Policy Research Media Morhamburn

“Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken;
Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes
He star’d at the Pacific — and all his men
Look’d at each other with a wild surmise —
Silent, upon a peak in Darien”

Of course, it is all very well being inspired by something, and indeed signing about it. Any one can rhapsodise over an exquisite piece of classical pottery, a stunning sunset catching flowers in bloom, the sound of an MPs voice. However, the real challenge facing the serious political observer is dragging out what is important and relevant amidst the decoration. I realised this on attending my first Committee meeting. The Scottish Water board were taking questions on their annual report from the Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee. It was easy enough to take reams of notes, replete with facts and figures. But what was important? Who were these faceless people in sits, sat round an improbably large and shiny table? Why were they served coffee and not I? It was then that it struck me that Keats would more than likely have been awful in public affairs. He would have spent too long “wand’ring thoughtlessly” around Parliament, thus turning up late to meetings, or indeed “fainting with surprise” at revelations on proposed water meter calibration technology. However, he also had an admiration for the small, underappreciated things in life. Political grandstanding was all very well, but it was meetings like these that truly affected the nation’s future. This finer appreciation for detail spurred me on. I had newfound respect for the financial ramifications of the Flood Risk Management Bill…