Policy Research Media Morhamburn

There was a time when I considered myself something of a political anorak. Thursday was the high point of my working week: FMQs, political shows back to back; Chamber business re-runs on the Politics channel on Saturday mornings nicely topped off with Politics Scotland on Sundays. My kids could fight all they liked for the right to watch Sponge Bob, Ben 10 or Gossip Girl, but my resolve and finger on the remote always held sway.

At least until relatively recently. And the ‘affair of the FM’s Christmas card’ (not that I received one) can take some of the blame for that.

Minority government was never going to be easy for the SNP, outnumbered as they are by avowed Unionist parties. Still, in May 2007, the surprise emergence of a Nationalist Government promised much: Scotland would enter a brave new world of consensus politics. We would see a more mature Parliament, a model for the rest of the UK to emulate. No more would Scotland’s lawmakers be overly swayed by Westminster wishes, instead an SNP win appeared to signal a fresh era, one where politicians of all political persuasions would put the country first and be required to enhance the quality of debate in the Main Chamber and Committee rooms to achieve the majorities required to drive policies through. We would see an era of mature Continental-style politics rather than London’s government by force of majority. Or so it was hoped.

And it all began with such promise. The SNP manifesto offered much and some populist, easily manageable policies were swiftly driven through. Approval ratings rose to dizzying heights and how we enjoyed the FM’s cross-Chamber dalliance with Tory leader Ms Goldie. They were the headlining new double act, a mix of waspish wit couched in merry one-liners.

Now the protracted honeymoon appears over. The opposition, aided and abetted by what would appear to be a malleable Scottish press, have circled the SNP laager scenting weaknesses in the Nationalist’s defence.

But surely that is an opposition’s raison d’être.

In the main, yes. But what we appear to be witnessing now are opposition parties seemingly driven more by antipathy for Mr Salmond and his front bench, than by their constituents’ best interests as they vote against absolutely every SNP policy purely because it is just that: an SNP policy. It appears to matter little if there are merits to initiatives, or that voters would be better informed by further discourse. What is desired are direct strikes followed by a few days’ worth of headlines declaring that Mr Salmond and/or the SNP are on the ropes.

Partisan politics appear to have overcome mature clarity of thought. The SNP wished to see a presumption against prison sentences of six months or less. Despite some of the most overcrowded prisons in Western Europe and perceived wisdom stating that short sentences do little to reduce crime, the opposition voted against the SNP initiative arguing that the SNP were a soft touch on crime.

Next in line for criticism: the SNP’s alcohol framework. Again, despite the high cost to the NHS and wider Scottish society – and much of the establishment (north as well as seemingly south of the Border) being in favour of minimum alcohol pricing – the opposition have said they will again vote: ‘No’. A few short days later and without a trace of irony, news reports on overcrowding in Scotland’s prisons declared a vast majority of violent offences were committed – while under the influence of alcohol.

And now despite everything going on in Scotland and the wider world: the credit crunch, the cut in Scotland’s grant and the impact this will have on Scotland’s public services, poor literacy statistics, social exclusion, poverty, Scotland’s infrastructure, we have seen headlines and politicians seeking to score on the FM’s ‘overtly nationalist’ choice of Christmas card. While, it can be argued that the Scottish Government is ‘policy lite’, that doesn’t mean quality of wider discourse has to be too.

With a UK election fast approaching and a Holyrood one scheduled for 2011, Scotland’s politicians are understandably jockeying for position and a momentum to give them a sustainable lead in the polls. There is, however, a very real possibility that the current vote against the SNP at all costs strategy might just backfire leading to a greater swing to the SNP, a sort of sympathy vote by default really.

Given events of the past few months, the festive recess definitely cannot come quickly enough for the SNP. But rather than wish ‘Bah, Humbug’ to voters in an effort to garner a few quick hits and headlines, let us hope that Scotland’s politicians return to Edinburgh with a little more good cheer; refreshed, reinvigorated and ready to debate and really challenge policies rather than indulge in partisan headline-grabbing point-scoring and make Holyrood the sort of parliament Scots really deserve.

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