Did devolution deliver to the max? 25 years after first Holyrood election, the experts have their say

THE first elections to the Scottish Parliament were held exactly a quarter of a century ago today, on May 6, 1999.

The 25 years that have followed have seen Holyrood become part and parcel of public life and the centre of political drama.

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Today, marking the anniversary, two voices who know the parliament, below, inside out present their views on the impact of devolution.

Former Scottish Sun Political Editor Andrew Nicoll, who reported on Holyrood from the very start, tells of his exasperation at how many things have turned out.

But ex-Holyrood Presiding Officer Ken Mackintosh, first elected in 1999, believes it still represents the hopes of a nation as it enters its second quarter century.

Did devo deliver to the max?

NO says ANDREW NICOLL, ex-Scottish Sun Political Editor

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IT all felt so different 25 years ago.

The opening day of the Scottish Parliament came after a century of agitation.

Demand for devolution had ebbed and flowed before the 3/1 vote in favour following New Labour’s 1997 landslide.

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But, from its first day in 1999, Holyrood was dogged by controversy and failure.

There was outrage when MSPs were all awarded a gold medal — just for turning up.

The plan for a new parliament building descended into chaos and farce.

Shortly before his sudden death, just a year-and-a-half into office, Donald Dewar was considering resignation after the cost ballooned from £40million to £400million.

Now we spend that much on two non-existent ferries and nobody even thinks to quit.

Yes, Humza Yousaf may have resigned — but not due to public policy disasters.  

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Mr Dewar was succeeded by Henry McLeish who had played at least as big a role in shaping devolution. But his time in office was even briefer.

He was forced out by the Officegate scandal after repaying £9,000 of undeclared rental income from his 12 years as a Westminster MP.

Nowadays that wouldn’t even cover a taxpayer-funded Moroccan holiday WiFi bill for ex-Health Secretary Michael Matheson.

He didn’t resign, of course — until a damning probe left him with no choice.

Jack McConnell spent 5½ as First Minister, virtually unblemished.

He achieved global fame with his comedy pinstripe kilt at New York’s Tartan Day, and gave Scotland the smoking ban.

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Alex Salmond soaked up his entire, seven-year term in planning a failed indy referendum but saw Labour virtually wiped off the Scottish map.

Like Mr Yousaf, longest-serving First Minister Nicola Sturgeon jumped before she was pushed last year — days before the cop fraud probe engulfed her party.

But don’t imagine for a second that the scandal and failure has touched only the SNP.

Tory leader David McLetchie resigned over a £11,500 taxi bills claim, only some of which went on party business.

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Lib Dem MSP Jeremy Purvis celebrated the smoke ban vote with a cigar in his office — but promised not to do it again.

Fellow Lib Dem Keith Raffan quit on health grounds after claiming mileage expenses which would have taken him twice round the Equator.

After a quarter of a century, are those really the highlights of devolution?

The A9 is still not a dual carriageway. Yes, there is now a single police force but why do we still have 14 health boards and 32 councils, each with its own Director of Paper Clips and two deputy Directors of Paper Clips.

The SNP were elected in 2007 on a promise to scrap council tax. We’ve still got it.

Defenders of devolution will say things might be bad, but they’re not as bad as England.

Sadly, the numbers don’t bear that out. If it doesn’t make life better for Scots, what the hell is it for?

YES says KEN MACINTOSH, Scottish Parliament Presiding Officers 2016-2021, and Labour MSP 1999-2016

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GOVERNMENTS and elected representatives, like me, come and go.
But 25 years on from its first elections, on May 6, 1999, the Scottish Parliament is here to stay.

We find ourselves in febrile times during which Holyrood as an institution is often collateral damage in exchanges of fire between parties and their supporters,

A fair number of people seem to be using the current travails of the SNP government to have a pop at devolution more broadly.

But it is crucial to stress that the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government are not one and the same.

It has established itself at the heart of public and political life in Scotland and decisions taken here are already shaping lives for the better.

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From land reform or free care for the elderly, to the Scottish Child Payment; from getting rid of homophobic laws to celebrating same-sex marriage.

Not only has the Scottish Parliament brought these issues to the fore, devolution has ensured the Scottish people exercise responsibility for the ills blighting our society — the famous Scottish solutions for Scottish problems.

To my mind, the smoking ban epitomised everything I hoped it could achieve.

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Serving a population scarred by poor health, with the worst cancer records in Europe, yet having the self-confidence to become the first country in the UK to introduce such a measure.

A country not blaming others for our own bad choices, but taking charge of our own health.

There were undoubtedly great expectations heaped on this new institution.

There were hopes it would usher in a new kind of politics, allow a multi-party system to flourish, encourage a more collegiate approach to conducting parly business, and to some extent those plans have materialised.

The parliamentary arithmetic which ensures that two parties dominate at Westminster has given a voice to four, five or even six political parties at Holyrood.

The minority SNP administration of 2007 to 2011 was a coming of age moment, a clear show of how a party with little more than a third of the 129 MSPs could work with others across the divides.

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On the other hand, Dennis Canavan and Margo MacDonald were the only two MSPs ever elected without being in a political party of some size.

Is it realistic to expect the Parliament to entirely overcome partisan sentiment when the vast majority vote along party lines?

And without new practices such as a petitions system would the mesh implant scandal have been properly addressed?

Despite cynicism and polarised attitudes, the first 25 years of Holy-rood have shown one thing, above all.

It has been — and I believe will always be — an institution which carries the hopes and expectations for a country we can build together.