THE BIGGER PICTURE
Now that Sturgeon has been knocked off her perch, it is time to start thinking how the undemocratic parliament at Holyrood can be reformed so that no-one else can get the stranglehold on power that she has had (supported by Greens who couldn't win a single constituency).
This book shows how Sturgeon's rise was made pos…
Now that Sturgeon has been knocked off her perch, it is time to start thinking how the undemocratic parliament at Holyrood can be reformed so that no-one else can get the stranglehold on power that she has had (supported by Greens who couldn't win a single constituency).
This book shows how Sturgeon's rise was made possible only by the flawed constitution of the Holyrood. With nearly half the MSPs appointed by party bureaucrats, her lock on office was not hard to achieve. Labour had the same till 2007, when the effects of the Iraq war hit them and their supporters fled to the SNP. Now that has imploded, perhaps we can have a grown-up debate about how to reform the parliament in order to establish an actual DEMOCRACY.
Nobody else must be able to establish security in power to the extent Sturgeon has done. We must return to the separation of powers principle in which the legislature controls the executive. In Scotland we have had that the other way round. That must never be allowed to happen again.
There is a lot about the connection between Sturgeon's rise and the undemocratic nature of Holyrood, and its origins in what is called “the Dewar Constitution”, in this book:
You are right that we do need internal reform in Scotland but as recent experience has shown constitutional reform is difficult, often divisive and rarely yields the results expected. I think we need to act directly to improve our public services and economic performance. One step suggest itself.
There is before Parliament a Bill to reform Scottish education. I am very doubtful about it but it could be amended in one useful way. The Inspectorate could be made properly independent of government and answerable directly to Parliament -just like the Auditor General who did so much to open up the ferries scandal. It seems to me to be worth a shot.
You are right. Perhaps "constitutional reform" is the wrong term. Maybe "electoral reform" is better. But the essence of it must be to put MSPs under the control of voters, not party mangers.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Now that Sturgeon has been knocked off her perch, it is time to start thinking how the undemocratic parliament at Holyrood can be reformed so that no-one else can get the stranglehold on power that she has had (supported by Greens who couldn't win a single constituency).
This book shows how Sturgeon's rise was made possible only by the flawed constitution of the Holyrood. With nearly half the MSPs appointed by party bureaucrats, her lock on office was not hard to achieve. Labour had the same till 2007, when the effects of the Iraq war hit them and their supporters fled to the SNP. Now that has imploded, perhaps we can have a grown-up debate about how to reform the parliament in order to establish an actual DEMOCRACY.
Nobody else must be able to establish security in power to the extent Sturgeon has done. We must return to the separation of powers principle in which the legislature controls the executive. In Scotland we have had that the other way round. That must never be allowed to happen again.
There is a lot about the connection between Sturgeon's rise and the undemocratic nature of Holyrood, and its origins in what is called “the Dewar Constitution”, in this book:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BT8MQ4R1/ref=sr_1_1?Adv-Srch-Books-Submit.x=0&Adv-Srch-Books-Submit.y=0&__mk_en_GB=%C3%85M%C3%85Z%C3%95%C3%91&qid=1675164524&refinements=p_28%3Ahating+tories&s=books&sr=1-1&unfiltered=1
You are right that we do need internal reform in Scotland but as recent experience has shown constitutional reform is difficult, often divisive and rarely yields the results expected. I think we need to act directly to improve our public services and economic performance. One step suggest itself.
There is before Parliament a Bill to reform Scottish education. I am very doubtful about it but it could be amended in one useful way. The Inspectorate could be made properly independent of government and answerable directly to Parliament -just like the Auditor General who did so much to open up the ferries scandal. It seems to me to be worth a shot.
You are right. Perhaps "constitutional reform" is the wrong term. Maybe "electoral reform" is better. But the essence of it must be to put MSPs under the control of voters, not party mangers.
And here is an amusing article on Her Majesty's resignation: https://thinkscotland.org/2023/02/be-prepared/