SCOTTISH CONSERVATIVES It is lousy at holding the Government to account

majority government. There was the Named Person legislation, which was quashed by the Supreme Court, and the Offensive Behaviour at Football legislation, which had to be reversed by this parliament. “The legislation we’ve passed in the last five years has been superior because the SNP minority government hasn’t been able to railroad its way through parliament. “In terms of holding the government to account, the Scottish

Parliament is lousy. Interests of the party trump everything else. “Very few SNP backbenchers are genuinely interested in holding the government to account. Most think their job is to support their party. There are exceptions – such as Alex Neil, Joan Mcalpine and John Mason.

“We are a parliament that is more controlled by party than is healthy.” Tomkins, 51, was tipped as a future leader of his party but last summer announced his decision not to seek re-election, instead wishing to return to his former role at Glasgow University, and spend more time with his family. The father of four said: “Holyrood thinks it is family-friendly because it meets nine to five. But it meets in a city in which most MSPS don’t live. If you represent Glasgow, as I have done, and finish work in Edinburgh at 5.30pm, it’s physically impossible get home before 7.30pm. It means someone else has to pick the kids up, bring them home, feed them, bath them and monitor them doing their homework.

“The only way Holyrood could become familyfriendly is by allowing its business to be conducted remotely as effectively as you can conduct the business inside the chamber. Even after a year of Covid, we haven’t done that. My view is committees work effectively remotely but chamber business does not.”

But Tomkins said he had no regrets about the last five years working an MSP. “It is a cliche but it is also true to say it has been the privilege of my life to represent my adopted city as an MSP,” he said.