Latest news with #BillWalker
Scottish Sun
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
Wife-beater ex-SNP MSP blasted for blaming VICTIMS for ending his career
Disgraced Nat Bill Walker, 83, blamed the women he battered for ending his political career 'APPALLING' Wife-beater ex-SNP MSP blasted for blaming VICTIMS for ending his career A FORMER MSP who was jailed for domestic abuse has blamed his victims for ending his political career. Wife-beater Bill Walker, 83, also claims in his memoir he was the target of a 'vendetta'. 3 Disgraced former MSP Bill Walker leaves Dumfries Prison after serving half of his 12-month sentence for a catalogue of domestic abuse offences Credit: Danny Lawson/PA Wire 3 Domestic abuse campaigners rallied outside the Scottish Parliament after he refused to give up his seat Credit: Jeff3 Sneering Walker has blamed the victims of his violent crimes for ending his political career The ex-SNP member for Dunfermline was caged for 12 months in 2013 after being convicted of 23 charges spanning 30 years. They included battering three former spouses and a stepdaughter. But in his self-published book, the unrepentant brute says: 'My former wives succeeded in ending prematurely my political life.' He added that his victims had sought to 'discredit me and destroy the modest successes of my life'. He claimed he penned the book 'to set the record straight'. Danielle Secker bravely shares her story of horrific domestic abuse But Tory MSP Sharon Dowey hit out: 'These shameful comments are the worst type of victim-blaming. 'Walker alone ended his career through his dreadful criminal behaviour, not the poor women on the receiving end of his abuse.' A spokesman for the SNP, who expelled Walker in 2012, said last night: 'These are appalling comments. "He should apologise to all those he wronged.' Walker was contacted for comment.
The Herald Scotland
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Voters must be able to sack MSPs despite cost, says Simpson
His remarks came after legal academics warned the draft law could deliver 'the worst of all worlds'. READ MORE Currently, MSPs can only be removed from office if sentenced to more than 12 months in prison. Mr Simpson said the system was 'absurd'. 'If you contrast that to what happens in other workplaces, if an employee repeatedly or seriously breaches their company's code of conduct, they could be sacked. 'If an employee just did not attend their place of work without good reason, they could be removed. 'And you would expect that — and if an employee received a relatively short custodial sentence for a criminal offence, that could lead to their dismissal, especially if they are in a senior position. 'And for me, that contrast is quite jarring.' Mr Simpson raised the case of former Dunfermline MSP Bill Walker. He was convicted of a course of abusive behaviour against a series of his former partners and was handed a 12-month prison sentence — one day short of the threshold that would have seen him automatically barred from Holyrood. He initially refused to resign, raising the prospect of parliamentary authorities paying out salary to a politician spending six months in HMP Low Moss. Mr Simpson's Scottish Parliament (Recall and Removal of Members) Bill would allow voters to trigger a recall petition if an MSP receives a jail sentence of six months or more, fails to attend Parliament for six months without good reason, or is sanctioned for misconduct. If at least 10% of constituents sign the petition, the MSP would lose their job and a vote would be held. For a recalled constituency MSP, this would trigger a by-election. However, for a list MSP, a vote would only be held if they wished to stand again — to decide whether they return. If not, the seat would go to the next person on the party list or remain vacant for independents until the next election. In evidence to the committee, three Glasgow Caledonian University law lecturers warned that this model risks undermining democratic choice by holding a 'significant democratic event' with no opportunity for voters to select a new candidate. They suggested instead automatically removing MSPs who breach the thresholds and holding a full by-election open to all parties and candidates. READ MORE Mr Simpson said he had wrestled with how best to deal with regional MSPs and admitted parity with constituency members was difficult to achieve under Scotland's hybrid electoral system. 'Those of us who are elected on regional lists — if we are being honest — nobody really knows who they are going to get when they put the cross on that regional list. They just end up with who they end up with. 'Nobody voted for me individually. But if I was to be subject to a recall vote, people would have heard of me, because I have probably done something — and then it is about the individual and their behaviour, or alleged behaviour. So it is not about the party. 'I do not think it is about the individual MSP, and so that individual should, in my view, have the chance to make their case.' He rejected calls to simplify the process by automatically removing MSPs or skipping the petition stage, saying that 10% of a politician's constituents voting against them was not enough to 'kick somebody out of a Parliament'. Mr Simpson also rebuffed suggestions that MSPs who switch parties should face automatic re-election. 'I know it is controversial. I do not think it is a crime to switch parties. I am personally not in favour of having a recall in that situation.' He accepted the legislation would carry administrative and financial burdens, particularly for regional polls, but said: 'It is the price of democracy.' The legislation was first mooted after SNP MSP Derek Mackay resigned as Finance Secretary when it emerged he had contacted a teenage boy over social media — without knowing his age — and then bombarded him with more than 270 messages. He called the boy 'cute', invited him to dinner, and asked for their conversations to remain secret. The behaviour was described as 'predatory' and a textbook example of 'grooming'. Mr Mackay apologised 'unreservedly' to the boy. He was suspended by the SNP and a party investigation was launched into his behaviour. He then disappeared from public life on the eve of the Scottish Budget in 2020 and did not return to work at Holyrood after the scandal — but continued to draw a full salary of £64,700 while sitting as an independent MSP for more than a year. He was also paid an automatic grant of £11,945 for 'loss of ministerial office' and a further £53,725 'resettlement grant' when he left Parliament at the 2021 election. Financial estimates for Mr Simpson's Bill reckon a regional recall petition could cost more than £1 million, with a potential subsequent regional poll costing a further £1m. Discussing the financial implications, Mr Simpson said he had sought to reduce costs by keeping the length of the regional recall petition to four weeks rather than six. He said: 'We do need a recall system in Scotland, and that will come at a cost.'
CTV News
13-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Here comes the MPP: Ontario bill could let politicians perform weddings
MPP for Perth-Wellington Matthew Rae, and his wife Meghan Thomson pose for a photo on their wedding day with Bill Walker, right, former MPP for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, who acted as their officiant, in a Sept. 21, 2024, handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Laurie Thomson TORONTO — Cut the red tape and cue the white dress. Two Ontario Progressive Conservative members of provincial parliament are proposing to remove a layer of bureaucracy and let MPPs such as themselves more easily officiate weddings. A private member's bill from Matthew Rae and Dave Smith would automatically grant an MPP the authority to solemnize marriages after they give written notice of their interest, without having to go through a municipality as with most non-religious officiants. 'Not every single municipality actually has their clerk do weddings, so if you want a civil marriage, you have to go through a justice of the peace or a judge,' Smith said. 'When you look at some of the more northern, more remote, more rural ridings, you don't have as easy access to a justice of the peace or a judge and I just saw this as one of those things that's almost a red tape thing. We have the ability to make that change. It really doesn't have a negative effect. So why not do it?' Rae said engaged couples sometimes reach out to elected officials – including himself – to request that they solemnize their marriage, thinking they're granted that ability automatically, like judges. 'Some are family and friends that live in my riding,' he said. 'Obviously, they think it would be kind of neat to have their local MPP perform the ceremony...(it's) just another provincial service that a local member can choose to offer their constituents if they choose to do so. And so it really is just having that little extra special component to your happy day.' Rae personally availed himself of that extra special component when he got married last year, using Bill Walker, the former member of provincial parliament for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, as his officiant. When it comes to politicians and weddings, Walker is the guy, both Smith and Rae said. Walker went through the whole regular process for becoming a civil marriage officiant, which includes a designation from a municipal clerk, and estimates he has done more than 70 weddings in just a few years. 'It's humbling, for anybody, to be part of their special day, but especially if you've worked with them, or my goddaughters,' Walker said. 'It was pretty hard to top those.' Walker's side gig as an officiant – he doesn't take any payment – began with a request from one of his goddaughters. '(She) thought that we had the right as an MPP to be able to do weddings, because Bill Murdoch, who was my predecessor (as the MPP for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound), had done them up here forever, and I think she just thought it was one of those things you got to do,' he said. 'My other goddaughter said, 'Well, if you're marrying her, you've got to marry me.'' It snowballed from there – including other friends, family and Queen's Park staffers – and Walker has about a dozen weddings on tap for this year. The bill would allow provincial politicians who ask for the authority to perform marriages to keep that power for a full year after they leave office. That way, a snap election as the province saw earlier this year and an unexpected defeat doesn't leave an engaged couple with no officiant. Most private member's bills that get tabled come from opposition parties, and since this one is from within the government caucus it may be more likely than most to get through, but Rae and Smith said further discussions and debate are expected to be held in the fall. If the bill does become law, Rae said he isn't sure if he will set out to officiate weddings, but Smith is game. 'I'll probably reach out to the minister if this passes, and ask for permission to do it,' he said. 'Any time you can break down barriers for people who want to spend their life together, then why not do that?' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2025. Allison Jones, The Canadian Press
CTV News
13-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Here comes the MPP: Ontario bill could let politicians perform weddings
MPP for Perth-Wellington Matthew Rae, and his wife Meghan Thomson pose for a photo on their wedding day with Bill Walker, right, former MPP for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, who acted as their officiant, in a Sept. 21, 2024, handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Laurie Thomson TORONTO — Cut the red tape and cue the white dress. Two Ontario Progressive Conservative members of provincial parliament are proposing to remove a layer of bureaucracy and let MPPs such as themselves more easily officiate weddings. A private member's bill from Matthew Rae and Dave Smith would automatically grant an MPP the authority to solemnize marriages after they give written notice of their interest, without having to go through a municipality as with most non-religious officiants. 'Not every single municipality actually has their clerk do weddings, so if you want a civil marriage, you have to go through a justice of the peace or a judge,' Smith said. 'When you look at some of the more northern, more remote, more rural ridings, you don't have as easy access to a justice of the peace or a judge and I just saw this as one of those things that's almost a red tape thing. We have the ability to make that change. It really doesn't have a negative effect. So why not do it?' Rae said engaged couples sometimes reach out to elected officials – including himself – to request that they solemnize their marriage, thinking they're granted that ability automatically, like judges. 'Some are family and friends that live in my riding,' he said. 'Obviously, they think it would be kind of neat to have their local MPP perform the ceremony...(it's) just another provincial service that a local member can choose to offer their constituents if they choose to do so. And so it really is just having that little extra special component to your happy day.' Rae personally availed himself of that extra special component when he got married last year, using Bill Walker, the former member of provincial parliament for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, as his officiant. When it comes to politicians and weddings, Walker is the guy, both Smith and Rae said. Walker went through the whole regular process for becoming a civil marriage officiant, which includes a designation from a municipal clerk, and estimates he has done more than 70 weddings in just a few years. 'It's humbling, for anybody, to be part of their special day, but especially if you've worked with them, or my goddaughters,' Walker said. 'It was pretty hard to top those.' Walker's side gig as an officiant – he doesn't take any payment – began with a request from one of his goddaughters. '(She) thought that we had the right as an MPP to be able to do weddings, because Bill Murdoch, who was my predecessor (as the MPP for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound), had done them up here forever, and I think she just thought it was one of those things you got to do,' he said. 'My other goddaughter said, 'Well, if you're marrying her, you've got to marry me.'' It snowballed from there – including other friends, family and Queen's Park staffers – and Walker has about a dozen weddings on tap for this year. The bill would allow provincial politicians who ask for the authority to perform marriages to keep that power for a full year after they leave office. That way, a snap election as the province saw earlier this year and an unexpected defeat doesn't leave an engaged couple with no officiant. Most private member's bills that get tabled come from opposition parties, and since this one is from within the government caucus it may be more likely than most to get through, but Rae and Smith said further discussions and debate are expected to be held in the fall. If the bill does become law, Rae said he isn't sure if he will set out to officiate weddings, but Smith is game. 'I'll probably reach out to the minister if this passes, and ask for permission to do it,' he said. 'Any time you can break down barriers for people who want to spend their life together, then why not do that?' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2025. Allison Jones, The Canadian Press
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alaska utility execs to lawmakers: Let's revive Susitna hydroelectric megaproject
A rendering of the proposed Susitna hydroelectric development. (Alaska Energy Authority image) With urban Alaska facing a shortfall in the natural gas long used to generate the vast majority of its power, renewable energy advocates have been pressuring the region's utilities to advance large-scale wind and solar development to meet future power demands. But no such projects have been built in the past few years, even with generous tax credits available from the federal government. And now, the utilities are pitching the idea of cutting their dependence on gas by resurrecting a dormant but divisive megaproject: a huge hydroelectric dam along the Susitna River estimated, a decade ago, to cost $5.6 billion. The pitch, sent to three key budget-writing members of the state House, came earlier in May in a formal letter from the heads of Anchorage-based Chugach Electric Association, Kenai Peninsula-based Homer Electric Association, Fairbanks-based Golden Valley Electric Association, Matanuska Electric Association and Seward's municipally run electric utility. [Read the letter] 'In an era when Alaska is facing production declines and difficulty securing natural gas, pursuing energy projects with proven technology, like hydro, provides the utilities with additional generation options while preserving existing natural gas resources,' the executives wrote. They added: 'We need multiple options to solve the biggest issue impacting Alaska utilities today: fuel availability.' The Susitna hydroelectric project has been contemplated, off and on, for decades, before development was suspended by former Gov. Bill Walker in 2016 amid a state budget crisis. The project could generate 50% of urban Alaska's electricity demand, according to the state agency that's led the study process, the Alaska Energy Authority. The letter from the utility executives asks the three co-chairs of the House Finance Committee to revive the state's partially completed efforts to secure a federal license for the project. Officials estimate that finishing the licensing process could cost as much as $100 million, on top of some $200 million that's already been spent. Lawmakers are nearing the end of their annual budget writing process, and amid declining state revenue, they haven't added any cash for the hydro project yet. They're also still considering legislation to require the utilities to generate higher amounts of power from renewable sources by target dates. Reached between meetings Wednesday, Anchorage Rep. Calvin Schrage, one of the letter's recipients, declined to comment. The utilities' request to revive the Susitna project is exasperating advocates for other forms of renewable energy, who say that hydroelectric development is economically and politically unrealistic given its huge cost and potential impacts to the river's yearly runs of hundreds of thousands of salmon. 'It feels like an unfortunate distraction from the urgent work that we need to be doing to secure affordable energy,' said Alex Petkanas, climate and clean energy program manager at the Alaska Center, a conservation group. 'We have the studies and the information we need about wind power in Alaska, wind availability in Alaska, and wind reliability. So, to see them spending time on a controversial project rather than pursuing solutions like wind energy that are within our reach feels like a mistake.' Hydroelectric projects like the Susitna development appeal to utility executives because they provide what's known as 'dispatchable' power — electricity that's available whenever it's needed. The utilities have expressed more skepticism about wind and solar developments because of their variability, though a recent study commissioned by the utilities found that urban Alaska's grid could boost its use of wind power seven-fold without jeopardizing reliability. The next step for the hydroelectric project wouldn't require the full amount of cash to secure the federal license, said Curtis Thayer, the energy authority's executive director. Instead, he said, lawmakers would have to budget 'a few million dollars' to better understand how much work is needed before the license could be issued. 'We need to spend a little bit of money to refresh all those numbers to really decide if this is a viable project to move forward,' Thayer said. He asserted that the billions of dollars that would be required for construction is 'not an issue,' because private investment firms would finance the project in exchange for guaranteed returns. For developments that have received federal licenses, 'there are people that are standing in line to invest,' Thayer said. The Susitna proposal faces intense opposition from conservationists and some residents along the river, who say that the development would harm salmon by dramatically reducing water flow in the summer, when power demand is lower, and artificially boosting it during the winter, when demand is high. The Susitna River Coalition, a nonprofit that's led efforts to block the dam, says its construction would cause the 'eradication' of the river's 'unique ecosystems, the destruction of one of Alaska's most valued salmon spawning and rearing habitats, and the flooding of 40,000 acres teeming with wildlife, while costing the state billions of dollars that are needed elsewhere.' Critics of hydroelectric development point out that elsewhere in the United States, dams are being removed, not built, because of their harmful effects on salmon and other migratory fish species. They also say that construction costs regularly exceed projections. Opponents of the Susitna project also questioned the process that led to the letter being drafted and sent by the executives of the cooperatively owned utilities, which are governed by citizen boards of directors. Those opponents said that not all the utility executives had consulted with board members before the letter was sent — an assertion that two members confirmed to Northern Journal, though they asked to remain anonymous to describe internal conversations. 'Utility staff should not be contacting the Legislature or taking positions without board knowledge or approval,' said Petkanas. A spokesperson for the largest urban utility, Chugach Electric Association, could not be reached for comment Wednesday, while the spokesperson for the next-largest, Matanuska Electric Association, did not respond to a request for comment. But Mark Wiggin, board chair of Chugach Electric Association, said he was informed about the letter in advance. 'There's an overarching interest by all of us to find some way to maintain our energy grid,' Wiggin said. 'However we do that, without having to import all that gas, would be a good thing.' Disclosure: Northern Journal reporter Nat Herz works as a volunteer crew member (paid in fish, not cash) for two weeks each summer at a small commercial fishing business at the mouth of the Susitna River. Nathaniel Herz welcomes tips at natherz@ or (907) 793-0312. This article was originally published in Northern Journal, a newsletter from Herz. Subscribe at this link. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
