Queen: MSPs have got to listen
Monarch’s message as parliament celebrates anniversary
THE Queen yesterday delivered a landmark speech marking the 20th anniversary of the Scottish parliament – and warned MSPs they must be prepared to listen.
Her Majesty, resplendent in a gentian blue coat and accompanied by Prince Charles, was welcomed into Holyrood’s main debating chamber with a trumpet fanfare.
Beneath her coat, the Queen had chosen a co-ordinating summer floral dress in duck egg, gentian blue and violet, by Stewart Parvin. She wore a matching hat by Rachel TrevorMorgan and a diamond thistle brooch.
She praised the parliament for becoming the ‘centre of Scottish public life’ and hailed MSPs who ‘strive to be responsive and accountable to the people you serve’.
But she also had a pointed message. At a time when Nicola Sturgeon is trying to force though another independence referendum, despite polls continuing to show support for staying in the Union, the Queen stressed the importance of listening to opposing views. She said: ‘It is perhaps worth reflecting that at the heart of the word parliament lies its original meaning – a place to talk.
‘I have no doubt that for most of these last 20 years this striking chamber has provided exactly that, a place to talk.
‘But, of course, it must also be a place to listen – a place to hear views that inevitably may differ quite considerably, one from another – and a place to honour those views.’
The public gallery was packed with 20-year-olds who were born on the day the Scottish Parliament reconvened, on May 12, 1999. Former first minister Henry McLeish and three ex-presiding officers, Tricia Marwick, Sir George Reid and Lord Steel, looked on.
Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh praised the parliament’s ‘record of achievement’, including the smoking ban, minimum pricing of alcohol, free personal care, the abolition of tuition fees, the removal of Section 28 banning the promotion of homosexuality in schools and equal marriage.
As in 1999, all the Nationalist MSPs wore white roses in their lapels, in a nod to the ‘little white rose of Scotland’ in the poem by Hugh MacDiarmid.
Unlike Alex Salmond in 1999, who promised to return Scotland to ‘equality among nations’, Miss Sturgeon did not raise the issue of independence in front of the Royal guests.
Instead, she recalled the sense of optimism felt in 1999, when she was among the first wave of MSPs.
But she also admitted: ‘There were times perhaps, especially in the first few years of the parliament, when the sense of challenge possibly outweighed the sense of optimism.’ She added: ‘Although this parliament is only 20 years young, it has long come of age.’
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson watched the opening ceremony on TV at Edinburgh University’s student union.
She said: ‘I didn’t know then what a Scottish parliament would look or sound like. How it would change the political landscape and grow to dominate our country’s public life.
‘But there was a sense that for our generation the equation had changed, that devolution offered new possibilities, not just for Scotland but all our family of nations.’
Tavish Scott, a former Scottish Lib Dem leader, who like Labour’s Kezia Dugdale was making his last appearance in parliament after announcing they are standing down as MSPs, said: ‘Scotland is an immeasurably stronger place today. Let this parliament flourish and those who serve next enjoy the spirit of discussion, the argument and, yes, the downright row.
‘It’s been my honour to serve the people of Shetland and to play a part in the evolution of Scotland’s democracy.’
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard chose a different tone, criticising MSPs for failing to deliver enough change over the past two decades.
He quoted Scotland’s inaugural first minister, Donald Dewar, who said at the opening of the parliament two decades ago: ‘Today there is a new voice in the land.’ But Mr Leonard said there remained ‘much unfinished business’.
He added: ‘We began to reform the ownership of our land, but too much power still lies in too few hands.
‘We have legislated for equality, but too much inequality still persists.’
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‘An immeasurably stronger place today’