conservatives should consider that when ranking candidates one to six in the coming weeks rather than marking an “x” in the box.
The Leader of the Scottish Conservative party Douglas Ross is seeking election to the constituency of Aberdeenshire North and Moray East after originally not planning to stand for Westminster. His decision came just hours before the close of nominations.
His original decision not to stand would have put an end to his dual mandate of being an MP and MSP. However, while his return to Westminster is far from certain, if he wins he will simultaneously sit in both parliament yet again.
When a politician holds two elected roles, they have a dual mandate.
These dual mandates are unfair on constituents who deserve full-time parliamentarians. Not part-timers. They are also highly impractical.
It may emerge that Ross plans on stepping down from his Holyrood role after the election but that remains to be seen. For now, it seems he is intent on maintaining his dual mandate.
Let’s not forget that we’ve been here before. A 2021 Panelbase poll even asked voters for their views on Ross’ intentions if he won seat at Holyrood (which he went on to do). It found that 67% of Scots think the MP for Moray should give up at least one of his numerous positions if elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2021. This suggested most Scots oppose dual mandates, as well as second jobs.
Douglas Ross’ decision ultimately exposes the absurdity of dual mandates in Scotland. It’s time to ban them once and for all.
Improving Scotland’s democracy is central to Upgrade Holyrood’s mission. Scotland needs better Proportional Representation, a recall rule, an end to dual mandates, and other changes that will ultimately better our country’s democratic design.
Both the Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Lib Dems supported a recall rule for MSPs that bring parliament into disrepute in their 2021 manifestos. The Conservatives detailed that this would include the right for constituents to recall MSPs if they stopped turning up for six months.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has since renewed his party’s plan, as reported by the BBC.
Speaking at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, Ross said:
“The ex-SNP finance secretary, Derek Mackay, resigned in disgrace and was never seen in parliament again.
“Yet Scottish taxpayers were forced to continue to pay him £100,000.
“In no other job could someone pocket a six-figure salary while hiding at home. So why would we stand for it in the Scottish Parliament?”
Douglas Ross
The so-called Mackay’s Law is a welcome proposal and something all parties can and should get behind. That former Minister Derek Mackay was able to claim a salary and not show up for work for over a year is detrimental democratic practice. Voters should be empowered and represented, not diminished and ignored.
However, it is difficult to take the Scottish Conservative leader too seriously on this matter. There is a level of hypocrisy here as Douglas Ross is often absent from his role as an MSP. This is because he is also an MP, and therefore has to be in both Westminster and Holyrood.
He is of course not absent for six months spells, but by holding two roles he is not fully effectively representing his constituents.
Dual mandates are ultimately unfair on voters who deserve full-time representatives in both Edinburgh and London. Not part-timers.
Ross’ proposal of a Mackay’s Law is sound policy that would improve our democracy but the fact he holds a dual mandate makes his position somewhat hypocritical.
Douglas Ross must resign from one of his roles to be taken seriously as someone championing better representative democracy.
The term dual mandate refers to the situation where a politician holds two elected positions. For example, this can include an MP that is also an MSP or an MSP who is also a councillor. Although unelected, members of the House of Lords with additional mandates are also included in this categorisation.
Dual mandates are ultimately unfair on constituents. Citizens in a democracy deserve full-time representatives not part-timers. The practice has been banned for Members of the European Parliament, as well as for Members of the Welsh Parliament and for the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Upgrade Holyrood has outlined the main reasons against dual mandates here.
Dual mandate holders have existed in every Scottish Parliament. The SNP, Conservatives, Labour and the Lib Dems have all been guilty of this practice, and while parties have moved away from supporting it at a parliamentary level (that is to say dual mandate MSP-MPs), the current Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross currently holds both roles having gone into the 2021 election with the explicit intention of holding a dual mandate.
After the 6 May election, there were at least 16 dual mandate holders. A full list of these MSPs is included below although the information may be incomplete.
The vast majority of dual mandates holders elected on 6 May 2021 are MSP-councillors with the exception being Douglas Ross (also and MSP) and Katy Clark (a member of the House of Lords, who has since suspended her membership of Westminster’s upper chamber).
As discussed elsewhere on this site, with council elections one year away and councillors only part-time positions, there is less of a case for abolishing dual mandates than there is for MSP-MPs. However, they are still somewhat problematic and should be addressed in some form. It appears that only one MSP-Councillor has resigned from their council role since the 2021 election.
All the dual mandate holders are newly elected MSPs who gained their dual mandate status upon election to the Scottish Parliament in May.
Dual mandate holders since the 2021 Scottish Parliamentary election
Karen Adam (SNP) – newly elected MSP for Banffshire and Buchan coast. Upon election as an MSP she was a councillor for the Mid-Formartine ward for Aberdeenshire Council. At the end of May 2021, she announced her resignation as Councillor. A by-election will be held on 19 August. Adam appears to be the only MSP to have resigned her council role.
Siobhian Brown (SNP) – newly elected MSP for Ayr. Elected in 2017 as a Councillor for Ayr West (South Ayrshire Council). She is still listed on the council website as a councillor and there has been no news about a resignation (as at 9 August 2021)
Stephanie Callaghan (SNP) – MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill and councillor for Hamilton North and East ward on South Lanarkshire Council. Currently holds a dual mandate (as at 9 August 2021).
Katy Clarke (Lab) – MSP for West Scotland and member of the House of Lords. Clarke declared that she would stand down from the House of Lords if elected as an MSP. She is still listed as a life peer on the official Parliment website. This implies that she remains a peer but won’t be attending any meetings of the House of Lords.
Update (2 February 2022): Katy Clark has taken a leave of absence from the House of Lords, meaning while she was elected as an MSP with a dual mandate she no longer technically holds one.
Baroness Clark of Kilwinning’s full title is The Baroness Clark of Kilwinning. Her name is Katy Clark, and she is currently on leave of absence from the House of Lords.
Natalie Don (SNP) – MSP for Renfrewshire North and a councillor for Renfrewshire (Bishopton Bridge of Weir and Langbank). Don remains a councillor according to the council’s website.
Jackie Dunbar (SNP) – MSP for Aberdeen Donside and Aberdeen City councillor. Dunbar remains a councillor and has said she will donate her councillor salary to charity.
Meghan Gallacher (Con) – MSP for Central Scotland and North Lanarkshire councillor. She remains a councillor according to the council website and her Twitter page.
Craig Hoy (Con) – MSP for South Scotland and Cllr for Haddington and Lammermuir Ward. He remains a councillor according to his Twitter and the council website.
Douglas Lumsden (Con) – MSP for North East Region and Councillor for Aberdeen City Council (Airyhall, Broomhill and Garthdee). He has said he will remain a councillor to avoid the cost of a by-election and that he will donate his council salary to charity.
Michael Marra (Lab) – MSP for North East and Dundee City councillor for Lochee ward. He remains a councillor according to the council website and his Twitter page.
Paul McLennan (SNP) – MSP for East Lothian and Councillor for the Dunbar and East Linton ward (East Lothian council). McLennan remains a councillor according to the council website.
Audrey Nicoll (SNP) – MSP for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine and Aberdeen City Councillor for the Torry/Ferryhill ward. She won her council seat in a 2019 by-election and remains a councillor.
Paul O’Kane (Labour) – MSP for West Scotland and Councillor for Newton Mearns North & Neilston (East Renfrewshire). Currently holds a dual mandate.
Emma Roddick (SNP) – MSP for Highlands and Islands and Inverness Central councillor (Highland Council). Roddick won her council seat and remains a councillor.
Douglas Ross (Conservative) – MSP for the Highland region and MP for Moray. Ross currently holds both roles and is the only MSP-MP dual mandate holder.
Colette Stevenson (SNP) – MSP for East Kilbride and South Lanarkshire councillor. Stevenson remains a councillor.
The term “dual mandates” refers to the situation where one individual simultaneously holds two (usually elected) political roles. Since the advent of devolution in 1999 (and before that with local authority representatives), dual mandates have been a consequence of Scotland’s multi-layered government. A dual mandate holder in Scotland is anyone who simultaneously holds mandates for the Scottish Parliament, the House of Commons, the House of Lords or local councils.
While the number of dual mandate holders has been limited since the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, the commitment by Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross to hold a dual MSP-MP mandate if elected at the 2021 election puts the issue into the spotlight. Similarly, the intentions of Alba MPs Kenny MacAskill and Neale Hanvey to do the same have further brought the issue into mainstream political discourse. Many countries and pan-national organisations around the world have in recent years have addressed dual mandates with restrictions in various reforms.
Restrictions in Wales and Northern Ireland make Scotland the only devolved nation where MPs can also hold a second mandate in a devolved administration. The European Parliament banned dual mandates in 2002 and even France, which has a widespread culture of dual mandates, has introduced recent restrictions to address the issue.
The central problem with dual mandates is one of two connected parts. Firstly, an individual elected in one role to one legislative body with a specific set of responsibilities should give all their time and energy to that position. To do otherwise is unfair on constituents and may create conflicts of interest, and even opportunities for corruption.
Secondly, there are related practical considerations. In the case of MSPs, MPs and often Lords, these are full-time (not to mention well-paid) positions. Constituents deserve full-time representatives. It is impossible to expect an MSP-MP to commit the same amount of time and energy to each role that they would do for just one of the positions. Not to mention the challenges of being in Holyrood, Westminster, and one’s constituency. Dual mandates present an insurmountable logistical challenge.
To ensure fair and efficient representation, dual mandates should be restricted in Scotland. Scotland could follow Wales and Northern Ireland (by banning dual mandates with some practical exceptions) or else introduce a ban on candidacy for existing representatives (like in Canada).
A simple ban on representatives taking their seats in a different legislative body while holding another mandate (like in the European Parliament) offers another approach. A model based on the approach taken in Northern Ireland would likely be the best approach for Scotland, but the decision will ultimately be up to legislators after hearing from stakeholders at all levels of governance in Scotland as well as empirical evidence and analyses from experts.
Whatever form they take, restrictions on dual mandates are necessary to build a fairer, efficient, and ultimately more representative Scottish democracy.
A new Panelbase poll suggests that most Scots oppose dual mandates, the practice where politicians hold more than one elected position.
Dual mandate holders have been minimal in recent years but Douglas Ross’ intention to remain an MP if he becomes an MSP in May has put the issue into the spotlight.
The findings come from a Panelbase poll commissioned by Scot Goes Pop conducted between 21 and 26 April.
The poll asked voters for their views on Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross’ intentions if he wins a seat at Holyrood. It found that 67% of Scots think the MP for Moray should give up at least one of his numerous positions if elected to the Scottish Parliament on 6 May.
Ross has explicitly committeed to holding a dual mandate as have former SNP now Alba MPs Neale Hanvey and Kenny MacAskill who are standing for seats in Holyrood.
The Panelbase poll specifically asked about Ross but the findings therefore indicate that most Scots would favour banning the practice of dual mandates as well as restrictions on jobs in addition to being employed as an MP or MSP.
Dual mandates were banned for Wales and Northern Ireland in 2014.
The practice is also banned in the European Parliament and other countries such as Canada. Even France, which has had a strong culture of dual mandates, has restricted the practice in recent years.
The case against dual mandates is strong as they are ultimately unfair on constituents who deserve full-time representatives. This is backed up by academic evidence which suggests that dual mandate holders are less productive than full-time committed representatives. Considering that MPs work more than a standard working week, this should not come as a surprise.
Dual mandates should be banned in the name of fair and efficient representation.
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