First Minister Essay:
Assess the role of the First Minister of Scotland. (15 marks)
The first Minister of Scotland has a varied role in which he has many important
duties within the Scottish Parliament and within the devolved Scottish
Government. This essay will explore the various different roles of the First
Minister.
The First Minister is head of the devolved Scottish government, which means
he is in control of Scotland’s devolved powers. The present First Minister, Alex
Salmond, is the leader of the SNP and is the first nationalist to be elected
First Minister of Scotland in comparison to the three previous Labour First
Ministers. The First Minister also maintains close contact with the Scottish
Secretary of State, who at present is the Liberal Democrats Michael Moore.
The Secretary of State also represents Scotland in issues such as defence and
Foreign affairs which are reserved to Westminster. One might say that the
relationship between Alex Salmond and Michael Moore is strained as they both
have very different views on Scotland’s future. On the other hand, Alex
Salmond is pushing for a ‘yes’ vote in the independence Referendum next year as
he believes that Scotland can be fairer and more equal country if it were to
break away from the union, whereas Michael Moore is profoundly against
independence and stated that the SNP would “pretty well say anything and do
anything” to win the referendum. Furthermore, it is believed that the previous
Labour First Minister, Jack McConnell, had a better relationship with the MSPs
in parliament that with what Alex Salmond has now, as many of Jack McConnell’s
initiatives had won cross party support. To add to this argument, when Jack
McConnell was First Minister, there was a much closer relationship between the
Scottish Parliament and Westminster as the Labour Party had a majority in
both parliaments. In comparison, Alex Salmond’s relationship with Westminster
is stained as he hopes to break away from the union, which is something
Westminster is highly opposed too. Also, Alex Salmond is very keen on
expressing his opinions on reserved issues, whereas, Jack McConnell failed to
make statements on these matters. This proves that the Scottish First
Minister plays a very important role in Scotland as he is not only the head of
the devolved government, but also liaises with the Secretary of State.
However, the First Minister is also responsible for the presentation and
implementation of devolved powers. This means he has to outline his
governments programme for government for the next year to the Scottish
Parliament, which is then followed by a debate on the plans. For example, on 5Th
of September 2013, Alex Salmond announced the details of the SNP
government’s plans for the year 2013/2014. He also told his fellow MSPs that
the government is planning to bring forward 13 new pieces of legislation. One of
which is the ‘End of Automatic early release from prison Bill’, which will bring an
end to prisoners being released early from prison and it will also protect society
from people who could be of threat. Other Bills proposed by Alex Salmond
include; the ‘Budget Bill’, the ‘Bankruptcy Consolidation Bill’ and the Scottish
Welfare Fund Bill’. This highlights the First Ministers responsibility to present
and implement plans for Bills concerning devolved powers, which is an example of
another role in government.
On the other hand, the first Ministers power is limited, as he cannot influence
decisions made by the Prime Minister at Westminster nor does he or his
devolved government have any control over reserved powers. Despite this, the
current First Minister, Alex Salmond, has made it very clear that he profoundly
against Trident and having any nuclear weapons stored in Scotland. He also
vowed that “an independent Scotland would see an end to Nuclear Weapons on
Scottish soil”. In contrast, previous Labour First Minister Jack McConnell, was
reluctant to debate or express his views on reserved issues such as the highly
controversial invasion of Iraq. In addition, Jack McConnell refused to get
involved with debates over the Iraq War, as he knew he had no authority over
these issues nor would he have any binding effect on them. It can be argued
that Jack McConnell refused to debate over Iraq war as Tony Blair’s Labour
party had a majority in Westminster which meant that there was a very close
relationship between the two parliaments and Jack McConnell didn’t want to
over step his authority. This again shows the other varied roles that a First
Minister has, as he is responsible for debating issues in parliament and
expressing his views on reserved issues when he feels it is necessary to do so.
To add to the argument, the First Minister is also accountable by the Scottish
Parliament and the First Minister must answer questions put forward to him by
MSPs in parliament which is carried out once a week during First Ministers
Question Time.
Most recently, Alex Salmond has been criticised by Scottish Labour Leader,
Johann Lamont, who stated that the “SNP government is failing to run the
country”. She then accused the SNP of having a “separation obsession that
most Scots reject”. During First Ministers Question Time, Alex Salmond also
had to answer questions from the Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson
and Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie. Most recently, Ruth Davidson asked
Alex Salmond to justify his cuts to the education budget which saw an end to
614 college courses. In addition, Willie Rennie accused Alex Salmond of denying
2 year olds the opportunity to go to nursery. Therefore it is clear that MSPs
hold Alex Salmonds government to account for the decisions they are making
for Scotland. To add to this argument, the First Minister is also accountable
for the cabinet as it is his own personal choice who he selects for the job.
Therefore, if a Cabinet Minister displeases the public or other MSPs, the First
Minister is held accountable as it was his decision to make that person
responsible for that particular issue. For example, during the extreme weather
conditions of 2010, Travel Minister Stewart Stevenson, was forced to resign
after his poor handling of the travel chaos caused by bad weather. Alex
Salmond accepted his resignation and stood by his word that Stevenson had
done a good job as Transport Minister. This proves that the First Minister has
several varied roles, as he is responsible for both answering questions proposed
to him by MSPs and he is also in charge of who he appoints as Cabinet Ministers
which again shows the variation in his job.
Another role of the First Minister is to have a vision for Scotland. Each First
Minister has a different vision for the country. Being the First nationalist First
Minister, Alex Salmond has a very clear vision for Scotland – Scottish
Independence. Alex Salmond stated in an interview with Raymond Buchanan
that, “it’s better for all of us if decisions about Scotland’s future are taken by
those of us who care the most about Scotland”, which is something he believes
is a very compelling course for Independence. Alex Salmond also believes that
the Scottish Parliament have made a success of running health and education
and argues that Scotland is more that capable of running the economy also. As
Ales Salmond has a majority in parliament, he feels confident that he could
pursue his vision and achieve a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum next September.
However Alex Salmond has been criticised for his vision. One critic being,
Scottish Labour Leader Johann Lamont who raised the issue of whether
Scotland is being put on hold because of the SNP’s personal ambition. She also
accused Alex Salmond of putting” Scotland on pause” and that “Scotland no
longer had a Government, but a campaign”. She then closed her argument by
stating that the SNP would say anything for a ‘yes’ vote despite the challenges
that Scotland is facing. In addition, Alex Salmond is currently promotion
Independence and is leading the YES Campaign, however, Alex Salmond has hit
out at the Better Together Campaign and accused them of “scare mongering”
the Scottish people as their campaign published leaflets stating that “Scots
save millions on their mortgages every year due to the UKs AAA Credit Rating”,
when actual fact the UKs credit rating was downgraded to AA+ for the first
time since 1978. Furthermore, the First Minister has a role of promoting
Scotland. For example, Alex Salmond has been at the forefront of Glasgow’s
preparations for hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games. This is part of the
Scottish Governments strategy to promote Scotland Internationally and to
encourage healthier living and increase participation in sport. This further
demonstrated how varied Alex Salmond’s role as First Minister is, as he is not
only in charge of the YES campaign and having a vision for our country, but he is
also in charge of promoting Scotland as well.
In conclusion, it therefore could be argued that the First Minister has a varied
job as he is in charge of so many different things. The First Minister is held to
a account by MSPs and has to answer to any questions proposed to him during
First Ministers Question Time. He is also responsible for the Cabinet Ministers
and presentation and implemention of devolved powers. In addition to that, the
First Minister is also responsible for having a vision for Scotland and promoting
Scotland Internationally. This shows that the First Minister does not sit
around and carry out the same job every day when actual fact the First
Minister has a very versatile routine and has various different roles and
responsibilities.