REFLECTING ON DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AS THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT CELEBRATES ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY
REFLECTING ON DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AS THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT CELEBRATES ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY
Rt Hon. Ken Macintosh, MSP
is the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament. First elected in 1999 to represent the constituency of Eastwood, south of Glasgow, he has held various positions as Ministerial Aide to the First Minister and Shadow Minister for Schools and Skills; Culture and External Affairs; Education; Finance; Social Justice; and Community. In 2016, he was returned as an MSP for West Scotland before being elected as the Scottish Parliament’s fifth Presiding Officer. Prior to election, he was a television producer for BBC News.
This year, the Scottish Parliament marks its 20th anniversary and, while we take time to reflect on how far we have come in such a short period, we must also ensure this institution is fit to face the challenges and the changing needs of our people. We are a young Parliament, but one that sits in a country with a long parliamentary tradition stretching back more than 700 years. Before the Act of Union of 1707, Scotland had its own Parliament with the first historical reference dating back to 1235. Fast forward to 1997 and the newly elected UK Government embarked on a programme of constitutional reform establishing devolved assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland and a new Parliament here in Scotland. The
152 | The Parliamentarian | 2019: Issue Two | 100th year of publishing
strong desire from the start was to create a different model of parliamentary democracy and a consensual approach was taken in developing modern procedures for this new Scottish institution. A Consultative Steering Group (CSG) involving civic as well as political representatives, provided the blueprint for how the Parliament would operate and drew on international examples. Best practice from a range of other Parliaments including Canada, QuĂŠbec, and New Zealand and several European Legislatures were adopted and adapted to suit our needs. Membership of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association gave us an international platform to continue to learn from other Parliaments
and share our experiences. For me, and many others, the new Parliament brought optimism, a sense of purpose and enthusiasm for a new way of doing things. The CSG identified four key principles on which the Parliament is founded. The Parliament was to be accessible, open and participative; promote equal opportunities for all; embody and reflect the sharing of power between the people of Scotland, legislators, and the Scottish Government; and the Scottish Government was to be accountable to the Parliament while both institutions will be accountable to the people. These founding principles remain today as important as ever. The first two decades have