Green MSPs fear Parliament threat to democracy
26 Oct 05
Claim that moves to limit support for backbenchers' bills undermine Holyrood's principles
Scottish Parliament proposals to deny legal support for backbenchers' bills that are too big, complex or wide in their scope have been condemned by Green Party MSPs.
The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has said that Holyrood's Non-Executive Bills Unit is overstretched, and wants to enable it to decline assistance if a bill would require too big a share of its resources. MSPs will be voting on the proposal today.
Green MSPs say that not getting legal support will stifle democratic debate and undermine the founding principles of the Parliament. They also argue that the unit has been allocated more staff in recent years and is dealing with fewer bills.
Green Party business manager Chris Ballance said that it appeared that some proposals could be killed off by the corporate body if it said they were too complicated. The new rules sent out a message to small parties, independents and backbenchers that they should not attempt to think too big.
Canon Kenyon Wright, a member of the Constitutional Convention, also spoke out against the proposals, saying the move could be seen as an attempt to squeeze out small parties and independents so that there would be very little debate over challenging political ideas. The larger parties should consider their position very carefully, he added.