SNP appoints new treasurer amid indyref2 cash row
- Published
Colin Beattie has returned to the role he had previously held for 16 years
The SNP has appointed a new treasurer after the previous holder of the post quit amid a row over party finances.
Colin Beattie has returned to the role after Douglas Chapman resigned claiming he had not been given the information he needed to do the job.
Mr Beattie had been the treasurer since 2004, but was defeated by Mr Chapman in a vote of members last December.
It comes amid controversy over hundreds of thousands of pounds that was donated by independence supporters.
The money had been raised through SNP fundraising websites since 2017, with the party saying it would be ring-fenced for a future independence referendum campaign.
But its most recent accounts, external showed that the SNP had just £96,000 in the bank at the end of 2019.
This has led to claims from some activists that the donated money had gone missing - which the party denies.
Prominent SNP MP Joanna Cherry also recently resigned from the party's management board over an alleged lack of "transparency and scrutiny" within the SNP.
Police are currently assessing a complaint of alleged financial irregularity, with the force saying that its initial work had led to "further information" being received "which also requires to be assessed".
But party leader Nicola Sturgeon said she had no concerns about its finances and pledged that every penny that was raised "will be spent on the campaign for independence."
She also said the SNP's accounts were independently audited and sent to the Electoral Commission.
And the party has insisted that Mr Chapman did have access to detailed financial information.
The money was donated by independence supporters through an SNP-run website
Mr Beattie, the MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, officially took up his role on 30 May and is expected to present draft accounts for 2020 - including an update on indyref2 donations - to the party's governing National Executive Committee on Saturday.
The SNP launched a fundraising website in 2017 as part of a drive for a new independence referendum, aiming to bring in £1m in donations.
Almost £500,000 was reportedly raised, and while the website was taken down in the wake of that year's general election - which saw the SNP lose 21 seats - the party said the cash "will only be used for the specific purpose of an referendum campaign".
The party has run further referendum campaign crowd-funders since, including one in 2019 which asked for donations to pay for the distribution of pro-independence literature to every household in Scotland.
The SNP's most recent accounts showed that it had about £96,000 in the bank at the end of 2019, and total net assets of about £272,000.
The party brought in a total of £5.3m and spent £5.6m that year.
Many who have given money to the SNP's indyref2 appeals will trust the party to spend their money appropriately. Some clearly do not.
An SNP source tells me there have been almost 13,000 donations and around 60 refund requests - mainly from former party members.
One senior SNP figure told me he regards the complaints about this issue as part of an "orchestrated campaign" by Alex Salmond's Alba party - a claim they describe as "nonsense".
Clearly there is disquiet within the SNP too with MPs Douglas Chapman and Joanna Cherry quitting the party's governing body citing concerns about a lack of transparency.
This weekend, it is for the recently re-instated treasurer Colin Beattie to explain exactly how much has been raised, how it's been managed and how it will all - eventually - be spent on independence.
An SNP spokesman said its financial position was healthier than at any time in its history "thanks to the generosity of our members and supporters, and our political success".
He added: "Delivering transparency for our members and donors is of paramount importance to us.
"However, we will robustly challenge any allegations from political opponents that seek to cast doubt on the integrity of the SNP's finances."
The party has said that it applies an internal process whereby any donation in response to a specific appeal or is donated for a specific purpose - is recorded as such "to ensure that an equivalent amount is indeed spent on the intended purpose".
The spokesman added that all donations to the independence appeals had therefore been coded and recorded as such.
He added: "This allows a running total to be kept and ensures that pound for pound that total will be spent on work to secure and win an independence referendum.
"So, while the money raised through the independence appeals is not held in a separate account, it is 'earmarked' through the internal process.
"Every penny will be deployed through normal cash flow arrangements for the purpose of securing and winning an independence referendum."
It is understood that a small number of refund requests have already been made to the party, which are said to be mainly from former members.