Back to business of losing the will to live

AFTER the general election - yes, all done, you can come out now - it was up to Holyrood's MSPs to raise the tempo, move up a gear, put on a show and possibly shake it all about.

A debate on the terms of the procedures committee's report on private legislation? That should just about do it.

Iain Smith, Lib Dem, a modest man with - all together now, the old ones are best when we’re all creaking back into action - much to be modest about, recognised that when he noted how pleased he was to see a packed chamber.

Correct, he was being ironic about his colleagues, all 12 of them, and three minutes into his speech some of us were surprised there were so many.

But he was right about the public gallery which, for reasons being investigated, was packed. Either hundreds were a day early for the bearpit of First Minister's questions or Iain had bussed in relatives.

Wherever they came from, they stuck with the debate for an hour, slightly dazed, mildly bemused, but leaving with a working knowledge of why a parliament should be more fountainhead than parish pump and not get bogged down in the minutiae of private legislation such as tramlines, Borders rail lines and Edinburgh airport links. More rail links are coming down the track, said Iain - good try, loud groan - and it was time to consider a different approach.

That meant, I think he said, TWA Plus for Scotland compared with TWA in England - not necessarily good news for those who hadn’t a clue what TWA was, is, or might be. But, be fair, he might have explained while some of us were asleep.

He went on to say that his colleagues had probably spotted that a note in the report referring to 9A14a should have referred to 9A14b, losing him the public sympathy vote entirely and giving Bruce McFee, SNP, a flying start. Alas, not a word to use lightly, he fared no better, winning - after nominating and seconding himself - Anorak of the Year by admitting that he found the debate exciting.

Worth having, worthy, a useful exercise in democracy? Yes, yes, yes. Exciting, no.

It took Susan Deacon to show again what the government's frontbench is missing when she said it was outcome, not process, that had to be considered. Parliament should set overall strategy, not have MSPs losing the will to live in endless committees considering detail.

The will-to-live comment is mine, not Susan's - somehow it sprang to mind when she sat down and Des McNulty stood up to talk about transport.