Hansard

I welcome the chance to take part in this short debate and I express my thanks to committee members for such a succinct report. Members often highlight the fact that we ought to produce shorter reports. We do not always achieve that, but in this instance we have. Given that the bill has just four sections, I am sure that questions would have been asked of the convener and committee members if the report had been longer.

The report highlights, in clear terms, the bill’s limited scope and the reason for the proposed change. It also highlights the lack of a campaign against the bill, which is helpful in this case.

The convener’s questions, during the oral evidence taking, seeking clarity about a three-year term were worth while. I agree with the report’s suggestion, however, that a five-year term is a more consistent approach to the next parliamentary session. As we know, this session has been a five-year term and continuing that approach for a further session is common sense to me.

Elections clashing with each other dilutes one of them, so I disagree with Dr Richard Simpson’s suggestion to hold Scottish Parliament, local authority and European Parliament elections on the same day. Similarly, Dr Simpson’s suggestion to hold the election on a weekend day is fraught with difficulties. Evidence that the former Referendum (Scotland) Bill Committee received on the matter indicated that holding an election on a weekend day would have implications, in particular for those from religious backgrounds.

This bill will provide clarity for the forthcoming session and will aid the electoral cycle now that Westminster has finally moved into the 21st century and introduced fixed-term Parliaments. Holding elections at the whim of whoever is in charge at the time has never made any sense to me. Ultimately parliamentarians are elected to serve the population, not to pick and choose election dates to suit party leaders.

The committee convener has laid out in clear terms the limitations placed on this Parliament with regard to organising Scottish Parliament elections. The fact that this Parliament has obtained the power to determine the length of the upcoming session is welcome. With powers to determine future Scottish Parliament elections in the current Scotland Bill, this process need not be repeated. However, the Scotland Bill does need to secure the support of this chamber and, as we know, discussions about the financial framework continue in an attempt to find a suitable outcome.

A few moments ago, I touched on the clash of elections and I will progress that point a little further. In 1999, 2003 and 2007, Scotland elected parliamentarians and councillors on the same day. Prior to 1999, doing that was considered to be a more cost-effective and efficient way of electing representatives. However, it soon became apparent that issues surrounding local authorities were not being fully aired during campaigning. The separation of elections was a positive step and has allowed local authority issues to be fully discussed, as we saw during the 2012 council elections. Postponing the next local authority elections by one year will guarantee that local authority matters can quite rightly take centre stage in 2022.

The bill appears to have universal support across the chamber, and that is to be welcomed. It is a common-sense approach to the upcoming election and subsequent council election. I look forward to the day, however, when this Parliament does not need to take a sticking-plaster approach via the section 30 process to introduce a short-term fix. Until such a time, I welcome the approach that has been taken thus far.