The Week Ahead in Scottish Politics
"Everything has changed, yet nothing has changed at all"
The application of ancient philosophy to modern politics always seems like a slightly abstract concept until you see it up close. The last week in politics is as good an example of this as any, as the spirit of Heraclitus looms over Holyrood
John Swinney has been appointed the seventh First Minister of Scotland, and invited former Finance Secretary and SNP Leadership Candidate Kate Forbes to serve as his Deputy, and Economy Secretary. Besides Ms Forbes replacing Shona Robison as Deputy First Minister and absorbing the economy portfolio from Mairi Macallan, the Cabinet remains unchanged. On the rural affairs portfolio, Mairi Gougeon has been reappointed as Cabinet Secretary, and will continue to be supported in this role by Jim Fairlie as Agriculture and Connectivity Minister.
To summarise: everything has changed, yet nothing has changed at all (thanks Heraclitus).
Scottish Land and Estates has written to the new First Minister and Deputy First Minister to congratulate them, and outline our priorities to help rural Scotland thrive. These priorities include:
- Recognising the significant contribution land based businesses are making to deliver benefits for everyone, and creating an evidenced based legislative environment that supports their work to continue delivering these benefits.
- Positively rural proofing Scottish Government policy across portfolios to ensure that rural priorities are always considered, and new legislation delivers for the whole of Scotland.
- Addressing the gap in funding and delivery on climate mitigation and nature restoration, including forestry; agriculture; peatland restoration and natural flood management.
- Reversing rural depopulation by supporting the delivery of more rural homes and ensuring a fair share of Scotland’s housing budget it allocated to rural areas and focussing on delivering promised upgrades to rural transport and digital connectivity.
- Tackling rural specific crime and addressing irresponsible access to land by continuing to take a robust approach to dealing with the perpetrators of these crimes and providing rural police with the resources they need to carry out their duties effectively.
Despite the political upheaval, progress on Holyrood's packed legislative schedule waits for no man. The Rural Affairs Committee began Stage 2 proceedings of the Agriculture and Rural Communities Bill, reaching just shy of the halfway point on the 200 amendments brought forward to the Bill by MSPs. No substantial changes to the Bill were passed, although the Cabinet Secretary has committed to working with members on a variety of topics, including food security reporting and animal welfare.
Elsewhere in politics, Agriculture Minster Jim Fairlie fielded rural affairs questions from MSPs alone last week, leading some Members to complain to the Presiding Officer that the government was failing to provide suitable answers to important questions. The session took place during the appointment of John Swinney’s new cabinet.
The Circular Economy Bill began Stage 2 in the NZET Committee on Tuesday, with over 200 amendments to be heard over three weeks.
Looking ahead to next week, the Rural Affairs committee will continue to hear amendments on the Agriculture Bill. As the new Deputy First Minister takes up her post in government, Ms Forbes’ replacement on the committee will be appointed before it next sits on Wednesday. Conservative MSP for North East Scotland, Maurice Golden, will be holding a Members Debate on climate action, whilst his colleague Roz McCall will be quizzing ministers on accessible tourism in rural areas during Thursday's General Questions session.
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