Elections

Strange Days indeed.  For the first time in my life, I had failed to vote.  I had not registered for a postal vote and was supposed to be working in Shetland. I failed to register a proxy vote in time so my 100% voting record going back to 1966 was broken. It was the Scottish Parliament election plus the much-derided referendum on the Alternative Vote. This was destined to fail because of its timing and the failure to properly explore all the various forms of proportional voting, something that the UK parliament needs to examine. This option was no more than the Labour Government's proposal in 2009 that was rejected by the Lib Dems. They wanted something more likely to give more proportional representation than the alternative vote. Still, they accepted the same deal 2 years later when they were at the nadir of their unpopularity and have become poodles to the Cameron-led government. As an example of political mismanagement by the Lib Dems, it does not augur well. This may explain why they are failing to moderate the public spending cuts. 

Although I knew the Scottish Parliament candidates for the SNP, Conservative, Lib Dem and Labour parties and respected them for different reasons, I could not get excited by this election.  The events of recent years have made me despair of politicians making decisions which are holistic and in the long-term interest of the population and the economy.  Governance has become too complex, and when ill-considered and populist manifesto promises are married to short-term public expenditure forecasts, the outcome is seldom optimal.  

The Scottish Parliament has been far too focused on creating unsustainable institutions and agencies which are in hock to the Parliament. It has failed to deliver the parity of esteem between local and national government that was promised. Localism or place management or whatever you call local democracy nowadays has been much diminished.  This is no reason for not voting but the internecine warfare between political parties at Holyrood is a self-destructive force damaging the good governance of Scotland and, indeed, this is reflected at all levels of government. The multi-member wards introduced at the local government level in Scotland and the additional members at the Scottish Parliament level have also created tensions that add to the friction between parties. It has reduced the imperative of elected representatives representing the whole of their electorate and encouraged them to focus on the voters of their party.