I wish I had green light for power

Green MSP Robin Harper is bowing out after a colourful political career

His trademark rainbow-coloured Doctor Who scarf and bright ties became a familiar sight around the Scottish Parliament and the jolly Green politician always seemed to be caught up in a whirlwind of activity, dashing to meetings, travelling the country and working late to answer his hundreds of e-mails.

As he steps down as a Lothians MSP - one of 20 MSPs to quit Holyrood at this election - the modern studies teacher who made history looks back with few regrets, but there is one: he would like to have taken the Greens into government.

He saw the opportunity after the 2003 elections, when the party got seven MSPs elected. Both Labour and the SNP had suffered a slump as minor parties and independents gained ground. Labour and the Liberal Democrats quickly resumed their governing partnership, but Mr Harper wishes it had been different.

"I would have liked us to have put ourselves up for a coalition, but the party was not ready for that," he says. "We are now, very much so. People talk about it all the time."

In 2003, Labour and the Lib Dems did not need the Greens to make the numbers work and Mr Harper did not approach either party about a "traffic light" coalition - red, orange and Green. He says: "I would have been very happy to negotiate a coalition. I think it would have produced a very different parliament if we had gone into coalition with Labour and Liberal of a loose kind. I think it might have suited Labour or the Liberals to work in the same way.

"I talked it through with members of the party immediately after the election but they clearly weren't keen."

He hopes the coming election will give the Greens another chance to be part of the government.

"The point of being involved in politics is to get as much of your agenda across in terms of actions and legislation, and the best way to do that is to be in government," he says.

"I hope we do have ministers after the next election. I think that's what we should be aiming for."

Mr Harper taught at Edinburgh's Boroughmuir High School for 17 years before becoming an MSP and talking to youngsters continued to be an important part of his life as a politician.

"I made countless school visits, often accompanied by my toy Emperor penguin as a prop to stimulate conversation about the plight of the environment."

He believes the Greens can claim significant achievements in the Scottish Parliament, including the law on hate crimes to tackle violence against disabled or gay people, which Patrick Harvie got on the statute book, the Climate Challenge Fund which has funded 300 community projects to reduce carbon emissions and a whole series of amendments to beef up laws on the environment.

The last Holyrood elections in 2007 saw the Greens reduced from seven MSPs to just two, but the SNP negotiated a "co-operation agreement" with them which saw the Greens back Alex Salmond's appointment as First Minister and in return Patrick Harvie became convener of the Transport and Climate Change Committee.

"It was a temporary friendship which melted like snow on water," says Mr Harper. "It was worthwhile because it did give us a little bit of extra influence."

The friendship ended spectacularly when the Greens defeated the SNP Budget in 2009 over the government's refusal to back a 100 million free home insulation scheme.

Mr Harper believes the party was right to vote as it did. "We were absolutely fed up with the way we were treated over negotiations for that Budget. It was quite clear by then that, as far as they were concerned, we had done our bit by voting for Alex Salmond as First Minister," he says.

"It really was a genuine point of principle we had to make. This was our one main budget ask and we had been thrown a few crumbs with little or no consultation on it.

"I'm very glad we did it because it showed we were not suckers and we were prepared to stand up for what we believe in. The roof didn't fall in. I think we set a very good example. The parliament should consider they can block a budget if the government needs to be sent back to think again. Hopefully it won't be the last time the parliament blocks a budget."

Nevertheless, Mr Harper believes minority government has helped Scottish politics develop. He adds: "In many senses, this has been a good four years. As a parliament we have made minority government work. That is a victory of all the parties. We shouldn't be scared of looking at other new ways of doing things after the 2011 election. The Greens would love to be in a position where we could be part of that discussion."

Meanwhile, at 70, Scotland's best-known Green is looking forward to having a little more time to spend with his wife, Jenny, and play his guitar.

Not that life after Holyrood will all be leisure.

"I have three years to serve on the board of the National Trust for Scotland," he says. "That's going to be a big job. It's an exciting time for the trust, but it's also a time when we are going to need to think very hard about what the best way forward is going to be."

So, is he sorry to say goodbye? "I didn't want to leave parliamentary politics until I felt we had a secure future and I think we do have a secure future now. We have a raft of very experienced candidates right across the country."

A Labour of love

'IT HAS HAD ITS HIGHS AND LOWS ALONG THE WAY'

SHE'S served in the cabinet, had her effigy burned by angry fishermen and helped bring in one of the Scottish Parliament's landmark pieces of legislation.

Retiring as Labour MSP for Midlothian, Rhona Brankin, 60, looks back on an eventful political career and says she believes devolution has improved people's lives.

She says: "It has been a tremendous privilege to have represented my constituents for 12 years and I have enjoyed every minute, although it has had its highs and lows along the way."

Appointed Deputy Minister for Culture and Sport by the then First Minister Donald Dewar when the parliament was first elected in 1999, she helped instigate Scotland's first national cultural strategy.

Ms Brankin was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000, but returned to work just weeks after surgery.

She later move to environment and rural development, where her responsibilities included fisheries. Fishermen in Peterhead burned her effigy as part of their protest against the government's decommissioning scheme.

After a break from ministerial office she was appointed Deputy Minister for Health in 2004, where she helped bring in the smoking ban.

"It was a difficult piece of legislation," she recalls. "Some of the pubs and clubs were worried about what was going to happen to their income, but I remember a former miner with severe lung problems saying to me, 'It's really important you do this'. I believe it will save thousands of lives."

She returned to the environment portfolio, but in January 2007 was promoted to the cabinet as Minister for Communities after the resignation of Malcolm Chisholm. Four months later, Labour lost the election.

Ms Brankin had been reselected to stand again, but announced in July she would be stepping down.

She says: "My mother is 93 and I'm going to spend some time with her. One of my daughters is in Germany and I have two grandchildren over there, so I'll spend some time with them, too."

McKee to success

'I DIDN'T HAVE HIGH HOPES TO SAVE THE POST OFFICE'

Former Wester Hailes GP Ian McKee found his medical expertise and experience of some of Edinburgh's most struggling communities came in handy during his four years as a Lothians SNP MSP.

He successfully argued for a crackdown on consultants' bonuses, highlighting the widespread use of the distinction awards to boost not only the salaries but also the pensions of doctors who were already paid six-figure sums.

He also helped save two closure-threatened post offices at the Calders and Oxgangs.

"I didn't have high hopes for Oxgangs when we started," he confesses. "But there was a wonderful team of people and it turned out army wives used the post office to send parcels to the troops on the front line, so we managed to save it.

"It was a cross-party effort. Alistair Darling worked on that, as did councillors for the area. It was good to be in a campaign which produces an effect."

He rebelled against the party whip when he tried to toughen up the Alcohol Bill with amendments trying to outlaw meal deals and stop people getting points on reward cards for buying alcohol or using points to buy alcohol.

Dr McKee, 70, says devolution is working well, but thinks there is room for improvement, particularly improving the expertise on committees. He served on the Health Committee, as did Labour MSP and psychiatrist Richard Simpson. "Because we had medical experience, we could ask the right questions and explore areas the others might not have thought of.

"I would try to find a way of specialist committees like health and education co-opting people with expertise who would not have a vote but who would be able to take part in questioning witnesses because of their knowledge."

Free of parliament, Dr McKee plans to catch up with things in the house, visit his grandchildren and do some travelling, but he says: "It has been a real privilege and a fantastic experience."