Feel The Power.

So, it would appear the old emnities within the Peoples' Party are flaring up again, with the Westminster Parliamentary posse wanting to curtial the powers of their Scottish Parliamentary colleagues.

"SCOTTISH Labour was facing a fresh internal split last night after the party's MPs called for its MSPs to be stripped of some of their powers. The Westminster group – which includes Prime Minister Gordon Brown – told a private party meeting on Friday that Holyrood should no longer have decision-making powers over crucial policy areas such as energy and national security.The move has sparked a backlash among party MSPs, who not only want to keep the powers but also expected more powers to be devolved. MSPs accuse the MPs of "bad politics" in demanding powers be returned to Westminster."

Mr Smith thinks that they need to bury the axe, preferably not in each other, and get on with running the country. It is all somewhat reminiscent of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Difficult.

Interesting item on the agenda of a recent meeting of the Scottish Parliament's Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee.

"6. Guidance for MSPs on handling difficult correspondents or constituents (in private): The Committee considered and agreed draft guidance for MSPs on handling difficult correspondents or constituents."

Mr Smith isn't a big fan of items being considered "in private" by the Scottish Parliament unless it is really necessary. The fact that this item was considered behind closed doors presumably means the public will never get to see the contents of the "guindace." Mr Smith thinks we all should get to see it.

Yes Police.

"An influential committee of MSPs has criticised Scotland's top police officers association, warning it is unaccountable and should be subjected to closer scrutiny. The Scottish Parliament's public audit committee has called on the government to investigate measures to bring the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos) under effective inspection."

Given the prominent role which Acpos fulfills and its major role in deciding the policing priorities for Scotland, Mr Smith would agree there needs to be far more political and public scrutiny of their activities. We'll see how long it takes for that to happen. Mr Smith won't be holding his breath waiting for it to happen.

Silo.

"HOLYROOD BOSSES lack "focus and structure" and do not have a "clear vision" for the Scottish Parliament, according to a secret report released last week. The findings also found that the parliament had become a "stale" organisation with "fatigued" managers working in a "silo culture".

Naw never. It can't be true. Can it? Mr Smith thinks they could have built a better "silo" for £413 million.

Who Dares ...

Mr Smith is reminded of the old expression, "be careful for what you wish for."

And why should the Scottish Government get a free pass from opposition parties for its budget? The Scottish Government is fond of reminding us that it is a minority administration, and minority administrations can't expect a majority of MSPs to automatically vote for its plans. We'll see. Mr Smith thinks the budget will pass.

"MINISTERS last night dared opponents to vote down today's Holyrood Budget, claiming they would pay a heavy political price for blocking a Budget designed to take account of hard times in the current economy."

Goodbye.

Isn't this the sort of thing that caused all sorts of political ructions in East Lothian when the Chief Executive of the Council decided to retire only to have the decision reversed and him eventually walking away with nothing?

It smells to Mr Smith. Ironically this is perhaps one occasion when they should have employed an external consultant.

"A HOLYROOD OFFICIAL will walk away with a £270,000 golden goodbye as a result of a job losses plan she personally drew up. Carol Devon recently proposed the five parliament directors' posts, which include her own £95,000-a-year job, should be cut to four."

Any Questions?

Mr Smith agrees that the bosses of the big banks should be called to account for their dismal handling of their businesses not least Sir Fred "the Shred" Goodwin for his management of Royal Bank of Scotland which led to losses this week of £28 billion being reported. But Mr Smith thinks it should be Westminster that does the cross examination and not the Scottish Parliament.

"The former bosses of Scotland's biggest banks yesterday faced calls to appear before a Scottish Parliament inquiry after Labour suggested that Holyrood should have its own probe into why the captains of the banking industry fell so low. Labour wants Sir Fred Goodwin, of the Royal Bank of Scotland, and Andy Hornby, of HBOS, to be held to account for their "mismanagement".

If Westminster doesn't act though then someone should be asking some questions publicly of the banks given that the great Scottish public are effectively all bankers now by massively underwriting most of them. But some MSPS might be prefering to forget the fact that many of them supported and tabled a series of Motions in the Scottish Parliament praising RBS as far back as 2005. The most fawning Motion from February 2008, lodged by Murdo Fraser MSP, stated:

"That the Parliament congratulates the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) and HBOS plc for achieving year-end pre-tax profits of £9.9 billion and £5.47 billion respectively in 2007; welcomes the strong profit margins, which have come during an unstable time for the banking sector across the world, thus underlining the strength and success of these two major Scottish-headquartered companies; recognises the importance and contribution that both banks make to the Scottish economy and applauds their continued positions among the world leaders in the banking and financial sectors; also notes the various foundations and charities that RBS and HBOS donate to and work with, as well as the importance that they give to corporate social responsibility; and believes that all Scotland should celebrate the continued success of RBS and HBOS."

It was signed by a number of MSPs, namely, Jamie McGrigor, Derek Brownlee, Alex Johnstone, John Lamont, Elizabeth Smith, Nanette Milne, John Scott, Stuart McMillan, Jackie Baillie, Mary Scanlon, Jamie Stone, Bill Aitken, Iain Gray, Gil Paterson, Liam McArthur, Rt Hon Jack McConnell, Tom McCabe.

Mr Smith wonders if they will be rethinking their support in light of more recent events.

What's In A Name?

Mr Smith is sure that Scotland's national heroes will be thrilled by plans to put their names on the Committee rooms in the Scottish Parliament - not.

"The SNP has been accused of political posturing by trying to rename rooms at Holyrood after Scottish freedom fighters. Under the plans, the parliament’s garden foyer, committee rooms and offices would be named after nationalist icons including William Wallace and Robert the Bruce."

Off Their Trolleys.

"THE FORMER Scottish Secretary Michael Forsyth made a scathing attack yesterday on the Calman Commission's investigation into extra powers for the Scottish Parliament, claiming that those pursuing the notion were “off their heads."

Mr Smith tends to agree, and who better to know when someone is "off their heads" than Lord Forsyth?

Lost And ... Lost.

It's official. Our Parliamentarians and their staff are indeed "special," if for no reason other than that they need "special payments" at parliamentary expense when they make mistakes, lose parliamentary equipment, or have accidents.

"SCOTTISH Parliament bosses have been left with a bill of more than £800 because of scrapes and scratches to staff cars in the parliament's underground car park. The bill for re-spraying damaged cars was revealed in a new list of "losses and special payments" for the last year. The £7000 list also includes the theft of two BlackBerry devices, a laptop, a PC and a mobile phone. A further nine BlackBerrys, two mobiles, a camera and a laptop were written off as lost or damaged. The list even includes £30 to pay for a parking fine incurred by a member of staff who could not get back to their car in time because of work commitments."

But shouldn't we know which MSPs were the ones who incurred the losses by being so careless?

Slat Spat.

Mr Smith is amazed at just how much day to day routine maintenance the new Holyrood building is requiring so shortly after its opening. It might be costing very much individually, but it is all adding up, with the Scottish taxpayer picking up the tab.

"SCOTTISH Parliament bosses are spending £20,000 to remove and treat dozens of wooden slats from the outside of the Holyrood building. Officials said after four years exposed to the elements, the laminated oak "louvres" needed a fresh coat of resin to help prolong their life.A cherry-picker was hired to take down the slats from the glass corridor which MSPs use to get to the debating chamber."

Stuck On Red.

"A £250,000 traffic light system to control entry to the Scottish Parliament's underground car park has broken down less than six months after it was installed. MSPs driving up to the car park entrance have found the lights stuck on red, leaving security guards to wave them through after checking there are no vehicles coming in the opposite direction."

Sounds dangerous to Mr Smith. But what kind of traffic light system can you buy for a quarter of a million pounds?

Very Alternative.

"MORE than £146,000 of taxpayers' cash has been spent on alternative therapies, massage, sports and health activities for Scottish Parliament staff."

It must be nice to work in the Scottish Parliament. Very relaxing.

First Class.

Mr Smith wasn't surprised that some of our MSPs would use their parliamentary allowances to travel first class, but he is surprised by the names of some of the class warriors who seem to have adopted the habit.

Bill "Campaign for Socialism" Butler never struck Mr Smith has someone who would opt for the non-proletarian comforts of Scotrail's first class. Never mind. Come the revolution comrades we will all be travelling first class.

"THE Scottish Parliament may have been established to bring politicians closer to the people, but a minority of its representatives would rather avoid the great unwashed when it comes to travelling by train. A Scotland on Sunday survey has revealed that more than 10% of our MSPs regularly travel first class as they commute from their constituencies to Holyrood. Frequent first-class travellers from Glasgow to Edinburgh include Labour MSPs Wendy Alexander, the former leader; Bill Butler; Patricia Ferguson; Trish Godman, Charlie Gordon; Ken McIntosh; Frank McAveety, Pauline McNeill; and Irene Oldfather."

On The Hoof.

Another example of how some of our new Councillors are struggling to meet the rigours of elected office.

It is bad enough when an elected Councillor departs from a submission to the Scottish Parliament when giving evidence to ... er ... the Scottish Parliament, but then to not know who submitted the Council's views in the first place and then admit it wasn't approved by Councillors anyway. Is it any wonder that Aberdeen City Council is in such a financial mess?

"An Aberdeen City councillor was accused of “making policy on the hoof” and letting the authority down when she appeared before an influential Holyrood committee yesterday. MSPs were mystified when evidence from Aberdeen education spokeswoman Kirsty West contradicted the authority’s written submission. Miss West, one of Scotland’s youngest councillors, appeared before the education, lifelong learning and culture committee to give evidence on the authority’s position on the introduction of free school meals for primary 1-3 children. The council’s written submission stated that based on the evaluation of the pilot scheme of the free school meals trial in five areas, it remained “unconvinced” that free lunches “adds public value or improves the outcomes for children”. But Miss West told the committee that the council would implement the concordat agreement between the Scottish Government and local authorities for free school meals from 2010 ... On several occasions she had to “clarify” what was in the submission before admitting it was written by council officials and not approved by elected members ... Committee convener Labour MSP Karen Whitefield said in her nine years as an MSP she had never known a witness to contradict a supporting written submission."

Very Grigor-ious.

"THE SCOTTISH Conservatives' spokesman on affordable housing is charging taxpayers almost £1000 a month to live in a luxury second home in Edinburgh. Sir Jamie McGrigor is claiming more in rent than any other MSP under Holyrood's controversial Edinburgh Accommodation Allowance (EAA)."

Mmmmm.

IT'S CHRISTMAS ... Not.

"IT might not have quite the same cachet as a personally-signed Christmas card from Scarlett Johanssen or George Clooney. But many people are pleased to receive festive greetings from their MSP – a special card from Holyrood, if not Hollywood. However, Scottish Parliament bosses have now decided to scrap the exclusive Christmas cards which MSPs can buy to send to their friends and contacts after a drop in sales. "

Mr Smith always used to look forward to receiving his MSP Christmas card, but if nothing else it will stop Murdo Fraser MSP this year coming out with his perennial complaint about the Scottish Parliament authorities taking the religious aspects out of the design for the cards.

Bah humbug to one an all.

No More Taxis For McLetchie.

Is it just Mr Smith or is this one change which seems to have been made without a lot of public scrutiny.

"SCOTTISH Parliament bosses have relaxed the rules on MSPs' taxi claims despite a history of rows and scandals. Under a new allowances scheme, Holyrood politicians will be able to claim back fares of up to £20 without providing justification. And tough sanctions to deal with MSPs who run up excessive bills have been scrapped."

This is a move which will spare many of our MSPs a lot of embarassment.

Cool.

It seems strange to Mr Smith that in the relatively new Scottish Parliament building that more money has to be spent to provide additional heating.

"THE controversial £414 million Scottish Parliament building was at the centre of a new row today after officials said they are to install extra heating in a committee room just four years after it opened. Complaints about the cold have prompted the parliament to call in workmen to rip up the floor of Committee Room 2 and fit additional under-floor radiators.But today one senior MSP said: "If anyone is feeling it chilly they can wear their jacket."

Stone Me.

"ALMOST £1million of taxpayers' cash has been squandered on this secret mountain of unused granite for the Scottish Parliament. It was bought to cobble a historic road in front of Holyrood - but the project was scrapped and the stone has now been given away for FREE. The 400 giant crates of granite are now gathering dust in a field owned by a Tory baron's family."

The scandalous waste of public money around the construction of the £431 million Scottish Parliament building goes on.