Sea of yellow
Whether you voted for devolution way back in September 1997 or not, the Scottish Parliament has had a profound effect on all of our lives. Perhaps most importantly, the sense of reaffirmation of national identity was captured by Dr Winnie Ewing, the Parliament’s most senior member, at its first meeting in May 1999 when she declared that: “The Scottish Parliament, which adjourned on 25 March 1707, is hereby reconvened”.
Of course, this modern Parliament is a very different constitutional animal from its predecessor. No matter. This was the beginning of an exciting new political era for Scotland and opened the door to devolved legislation that should be ‘fit for Scotland’s purpose’ as opposed to what ‘fits England’.
Whilst Westminster still covers such issues as International Relations, social security, financial markets and the Union between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, matters ranging from education, through the health service to management of the countryside are devolved to Holyrood. We no longer have to depend on Members of the Westminster Parliament to fight our ‘minority’ corner against the ‘majority’ of ‘English’ members on these more local matters. Scotland IS different and, love it or hate it, the Scottish Parliament is far more likely to understand our needs and hopefully administer the budget to fit those requirements.
As someone who has campaigned, in various guises, on behalf of Scotland’s people since the Scottish Parliament’s inception in ’99, I have been fascinated to see how it developed from arguably a Chamber of over promoted ‘coonsilors’ to a place of gravitas and influence – and it will be interesting to see how the huge new intake of MSPs develop over the coming months.
Many of the MSPs I became friendly with in the early days after devolution are now Ministers and Cabinet Secretaries in their own right, and the depth of their thinking and understanding of the issues has grown along with their promotions. What has struck me more than anything though, is how approachable they are and how willing to listen and amend their thinking they have always been. No one, however, should make the mistake of thinking that changing minds is either easy or that the legislation is perfect; but both are there for the influencing.
Many years ago as a novice ‘lobbyist, I once made the mistake of allowing my nerves to get the better of me in a meeting with a Westminster politician and I quickly realised I must have come across as angry and aggressive – even though I eventually won my case. It will never happen again. Of course, when we go to see a politician we go because we want change of some sort and it CAN be nerve racking but Andrew Thin (currently Chairman of Scottish Natural Heritage) gave me some very good advice: “In order to have influence, you have to be liked” – of course you also have to command respect.
Whether you require change at EU level – which is the most complicated political arena in our sphere – at Westminster, Holyrood or even local government level, facts, examples, friendliness and deep breaths have a large part to play in the influencing game, as does knowing exactly who you need to speak to, how you are going to do that and being aware of the political agendas at play.
After their historic win in May this year, the SNP’s Richard Lochhead MSP (Member for Moray and Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment) said in a letter to the Scottish Farmer: “The SNP’s victory was truly historic and Scotland will never be the same again. Rural Scotland is now a sea of yellow and played a pivotal role in delivering the nation’s first ever majority Scottish Government.”
Those of us who seek to influence this “sea of yellow” will be holding First Minister Alex Salmond firmly to the spirit and words of his victory speech: “Although the SNP has a majority of the seats, we don’t have a monopoly of wisdom.”
Only by continuing to listen to those who DO have wisdom and experience can this Government hope to realise their leader’s promise that: “This party, the Scottish party, the national party, carries your hope. We shall carry it carefully and make the nation proud.”
I for one, wish them luck.
Geva Blackett is the Lucid expert on Public Affairs and has many years of experience as a lobbyist operating at Holyrood, as well as the Westminster and European Parliaments.
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