SNP Deputy Leadership
This week looked like the first one in Scottish politics for a while that wouldn’t be utterly dominated by Brexit and maybe, just maybe, we might get back to some good old fashioned political bun-fights and heads on a platter.
It wasn’t to be but it did start off promisingly. First, last weekend, the Deputy Leader of the SNP, the former MP Angus Robertson, resigned from his post. Although not entirely unexpected - many had thought he might have resigned from the position after losing his seat at the last General Election - it did seem to come out of nowhere.
This gives the SNP a moment of pause and a decision to make, with the runners and riders already putting out the feelers as to whether to run. Some see this as a chance to break with the past, replacing a policy-heavy and experienced MP from farming and fishing country in the North East of Scotland, with more a grass-roots, enthusiastic organiser from the central belt determined to fire up and organise the membership to push for a second independence referendum.
A character from the left of the party, such as Tommy Shepherd MP, would seem to tick many of the boxes in that regard but it will be interesting to see whether current leader of the SNP Group at Westminster, Ian Blackford MP, decides to stand, or even if a senior MSP, such as Transport Minister Humza Yousaf sees the position as a way to further their career.
Policing the police
On the policy front, there was additional drama this week as what seems to be the never-ending saga of wrongdoing by Police Scotland, and the body designed to provider oversight, the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), with the resignation of Police Scotland’s Chief Constable, Phil Gormley. The Chief Constable has been on “Special Leave” since September over allegations of serious misconduct in a number of investigations.
The merger of different constabularies to create a single, unified, Police Scotland, has been an ongoing sore for the Scottish Government. From disagreements about payment of VAT by HMT, to bungled investigations, allegations of cover-ups and ministerial pressure, Police Scotland has never been far from the headlines.
The Justice Minister, Michael Matheson MSP, along with the new Chair of the SPA, former Labour Minister, Susan Deacon, will be hoping this is the beginning of the end of the saga but with policing never far from the headlines in any case, that might be a forlorn hope.
The Justice Minister had a further problem this week when the he met with the father of Shaun Woodburn, a 30-year-old man who was murdered on New Year’s Day 2017. Not only has there been strong criticism of the sentence handed down to his convicted killer but also complaints about the time it was taken for the body to be released to the family for burial.
Brexit
I did warn that we had only almost got through this week without mentioning Brexit. Sadly, it was not to be as on Thursday, MSPs were up in arms that permission to read Brexit documentation from the UK Government, would only be by arranging an appointment, limited to 45 mins and kept to only two possible days, with very short notice to arrange. Although the Scotland Office later clarified that the reading room would be open beyond this week, it was yet a further episode which leaves a bad taste in the mouth between the governments after previous disputes over the devolution of additional powers to Holyrood after Brexit.