Holyrood must give more power to people

Parliament must be open to a rethink of how MSPS are elected to address deficit of talent holding Scotland back

In the US, reverence for the “Founding Fathers” and the Constitution borders on the religious. Scotland’s more youthful parliament should not be as precious when thinking about ways to improve the state of our democracy.

Speaking at an event on reforming Holyrood, two formerly leading lights of the SNP and Labour, respectively Alex Neil and Johann Lamont, criticised the proportional list system used to elect 56 out of the total of 129 MSPS. Holyrood’s founding principles of “openness, transparency, accountability and sharing power” had been “completely eroded”, said Neil, and the list system should be replaced by single transferable vote (STV) proportional representation. Lamont said the “complete break in connection between being an elected member and the needs of your constituents” gave parties too much control over politicians.

This has become a more obvious problem because of the SNP’S 17 years in power, with some backbench MSPS punting softball questions while cheering and jeering at appropriate moments. This is no recipe for effective scrutiny of legislation, and it shows. The Conservatives’ 14 years in office, under the first-past-the-post system, appears to have had the opposite result, with infighting rife.

Holyrood's “closed list” means parties, not the electorate, get to decide which candidates are likely to be elected; an open list would give voters the ultimate say. STV, in which voters rank candidates in multi-member constituencies, would also restore power to the people. Both should be considered. This will alarm underperforming MSPS and ministers ensconced at the top of party lists, safe from judgment at the ballot box, and it should. Effective means to hold our elected representatives accountable is vital if government is to function well.

Lamont spoke of a “cosiness, and a glibness and a laziness” in the Scottish Parliament “that we're paying a heavy price for”. Some may treat such comments from a former MSP as sour grapes but, with Holyrood stacked with has-beens, never-should-have-beens and might-be-somedays, the lack of talent is a real problem.