AFTER yesterday’s mammoth committee session, I imagine there was even less public appetite than usual for more televised politics.
We don’t know the viewing figures for FMQs but its reach probably doesn’t stretch far beyond a small cohort of diehard politicos, journalists and the mums of MSPs.
And who can blame the public for finding the whole thing a bit off-putting?
There’s a pandemic on, just in case there is any way you could have forgotten.
We are confined to our homes with only our children, pets and houseplants for company. Single people have been living under government-mandated celibacy for the best part of a year.
Studies have shown that married people have been suffering from a “lockdown libido slump”. Nobody is having a good time right now and – no offence to politicians – but they aren’t exactly known for bringing good cheer.
Between them, Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond faced 14 hours of questioning in front of the committee, but apparently that wasn’t enough.
And so, as it has done for weeks now, the Government’s mishandling of complaints against the former First Minister dominated the party leader’s questions to the First Minister.
READ MORE: Tory hopes of no-confidence vote in Nicola Sturgeon dealt blow by Greens
Ruth Davidson showed no signs of the fatigue she surely must be feeling after all the TV interviews she’s been doing in recent days.
She asked the First Minister about the legal advice that was published this week under a threat of a no-confidence vote in John Swinney: “Despite this parliament asking for it to be released four months ago, it was only partially revealed this week.”
She then went through the timeline of events that led up to the Scottish Government eventually conceding the case.
“Why did the Government try and defend the indefensible for so long?” she asked.
“As anybody who paid any attention to lengthy proceedings yesterday – which clearly didn’t include Ruth Davidson – will have seen, that’s just simply not true,” replied Sturgeon.
“I answered questions for eight hours yesterday. I answered every question that was put to me and so I intend now to rest on that, allow the committee and the inquiry on the ministerial code to conclude their work.
“I’ll leave Ruth Davidson and the Conservatives to play the political games they seem to prioritise over everything else.”
Amid the loudest heckling we have heard from the chamber so far this year, Ruth Davidson hit back at the First Minister, saying that she had “never forgotten” the women who were failed at the heart of this inquiry.
“I’m going to agree with something Ruth Davidson just said. I agree that she has not ‘forgotten’ the women at the heart of this because I don’t think Ruth Davidson ever remembered the women at the heart of this,” said the FM.
“Ruth Davidson says that she’s not been playing political games: I beg to differ. I think we saw the true colours of the Conservatives yesterday.”
She went on to say that she believed the Scottish Tories had already made up their minds before she had given evidence: “It’s not about due process – it’s political desperation on the part of the Conservatives.”
“During that session yesterday, one of the Tory members seemed to be suggesting that I should have intervened in the process to effectively sweep the allegations against Mr Salmond under the carpet.
LETTERS: Imagine the Prime Minister ever facing an eight-hour cross-examination
“And then the other Conservative member asked me to apologise for the inappropriate behaviour of a man.”
Ruth Davidson then rose to ask the question that she had been building up to.
“There is no doubt about whether the First Minister broke the ministerial code, the only question is how badly she broke it. We believe the sanction is to go – why doesn’t she?” asked Davidson.
If Nicola Sturgeon was worried about the no-confidence motion that has been lodged against her then she did a good job of hiding it. “Remember – the people of Scotland have been voting no confidence in the Conservatives since the 1950s!” she replied.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel