Opening of the Parliament

Today saw the third riding of the Scottish Parliament. This event for those who don't know, is an ancient tradition stretching back to pre-union days where members of the Scots Parliament would process along the Royal Mile to mark the opening of the legislature.

Since the advent of devolution, this event has been recreated with each new Parliament after each election. All members of the Scottish Parliament are invited to attend to be in the presence of the Queen as she addresses the assembled parliamentarians.

I was not amongst those parliamentarians present today.

It would be disingenuous to suggest that I was not there solely because I had an appointment in the constituency I represent. That was certainly part of it, but I must admit that the fact that I believe in an elected head of state was part of my rationale as well.

Before I left the house to attend the event in Cumbernauld I went to, I did manage to catch some of the proceedings on television. I thought Alex Salmond gave an excellent speech before Parliament setting out the SNP government's position.

I see some of my Parliamentary colleagues from the Labour benches have been upset by Alex's words. They seem perturbed by the fact that he pointed out that the SNP government favours independence.

Wouldn't it have seem rather odd had Alex Salmond omitted that fact? Indeed, wouldn't it have seemed just about as disingenuous if he had done so as if I had pretended that the only reason I wasn't in Edinburgh today was because of the event in Cumbernauld.

Anyway, that brings me onto that event. It was a Highland Dancing competition at Cumbernauld High School (photo below shows the participants along with myself and some of the Cumbernauld councillors) and I was very privileged to be asked to dole out prizes to the participants. The kids taking part were fantastic and I was very glad to be with them today.

Glasgow Airport Targeted for Terror Attack

I haven't posted for a while but today's events at Glasgow Airport feel like they should be commented upon. Terrorist incidents are not something we are used to in Scotland. Even at the height of the IRA bombing campaign on mainland Britain there were no attacks on Scottish soil.

The tragedy in the skies over Lockerbie on 21st December 1988 was the worst terrorist incident in the history of the United Kingdom, but mercifully there have been no major acts of terror perpetrated in Scotland since.

It is quite clear that the four wheel drive vehicle that was driven into the Glasgow Airport terminal building ablaze was done so to jeopardise life and limb. Thankfully that central aim of this maniacal act went unfulfilled and whilst people have obviously been scared and inconvenienced, no one has apparently been hurt, other than one of the drivers of the vehicle themselves.

Apparently since this incident another vehicle has been discovered outside the hospital where this individual is being treated with what has been described as a "device". Not much further explanation, but this ominous description would lead us to believe another attempt to maim and kill.

All very frightening, and will draw greater comment in coming days as more details emerge.

It is difficult to know what to say when something like this happens so close to home, particularly when something like this hasn't really happened so close to home before.

Doubtless, those who sought to perpetrate the act will seek justification in retribution or retaliation for some other event. It is hard to comment further when it is yet to be confirmed who exactly has been involved and what their motivation was.

However violence of this type can never be justified. The random targeting of civilians anywhere in the world is abhorrent. It is though alarming that even though no one was harmed on this particular occasion that this should be emphasised so starkly on home soil.

Scotland's Parliament Says no to Trident

Today was quite historic. For the first time, the Scottish Parliament has actually taken a clear position on the issue of nuclear weapons and their presence in Scotland.

The issue of the Trident nuclear weapons system has been debated before in the Parliament, but never before has such a position been reached.

Some concern was expressed by Labour members that the Parliament shouldn't be discussing the matter. This faux concern with constitutional niceties disguised their real concern that they might be forced to express a view on the matter themselves.

In the end most of them abstained, although congratulations are due to those Labour representatives who stood up for their principles and voted against Trident renewal.

There are those who would have Scotland contained to its own kailyard and impotent to voice its opinion on matters such as nuclear weapons. Clearly as a Scottish National Party MSP you would not expect me to agree with a such a stance. However, I can quite clearly state that of the many people contacting me about the matter advocated the cowardice avenue of failing to express an opinion. Indeed, all urged me to vote against Trident renewal.

I was delighted that not only did I do so today, but a majority of my parliamentary colleagues did so as well.

Not the Best Wee Country in the World

Jack McConnell's tagging of Scotland as the "Best Small Country in the World" in his former incarnation as our First Minister really annoys me.

It annoys me for several reasons. Firstly it smacks of the kind of national chauvinism that I shy away from. I never have bought into the idea that Scotland is somehow the "best" country in the world, or somehow better than others (the implication of best logically being that we must somehow be better than others). In fact all I want for Scotland is equality. I just want my country to be an equal member of the community of nations.

Secondly, I am hugely irked by the suggestion that Scotland is somehow "small". It annoys me when this is literally suggested. If you actually look at the size of Scotland in comparison to other nations in the world, our population places us right in the middle. (See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population) So in fact we are not a small country, but a perfectly reasonably sized one.

I am even more moved though by the suggestion that Scotland is figuratively small. Certainly the unionists would keep us confined to our own backyard and think small, but Scotland presents limitless opportunities for itself if it only demands the means to achieve such. The "Scottish cringe" is conjured up by this talk of us being small and I really hate it.

So having made my case against Scotland being the "best small country in the world", it is interesting to see today a report commissioned by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) that has attracted plenty of attention to quite clearly indicate that even if you bought into the rhetoric, the reality is somewhat different.

I certainly think the reportage that we are the "worst small country in Europe" is a tad over the top, but the report and its coverage brings into stark contrast McConnell's slogan with reality. Using measures such as health, life expectancy, employment prospects and educational attainment, this report places Scotland bottom out of ten countries of nine million or less.

And it is not just the FSB that can point to the ludicrous nature of Scotland being the best of the small. The United Nations Human Development Index - which broadly speaking measures quality of life in each UN member country - has consistently ranked Norway as the number one place to live on Earth in recent years. This country has a population some half a million less than ours. If any country can boast about being the "best" (although I would hope all nations would shun such pomposity) then surely it is Norway.

Monklands A&E Saved

A few days late with this post I know - but things have been pretty hectic of late. Anyway, I was absolutely delighted with the announcement made on Wednesday that the A&E at Monklands Hospital would be saved, just as the SNP promised it would be should we win the election and form the government.

A lot had been said by certain cynics that the SNP only made the promise to save the A&E out of electoral expediency and that it was a pledge that would go unfulfilled. Nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is that the SNP took the decision to promise to save the A&E because any reasonable analysis of health services in Lanarkshire dictate that it had to remain open.

The A&E is sited in a location of high deprivation and the associated problems that brings, such as above average levels of ill health. I doubt it can be proved that any such area which has lost its local A&E has then gone on to see improvements to the local population's health as a consequence.

Furthermore, the transport links through the NHS Lanarkshire area are such that the various communities presently served by the three operating A&Es are poorly connected. This is not to mention the overcrowding at A&E at the remaining sites if the A&E at Monklands had closed.

For these reasons and more we took the decision to save the A&E. It was the right thing to do.