How to Save Devolution
05 Mar 2007
Public disappointment with devolved Scotland is high but saving devolution does not require major constitutional upheaval, according to the authors of a new report published by the Policy Institute.
In “Saving Devolution” Dr Craig Smith of Glasgow University says that executive reorganisation, procedural changes, and voluntary reform by the parties themselves will help to restore confidence in our political institutions and fulfill the promise of accountable government and a break from partisan politics.
The Scottish Parliament would then be more likely to use its “near sovereign” powers (including fiscal powers that cover 15% of its spending) to tackle the issues that matter most to voters: healthcare, the economy, education and crime.
In a ground-breaking research paper they have set out a series of key recommendations for the next phase of devolution including:
More backbenchers, fewer ministers:
Scottish politics is dominated by an unhealthy system of patronage. In all, 70% of MSPs are ‘front bench’ or committee convenors. Since 1999 ministerial posts have increased from six to 21 with no obvious improvement in efficiency. Twenty-seven of the 50 Labour members are either cabinet ministers, junior ministers, parliamentary aides, whips or committee convenors. The same posts encompass 15 of the 17 Liberal Democrat members. 18 of the 25 SNP members are either front bench spokesmen or committee convenors, while almost all Conservative, Green and SSP members are similarly dependent on their leadership’s patronage.
The number of front bench positions - and their corresponding shadows - should be restricted and the smaller opposition parties should not shadow every minister with a single MSP. Commtteee Convenors should be elected by MSPs in a secret ballot.
Select better candidates:
Parties should experiment with a system of American-style primaries for candidate selection. Talented individuals from business, the professions and academia have been reluctant to seek election and this has been detrimental to the effectiveness of the Parliament. Parties should aim to make some seats available to members who were encouraged to continue their careers outside politics while lending their expertise to parliamentary debate and scrutiny.
More accountability to the electorate:
Regional list MSPs, dependent on their party’s popularity are not directly accountable to the voters. It is time to consider adjusting to an ‘open list’ system which requires all candidates to appeal to voters on their individual merits.
A finance minister with real powers:
The first minister should strip the finance minister of the local government and public service brief and grant him greater authority over other ministries’ spending plans. With a ‘beefed-up’ finance minister acting as a genuine guardian of public funds, the Scottish Parliament could even acquire a reputation for prudence.
An independent economic body:
Create a completely independent “Economics Scotland”, embracing the existing roles of the chief economist and the chief statistician. It would conduct robust economic analysis of Executive policies and the Scottish economy in general. It would set broad economic goals that would act as the focus for research. It would report directly to the Parliament - and not to ministers.
A more powerful Parliamentary Ombudsman:
If we wish the Parliament to better fulfill its intended role, it should keep its focus on matters for which it is responsible. The Ombudsman could investigate claims, for example, that the Executive or the Parliament was indulging in reserved matters such as foreign policy.
Comparing Scotland to rest of the world:
Parliament should commission and publish regular independent reports analysing the performance of the NHS, Scotland’s schools, its police and prisons
service compared to foreign systems. These should be published every two years to allow regular assessment of government performance in these key areas by the electorate.
Dr Smith said: “Scotland should adopt a pioneering policy of practicing simple governance with transparency and a ‘light-touch’ as its core concerns. The proposals in this paper are intended to assist in achieving this goal by encouraging greater accountability and scrutiny within the current devolved settlement.
“Taking these suggestions on board will require a degree of self-restraint, and more than a little humility, on the part of the practitioners of politics in Scotland. But the end is the noble one of improving the governance of the country.”
About the author:
Dr Craig Smith is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Politics at the University of Glasgow. He completed a PhD in Political Theory in 2003 before serving as a Lecturer at Stirling University and as a summer research fellow at the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University, USA. He is the author of Adam Smith’s Political Philosophy: The invisible hand and spontaneous order (Routledge, 2006).