Standard of debate hits the floor at Holyrood

YOU can tell the election is hotting up. The Holyrood parliament is filled with high political discourse and earnest exchanges of competing views. The subject in question yesterday was the real terms increase (or decrease) in Scotland's departmental expenditure limit, taking into account capital spending acceleration. They talk of little else in Inverurie.

Into this lofty interlocution the word "numpty" was lobbed across the chamber from the vicinity of Andy Kerr on the Labour front-bench in the direction of the First Minister. This was followed shortly after by the word "sap", let loose from the proximity of the First Minister and fired in the direction of Iain Gray, the Labour leader. The Presiding Officer, Alex Fergusson, intervened with admonitory intimations and the words were, if not exactly sucked back into the mouths of the speakers, withdrawn.

It doesn't get much loftier, does it? David Hume would have struggled to sustain such argument and Sir Walter Scott to embellish the discourse with elevating flourishes of his own. It may be said that, in the heat of political battle, epithets are hurled that would have no place in civilised discussion. But did we really spend north of 430 million on a parliamentary chamber for politicians to pronounce in such a manner? A pub quiz in Easter Road would have struck a higher tone. A proper course of action would have been to switch off the microphones, and failing that, a sinbinning of the offending members. The chamber deserves better.