Exploding the myth of ‘tame’ presiding officer

“Yes or no? Yes or no?” the Labour back-benchers bawled as Alex Salmond failed yet again to give a direct answer to an Iain Gray question on university closures.

The Presiding Officer, Tricia Marwick, looked over to one of her senior officials as if to ask if she should upbraid their rowdiness. Perhaps mindful of criticisms that the SNP’s dominance of the Holyrood chamber has become overwhelming, Marwick kept quiet.

She was wise to do so. The catcalls were one of the few things to liven up a pretty dire session at the weekly sparring bout between Salmond and what remains of the opposition.

The only jollity that could be heard was the First Minister’s laughter at his own jokes – both of which were too feeble to merit repetition here. But amid the tortured rhetoric, there was the odd sign that Marwick was trying to get a grip on the chamber. The political posturing from the SNP benches and the “patsy” questions from the Nationalists have irritated those who have criticised the SNP for appointing one of their own as presiding officer.

It would appear that the criticism has struck home. When Christine Grahame (SNP) played politics with the Borders Rail Link, she was slapped down. Jim Eadie’s (SNP) attempt to raise the rugby world cup bagpipe ban in a supplementary question on further eduction was ruled out of order. A clumsy attempt by Annabel Ewing (SNP) to invite Salmond to lay into Lib Dem Scotland Bill policy was not allowed on the grounds that it did not fall within his responsibilities. It was a small step in the right direction.