SNP's incompetence in government leaves Scotland mired in age of political regret – Jackie Baillie

Bad legislation is being forced through the Scottish Parliament with insufficient scrutiny

If the old adage is true then we are living in an age of political regret. With the regularity of a metronome the Scottish Government is legislating in haste and regretting at leisure. The situation, which is of the SNP’s making, is in danger of damaging the reputation of the Scottish Parliament as it marks it 25th anniversary.

Let’s be clear, it is the Scottish Government which is responsible for bringing forward most of the legislation, not parliament. The SNP has ridden roughshod over Holyrood’s founding principles, choosing to force through flawed legislation instead of building consensus. Year on year, the nationalists have brought forward legislation which has not been thought through, channelled through echo chamber consultation, and enacted with insufficient scrutiny or consideration of implementation.

Such are the strengths and weaknesses of a majority government and a party management that baulks no internal criticism, either of its own agenda or its coalition partner. Just ask Fergus Ewing. Proper scrutiny has been set aside for the sake of a party-whipping operation.

The controversy over the Hate Crime Act was largely because the SNP failed to prepare the police and explain the law's purpose to the public (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

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The Offensive Behaviour at Football Act is one example that was subsequently repealed. Then we had the independence referendum bill, struck down by the courts. The Hate Crime Act has been mired in controversy, largely because of the SNP’s failure to prepare the police or communicate to voters what the law’s purpose actually is. Indeed, one of the act’s most glaring oversights was the failure to include misogyny – something Scottish Labour attempted to address with an amendment.

On the horizon, we are considering an omnibus justice bill which contains a number of fundamental reforms. We’re hearing sober warnings from stakeholders and even the threat of boycott from the Scottish legal profession, but ministers don’t seem to be listening.

A large part of the problem is that legislation is, as the saying goes, considered with undue haste. The stage-two consideration of new laws, line-by-line amendments, is over in the blink of an eye, railroaded through by a party more wedded to its own convictions instead of consensus on which our democracy is built.

When huge changes are made to bills, the National Care Service Bill is one example, the government uses it majority to push forward to stage two even though the general principles have changed. There is no second, revising chamber in Holyrood, so it’s important that legislation is considered carefully before approval is given. The Public Audit Committee undertakes post-legislative scrutiny, but it may take many years to correct bad law.

Without getting into the legislative weeds, it is fairly obvious from the track record of the SNP that they are a government which is woeful at legislation and woeful at delivery with little idea how their legislation will actually be implemented. Voters are left wondering where is the meaningful action on challenging poverty, on housing, on land reform or on simply improving the lives of ordinary people?

The focus should be, and always should have been, on delivery and particularly in areas like health, education, jobs and enterprise. But these are things the SNP are clearly not good at doing. There will always be arguments about strengthening the parliament to improve the law it produces but the simplest way to achieve that is to change the government.

Jackie Baillie MSP is Scottish Labour’s deputy leader