Scottish Politics - Inclusive vs Imperious

Chris Deerin grabs the reader's attention with the opening paragraphs of his article on Nicola Sturgeon's conversion to Plan B:

"It would, of course, be ridiculous to describe Nicola Sturgeon as weak. She is formidable, imperious, even (whisper it) Thatcheresque in her dominance of Cabinet, parliament, party, movement and country.

"If the First Minister were a company she would be Amazon – a market-devouring behemoth that has somehow slipped the usual rules of competition and accountability.

"Nevertheless, the SNP’s announcement at the weekend of an 11-point roadmap to an independence referendum carries with it an unfamiliar hint of, if not weakness, then certainly a weakening of the first minister’s grip."

As I recall the original aim of the Scottish Parliament was to achieve a more inclusive politics based on proportional representation, no single party having overall control, more cross party working and powerful parliamentary committees holding ministers to account.

Yet this model has clearly not operated as intended since the SNP gained power in 2007.

For example, instead of a powerful cross party committee overseeing Scotland's response to Covid we have the thin gruel of daily press briefings from Nicola Sturgeon.

So while I have always supported the Scottish Parliament the institution has clearly lost its way and in my view the SNP bears a lot of the responsibility.    

  

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