MSPS must hit the ground running

Aweek on from polling day and Scotland’s latest batch of MSPS – the sixth since the parliament was reconvened in 1997 – were at Holyrood for the official swearing-in ceremony.

They did not quite walk in two by two.

But the spectre of Covid still hung heavily over proceedings and meant that instead of one session there had to be four separate socially distanced ceremonies before all 129 MSPS had made their pledge.

There were, of course, familiar faces, including Minister Nicola Sturgeon kicked off proceedings.

But election 2021 has changed the face of the Scottish Parliament, and changed it for the better, with greater diversity, the largest female contingent of MSPS since Holyrood first opened its doors and a new presiding officer from the Greens for the first time.

But what really matters is the work those newly elected representatives do on behalf of their constituents, and Scotland as a whole.

While the first day at school is never the most productive, the new contingent must hit the ground running.

After a year of economic and social hardship as a result of Covid, Holyrood must be the beacon that leads the country to safer waters.

The public will expect the parliament to deliver policy that improves lives and creates opportunity, not simply provide the backdrop for an endless yahboo talking shop for point-scoring politicians.

There is much work to be done on fronts as diverse as the economy to drug deaths and child poverty.

The country has made its choice, it is now for the politicians to deliver. many First who