September 2009 diary column
01 October 2009
September 09 diary column
Licencing laws.
I have written several times previously about the iniquities of the new liquor licencing regime which has caused at least 25% of shops, delis, tea rooms and the like to give up their licences (although they harmed precisely no-one), but the introduction of the new laws under the 2005 Licencing Act - widely agreed to be very much not the finest piece of legislation ever passed - has understandably got people hopping mad. One constituent was told by his regular supplier, a local wholesaler, that he was no longer allowed to supply ‘non trade’ customers, despite the fact that my constituent had purchased his supplies there since time immemorial. So he went and got what he needed from Tesco. Local businesses lose out, multi-national supermarket giant wins again.
The new laws mean that pubs and hotels cannot have promotional activities such as 2 for 1s or happy hours. On the same day the laws came into force, Tesco receipts were advertising massively discounted beers and lagers to the extent that bottled beer is cheaper than bottled water! Local businesses lose out (again) – multi-nationals win (again).
It is very hard to argue with the licenced traders who strongly support minimum pricing for alcohol. That might help to create a more level playing field, although as long as they are rated on turn-over while the supermarkets are rated on space, it can never be entirely level. One thing is for sure – the 2005 Act has left a number of anomalies that need to be addressed.
Ambassadorial status.
I was more than delighted to attend the recent centenary event at Threave Gardens to mark the 100th anniversary of Girlguiding, and to be made an Ambassador for Stewartry Guiding in the process. The level of participation in Brownies and Guides is still thoroughly impressive and the benefits of team working and friendship can only be to the good. An excellent display showed how the movement has successfully changed with the times, and I left the event (which had defied the incessant rain and was held on what seemed like the only dry day in the summer) with the distinct feeling that guiding is well set for the next 100 years as well.
National Parks.
Prior to the Scottish Parliamentary elections of 2003, I promised to pursue the possibility of a third National Park for Scotland here in Galloway. To say that I was bitterly disappointed with the reaction I received from those who I felt should be the strongest supporters of the idea, i.e. Council, Enterprise Co and Tourist Board, is the understatement of the year. The only real support I received was from the Federation of Small Businesses, and several enthusiastic individuals.
I was pleasantly surprised, therefore, when I was contacted recently by the Scottish Campaign for National Parks who were keen to discuss the very possibility I had pursued in 2003. We duly met, and my enthusiasm has been rekindled. S.C.N.P. have met with Scottish Ministers and told there would be no new National Parks in Scotland until at least 2015, which is excellent as it gives plenty of time to prepare and make the case. Other than the Council, the aforementioned agencies have lost their local credentials, so I believe the time is right to take another look at this possibility – watch this space.
School visits – the truth will out!
Regular readers will know how much I enjoy visiting schools throughout the constituency. After a recent visit to a primary school, which will have to remain anonymous for obvious reasons, I got a wonderful batch of very nicely written thank you letters from the pupils I had met. The first read “thank you for coming to our school last Monday. It was very interesting and your answers were very long”. Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings…!
Riding with a difference.
I am only very rarely required to perform Presiding Officer duties on a Sunday, so I was a bit reluctant to go up to Edinburgh to acknowledge a Riding which had been organised by the City Council to celebrate the Year of Homecoming. “2 hours each way to watch a few horses riding past the Parliament” was my begrudged mutterings as I drove to the Capital. How wrong I was. Every community/town or burgh in Scotland that still holds an annual riding was represented at this, the first Edinburgh riding since 1946. Some 250 riders followed the 3 marshalls, resplendent on their grey mounts and who I officially welcomed to Holyrood, and it they all provided a magnificent spectacle as they headed up the Royal Mile. It must have been great to participate in as well, because it had begun early in the morning in the Braid Hills, and descending en masse on the city can only have been exhilarating. My constituency was well represented with riders from Sanquhar, Kirkcudbright and Gatehouse of Fleet. I just hope it is not another 63 years before the next one.
Variety – the spice of life.
It’s great when something quite unusual comes along, and that was very much the case when I was recently asked to do a ‘voice over’ for an interactive DVD that is being put together about the Ballochwood community woodland project in Creetown. As always where Ballochwood is concerned, this is an innovative idea to help to educate young and old alike about the ecology of the woodland which, if I remember rightly, was one of the first community woodland projects in Scotland, and has been an outstanding example of just what a community woodland should be. I don’t know about you, but I hate hearing my own voice played back to me, so I am dreading receiving the finished article. However, the producers were very polite and suggested a future career in ‘voice over-ing’ might be a distinct possibility. I suspect once will probably be enough!
Speakers club.
Over the last 2 years I have established really good relationships with my counterparts in Wales and Northern Ireland and we meet up about 3 times a year to compare notes. I always look forward to those meetings, and I think all three of us get a lot from them. At our last one, we all agreed that we were fortunate indeed to be away from the wranglings at Westminster, and to have modern open and transparent structures in place. I was therefore very interested that the new Speaker of the House of Commons visited me in Holyrood last month and met with a number of my Parliamentary colleagues with a view to seeing what we do that might help to bring Westminster practices into the 21st century. I might be wrong, but I suspect our little ‘speakers club’ might be about to expand!
Visitors aplenty.
It is an astonishing fact that over 120 overseas delegations visit the Scottish Parliament every year, mostly to exchange experiences and to see what a relatively new Parliament does differently (our petitions system and Festival of Politics come under particularly close scrutiny). I therefore get quite annoyed when the beloved Scottish Press get hyper-critical when we undertake similar visits to other Parliaments as they invariably do, despite the fact that our travel budget is very modest compared to other legislatures.
I make no apology therefore for agreeing to lead a cross party delegation of 4 MSPs to Australia and New Zealand during the October recess at the invitation of the national Parliaments of those 2 countries. It promises to be a fascinating visit to places where Scottish influence is considerable and where interest in us, as a country and a Parliament, is almost insatiable. I’ve seen our schedule and it is a punishing one but, if I’m still alive, I’ll let you know how it went in next month’s column.
The temperature’s rising!
Clearly, there will be a UK election within the next 9 months. I suspect that accounts for the discernable rise in the political temperature in the debating chamber since the summer recess. And, as the next Scottish elections will be only about a year after the UK ones, I can’t see that changing much. Do not fear, however - my monthly surgeries continue whatever the temperature – overseas visits notwithstanding – just ring 0800 028 7260 for details or to make any other suitable arrangement.