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Editor's note
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 In the name of Braveheart
Mandy Rhodes
No one could describe the actions last week of Kenny MacAskill as politically or diplomatically astute. No matter all the furore and political posturing, it can be silenced by that one question: what on earth did he have to gain? It was not his choice to have to make this decision and yet because an application was made to release al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds, it was his responsibility to do so. He had to consider this request alongside the application already on the table for a prisoner transfer as set out by the agreement with Libya and the UK Government,... |
Special Report: The Al-Megrahi decision
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 Decision time
Mandy Rhodes
As MSPs prepare to debate the release of al-Megrahi, Holyrood analyses the controversy.
The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast in 1988 reflected on the 300th anniversary of the arrival in Britain of King William and Queen Mary of Orange. It finally laid to rest the ‘enterprise of England’, she said, and gave a particular direction to our history which was to lead to the development of parliamentary democracy and the tradition of political and religious toleration which Britain enjoys today.
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Interview
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Focus
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A very civil servant
Mandy Rhodes - 28 August 2009
Sir John Elvidge, Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government on the business of politics
When a fresh-faced John Elvidge, straight out of Oxford and clutching his BA in English Literature was interviewed in 1973 for a fast-track career in the civil service, he referred his interviewers to a poem by the 17th century poet Andrew Marvell. The poem was ‘An Horatian Ode’ which is basically a eulogy to Oliver Cromwell on his return to England after subjugating Ireland in 1650. It praises the conquering hero who had beheaded King Charles I and would, as the poem predicts, go on to suppress the Scots. It’s a lengthy work that provokes deep divisions within the literary world, with some seeing it as straightforward praise of the conquering hero and others believing it has a secret royalist agenda and is deeply critical of Cromwell. To Elvidge, it was a means to an end. A way of being able to sum up why he would choose a career in the civil service above others on offer and while the youthful pretentiousness of it all may now make him shudder, his attitude to public service was neatly summed up in his interpretation of the poem... |
Cuts both ways
Rory Cahill - 28 August 2009
 The cuts are coming, we’re told. What will they look like when they get here and do we even really need them?
Something has to give, that much is sure. It’s less than a year since our banking system effectively collapsed, requiring we the taxpayer to bail out the former masters of the economic universe. It came after nearly half a decade of rising government spending, a period of economic sunshine where we spent every penny and put none away. Now it is all over and the sober appraisal has to begin. This year the UK Government will spend £175bn more... |
Insight
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Tracking progress
Richard Johnstone - 28 August 2009
 Examining the state of the railways
In his recent book on the history of Britain’s railways, Eleven Minutes Late, Matthew Engel recounts a story of finding himself on a train approaching Bristol when one of his fellow passengers says confidently, ‘something’s going to go wrong in a minute’. Sure enough, Engel recounts, “we squealed to a halt outside [Bristol] Temple Meads and spent five minutes waiting for a platform”. Stories like this one have always littered conversations about the railways, be they from a frustrated... |
Portfolios
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| Local Government |
Moving forward
Lynne Whitelaw 28 August 2009
Aberdeen City Council’s new leader talks about his vision for the troubled local authority
After the two... |
A helping hand
Lynne Whitelaw 28 August 2009
Can councils taking part in a new UK Government scheme help prevent another generation of young talent... |
| Education |
Making the transition
Cera Murtagh 28 August 2009
As pupils return to school, how can the primary-secondary transition be made smoother?
One of the most persistent... |
The local view
Cera Murtagh 28 August 2009
Edinburgh’s education chief on delivering services in challenging times
Squaring national priorities with local realities has been no walk in... |
| Health |
Inquiring mind
Katie Mackintosh 28 August 2009
Health and Sport Committee Convener Christine Grahame MSP on children and adolescent mental health services
One... |
Next steps
Katie Mackintosh 28 August 2009
One year on from the introduction of the HPV vaccination programme, Holyrood considers its success
Last September Scotland became the first country in... |
| Business |
Predicting the future
Will Peakin 28 August 2009
One of Scotland’s top executives outlines her perspective on the country’s international standing
It’s been a tumultuous 12 months for Scotland’s... |
A qualified success
Will Peakin 28 August 2009
A Scottish university is responding to criticism that senior bank management lacked skills for the job
It was a sobering moment in... |
| Justice |
Taking the reins
Rory Cahill 28 August 2009
Holyrood meets the new President of ACPOS, Patrick Shearer
Cast your mind back to those feverish days of early summer when it appeared that Scotland’s... |
And justice for all
Rory Cahill 28 August 2009
Do disabled Scots have the same access to the justice system as the rest of us and if... |
Columnists
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Also in this issue
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Henry McLeish |
| Unhealthy debate |
| President Obama’s healthcare reforms are both energising and dividing America as the Republicans and some of the most influential lobbying groups in the world seek to defend vested interests and... |
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John Curtice |
| In whose name? |
| It comes as almost second nature to the SNP to wrap itself in the saltire. ‘Standing up for Scotland’ is arguably just as much a part of its DNA as... |
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Letter of the week
Megrahi and the Islamic view
When Plato in his Republic established justice as one of the cardinal virtues, he did so in the knowledge that striving to match a person’s actions with their due desserts... |
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Jim Sillars |
| Merciful justice |
| It isn’t normal for Scottish politics, usually conducted in the playground equivalent of my daddy is bigger and better than... |
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Spotted - Issue 217
28 August 2009
Kenny MacAskill on the treadmill at the gym…Annie Lennox in the bar at the Holyrood Hotel…Jeremy Paxman outside... |
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Special report
Lessons to be learnt
The decision of the Justice Secretary has inevitably provoked heated debate and now is the time to consider what we... |
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Special report
In the name of democracy
Does the al-Megrahi decision pass the test of constitutional democracy?
The Megrahi episode has been a major test of Scottish democracy in... |
Salmond lays out legislative programme
