POLITICAL MATTERS: Could resetting the dial benefit the Highlands?
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By a happy coincidence, I had planned a few days in Edinburgh this week to attend a former MSP’s event in the Parliament. Holyrood was bustling with intrigue – MSPs were all attempting to absorb the fast-moving events of the last seven days.
These include ending of the Bute House Agreement, the ruthless sacking of the two Green ministers, two motions of no-confidence (one directed at Humza Yousaf as First Minister, the other at the Scottish Government as a whole), the prospect of an early Scottish Parliament election and the resignation of the First Minister.
The speed of change was dramatic, and it left several MSPs I spoke to this week breathless and a bit confused about the next steps. Renowned author Ernest Hemingway had the appropriate line about “How did you go bankrupt?” – “Two ways, gradually, then suddenly!”
So, who will be our next First Minister? This will be a matter for SNP voters, unless a new FM cannot be successfully voted in by MSPs. In the latter case, there will be an extraordinary Scottish Parliament election. However, as the normal polling date is laid down in statute, there will still be an election in May 2026 either way.
Will the SNP aim for a coronation for John Swinney? Potential leadership candidates such as the talented Jenny Gilruth MSP and high-flying Aberdeen South MP Stephen Flynn have already backed Swinney.
Also Highland MSP Kate Forbes has ruled herself out. She only narrowly lost the leadership contest against Mr Yousaf last time.
In the Savanta Poll carried out last year, Kate Forbes had the highest net favourability amongst the public, but John Swinney led narrowly among SNP voters specifically. Would Kate Forbes eventually be a First Minister that could deliver for the Highlands and Islands? She is on record at the Inverness Courier Leadership Debate saying that she is strongly committed to speeding up the dualling of the A9, for example. Would she be a ‘friend at court’ for the Highlands?
Former First Minister Jack McConnell, writing in Labour List this week made the telling point that politicians on both sides of the border should concentrate on the day job like NHS waiting lists and the state of our roads and schools. Should Kate Forbes find herself in a government role, I would urge her to go back to fundamentals and focus on the issues that we in the Highlands and beyond really care about.
As the Scottish Parliament approaches its 25th anniversary, I am proud of its achievements such as land reform, the smoking ban and free personal care for the elderly. The last few years in Holyrood has seen a fixation on the peripheral at the cost of the substantial. Kate Forbes may have a chance to reset the political dial. The Highlands could be the beneficiary.
Future politician
Today is a crucial day in the Stewart family history. My son Andrew and his partner are expecting their first child and our first grandchild.
We are anticipating an early morning call from our son from sunny Sacramento. It is an exciting rite of passage, and we are already packing our bags to cross the Atlantic to see them shortly. I wonder if the wee one fancies a political career? Scottish Parliament candidate in 2044 maybe?
Big game for ICT
Caley Thistle play Morton tonight so I will be off to the game praying for victory, and hoping Airdrie can beat Queens Park as well. It has not been a season to remember but a bit like politics, you need to take the good with the bad. There is no truth in the rumour that ICT will be playing the theme for The Great Escape over the tannoy before the game!
