Working towards a better kind of politics - Alex Cole-Hamilton
This week, I was invited along to the Assembly Rooms to speak at the Scotland 2050 Conference. The conference is all about sparking ideas for Scotland’s success and how we, as parliamentarians, can realise its potential.
In my speech, I reflected on how I have changed as an MSP. Things have happened in my personal life, in my political life, over the last decade that have shaped the way I approach things.
Take Ukraine. When I drove ambulances and medical kit to the frontline last year, I saw how the picturesque park in the centre of his Lviv, not unlike Princes Street Gardens, has been converted into a cemetery for the war dead. Experiences like this have made me take myself much more seriously.
Because when I look back 10 years ago, at some of the Twitter scraps I got into when I bounded into parliament, I wince.
It’s frustrating that for too many people in Scottish politics, that’s still the gameplan. To jump on every bandwagon, to pick fights for the sake of it, to send out angry press releases.
Scotland has been poorly served by the SNP, but it’s been poorly served by the big opposition parties too.
I think strong opposition is intelligent, measured criticism and scrutiny. At times, thoughtful cooperation, where we can find common ground, where we can get things done.
I also used my speech to discuss the fundamental flaws in our electoral system.
At this election, the SNP got 38% of the constituency vote and 27% on the list vote. If anything, they went backwards. Nevertheless, due to our voting system, they hold the majority of seats in parliament.
We need a voting system that is much more representative of where peoples’ individual votes went. I say that as someone for whom first past the post works pretty well, having achieved the highest number of votes received by any candidate at this election.
But this isn’t about me. If people believed that their vote was properly reflected in parliament, it would help us restore trust in politics.
There are important questions that remain after Peter Murrell’s admission of guilt. John Swinney is wrong to try and block a parliamentary inquiry. But we need to go further to clean up our politics.
Westminster has had a system of recall for 10 years now. It has removed the likes of Margaret Ferrier, who- with Covid- travelled on trains up and down from London in 2020. Holyrood has no equivalent measure.
I still can’t understand why the SNP and Greens blocked the introduction of recall in February. It provides a solution for when things go wrong, and it is long overdue.
I was thrilled by the result of my party at this election, but it didn’t stop me from seeing that turnout dropped by 10%.
Because when nobody resigns over scandals like the ferries or the deletion of Covid WhatsApps or the deaths at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, how can we blame people for turning away?
We should be imagining a different kind of politics. Where there’s more power in peoples’ hands, where we reflect the better natures of the people who send us to parliament, where we work with unified intent towards a better Scotland.
That’s the kind of politics Scotland deserves.