Shrinking Gene Pool
Scotland's top civil servant - Sir John Elvidge - spoke with unusual candour the other day - which may have something to do with the fact that he's now retired.
And also that this words were delivered from the safety of Australia - where he was giving a speech on public policy and leadership
Sir John worked for both Alex Salmond and Jack McConnell - and described politicians as “not normal” and increasingly remote from voters.
Well I never.
Warming to his theme, Sir John went on to say that public servants were not “a heroic band of fearless knights wishing to challenge crude political orthodoxies.”
Now Sir John has a serious point - because what he was drawing attention to is that the membership of political parties in Scotland and the UK is going through the floor - and our politicians are drawn from an ever smaller group of people.
Does our representative democracy - actually represent and reflect the views of ordinary people in this day and age?
Good question and a fair point - in my view - certainly one worthy of public debate.
The reality is that if we didn't have politicians we'd have to invent them - someone has to make the tough decisions after all.
But the trick is to ensure they don't have too much power - for too long - and that as far as possible our political leaders reflect the broad sweep of public opinion - whether in a local council, the Holyrood or Westminster Parliaments - or elsewhere.
Only proportional representation can bring about that kind of power sharing - where one tribe or group cannot impose its will on everyone else.
Just imagine trade unions being run along similar lines - the stuff of nightmares for some.
Instead of being stuffed full of Labour party hacks - they'd have to employ some 'normal' people at senior level - perhaps even a few with independent, non-Labour minds.
And also that this words were delivered from the safety of Australia - where he was giving a speech on public policy and leadership
Sir John worked for both Alex Salmond and Jack McConnell - and described politicians as “not normal” and increasingly remote from voters.
Well I never.
Warming to his theme, Sir John went on to say that public servants were not “a heroic band of fearless knights wishing to challenge crude political orthodoxies.”
Now Sir John has a serious point - because what he was drawing attention to is that the membership of political parties in Scotland and the UK is going through the floor - and our politicians are drawn from an ever smaller group of people.
Does our representative democracy - actually represent and reflect the views of ordinary people in this day and age?
Good question and a fair point - in my view - certainly one worthy of public debate.
The reality is that if we didn't have politicians we'd have to invent them - someone has to make the tough decisions after all.
But the trick is to ensure they don't have too much power - for too long - and that as far as possible our political leaders reflect the broad sweep of public opinion - whether in a local council, the Holyrood or Westminster Parliaments - or elsewhere.
Only proportional representation can bring about that kind of power sharing - where one tribe or group cannot impose its will on everyone else.
Just imagine trade unions being run along similar lines - the stuff of nightmares for some.
Instead of being stuffed full of Labour party hacks - they'd have to employ some 'normal' people at senior level - perhaps even a few with independent, non-Labour minds.
