I'll leave comment on Gordon's plans for just now since I am still digesting them. Can I endorse what you said about Keith Brown and perhaps amplify it a bit?
Mr Brown was the responsible Cabinet Secretary when the ferries order went to Ferguson's despite the clear warning that they yard could not build the ships. That warning, of course, turned out to be disastrously true.
He appears to have taken no interest in the decision. In my view it was an error of judgement to leave a clearly tricky matter to a junior minister. If Mr Brown had been prepared to admit that and say that he learned from his mistake the matter could perhaps have been left there. Instead of that he has arrogantly refused to accept any responsibility and has been supported in this by the First Minister.
That raises very serious questions about his fitness to continue as Justice Secretary but it also demands a much clearer statement from the FM on how she expects Cabinet Secretaries to perform their duties in relation to their junior ministers. There appears to be no effort whatsoever to learn from the mistakes that have so expensively been made and to improve procedures. This is a dereliction of the FM's obligation to Parliament to ensure her government works effectively.
On the evidence we have just now it seems to me that Brown just let things happen. Of course, as usual, we do not have a complete picture.
I think we underestimate how slack the SNP are about things that most people would regard as important. A lot of matters are just left to officials with ministers turning up for photo ops while spads write boastful media releases.
I'll leave comment on Gordon's plans for just now since I am still digesting them. Can I endorse what you said about Keith Brown and perhaps amplify it a bit?
Mr Brown was the responsible Cabinet Secretary when the ferries order went to Ferguson's despite the clear warning that they yard could not build the ships. That warning, of course, turned out to be disastrously true.
He appears to have taken no interest in the decision. In my view it was an error of judgement to leave a clearly tricky matter to a junior minister. If Mr Brown had been prepared to admit that and say that he learned from his mistake the matter could perhaps have been left there. Instead of that he has arrogantly refused to accept any responsibility and has been supported in this by the First Minister.
That raises very serious questions about his fitness to continue as Justice Secretary but it also demands a much clearer statement from the FM on how she expects Cabinet Secretaries to perform their duties in relation to their junior ministers. There appears to be no effort whatsoever to learn from the mistakes that have so expensively been made and to improve procedures. This is a dereliction of the FM's obligation to Parliament to ensure her government works effectively.
I quite agree. I'm also interested in whether he was just told by the FM's office to back it because she wanted a photo op!
On the evidence we have just now it seems to me that Brown just let things happen. Of course, as usual, we do not have a complete picture.
I think we underestimate how slack the SNP are about things that most people would regard as important. A lot of matters are just left to officials with ministers turning up for photo ops while spads write boastful media releases.