FIRST ministers are busy people. That is a truism. So when Alex Salmond absented himself from the Holyrood debate yesterday about his conduct in the European Union legal advice saga he did, of course, have important work to attend to – in this case an appearance at a conference on renewable energy.
This is legitimate business for a First Minister. The question is, however, whether his appearance at this conference was more important than the issue of public trust in his office and the fog of confusion that now exists over a key aspect of the debate about Scotland’s future.
It is hard to believe Mr Salmond’s renewables engagement could not have been re-timed, if the First Minister had decided he needed to put his case in person during the Holyrood debate, which had been requested by Scottish Labour. That he chose not to do so is, in many, ways regrettable.
Politicians are by nature combative people. They also know when to pick a fight and when to walk away from one. Mr Salmond and his advisers plainly thought this was a fight that should be walked away from, and no doubt they could offer good reasons for doing so. There might be an understandable reticence, for example, about providing more fuel for the sudden surge of unusually negative speculation about the First Minister’s political standing. Or there could be a desire to avoid further debate about Scotland’s rights and obligations after independence.
But if ever there was a time when a politician should have engaged with his opponents, this was it. Yes, the EU legal advice issue has become wrapped up in a debate about Mr Salmond’s conduct. But it is still a key issue in the Scottish independence debate, and it is not one that the Scottish Government can shy away from.
To do so, as Mr Salmond did yesterday, is simply to invite further speculation about the future conduct of the independence referendum debate, none of which augers well for the open discussion everyone hopes for.
What the national conversation about Scotland’s future needs is a willingness to discuss all aspects of this momentous change, and to do so in a spirit of openness, in the knowledge that each side’s position will be ruthlessly interrogated. Above all, it requires a willingness to engage. The subject matter demands nothing less.
If the First Minister thinks that by trying to ignore the EU legal advice issue it will somehow wither on the vine, he is mistaken. There comes a time when, even if it is not politically convenient, a politician must argue and explain, to provide the clarity and detail required for the country to come to an informed conclusion about this episode.
Sometimes there is even a justification of self-interest. Better to confront an issue head-on and exhaust its potential to do damage, rather than let it hang over a politician’s head, like a black cloud.
Free childcare cannot happen too soon
THE apparent reluctance of mothers to return to the workplace after having children is a cause for concern on a number of levels.
This is a matter of national economic importance as much as anything else; our faltering economy needs to utilise all the skills at our disposal if we are to hope to drag ourselves out of the financial despond that currently grips us. And that means making sure women who are able and willing to return to work can do so.
The fact that 1.2 million women are choosing not to is the clearest possible signal that there is something wrong with the combination of factors – employee rights, the minimum wage, childcare costs, equal pay measures and the provision of pre-and-after-school clubs, to name just a few – that inform a mother’s decision-making on this issue.
But there is little doubt that the key issue is childcare costs, which have been rising at a time when wage freezes and high unemployment have kept wages low. Many women, who might otherwise be interested in exploring a route back to the workplace, seem to be coming to the simple conclusion that they cannot afford to work.
Returning to work after having a child is a fraught issue on many levels and the conclusions reached will differ from woman to woman. But if it ceases to become affordable, then it stops being a choice.
Ministers at both Holyrood and Westminster are keenly aware of how important an issue this is. Which is why the SNP government in Edinburgh is preparing primary legislation to give parents a statutory right to a set number hours of free childcare.
This is undoubtedly the right thing to do, and it cannot happen too soon.