Westminster and Holyrood might do better if they left the big calls to chance

Whatever hands the SNP and Conservative governments are dealt, it feels like they will probably be losing ones (Picture: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

How do governments make decisions? Are they trashed out in Cabinet meetings after erudite debates, dreamed up by the leader as a wheeze to look good at party conference, endlessly focus-grouped by spin doctors chasing votes but little else, or might there be a better way? Regular readers will know of our staunch support for democracy, but sometimes we find ourselves close to despair over Westminster and Holyrood’s missteps.

The canny councillors of Argyll and Bute may have the solution. After a change in the make-up of the council, the vote for the new leader was tied between the SNP’s Jim Lynch and Liberal Democrat Robin Currie. The impasse was broken with a cut of cards. Currie got the six of hearts, Lynch the ten of spades.

Not very democratic, but perhaps our bungling governments would have a better chance of getting things right if they left the big calls to cards or dice. Then again, with their luck, the country would soon be reeling from a succession of double ones, landing on Mayfair with three hotels, missing the ladders and sliding down all the snakes…

Westminster and Holyrood might do better if they left the big calls to chance – Scotsman comment

Get our weekly opinion newsletter for expert analysis from The Scotsman’s team of columnists

Comments