POLITICS: English election results were not good for a Prime Minister looking to call a General Election very soon
Last week saw various local elections taking place across England in what an excitable media were referring to as Rishi Sunak’s greatest test yet (or Sir Keir Starmer, depending on the media outlet). Local government arrangements in England are a curious mix of county councils, district councils, unitary authorities, metropolitan boroughs, metro-mayors, the Greater London Authority and, just for good measure, something called Police and Crime Commissioners, the latter being a concept shared with Wales and directly elected every four years.
To make things even more interesting, some councils hold elections every year but only one third of the councillors are up for election. The first-past-the-post system is still used making it entirely possible to live in a multi-member ward, just like we have in Aberdeenshire, but with no political proportionality whatsoever. Reading the runes from such a hotch-potch of a system is therefore something of a challenge, but the commentariat seem united on one thing at least: the results were not good for a Prime Minister looking to call a General Election very soon.
This week also saw the 25th anniversary of the first elections to the reconvened Scottish Parliament. The achievements of the Parliament over the past 25 years show things are undoubtedly better when decisions are made in Scotland, for those who live in Scotland.
It’s no secret that as an SNP MP, my first choice would be that we have an independent Parliament with all the powers of any other normal nation of five million people with the abundant natural resources that we have. How much more could Scotland’s elected representatives from all parties build on the actions the Scottish Parliament is already taking and further improve everyday life for all who live and work in Scotland - instead of being politically and financially constrained by decisions taken for us 500 miles away. Particularly since 2007, people in Scotland have benefited from the SNP Government’s forward-looking social policies in the face of Westminster cuts and Brexit - from free prescriptions, abolishing tuition fees, providing families with 1140 hours of free early learning and childcare, the Baby Box, the free bus travel scheme and bringing ScotRail back into public ownership and much more. The Parliament is Scotland’s Parliament and I therefore give credit where credit is due to the achievements of the previous Labour-led government which gave us free personal care for the elderly and improved the nation’s health greatly with the ban on smoking in public places, amongst others.Devolution has had its difficult periods too, one of which we are currently navigating and will end with a new First Minister being appointed as soon as Humza Yousaf demits office.
In John Swinney, we have a fundamentally decent man who has served in several Cabinet-level positions as well as being a former Deputy First Minister. John has represented a rural constituency not dissimilar to Gordon and is therefore well-aware of the challenges and opportunities which are particular to the North-east. The experience and wisdom which John Swinney will bring to role of First Minister will stand the Scottish Parliament and, I believe, the people of Scotland in good stead as we go forward into the next quarter of a century of the Parliament’s development which I trust and believe will be one with all the powers of a normal nation.
