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Johnstone's View 4th July 2008

I find myself disappointed this week at the sudden, if not entirely unexpected, resignation of Wendy Alexander from her position as leader of the Labour group in the Scottish Parliament. Disappointed in part perhaps because, for strictly party political reasons, it’s always an advantage to have your political opponents struggling to find credibility and Ms Alexander's resignation will offer the chance of a new start for the Labour Party in Scotland. Something which they certainly want and which I might have chosen to deny them, had it been in my power.

There is however, an altogether different reason for my disappointment. First of all, we all know that political parties and their popularity rise and fall like the tides. These things are cyclical and, even more predictably, when one party has been in the ascendancy for a while, it becomes so much more difficult to blame the opposition for things which go wrong.  Labour are at the bottom of the trough at the moment. They have had some bad election results, North and South of the border, and inevitably, they will be feeling a little under the weather as a result. So is this the fault of Wendy Alexander? I think not!

Secondly, having been an elected politician for nearly ten years and a party activist for a lot longer, I have learned that there are two kinds of person who can rise in the world of politics. There are those who are motivated by a doctrine or dogma. They have a particular point of view and are incapable of seeing it any other way, believing that anyone who doesn’t share their perspective must be corrupt or ignorant or perhaps just not clever enough to see how things really are. Others however, fewer in number I admit, are capable of seeing the bigger picture and understanding the way others think and incorporating the needs of everyone in their philosophy. Wendy Alexander was the latter and as such, a rarity in the modern Scottish Labour party. Of the names mentioned so far as a possible successor, only one, in my opinion, shares that quality. I will not damn him by naming him!

The last, and by far the most important reason for my disappointment however, is the way in which this whole unnecessary process has drawn our attention away from the things which politicians are really elected to deal with. This process will not reduce the price of food or fuel. It will not restore the depressed value of your home or the cost of your mortgage. It will not deliver any better value for money for the taxes you pay, nor will it bring our soldiers back home. It is a distraction and we could all do without it. It is simply a way for the national newspapers to fill a few column inches, or should that be yards, at the start of the ‘silly season’ when stories are hard to come by.

The ‘Presidential’ style of political leadership is something which does not sit well with the British style of cabinet government and collective responsibility.  These systems require to be mirrored while in opposition and that is why political parties appoint ‘shadow ministers’.  The United Kingdoms shift towards this unhealthy preoccupation with political leadership may be something which began, of necessity, with Winston Churchill but it is only in the last 25 years that it has become the vice it is today.

Leadership is a great responsibility in any field but the function of a leader should never be to take responsibility for everything.  Any political leader should have the courage and the conviction to be broad minded and inclusive in the way they form their ideas and discharge their responsibilities.  They should gather around them the best people who are available and they should be prepared to encourage, not only the ideas of which they approve, but also the thinking of others who may not share that perspective.

In Scotland today we have a government which has as its primary theme, the cult of personality.  Our current First Minister is a clever manipulator who works the system to the advantage of himself and his party.  The ‘system’ is that the press are much more interested in people than ideas and that, as a result, personality politics has become the norm.  Our First Minister rules by suppressing the broad political thinking among his elected members and portraying his government as puritanical, socially responsible, centre-right and business friendly.   In a straight choice, I think I’d rather have Wendy Alexander.