Holyrood has become a bubble. I don't want to smash the system, but I want to give it a right good shake, writes RUSSELL FINDLAY MSP, Scottish Conservative Justice spokesman
People often ask me why I got involved in politics. It’s a good question.
The main driver was my conservative convictions, although I usually kept my political views to myself. But there were other reasons.
My past life as an investigative journalist, specialising in the toxic reach of organised crime into mainstream society, brought me to the unwelcome attention of some of the most dangerous criminals in Scotland.
I’ll not rehearse the full story - it can be found elsewhere for those interested - but my scrutiny of these venal thugs resulted in me being targeted on my own doorstep in a contract “hit”.
Russell Findlay, MSP, Scottish Conservative Justice spokesman
The highly dangerous individual who committed the attack was convicted, but the millionaire mastermind who ordered it never was.
My consequent encounter with the criminal justice system as a victim wasn’t all I had hoped for.
And it got me thinking. If that was my experience, what of my fellow citizens?
If my interaction with the court process — as someone with a platform as a national newspaper journalist — had been so poor, what of those less fortunate than myself?
Fast forward a few years and I’m sitting on the opposition benches of the Scottish Parliament.
I’ve got a growing inbox of constituent emails and a relentless flow of messages via social media.
Every other day, the contents of these answer the question I asked myself in the aftermath of that traumatic event. One horror story after another.
From my journalistic dealing with crime victims, I already knew about the delays, the secrecy, and the disrespect.
The perverse way in which the rights of criminals take priority over their victims.
Living it myself, really brought home that sobering reality.
Far too often, people’s experience of that criminal justice system – and other public services including healthcare and education – are not up to scratch.
That’s no criticism of hardworking police officers, nurses and teachers, but it is an indictment of a political culture that has developed over many years. One which which values the expenditure of wealth over its creation.
And it’s symptomatic of a political climate which prioritises fashionable causes over doing what’s right.
It wasn’t meant to be this way. At the devolution referendum in 1997 people voted for change; for a shake-up to the country’s governing structures that would put them and the needs of their communities first.
The Scottish Parliament was to move politics closer to the people. It was rightly intended to be more responsive to the varied needs of different parts of our nation and in its early years it enjoyed a measure of success in achieving that.
But, as time has gone on, it has become a prisoner of the sectional interests of MSPs and powerful lobbyists pushing their own agendas and peculiar priorities, at the expense of reflecting the needs of Scotland as a whole.
An example of this trend has been the disastrous Hate Crime Act.
Championed by all sides of the Scottish Parliament — except the Scottish Conservatives — but viewed with bewilderment and anger by many ordinary people outside the Parliament’s debating chamber.
Holyrood has become a bubble that fixates on the interests and culture of the MSPs who inhabit it and not the real concerns of ordinary people.
Bridging the increasing disconnect between the governing class in Scotland and the people they govern needs to be our priority.
So we must unlock the doors of the Scottish Parliament and once again usher inside the real concerns of people across Scotland, so the long forgotten voices are heard.
I don’t want to ‘smash the system’, I’m a conservative after all, but I do want to give it a right good shake.
I want to tilt it firmly back in favour of the quiet majority of Scots who simply wish to see the efficient management of good quality public services, respectful and prudent use of the public purse and a state which doesn’t unduly meddle in their lives or reach too deeply into their pockets.
To borrow the phrase of a past First Minister, we need a Scottish Parliament and government that does less, better. Let’s dial down the loudly shrill voices with their fringe obsessions.
So a true battle of ideas now needs to begin.
That battle must have as its ultimate aim not the end of consensus politics in Scotland, but wholesale replacement of the existing ‘trendy left’ consensus by one which actually reflects the aspirations and ambitions of ordinary Scots.
Some faddish cause might get some establishment luvvies briefly excited, but doing the right thing will stand the test of time.
We need to shake up Scottish politics and bring to an end that cosy left-wing consensus at Holyrood, which views seeking good value for taxpayers as somehow wrong.
In its place, we need to build a new consensus in Scottish politics around common-sense conservative values.
There’s no such thing as public money, just taxpayers’ money, and the government should take less of it. People know best how to spend their own hard-earned cash, not politicians.
Self-reliance should always be preferred over reliance on the state.
Public services should deliver not just better outcomes, but value for money as well.
A belief in freedom, tolerance of others and respecting and upholding the rule of law.
These are the principles that should underpin that new, common-sense conservative consensus we battle to build in the months and years ahead.
And at the same time, we must spark an honest debate over the nature and affordability of existing government programmes in Scotland.
We need to strike a new balance between what government provides and what people provide for themselves.
We must call time on the SNP’s ‘handout culture’ and the gimmicks of recent years.
How can self-styled ‘progressive’ politicians keep a straight face while dishing out ‘free’ stuff to even the wealthiest people in society?
Spoiler alert – none of it’s ‘free’, you and I are all paying for it.
We are living in a time of great change. A UK government elected less than five years ago with a substantial majority has been swept aside in favour of one with an even bigger mandate.
In Scotland, a tired and disunited SNP government teeters on the brink of its own electoral reckoning.
So it’s a moment to be seized, and if we all resolve to play our part then that new, common-sense conservative consensus, rooted in our values of enterprise, self-reliance, fiscal responsibility and the rule of law, is waiting to be won.
