A PARLIAMENT without purpose or focus is nothing more than an echo chamber and the Scottish Parliament can be better than what we currently have.

During the referendum into whether Scotland should have its own parliament, it was argued that a parliament for Scotland would be more modern and inclusive, and would result in better decisions being taken on behalf of the people of Scotland. There would be no overall control by one party and this would be a true people’s parliament that was underpinned by the idea of building consensus between political parties and representatives.

In 1999, the Scottish Parliament was created and at the time there was an air of excitement in Scotland – anything was possible, Scotland’s destiny was in the hands of the people of Scotland. Scotland’s national political landscape had changed for the better as the people would have a greater say over the direction we wanted the country to be governed and this parliament would deliver a better form of politics. Sounds strangely familiar, doesn’t it?

While the Labour Party was the clear architect of the Scottish Parliament and to this day are strong advocates and defenders of devolution, I think it’s fair to say in retrospect that there was no real thought given to the functionality of a parliament that was designed from the offset to ensure that no party had overall control. There lies the problem with the current set-up with regard to Scottish politics.

Up to this point, politics had largely been confrontational and adversarial, therefore the idea of consensus building didn’t match the reality of politics on the ground.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not arguing that the Scottish Parliament is a bad thing. I would much rather have it than not have it, and the legacy of the last 20 years speaks for its self – such as the Smoking Prohibition (Children in Motor Vehicles) Bill which was passed in 2015 and resulted in the protection of 60,000 children per week from smoke-related illnesses.

Or the abolition of warrant sales which meant many families didn’t have to worry that their possessions would be repossessed.
Where I do have concern and criticism is that for the last 14 years, we have an administration that confuses gifts with policy and shies away from taking the hard decisions which one expects from a credible and effective government. 

In simple terms, the reasons for this are because the SNP don’t want to rock the boat for fear of losing support for independence. 

The reality is that every party in power wants to be, and remain, popular with the electorate. But history tells us that this is never the case in the long term, as politics is about making tough decisions in the national interest.

This will become the focus of the next government that replaces the SNP at Holyrood.  

For instance, the SNP are always happy to talk about their “policy” of free NHS prescriptions which, let’s be honest, isn’t a policy but a gift – and the only ones who benefit from this are the major pharmaceutical companies who must have been rubbing their hands from the offset at the prospect of a blank cheque coming their way.

What we should have had was a much fairer system that recognised that some people can pay and those who can’t get support to ensure that they receive their prescriptions.

A parliament without purpose or focus is nothing more than an echo chamber and right now, in Scotland, that is exactly what we have. What we have is a government that isn’t talking to any industry – aviation, housebuilding, hospitality to name a few – with the strict focus on maintaining the status quo to suit their own agenda. 

This, to me, seems a particularly strange strategy to pursue when surely a better one would be to convince those who are undecided about independence that they are a competent administration by demonstrating that through the powers they have rather than arguing for something that quite frankly there is no real appetite for. 

A good and relevant example of this would be the Universal Credit uplift which the UK Government has stopped.

Surely the Scottish Government, who claim to stand up for the people of Scotland, could fill that void?

  • Barrie Cunning is the managing director of Pentland Communications and a former Scottish Labour Parliamentary candidate