Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 23 March 2021
I thank all members who have spoken in the debate. I echo the cabinet secretary’s thanks to COSLA, which, as I said in my opening remarks, has been championing the bill for a long time. The COSLA team and staff and its president, Alison Evison, have been extremely supportive throughout the process.
I also thank my staff—Gillian, Ciaran and Charlotte—for keeping everything on the road. Given everything that is going on around us right now, it is quite refreshing to be in Parliament, engaged in a serious debate about a bill that seeks to deliver for the people of Scotland. As I said in my opening remarks, I do not expect the bill to set the heather alight; however, it is like much of what we do here—we are the architects of power relations, whether in respect of freedom of information, criminal justice reform or the powers of local government. That is because democratic institutions need constant attention and the rights and freedoms of the citizens need to be protected. Power must be distributed equitably and be exercised accountably.
In one of my favourite quotes, Tony Benn would famously ask five questions of people who were in positions of economic, social and political power:
“What power have you got? Where did you get it from? In whose interests do you use it? To whom are you accountable?”
He said that anyone who cannot answer the last question does not, arguably, live in a democratic system. The question was:
“How do we get rid of you?”
That is what we are doing today, albeit in a very modest way. We are strengthening our democracy; in particular, we are strengthening the institution of our system of government that lies closest to the people—albeit that it is not close enough—so that it might serve them better and more effectively and be more responsive to the wishes of local communities, rather than the political imperatives in Edinburgh.
I thank members. Annie Wells said that local councils are an important and essential part of government. She highlighted, correctly, the role that they have played in responding to the pandemic.
Pauline McNeill mentioned financial resources, which are encompassed by article 9 of the charter. Both the Faculty of Advocates and Professor Chris Himsworth had interesting things to say about that. It might well be a key area of discussion and debate in the years ahead.
Liam McArthur spoke from Orkney. That is a local authority area with a population of 22,000; which demonstrates that we can do local government locally. I welcome Keith Brown’s long-standing commitment to local government and his involvement in European co-operation.
Tom Mason made an interesting comparison with communist China. I am not sure whether he was talking about the provinces, the autonomous regions, the municipalities, the special administrative regions, the prefectures, the counties, the townships or the villages, but I will no doubt find out. I wish Tom well.
James Dornan spoke of the Local Government and Communities Committee’s work. I thank it again; in particular, for its bespoke consultation with the Faculty of Advocates, which added valuable legal perspectives to the bill.
The bill delivers on a long-standing aspiration, as I said in my opening remarks. I am proud to have been the member in charge of it, and I thank everyone for their support and encouragement. This year the Council of Europe will, I understand, be undertaking a monitoring mission to the United Kingdom, as it has done on occasions in the past, to look at compliance with the charter. I very much look forward to engaging with that mission, if possible, and I look forward to the conclusions that it reaches—including, I hope, a welcome to the incorporation of the charter.
I conclude my remarks by wishing the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government well, as she concludes her term of office as a minister and as an MSP. Throughout this session of Parliament, she has displayed common sense, good humour and a straightforward and human approach to politics. She has also, which is important, shown kindness and empathy to all who have dealt with her. Would that that were the case with everyone here. However, there will be more about that on another day.
Depending, of course, on the outcome of my own political project, I might or might not be back after 6 May. If I am, there will be another members’ bill that I will want to deliver.