Official government figures have revealed that the government spent a whopping 1,211,084 pounds on unspecified vehicle costs between February 2019 and March 2020. Nearly £ 100,000 of that cost (£ 96,480) of that total was paid to Tesla, an electric car maker, which is owned by Tesla and is being prosecuted on allegations of worker rights violations, according to Scottish Labor. The figures show that 17 payments were made to Cirencester-based The Colt Car Company, seven of which were £ 28,304.93.
Eight payments totaling £ 31,029.90 each were made to The Leven Car Company and six payments totaling nearly £ 270,000 were made to Clelands of the Borders Limited, a Volvo dealer in Galashiels, Scotland.
Two payments of £ 26,183.07 and £ 27,814.33 were made to Toyota, while a one-time payment of £ 43,045.20 was made to Western Commercial, a Mercedes-Benz dealer in Broxburn, Scotland.
Scottish Labor, led by Anas Sarwar, has launched a violent attack on the SNP for the appropriateness of this use of public funds, which they have described as “a waste”.
Party’s finance spokesman Daniel Johnson paid special attention to the nearly £ 100,000 paid to Tesla, calling it a slap in the face of the Scottish people as thousands of people struggle to make ends meet.
Scottish Labor the amount of money that has been spent on cars in such a short period of time “not only raises its eyebrows, it sounds the alarm” and is demanding answers from the SNP on the “tearful waste of public money”.
Mr Johnson said, “This is a staggering amount of money paid to auto companies in such a short amount of time – we need answers from the government about how and why every penny has been spent.
“Wasting nearly £ 100,000 on Tesla while thousands of Scots struggle to make ends meet is a slap in the face of the Scottish people.
“Of course the government has to spend money on the vehicle costs, but the sum that is paid in such a short time not only raises eyebrows, but also raises the alarm.
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“We need responses from the government to this staggering waste of public money, and we need them now.”
A Scottish government spokesman confirmed that all vehicles were pool vehicles, used only for official business and sourced as part of broader carbon reduction plans.
The investments in the vehicles are broadly in line with previous years and are necessary to meet the obligation to phase out gasoline and diesel vehicles from the public sector fleet by 2025 and, if necessary, to replace fossil-fueled vehicles with plug-in or fully electric vehicles according to the Scottish Government said.
A speaker said: “We are committed to phasing out gasoline and diesel vehicles from the public sector fleet by 2025 and replacing fossil fuel vehicles with plug-in or fully electric vehicles if necessary. This is demonstrated by our increased investment in ultra-low emission electric vehicles, which now represent 51 percent of the total current fleet (and 100 percent of Government Car Service’s current fleet). “
The shocking results come from a former leader of the Scottish Conservative Party who predicted Nicola Sturgeon will not head the SNP in the country’s next general election in 2026.
Jackson Carlaw told Express.co.uk he didn’t expect the current First Minister to stand for election in Holyrood’s 2026 elections.
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The Scottish Tory added that the term of office of the current First Minister of Scotland is already over and the SNP wants to move on.
Mr Carlaw said: “I suspect Nicola Sturgeon will not take part in the next Scottish general election.
“I think there will come a point where the party itself thinks it’s time for them to move on.
“I suspect that will happen when she accepts a position in an organization.
“She herself said at one point that she hoped to have another job in her.
“Politics is not forever for anyone, I think that in general people will only judge whether the time has come.
“Obviously I have a feeling that it has come, it has already come and gone.”
