Away from the content, it was Deputy First Minister Shona Robison’s delivery of the SNP government’s budget on Tuesday that attracted most comment.
The Dundee MSP glared at her tightly drafted, pre-written speech, delivering it with as much passion and flair as a reluctant school pupil forced to read their book report aloud.
Shona Robison is an experienced politician, at moments she proved herself more than capable of showing real conviction as she responded to political barbs thrown across the chamber.
But in recent years, ministerial speeches have become such a sanitised, clinical event that they are a chore to endure, even for those paid to listen, and only rarely revelatory.
Criticism of Ms Robison’s delivery was met with accusations of sexism, but the paucity of debate was not discriminatory.
Opposition contributions to the budget from men and women were delivered in a similar style.
One of the key moments of the political calendar, politicians chose to read from pre-prepared scripts, most of which seemed to have been written by staff and party apparatchiks.
This all too common approach to debate has led to a Scottish Parliament chamber which is rarely a place of real political theatre where Scots can watch big ideas for our country’s future debated robustly and passionately.
Instead, it could be mistaken as a meeting of middle-managers. Rather than lifting up great ideas and putting them to test in the crucible of Holyrood, MSPs seem depressingly content to make politics appear as small as possible.
And it is not just that this is less entertaining. The situation has real consequences for the quality of Scotland’s governance.
It is no coincidence that the most notable leaders in our recent history were often know first as some of the finest debaters.
In the post-devolution era; Donald Dewar, Margo McDonald, Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon all benefited from being forced to stand and argue their position, often under intense scrutiny.
Rather than simply believing in and advocating a position, they were forced to stand and defend it, putting their beliefs to the test and developing them in the process.
Future generations are being let down with the littleness of our public debate, with the leaders of tomorrow less and less able to develop their ideas.
It is time for our politicians to ditch their scripts. They should be unafraid of debate, and have the courage and belief in their ideals to allow them to be put under challenge.
As a start, when parliament returns from its Christmas recess the presiding officer, Alison Johnstone, should put a ban on reading directly from notes or devices.
Ministers and those on the backbenches should arrive in the chamber prepared to deliver their statements and make their contributions.
It might not be pretty. It won’t be polished. But the public will be far better served.
ALASDAIR CLARK: Scottish politicians need to ditch scripts and be brave enough to debate
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21.12.2023
Away from the content, it was Deputy First Minister Shona Robison’s delivery of the SNP government’s budget on Tuesday that attracted most comment.
The Dundee MSP glared at her tightly drafted, pre-written speech, delivering it with as much passion and flair as a reluctant school pupil forced to read their book report aloud.
Shona Robison is an experienced politician, at moments she proved herself more than capable of showing real conviction as she responded to political barbs thrown across the chamber.
But in recent years, ministerial speeches have become such a sanitised, clinical event that they are a chore to endure, even for those paid to listen, and only rarely revelatory.
Criticism of Ms Robison’s delivery........
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